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Hello and welcome to the Waking Up to Grace podcast, where we celebrate and explore the finished work of our Lord, Jesus Christ. The Waking Up to Grace podcast can be found on every major platform. And now, here's Lenny.

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Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself. and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. That's 2 Corinthians 5 17. Welcome everyone. The old has passed away and the new has come. Be reconciled is a message from Paul the Apostle. If you trust in Jesus Christ, that is exactly what you are. You can no longer be at odds with God. He has made you right with him. You are a new creation. Today we'll be continuing our study on the letter of James. In our last study, we talked about the three James that may have written this letter and how we really don't know for sure which one it was. Knowing the timing of when it was written would help us to better discern the possible author, and we don't have a perfect answer on that either. This topic has been argued very much through the years. In my humble opinion, the opening statement of this letter tells us a lot about the possible author and when it was likely written. I'm going way outside of the mainstream views here, but as you will see in this episode if you choose to listen, is that this view should be right there with all the other theories out there, as there is a mountain of evidence backing it up and there's nothing to prove it wrong. Remember, this message is meant to build up and strengthen the church and is not meant to offend anyone, although it may. If you see in scripture somewhere I'm wrong, please let me know. All I ask is that you be kind about it. I'm not going to argue. I'm not telling you what to believe. I'm presenting you this because I found it to be true and beneficial. I ended my last episode by saying I believe that the letter of James was written during the time of Jesus' ministry on earth, and in turn was written before the cross and resurrection. This is a big deal if it is true. This would put the letter of James in a whole different context. It would be a spiritually inspired writing. It would be a holy writing. It would even be a great letter to read and learn from, but it would not directly apply to Christians today, would it? It would have been written during the times of the Old Covenant, while being in our New Testament, a lot like the four gospels, where the events in them took place before the finished work of Christ Jesus. There were no actual Christians before the cross, but Christ Jesus did have disciples and followers. They considered him the Christ and Lord, and would have called themselves his servants. They preached the good news of his coming. You could even say they were spreading the gospel when he sent out the twelve and then the seventy. But the gospel was not yet understood and had not fully matured because the mystery had not been revealed and Christ Jesus had not yet been glorified. This all happened after the cross and after the resurrection. They really had no clue what exactly he came to do until it was done. They received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. And the truth began to be revealed to them. The times of Jesus' ministry were interesting times. They had the Messiah. He was working many miracles among them. But they could not process what exactly he came to do. His work to be done at the cross and resurrection remained a mystery. This continued for some time after the cross as well, before some had heard the news. According to Acts 19, Luke records... And Paul said, And Paul said, That is Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. When we read this passage, it really gets you thinking. How could they have believed in the coming Messiah and not received the Holy Spirit already? Were they saved? They had died in that state? Pondering this question, I think it is less mysterious than it seems. They had the saving faith of the Old Covenant. They believed in what God told them. They trusted his promises. I do believe these people were prepped and ready for the gospel and already had saving faith. There was this interesting time period where the good news of the finished work of Jesus was still not heard by some of those who had believed in the Messiah. Although they may have been saved by their faith during this transition, they had not received the promised Holy Spirit into their hearts and therefore had not been reconciled to God yet. Paul referred to his ministry as the ministry of reconciliation. His message was making people right with God. Old covenant faith did not reconcile anybody. Nobody would be able to be right with God and go to the new heaven awaiting them without this reconciling faith. Even the Old Testament prophets, even those who lived before the law of Moses, the work of Christ Jesus was the only work that gets you to the promised land. The gospel before the cross was lacking. It wasn't until the work was finished that its power was revealed and the mystery became known to those who believed. Does that mean nothing spiritual happened before Pentecost? No. The Holy Spirit existed throughout scripture, not just in the new covenant. There was a big difference, though, in how it worked in the faithful. The regeneration process was not the same. Now that the work of Christ Jesus has been fulfilled, we are promised that his spirit will dwell in us and never leave. It is our seal. It is our counselor and our comforter. It is our eternal life. The spirit of Christ is his life. He lives in and through us and we do not die. We are spiritually alive forever and reconciled to God and there is no work that can add or take that away. It is finished. Faithful in the Old Testament slept in Sheol waiting for this spiritual life they were