James The Brother Of Jesus

Believing and doing, the twins of vital faith

Many church leaders have doubted that the book of James was worthy to be included in what we now call the New Testament. It was clearly not written by one of the disciples of Jesus nor by the James, who was thought to be a younger brother of Jesus. The book does not reflect the culture and concerns of first century Christianity. The best conclusion of scholars today is that we do not know who wrote this collection of sayings. Because of its emphasis on good works, James is criticized as being too Jewish in its perspective to be reconciled with Paul’s writings about salvation by faith and faith alone. Martin Luther concluded that James was not worthy of inclusion in the New Testament collection. There is not much doubt, that Paul taught salvation by faith and faith alone. James says very plainly that faith without works is dead. “What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has no works? Can his faith save him?... So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.” The difference between the two is more than a matter of perspective. The difference is real. The book of James takes on more issues than good works as a necessity for valid Christian faith. The author of James moves from issue to issue without bothering with connections. In some ways the book can be compared to the Old Testament book of Proverbs. If there is a central theme it could be characterized as “what does a Godly life look like?” The writer leaves us with snapshot after snapshot. What is never in doubt is that a confessed faith must be matched by behavior patterns that are consistent with the professed faith. The audiences for whom James wrote were third and fourth generation Christians. Understandably the first generations of Christians were absorbed in trying to figure out who Jesus truly was and the significance of his death. They were aggressively evangelistic and spread with amazing rapidity. In addition we need to be reminded that early Christian believers were apocalyptic believers who believed they would be translated into the next life without suffering death. By the time James wrote, reality had set in. Christians were going to live out their three score and 10 years. James had the courage to ask the crucial question. How are we to live our lives? Rereading the book of James was a reminder of the writings and work of Walter Rauschenbusch.

Bible In 90 Days 65: JUDE « Kevin Miller

. Sure, he may have have shared a bunk bed with Jesus growing up, but Jude finally recognized (probably after Jesus’ resurrection) that one day he would stand before Jesus and the most important thing would be that Jude was His servant, not His brother. What would matter most is that Jude had served Jesus, not that he had slept in the same room as Him growing up or eaten Cocoa Puffs with Him in the morning.

Jesus is Master. We have to remember that.

Make sure that your relationship with Jesus is founded first and foremost on Who Jesus is and what He has done – not on who you are or what you have done. It’s not about you – it’s about Him!

Jude is writing to a bunch of Christians, and his original intent was to write about salvation in general, but he felt led to write about something much more pressing…

The main focus of Jude’s short epistle is the need for Christians to contend for the faith. Sure, there are plenty of times when we should “turn the cheek,” but when it comes to the purity and message of the Gospel, we should never back down. It’s vital.

Similar to Peter , Jude has harsh words for the false teachers who have crept into the church. He compares them to Cain (who killed his brother, Abel), Balaam (who was hired to curse God’s people and was rebuked by his donkey), and Korah (who rebelled against Moses and was burned to death as punishment). These are obviously not compliments!

He goes on to describe them as stains, selfish, useless, fickle, fruitless, dead, and more. Ouch!

After he calls them out, he reminds the church of something important that we need to remember as well: God isn’t surprised by these guys – Christ. It’s extremely dangerous and these false prophets/teachers/Christs will be judged for leading people astray.

Our goal in maintaining the purity of the Word is what Jude says at the end of his letter – to “save others by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23). We need to remember that eternity is on the line here – it’s far beyond semantics or personal beliefs!

So stand up for your faith and don’t back down.