Characteristics of a Bond-Servant

Transcript

GR 1639
5/6/2012
Characteristics of a Bond-Servant
James 1:1
Gil Rugh

I want to direct your attention to the book of James. I’d like to start a study of this epistle. Toward the back of your New Testament. The book of James is one of the epistles classified as the catholic or general epistle, the word catholic there being used of the general not Roman catholic. Epistles that are identified as general in the sense they’re not addressed to a specific church or a specific individual, not like to the church at Philippi or the letter to Timothy. These are general in nature, directed to a group of believers, as we’ll take note of in a moment. This would include not only James but the epistles following: 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and the epistle of Jude. They bear the name, but the name is the author of the letter, not the individuals to whom they are addressed. So we have 1 Timothy, but it has its name because Paul wrote it to Timothy. But we have the epistle of James because it was written by James—the same with the letters of Peter, the letters of John, and the letter of Jude.

It’s a book that in church history had some controversy associated with it. There was discussion over its acceptance even into the canon because one of the first things considered was, was it written by an apostle? Even though there was a James who was an apostle, he’s not the author of this letter. So it took a while, some of the Reformers—Luther—had struggled with James, because James’s emphasis on justification has to do with the outworking of justification in our conduct and practice. And Luther was doing battle over justification by faith, salvation by faith. And so, he did not hold James in as high esteem as the letters of Paul, which fit more with where the battles that he was facing. But the early church and down through church history James has been written, recognized as part of our inspired scripture. And as we move through it I think the evidence of it being an inspired portion of the word of God is strong and clear. It’s a letter and it follows the pattern of a letter of the times. It opens up by identifying the writer and those that he is writing to and gives a word of greeting. It’s brief, there are no people specifically addressed, no unfolding, expanded greetings, and at the conclusion of the letter we won’t find a list of people-being-addressed referenced like often at the end of Paul’s letter. In that sense it’s brief in its introduction, but it is a letter, he’ll move through a variety of subjects, but he’ll be concerned to demonstrate that true salvation is worked out in the life, and without the manifestation of the work of God’s grace in our lives there is no real salvation that could take place. He’ll have some strong things to say about that.

But first we will look at verse 1. “James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: greeting.” And after that brief greeting he’ll launch into the letter itself. The name James was a popular name of the time. I believe it’s used over 40 times in the New Testament, might be 42 times, don’t hold me to that. But somewhere in there, the name James. In the margin of your bible, sometimes by the name James, like in mine, the first one, you have Jacob. And so the translation has come over to us in James, but it could have been translated Jacob.

We’re going to stick with James, that’s what it’s been identified as and the name we’re familiar with, this translation of it. That’s pretty consistent in the names in the New Testament. There are at least four different men with the name James that we are familiar with. We’re not going to look at all of them, but two of them were apostles. James of Alphius, James the son of Alphius, listed among the list of the apostles in Mark 3. But the writer of this letter doesn’t claim to be an apostle, doesn’t identify himself as such. There’s a James mentioned in Luke 16 who was the father of Judas, not Judas Iscariot, so he’s just a name that appears. There’s James of Zebedee, and I mentioned him, he’s another one of the apostles. He is the most well known other than I think the James of this letter, because he was one of the three inner circle apostles: Peter, James, and John. Well James, the son of Zebedee, his brother was John, remember Jesus called them the sons of thunder. So you have James who’s the brother of John, who wrote the gospel of John and the epistles of John. You think, well maybe he was the writer of the letter with his prominence, being one of the inner circle, Peter, James, and John. Well Peter wrote 2 letters, the first and second letters of Peter, and of course John wrote the gospel of John and the epistles of John, as well as the book of Revelation.

You would think the other member of that inner circle might be the author of this letter. The problem was, you remember when we studied the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 12, Harod Agripa had James, the brother of John, executed. That occurred about 44 A.D. That would probably be too early for him to be the author of this letter. This is an early letter, but it was probably written a little later in the 40’s. So since James, we can identify his time of death as 44 A.D., would have been too early for him to be the author of the letter. I think the James that we’re talking about here is the James who was the brother, half-brother, of Jesus, the brother of Jude, who wrote the letter to Jude. Back up to Galatians, Galatians chapter 1, verse 19: “When Paul,” he’s talking about going up to Jerusalem on one of his visits, he said, “but I did not see any of the other apostles, except James the Lord’s brother.” Well there, clearly, a James the brother of the Lord. He was prominent enough to be often referred to just by James. You’re in Galatians, look over in chapter 2 verse 12, “for prior to the coming of certain men from James.”

