James Lesson 1

JAMES

KEY VERSE: James 1:5 – “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”

KEY WORDS: Faith, found 16 times. Works, found 15 times.

THEME: Maturity through persecution from without, through problems from within.

DATE: 45-50 A.D. (Before the Fall of Jerusalem)

WRITER: James (The half-brother of Jesus)

1) Servant of God.

2) Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3) Son of Mary and Joseph.

4) Pillar in the Church at Jerusalem.

5) Pastor of the Church at Jerusalem.

6) Called “Old Camel Knees”.

7) Thrown to death by Annias from balcony and stoned.

8) Saved after The Resurrection (I Cor. 15:7).

WRITTEN: To: Twelve tribes scattered in dispersion (1:1-2). From: Jerusalem.

THE BOOK:  Number in Bible – 59th Book of Bible.  Number of Chapters – 5.  Number of Verses – 108.  Number in Order of Writing:  20th in New Testament.

PURPOSE:  To show the conflict between inner and outer man.

Perfection – Inner Problems + Outer Persecution.

Excellence – Inner Experience + Outer Exposure.

Maturity – Inner Misery + Outer Misunderstanding.

Character – Inner Conflict + Outer Conviction.

Stability – Inner Sorrow + Outer Suffering.

DIVISIONS:  The Perfect Man:

1) Patient in Testing (Ch. 1).

2) Practices the Truth (Ch. 2).

3) Power Over the Tongue (Ch. 3).

4) Peacemaker:  Not Troublemaker (Ch. 4).

5) Prays In Trouble (Ch. 5).

OUTLINE:

Introduction:  Christ and His Brother (1:1)

I.          The Christian and His Battles (1:2-16):

1) His Testings (1:2-12).

2) His Temptations (1:13-16).

II.         The Christian and His Bible (1:17-24):

1) The Gift of the Word (1:17, 18).

2) The Grafting of the Word (1:19-22).

3) The Glass of the Word (1:23, 24).

III.       The Christian and His Brethren (2:1-13):

1) Partiality: A Sin Against the Lord (2:1-7).

2) Partiality: A Sin Against the Law (2:8-13).

IV.       The Christian and His Beliefs (2:14-26):

1) Faith versus Works: Emphatically Declare (2:14-17).

2) Faith versus Works: Energetically Debated (2:18-20).

3) Faith versus Works: Examples Delivered (2:21-26).

V.        The Christian and His Behavior (3:1; 4:12):

1) Sin Must be Revealed (3:1; 4:4).

2) Sin Must be Resisted (4:5, 10).

VI.       The Christian and His Boasting (4:13; 5:6):

1) Wrong to Boast About Our Plans (4:13, 17).

2) Wrong to Boast About our Prosperity (5-6).

VII.      The Christian and His Burdens (5:7, 20):

1) Burden of Poverty (5:7).

2) Burden of Proof (5:12).

3) Burden of Prayer (5:13, 18).

4) Burden of People (5:19, 20).

MISCELLANEOUS:  Information on the Book of James:

1) General Epistle.

2) Called Proverbs of the New Testament.

3) Probably First Book of New Testament Written.

4) Practical Guide to Christian Life and Conduct.

5) Deals With Ethics and Morals.

6) Filled With Metaphors and Figures.

CONTRAST

The Book of Hebrews:

1) Hebrews is Doctrine.

2) Paul lays the Foundation.

3) Paul talks about Heaven.

4) Paul talks about Beliefs.

The Book of James:

1) James is about Deeds.

2) James builds the Buildings.

3) James talks about Works.

4) James talks about Behaviour

Simply click the “Take the Quiz” Button to the right. Have your KJV Bible with you, and look up the answers to the questions on the quiz. You can then answer the questions from the Bible, (Open Book Test).