Christ in James

Christ Connection - Tested & Perfected

Jesus was tested in all things yet without sin. His trials did not break Him; they perfected His obedience. Hebrews says "though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (5:8). In the same way, your trials, when met with faith, perfect you. You are learning the mind of Christ - how to trust the Father even when the path is hard.

Christ Connection - The Faith That Unmakes Status

Jesus came into the world and did the opposite of what James’ assembly does. He rejected the symbols of worldly power. He touched lepers. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He washed the feet of His disciples. He said that when we welcome the hungry, the stranger, the prisoner, we welcome Him (Matt. 25). The faith that unites us to that Lord cannot coexist with a faith that honors wealth over character, appearance over soul. To have the faith of Jesus is to have had o…

Christ Connection - The Sinless Word

The apostle Peter testifies of Christ: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth” (1 Pet 2:22). Jesus stumbled in no word. His tongue was perfect in this sense - always measured, always true, always in service to the Father and the good of the listener. When questioned, He answered with wisdom. When attacked, He did not lash back. When facing His accuser, He remained silent. His words reveal the perfect man.

Christ Connection - What "World" Jesus Rejected

Jesus was offered all the kingdoms of the world - glory, power, the kind of messianic role the world wanted Him to play (Matt. 4:8-10). He refused. Later, He told His disciples, "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you… Because ye are not of the world" (John 15:18-19). James is asking the same question Jesus posed: which kingdom are you actually in? Are you trying to serve two masters?

James closes his letter with his eyes lifted toward one event: the coming of the Lord. Twice in two verses he names it - Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord… for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (vv. 7-8) - and that expectation is the answer to everything the chapter raises. To the oppressed poor, whose wages the rich have kept back by fraud , it is the promise that their cry has been heard: the cries of them which have reaped are entered…