James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem, which of course by very nature of its location was a Jewish—made up of Jews—church in Jerusalem. James the prominent person there. So he’s known by just the name James. If you turn over to the book of Jude, all the way back just before the book of Revelation, that little one-chapter letter. Starts out, “Jude, a bond-servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.” So these two are brothers, half-brothers if you will, of the Lord. Of course, Christ not having an earthly father, but they all shared the same mother. These would have been children born to Mary and Joseph after the conception and birth of Christ. And there are four brothers and several sisters, we don’t know how many. We’ll take note of that in a moment. He’s mentioned in the book of Acts, we saw him. He was the leader in the council that took place in Jerusalem.

Why don’t you come back to Acts, chapter 15. He’s mentioned in chapter 12, he’s mentioned in chapter 21, but in chapter 15 you have the council at Jerusalem, which was a major event in the life of the early church, and in Acts chapter 15 when they come up to have the council, you see verse 13, “and after they had stopped speaking, James answered and said, ‘Brethren,’” and so he brings the conference there then to its focused conclusion. Renders how he sees thing and the church at Jerusalem then puts its support behind Paul and the gospel he has been preaching, resolving at least for the church, the true church, the Judaism issue—do gentiles have to be circumcised and follow the law of Moses as part of their salvation? And the answer is no. So James prominent here.

Come back to the book of Matthew, I mentioned he’s the brother of the Lord. Now Matthew chapter 13, verse 55, in his home town, this is the response of the people in Jesus’ home town, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” Referring to Joseph. “Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, and Joseph and Simon and Judas,” not Judas Iscariot, the Judas we know as Jude, who wrote the book of Jude. So there you see James and Judas or Jude, who wrote the book we just read where he said he was the brother of James. Two other brothers here we don’t know anything about. Then he also has sisters. Roman Catholic theology, trying to sustain the perpetual virginity of Mary, said “well the word translated here as brothers should be cousins,” but there’s no evidence of “Adelphos” being used to mean cousins. You have to have a blood connection to a parent for that identification. So, here is the James we’re talking about.

Come over to John chapter 7. Interestingly, Jesus’ brothers were not believers in Him during His earthly ministry. In John chapter 7, verse 5. There they’re talking to him about going into Judea and Jerusalem for a coming feast, but in verse 5 we are told by John, “Not even his brothers were believing in Him.” We are about 7 months before the crucifixion at this period of time. So they had not come to believe in Him, having been raised in the same home, day after day as he was raised to adulthood and being exposed then to his ministry, then he took on his ministry at about 30 years of age, and they still now as we are approaching in the last year of his life they are still not believers. Not even his brothers were believing in Him. You come over to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, and Paul talks about the appearances of Christ after His resurrection from the dead. And after His death burial and resurrection he appeared to eyewitnesses. Verse 5 of 1 Corinthians 15, “He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve, then to more than 500 brethren at one time.” Verse 7, “then he appeared to James, and to all the apostles” that would be the James we’re talking about here. Evidently at this time His brothers became believers. The grace of God that Christ manifested in Himself, demonstrating who He was by His resurrection from the dead, and they became believers, and then are used by the Lord to write the letter of James and Jude to write the letter of Jude.

You can find them there with the apostles, having at the prayer meeting in Acts chapter 1, there with Mary their mother and find the brothers of the Lord being there as well. So, all that to say this seems to be the James who writes this letter. He’s prominent, he’s well known, well known in early church history. He was stoned to death by the scribes and Pharisees in 62 A.D. We can date that from the early writings; Josephus confirms that, the early Jewish historian. That he was stoned to death it said, by the Pharisees and scribes for refusing to deny Jesus Christ in about 62 A.D.—writing this letter later in the 40’s, 48, 49 A.D., somewhere in there the letter of James.