promised in Christ Jesus. could say they were taking a dirt nap. They did not have eternal life yet. They didn't go to heaven yet. We have it as soon as we trust in him and we go right to heaven. In contrast, faith and salvation under the old covenant, while the law was still to be observed before Christ Jesus blotted out our sin forever, looks quite different. It looked more like faith and works. We learn later from the author of Hebrews in chapter 11 and from the epistles, especially Paul's, that it was faith alone all along. Why would this be such a theme in the teaching of the apostles who went out with the gospel after Pentecost? It was constantly mentioned because they did not think that way before. Jewish thinking especially was all about the works. You couldn't possibly consider yourself faithful if you were not obedient to the holy laws of our Lord Yahweh. Despite this works-based mentality they had, there was a still huge difference between faithful obedience and fake obedience. Jesus was constantly aiming at the Pharisees, saying, And even more harsh statements than that, because they didn't have the love of God. They had become stubborn and self-righteous. The people as a whole would have been following in their footsteps. That is why it was necessary for John the Baptist and Jesus to bring them back to a true law-based obedience that was pleasing to God. But that was only prepping them for what was to come. It was not the end result. The Israelites who stuck with the godless, self-righteous ways, those who denied their Messiah, would soon be judged. This judgment was no secret to them. And they had been warned on numerous occasions by Malachi, Jesus, John the Baptist, and the apostles to name a few. What did they do to them? The same thing they did to the prophets that warned them of judgment in their past. They wanted to kill them. The AD destruction of Jerusalem was the final judgment and it abolished the law forever. It was such an astonishing event on the non-believing Jews that they still talk about it today. There is no bringing it back. However, God's holy people are in Christ now. And this new covenant has no end. I wanted to give that background before we dig into James so that you could really follow where we are going in this episode. I want you to understand the way of thinking that James would have had before the Messiah had finished his work. I want you to see for yourself if this insight lines up with what is written in the letter of James. So we left off the last episode going through all the passages in James that are nearly identical to the words of Jesus and Matthew, where he delivered the message known as the Sermon on the Mount. This says a lot about what was on the forefront of the mind of James. He was meditating on the words of Jesus, specifically the words that would lead to a law-based repentance. He has a strong passion to do as Jesus was teaching in the context of the law. He displays no passion in regards to the finished work of Christ Jesus. I don't think it is because he didn't feel like mentioning it. I believe it is because it hadn't happened yet. If it had, this letter would have had a very different tone to it. We see just in his intro that he is not even allowing for Gentiles in his writing. They're intentionally not included. In my mind, this only makes sense if the Gentiles had not been revealed as part of the church or body of Christ. This was part of the mystery that would later be revealed. Nobody prior to Christ finishing his work had a clue about that mystery. So the James introduction in the ESV chapter one says,"'James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,' If we take this as it should be taken, if you are not part of the 12 tribes of Israel, this message is not to you. I think he makes that fact very clear. This is not for Gentiles, which are everyone other than the Jews. He chose a very specific audience here. Jesus' ministry was to the lost sheep of Israel. And so this would have been all James knew at that time. It makes perfect sense combined with the fact that James repeats so much of Jesus' teachings. If you missed my last episode, please check it out. I wanted to start by saying that I have grown to really enjoy reading the letter of James. I believe that in its proper context, there is much to be gained from this letter. For the record, I do believe it belongs among the inspired writings in our scripture. Are you ready to shift our focus onto the areas of James' letter that sound like Christian passages? Let's examine these passages and see if they prove that James had received the reconciling salvation promised to those who believe after the cross of Christ. or if he was still holding to old covenant faith. James 1.12 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown, brings forth death. This is a good passage. I really like how he describes the origins of our sinful actions. This passage is very insightful. The key statement we will be looking at here for the sake of this study will be, For when he stood the test, he will receive the crown of life. We will need to look at other passages that mention a crown in this way for better context on this. 1 Corinthians 9.25 in the NIV reads, Everyone who competes in the games trains with strict discipline. They do it for a crown that is perishable, but we do it for a crown that is imperishable. Philippians 3.20-4.1 NIV But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. who, by the power that enables him to subject all things to himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body. Therefore, my brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you must stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. And then Paul again, in 1 Thessalonians 2.19, NIV, For what is our hope, our joy? We're the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes. Is it not you? In both passages, Paul seems to indicate that the church is his crown. The church for him represented eternal life, the fruits of his labor in Christ. That would make sense being that they all share in the eternal life of Christ Jesus. When will this crown be received? the second coming, at the resurrection of the dead. 2 Timothy 4.8 reads, Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. So who gets this crown? It is all who believe, and have waited the resurrection of the dead on that day, the day of the Lord's coming. That means all of the faithful, even of the old covenant and beyond. 