Alright, come back to the letter of James. Knowing something of who he is and his background. He identifies himself, not as the brother of the Lord. Jude did not identify himself that way either. He’s James, a bond-servant of God. A bond-servant. We get that hyphenated expression “bond-servant”—two words—hyphenated, it’s really the translation of one Greek word, doulos. Doulos is a slave. Often translated just servant, sometimes bearing the words bond-servant. Would’ve probably been simpler if it had been translated slave, the dual word of bond-servant—unusual expression for us today. But the word simply means a slave. Emphasizes that the master has complete control over this one. This one is totally submissive and responsible to the one who has authority over him: his master, the one who will be called Lord in a moment. Kurios, master, who has total authority over the slave. William Barclay draws the following implications from being a slave. Number one, it implies absolute obedience. A slave has no rights of his own. He’s bound to give absolute, unquestioning obedience to his master. So, identifying himself as doulos, a slave of the Lord, the one to whom he gives absolute obedience. Secondly, it implies absolute humility. It’s a word that emphasizes your duties and responsibilities, not your privileges. It’s not a matter of rights, it’s a matter of obligation. It’s a slave. I am one with obligations to fulfill. A slave doesn’t boast about his privileges and rights, it’s rather a position of humility.

That’s how James identifies himself. I’m a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Barclay goes on to say it implies absolute loyalty. Your preferences, your personal gains and benefits, aren’t part of the calculation. What is required here to demonstrate complete loyalty, allegiance to my master. It can imply a certain pride when you get the Old Testament background because in the Old Testament some of the greatest servants of the Lord were identified in this way. When they translated the Old Testament into Greek that’s the word they used to identify the servants of the Lord and the slaves of the Lord. Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joshua who succeeded Moses, all identified as the servants or slaves of the Lord. It’s a title used of the prophets: My servants the prophets. Isaiah bore the title, Amos bore the title, Zachariah bore the title, Jeremiah bore the title. So in that sense, it is an honored position. What more honor could you have than be a slave of the living God. I belong to Him. To have a life that has one purpose and that is to carry out His will. It implies absolute dependence. In that sense, you’re totally dependent on the master.


Remember when Paul wrote to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 6:20, says, you’re not your own, you’re bought with a price. “Therefore glorify God in your body”. And I am the complete responsibility, if you will, of my master. He makes all provision for me, because I have nothing of my own. Not even my body is my own, I belong to Him. But I have a master who completely provides for me, cares for me. The word not only used of James but is a consistent word used of believers in the New Testament, and the responsibilities that they have. Simplifies our life, doesn’t it? We worry about so many things, and so many pressures that seem to come in on us, then we stop and say wait a minute, I am a slave. I belong to the Lord. It is His will that I carry out. That’s my purpose in life. And I’m secure. Didn’t Jesus tell His followers to not to worry about the things of this life? That’s what the unbelieving world worries about. Your Father knows what you have need of. Don’t you think He’ll take care of you? So the analogy there of a father.

Same thing is true of the slave. My master provides for me. My master meets my needs. Beautiful picture. James says he is a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. You note here they are put on the same level. I am a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man can serve two masters so there’s no difference here. They are both God. I serve God and the Lord Jesus Christ. What a transformation has taken part in James’s life. The one that we read about in John 7 who was not believing in Him now is proud to identify himself not in his family relationship as a brother, but as a slave. One devoted to carry out the will of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Christ made clear John chapter 5 verse 23, “it is the intention of the Father that all honor the Son, even as they honor the father. And he who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. (paraphrased)” We are slaves of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. James is fond of this word lord to refer to Christ. Kurios. Uses it I believe 13 times in these 5 chapters in referring to God or Christ. He is the Lord. Remember what Jesus said? “Why do you call me Lord, Lord and do not do the things I tell you, I command you? Am I your Lord, your Master, you my slave? Well, why don’t you do what I tell you?” You know, God makes it so simple for us in that sense. We call him the Lord Jesus Christ, then we fuss and fret and worry and complain. Wait a minute, wait a minute. Is He my Lord? Do I belong to Him? Is my life lived in submissive obedience to Him? Then it’s His problem, not mine right? Isn’t that basically what Peter wrote? “Casting all your care upon Him, because He cares for you.” The basically the truth right? I mean, I’m a slave, He’s the master. All my worries, all my concerns, I give over to Him. Another analogy, He’s my Father. The picture so clear.