1 Peter chapter 5 in the NIV says, And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. Peter helps clarify this even more by telling us that all of God's faithful will receive this crown at the second coming. In Revelations, we read in chapter 2, Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. So what happens if we mess up? What if our faith is weak? Is there an effort we need to make to receive this crown of life? Are there works we must do? Let's look more in depth just to be sure. In John chapter 10, we read, So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock. Then we read in 2 Timothy 2, Remember Jesus Christ risen from the dead. Paul writes, For which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. This saying is trustworthy, for if we died with him, we will also live with him. If we endure, we will also reign with him. If we deny him, he also will deny us. If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself. Okay, I think that clears things up a bit. There's a multitude of passages besides these that teach us that Christians were made to persevere. We persevere because of God's faithfulness. He, after all, is the giver of faith. Yes, Paul literally tells us that in Romans 12, verse 3. Many attribute these crowns as something we can be proud of, something to show that we have done great things when we get to heaven, but clearly all of God's faithful receive one. If we all get one, it doesn't sound like it is a status symbol. Let's see how those who had crowns, according to scripture, felt about the situation. Revelations chapter 4 in the NIV reads, We see here the value of crowns in heaven. Did they stack them on their heads and puff up their chests with pride? No. They laid them before our Lord and gave him the glory. The question we need to answer, though, is did James' understanding that he will be given a crown of life at the resurrection prove that he had received the Holy Spirit and that the finished work of Christ Jesus at the cross had been revealed to him? Well, not really. Every Jewish person that understood prophecy and scripture would have been waiting for the resurrection of the dead. I don't have time to go through the entire first three quarters of our Bible to prove this, but I have one passage that I think will get the job done quite well. That's John 11, starting at verse 17. On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Now, Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. Lord, Martha said to Jesus, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask. Jesus said to her, your brother will rise again. Martha answered, I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live. even though they die. And whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this? Yes, Lord, she replied. I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world. So, we see here that the resurrection of the dead on the last day was not a mystery to anyone before the cross. And Mary's sister Martha, both of whom were very close with Jesus, definitely understood that fact. She believed that Jesus could do anything. but she still did not know how he would defeat death at the cross and the fact that he would establish his church on earth breaking down the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. James 1.16 ESV Do not be deceived, my brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. I think it's worth comparing this to NIV translation for another view of the passage. And NIV reads, Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. So, according to Thayer's and most biblical dictionaries, the Greek word here that translates as brought us forth or gives us birth can mean either of these things. Would a follower of Jesus before the cross be able to make such a statement without the divine knowledge of the mystery to be revealed? Let's see if this would be possible based on some things Jesus told his followers. John chapter 15, Jesus says, You did not choose me, but I chose you. And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and your fruit should abide. So whatever you ask the father in my name, he will give it to you. And then John chapter 14, Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know this way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him. So I think these two passages do well to indicate that they knew they were chosen for special purpose involving fruit bearing, and they were the first to experience the Messiah and be chosen by him. This, I believe, is a fitting time to bring up what happened with James of Zebedee and Jesus as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew chapter 20. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him, she asked him for something. And he said to her, What do you want? She said to him, Sayeth that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom. Jesus answered, You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink? They said to him, We are able. He said to them, You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but is for those whom it has been prepared by my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. These guys without a doubt knew they were part of something great, and that they were the first chosen for this purpose. So in my humble opinion, this passage cannot prove that James was written after the cross. At this point, it seems we already addressed the fact that they knew Jesus was Lord before the cross. He told them on several occasions, but we should look at one more passage at least just to confirm this fact before moving on. I know many believe that James calling Jesus Lord tells us that he was a Christian at the time of this writing. In other words, he was born again, reconciled to God because he called Jesus the Lord. But in Matthew chapter 16, we read, Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do people say that the Son of Man is? And they said, Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. And others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter replied, You are the Christ, you are the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. So we see here that the Spirit of God was revealing things to the disciples. But if they had truly understood the mystery to be revealed at the cross and resurrection, then Peter certainly would not have denied Christ three times and been completely distraught when he was killed. He would have been waiting for the resurrection with excitement. The next passage is important and addresses an issue we did not cover in a former passage. It's about the usage of the term the implanted word or the word of truth. James 1.19 reads, Know this, my beloved brothers, let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger, for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness that God requires. Therefore, put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness. The word soul here is translated from the Greek word psouki, which means the breath or the breath of life. Yes, that is the same breath God gave Adam when he was created, making him a living creature. Today, we make a big deal out of those words spirit and soul and come up with all kinds of doctrines about them. They're separate things within us. But in scripture and according to ancient Hebrew beliefs, these represent our inner being. They're not separate parts of us. We are one person and our body, soul, and spirit make up one human being. I'm not going to go into depth on this topic here for the sake of time and focus, but soul is referring to our life force. If our breath is taken away, our body dies. Confirmation of this can be found all over, but I used Vine's concise dictionary. God's word of truth was not a term found only in the New Covenant, either. We actually see it all over the first three quarters of our Bible in regards to prophets and prophecies from our Lord. 1 Kings 17 and the ESV reads, And the woman said to Elijah, Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth. Psalms 119.43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, for my hope is in your rules. Psalms 119.160 The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. It's certainly worth noting what James says next as well. James 1.22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. I have listened to many grace teachers try and say he is not referring to the law here. You need to jump through a lot of hoops to make that fit, in my opinion. Many have no problem with it saying that we have to keep a balance of law and grace. I'm not going to explore that road. If you can find a balance of the 613 commandments with grace that promises salvation, then you certainly don't need my help. And you really don't need Jesus much either. I mean that in the kindest possible way. What did Jesus tell us that the work of God was? He said it was to believe in the one who he sent. It seems clear to me that this James at the time of our New Testament letter still saw Jesus as Lord, Messiah, prophet, etc., but had not experienced the salvation that came at Calvary. If he had, he would not be able to refrain from speaking of it like all the other apostles who wrote after the cross. James is still teaching the law in this letter. James 2 says, My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, you sit here in a good place, while you say to the poor man, you stand over there or sit down at my feet, have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges of evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? So James here declares faith in Jesus Christ. So did John the Baptist and everyone who followed our Messiah. The mighty name which they were called was well established when Jesus sent out the twelve and then the seventy. We know this for certain. Interestingly, the rest of this passage sounds exactly like Jesus rebuking the Pharisees in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 23, verse 5. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. And they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. So in regards to their assemblies, James refers to at the time of his writing, it sounds a lot like the same assemblies Jesus was referring to when he said, they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues. To me, this presents us a huge clue about the time frame of this writing. And James then continues to preach the law again in chapter 2, verse 8. If you really fulfill the royal law according to scripture, you shall love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, do not commit adultery, also said, do not murder. If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Are you starting to see that James is teaching a law-based repentance? Let's continue to the famous passage, Faith without works is dead. James says, What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warm and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. A key point to recognize here is his reference that they believe God is one. This must be a reference to the Shema. For those who are not familiar with it, the Shema refers to the six verses from the fifth book of the Torah, Deuteronomy chapter 6, The first word is the Hebrew word Shema, which means hear or listen or understand. The six verses in the ESV translation state, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. As part of the Torah, the Shema goes back to the time when Moses made that particular speech in the desert after the Exodus, that is, the speech in which he said the Shema. As a formal declaration of belief recited twice daily, a case can be made for reciting the Shema being initiated during the late 2nd Temple period during the 1st century BC, but not later than the 2nd century BC, as formal prayer services were formulated. I found this information on a site where a Jewish rabbi was discussing the history of Judaism. It was upheld by others I found as well. If this is the case, and the Jews of that time were considering this to be a formal declaration of faith, this Shema prayer, then James is probably upholding a true obedience to the Torah rather than one that is simply uttered through a prayer. Remember, Israel was about to face judgment, and a law-based repentance was to happen to prepare the lost sheep for their Messiah. and bring them back into good standing with the Lord Yahweh. It would prepare them for receiving the message of reconciliation that would come after the cross. The teachers of the law and Pharisees that Jesus called sons of the devil were not living lives of true faith and they did not love God. They loved their own versions of righteousness. John the Baptist and Christ Jesus ministered to the Jews to save those who were called from the coming wrath and destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in 70 AD. I'm getting back to James. Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, he says. Now faith apart from works is useless? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works. And the scripture was fulfilled that says Abraham believed God and was counted to him as righteousness, and he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. That is a very strong statement, and he meant it. At the cross, Jesus said, And it was finished. According to ancient Hebrew thought, the spirit also is necessary for life. Jesus gave up his spirit to his father Yahweh, God, and went to Sheol to sleep. His spirit returned to him, and his physical body was risen from the dead on the third day to display to those who followed him that he had defeated death. The rest of those in Sheol would not need physical resurrection. Spiritual death was what we inherit through Adam, and these bodies would have no use in heaven anyways. Jesus would have ditched this human body at the ascension and the beginning of Acts. I'll stop there, though, to keep on track. My point I wanted to make here is that James is using a heavy emphasis on just how dead faith is without works. I think this is simply because the first century Jews had fallen so far from obedience to God's holy law that they may have felt praying the Shema and having faith was more than enough to please God. They were likely very lazy about pleasing God. In fact, Peter and Paul record them as being hardened by God as a people and under a curse. We have enough evidence in the Bible to go to for proof of the first century Jews and prior not pleasing God. Malachi let them know this very descriptively 400 years before John the Baptist came, saying the same thing followed by Christ Jesus. This fact carried on until the day of the Lord put a final end to the practice of the law and established a new and everlasting covenant for the new age, which at that time was about to come with the new temple, the new covenant, and the new age. James chapter 3. Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. This passage is often used to scare people who teach something we don't like, isn't it? But what is the context of the passage? We again see a parallel to the teaching of Jesus and Matthew's gospel. At that time, the disciples came to Jesus saying, who is the greatest? And this is Matthew 18. Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And calling to him a child, he put in the midst of them and said, Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one child in my name receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Both are referring here to teachers of the law in these passages. The hypocrite teachers of the law and Pharisees were influencing others to fall into their sin with them. They were the leaders of the day and they were evil and corrupt, causing many to follow in their footsteps. I think we're seeing a similar thing happening today. James chapter 4. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly. To spend it on your passions. This passage really reminds me of Paul describing himself under law. But Paul was revealed a mystery before his writing, so we see it from a completely different perspective. Let's look at Romans chapter 7. Paul says, What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means. Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, you shall not covet. But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetedness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me, and through it killed me. So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. Did that which is good then bring me to death? By no means. It was sin producing death in me, through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh sold under sin. I do not understand my own actions. Verse 2. Verse 3. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, the evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God! So that's Paul describing what it was like being under law. He has come to a full understanding of the cross, the resurrection, the gospel. This passage shows us the strong contrast in mindset before and after the cross. Teaching about the law after the cross was very different than teaching the law before the cross. Our Lord said many things to the Jews that he was directing at them specifically. Audience relevance is so important when we read our Bible. Jesus is not talking directly to us. We have to realize that. Many try and apply these teachings to Christians today to their own destruction. It is the same situation in this letter of James. Is it holy? Is it spiritual? Is it God-breathed? Yes, I think so, but only in the context in which the author intended it. James chapter 4. You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? This passage is very interesting. I had to look up several translations to get to the bottom of this one. The way it reads didn't make any sense to me at all. What I see is a bad translation in my ESV. The word spirit is not capitalized, which is correct, signifying that he does not refer to the Holy Spirit. That helps, but it still makes no sense that God yearns jealously over the spirit he made to dwell in us. What is that supposed to mean? Before we get into a better translation of this passage, I want to point out that if you look up the scripture he refers to, you're not going to find it. He was either summing up what he sees in scripture, or he refers to a scripture that we don't have. Evidently, people have not found it in any extra-biblical writings either. If you know where it is, let me know. I would love to have that detail. In regards to the spirit, it would be a general use of the term as the word spirit here is translated from the Greek word pneuma. which can mean the wind, breath, to breathe, blow. Essentially like soul, suki, it is reference to life or our life force. Jung's literal translation seems to bring more clarity to this passage, but the language is challenging because of how literal it really is. I found in my newer NIV version, they write it the same way, pretty much as the ESV, but they offer a second suggestion in the notes at the side or on the bottom that I also find in whatever version my Hebrew and Greek interlinear Bible uses. And both of them are claimed to be literal translations. So in a literal translation, it would read like this. You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world, makes himself an enemy of God? Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the scripture says the spirit he caused to dwell in us envies? Now that literally makes sense now. Our spirit or life force that he made to dwell in us envies. That definitely is not referring to the Holy Spirit. Envy is not the fruit of the spirit of our Lord. This would refer more to a spiritually dead individual and makes far more sense in the context of what he says afterward, and just more sense in general. As he continues, James says, But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, therefore, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. From my vantage point, he's not talking about reconciled people here. And he's not sharing the gospel that seals us with the Holy Spirit. He goes on in a similar fashion throughout his letter. We went over most of this and more in my introduction to James, if you haven't listened to it. So James chapter 5, he says, Come now. You rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver have corroded and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you. And the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts." You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. You have condemned. You have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. The Lord of Hosts term was used a lot in this knock, which is the Old Testament in our Bibles, whereas the Torah is the first five books called the law, even though the events in Genesis were before the law of Moses. They still refer to the Torah as the law. But he is clearly aiming at the teachers of law and Pharisees here in this passage, the same way Jesus did in Matthew 5-7. And just as Jesus taught throughout his entire ministry, they were living in the last days of the Old Covenant age. The Pharisees had fattened their hearts in a day of slaughter, James says. It was not looking good for those Pharisees at that time, and it didn't end well for those who killed our Messiah. But who is the righteous person in this passage? Well, there are more options than just Jesus. John the Baptist and many of the former prophets were described as righteous. It could mean all of them. Israel loved to kill their prophets, the ones who would be sent warning them to repent before a coming judgment. He also happens to mention prophets in the next paragraph, as a matter of fact. James chapter 5, verse 10. As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. Now we're getting near the end of the letter, and we just have a few more items to address. James 5.13 reads, Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church. First, let's address the word church here. It would be effortless to say that he said church. That has to be the body of Christ. That has to be after the cross, based on that alone. I admit that at first glance, I thought that when I was reviewing the letter. However, the Greek word church is translated from the word ecclesia, and the usage of the word is not exclusive to the New Covenant body of Christ. It could mean something very different than it did in the New Covenant body of Christ, actually. Sayers defines the word with several options. I don't agree with some of them, but I'm going to read through them anyways. Any of which can be placed in Jewish assemblies prior to the cross. Elders also are not specific to the Christian faith. There were elders among the Jews as well. So Thayer's definition of church reads this way. A. An assembly of the people convened at the public space of the council for the purpose of deliberating. B. The assembly of the Israelites. C. Any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously. And then D, in a Christian sense, we have one, an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting. Two, a company of Christian or those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake. Three, those who anywhere in a city, village, And now we're sure they got that one. Probably just going for all denominations, I suppose. The point being, though, is this could have been an assembly of Jewish followers of Christ prior to the cross. Another indication of this can be found in the statement in verse 15. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Now under the new covenant, sins have all been forgiven by the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. In accordance with the law and the new covenant, blood would need to be shed for the forgiveness of more sins. Christ Jesus' blood was a once and for all sacrifice. The fact that he mentioned sins being forgiven by another method places this outside of the new covenant in my analysis. Under the law, when people were still facing punishment for sins, illness was something that might be a result of sin. We can see examples of this even in Revelation, when Jesus is going to put Jezebel, the false teacher, in a sickbed if she did not repent, along with those who followed her. God does not punish Christians. These people were false believers among them. Our wages have been paid. The wages of sin is death. So, illness among the non-faithful could have been a warning to cause someone to turn to the Lord. This passage reminds me again of how Jesus spoke, telling people, Your sins are forgiven. Now go on and sin no more. This is how he spoke when he was healing. Healing was going on in the times of Jesus' ministry, and it was said that many of the ailments were caused by sin. Demons were also cast out in the name of the Lord. The apostles did these things when Jesus sent out the twelve and later the seventy. During the 40-year timeframe of what we describe as the second exodus, from the beginning of Jesus' ministry to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, miracles were going on all over the place. These were signs and wonders for Israel and fulfillment of prophecy. Now back to James. I do not find it ironic that he uses prophets as reference in regards to faith. We're looking at old covenant faith here. James goes on, Based on what we learned about soul, he could simply be talking about the fiery judgment coming and the death that would follow. Why only a multitude of sins though? That doesn't sound like reconciliation to me. Christ Jesus blots out all of our transgressions according to scripture. He nailed them to the cross. We are dead to sin as Christians and alive to God. We don't need a multitude of sins forgiven in the new covenant age. We have something better. Something that I believe was not yet revealed to James in this letter. James, all through his letter, calls the 12 tribes of Israel to a loving obedience to God, faith in Christ the Messiah, and obedience to God's law. As I went over in the first episode, it is like a second Sermon on the Mount in many ways. James exhibits a strong spiritual drive and without a doubt wants to please his Lord, and most of all, lead others to do the same. He certainly played a huge role in leading the lost sheep of Israel back to where they were meant to be. He played a role in the salvation of many and saved many in Christ Jesus from the coming judgment that would claim the lives of the masses. I hold this letter in high regard. I believe it is divinely inspired and belongs in our scripture. I also believe like many writings in scripture, it can be used to lead people away from Christ Jesus and into a self-righteousness like the hypocrite Pharisees promoted, just as Peter said about Paul. 2 Peter 3.14 says, Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace, and count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him. as he does in all his letters, when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus. To him be glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. I'm not here to tell you what to think or what to believe. I hope that our Lord gives you a desire to seek what is true. You will not find this view in your favorite study Bible that gives you one view on everything and places itself in your Bible as if it has all scriptural authority. I don't think there's anything more damaging than a study Bible, actually. No commentary deserves to be placed in our scripture, guiding us and shaping our thinking however it pleases. The Spirit of God is the guide for the Christian. Seeking truth, to me, should be more like journalism. You don't just listen to your favorite person and stop asking questions. You dig in until you find the truth. You certainly don't believe something just because the mainstream tells you that is how you should think. It is my observation, and this is not new historically, that as a culture we have lost sight of sincere truth-seeking and true journalism, for that matter. I don't see journalism when I turn on the news. I don't see seeking in the church buildings. I see people teaching and believing as they are told. No real questions being asked. I know that God's light shines bright in the darkness though and I know that Yahweh God is in control even when things seem out of control. We live in an amazing age. We have so much information at our disposal. Seeking truth has never been this easy. Amen. Amen. Amen. 2 Corinthians 5.17, that was Paul the Apostle. You are a new creation. You are alive to God. You have been reconciled. It is finished, you guys. Enjoy the life that Christ has blessed us with

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through his resurrection. Thank you for joining us today. This podcast is brought to you by Waking Up to Grace Ministries. You can visit our blog page, add comments, or reach us privately from our contact form at wakinguptograce.com.