James is writing to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad. To the twelve tribes of the dispersion. The twelve tribes; pretty simple. Who are the twelve tribes? Well, the twelve tribes make up the nation Israel, right? The dispersion, the diaspora: means to sow, to scatter. It happened to the Jews as a result of the punishment of God. The Assyrians conquered the northern ten tribes and carried them away into foreign lands outside their homeland of Palestine. Then the Babylonians came and carried away the southern kingdom to Babylon. They were dispersed out of their land among the Gentiles. That’s what the diaspora is, it’s the scattering of the Jews outside their homeland. In spite of that, let me give you an example of how sometimes these passages are handled. This comes from a commentary series, different authors in the different commentaries and the different books. But to be an author in this you have to be committed to the inherency of Scripture. So I haven’t picked out somebody off the wall. He writes concerning the twelve tribes who dispersed abroad. “The recipients of the letter who possessed the messianic faith and therefore were the church, are named literally the twelve tribes in the dispersion. The diaspora. The Greek word diaspora is related to the verb diaspora, to sow or to scatter. Dispersion points first of all to Israel. Since the time of the Assyrian captivity of the ten tribes, diaspora, it’s used that way. This noun is only used 3 times in the New Testament.

John chapter 7 verse 35, when the Jews said, where is He going, that we can’t follow Him. Is He going to the diaspora? Is He going to leave Israel, the land, and go out into gentile parts to minister to Jews? Then it’ll be used by Peter, we’ll note that in a moment. The use of the term here, however, has been extended to apply to all the people of god in Christ. The noun diaspora has been used 3 times. John 7:35 it refers to the Jews living among the Gentiles. But here and in 1 Peter 1:1 it is used the reference is to the inclusive people of God who are scattered throughout the earth. The idea of the church as the restored Israel appears in the new testament in several key passages.” We don’t have time to refer to these passages; we have on other occasions. None of them refer to calling the church Israel. He goes on to say, “The sense here is that the church is the continuation of God’s people Israel in a representative sense.

James identifies believers as the twelve tribes. “ Now listen to this, a statement of confidence. “No matter how one views Israel in it’s ongoing relationship to God, the term here is unequivocally being applied to the church of Jesus Christ.” Says who? Says this man. He’s a scholar. “It may also be suggested that the twelve tribes is meant to correspond with the diversity of Gentile origins, or identities that are present in the church.” We’ve moved so far from the original meaning, now the twelve tribes can be used symbolically to refer to the diversity we have in the church of Gentiles being from all different backgrounds. How do you get here?

I… He closes on this section. “ Thus the theme of diaspora governs the entire letter. Indeed its closing verse emphasizes the return to God from wandering in sin. But all of God’s people share together the experience of exile, where trials and temptations are characterized by a life of faith. Only through the profound wisdom and leading of God can they and will they endure. Indeed, in this way the letter presumes an interpretive standpoint for all of scripture for believers of whatever origin. For they are part of the twelve tribes of the true Israel in Jesus Christ.” I just don’t understand. You’re committed to the inherency of scripture and you wander off from the clear simple meaning. He’s writing to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Even amillenialist writers like in the Hendrickson series, who is an avowed, avid amillenialist, acknowledges here the twelve tribes have to be referring to Israel, scattered. Why do people come up with different interpretations of scripture? Because they don’t like the clear simple meaning. Somewhere along the line we’ve moved from the twelve tribes written by this man, the head of the church in Jerusalem, who is very Jewish in his makeup and leadership as the letter reveals, writing to the twelve tribes in the diaspora, and somehow we’ve come to that this means the diversity of Gentiles in the church. When we move away from the simple, normal interpretation of scripture we just open the door to all kind of flights and to say it unequivocally here is referring to the church. What would make you say that? Everyone agrees it’s a very Jewish letter in its orientation.

All right, so the twelve tribes are the twelve tribes. Come over to 1 Peter, just after James. Peter writes, “To those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen.” That literally, we’ve got it translated interestingly? I think is what Gil was trying to say here). To the elect sojourners of the diaspora. To the elect sojourners of the diaspora. Then he tells where they’ve been scattered. Where the diaspora, the scattering is. They’re in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. Why would you think he’s not writing to Jews? Let’s accept the scripture and what it says, not decide, oh, some who acknowledge James has to be writing to the Jews, say but Peter is obviously writing to Gentiles. He’s writing to the diaspora. He even tells you where they are. That helps when you come to chapter 2 incidentally, down in verse 9, and you’ll not it’s a quote from the Old Testament. “ You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession.” He’s not talking about Gentiles, the church being a holy nation. He’s talking about these Jews are the holy nation. They are the elect remnant. They are part of the church to be sure, but they also serve the purpose of what? Showing and carrying on God’s faithfulness to the nation Israel. Gentiles are not a holy nation. That’s why he quotes this from the Old Testament. He’s talking about Jews. Go back and who’s he writing to? The diaspora. Oh but he’s writing to Gentiles. We have our mind made up on what we decide the theology’s going to be, so then we read it into the passage. No, he’s writing to the diaspora, the sojourners, the elect sojourners of the diaspora. Now of course, they’re members of the church, like Paul. But Paul didn’t stop being a Jew. I’m of the tribe of Benjamin. That’s a manifestation of God’s faithfulness. And elect Jews today who have trusted in Christ are that remnant in the nation that shows God has not cast off his People. And that small elect remnant of Jews who are believers who are part of the church today also are the holy nation continuing, even though God is not dealing with the nation as a nation. They are the elect nation. But I’m not. Most of you here are not, because we’re not Jews.

Alright, come back to James. He’s writing to the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion. So Jews who have trusted Christ, and are living outside the land. James is headquartered in Jerusalem. He’s the leader in the church at Jerusalem. Paul acknowledges that in Galatians and also saw it in Acts. But he’s writing to believing Jews who are out in other places. Been scattered and are there. He writes with authority. There’s 5 chapters here. There’s 108 verses. There are 54 imperative commands. In average every other verse contains a command. That’s not the way it breaks out but I mean you have 54 commands and 108 verses. You can see, this is a letter given with authority, as you would expect from James. We see him in his input in the counsel in Jerusalem. Not afraid to speak up and say, Here’s what needs to be done. Here’s what you must do. It’s the most Jewish of all the letters of the New Testament. We’ll see that as we move through; has a lot of affinity with the sermon on the mount. And the Old Testament background will come out repeatedly. It’s a New Testament letter, starts out that way. He is writing as a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. But he’s writing to Jewish believers and it will have that Jewish flavor that they can relate to, drawing on their background, but also is for us to benefit from today as the church comprised of Gentiles. He gives a word of greeting. Greetings. Interestingly, this word, not an uncommon word, but it’s never used by Paul in his letters of greeting, in his greetings. But to the Jews by James, in the letter, to give the results of the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 there’s that greetings.

Same here. Greetings. And again, shows something of the connection. It’s his evidently normal way of starting to give the word. Also word could be translated Joy. But in this context greetings would be a --- expression there of warmth and joy in this greeting that he is giving. Then he’s ready to tell them, “consider it all joy my brethren when you encounter various trials.” The thrust of this letter is that faith must be alive. Saving faith is always alive. It’s always working. It’s always active. James is not primarily concerned as much of Paul’s letters are, with the doctrinal content. But with the practical outworking of faith. Here’s what you must be doing as God’s people. You can see that background in the Old Testament with that emphasis, that God’s people must be conducting themselves according to God’s will. That’s true for the Church of course. Paul though often spends time developing the theology, then he tells them, now walk in this way. James is more consumed with talking about the walk that comes out of the faith. You’ll be clear that the faith must be there, but if it is truly there, it will be alive. An alive faith is an active faith, it is a doing faith. That will be the key of the letter. Perhaps chapter 2 verse 17 can be taken here a s a key statement. “Even so, faith if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.” Key statement we often go to. Faith without works is dead. Not saved by works, we’ll talk about that. But saving faith always is manifest in action. Evidently James is concerned that these believing Jews perhaps were cooling of in their ardor of service. May relate to why he identifies himself as a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Not the slave’s prerogative to rest and take his ease. But Jesus said what? “When you have done everything you’ve been commanded,” say, wow, I’ve been successful? No, He says, “at the best you’ve been an unprofitable slave.” Why? You only did what you were commanded. So, James is concerned that you’re professing the faith, but the manifestation of that faith ought to be stronger, ought to be clearer. That pervades all areas of life. As I mentioned there’s much similarity in content between the letter of James and the sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5, 6, and 7. Also, the book of Proverbs. The exhortations there find connection here in the book of James. So very practical epistle, very pertinent to the way we live our lives as God’s people.

Let’s pray together.

Thank You Lord for this letter of James. Pray that it’s truths as we work our way through it will grip our hearts and minds. Been good for us to be reminded even at the beginning that even as James was, so are we. We are slaves of You, our God and of our Lord Jesus Christ. That ought to be evident in all aspects of our lives because we live for You. We are slaves of God and of righteousness and that is to characterize every part of life. May we be faithful to You as we serve You in the days of the week before us. Bless the High School students and their families as the gather together and celebrate the graduation. We commit ourselves to You. In Christ’s name, Amen