The 15th and 16th "Proverbs" of James Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise. 14 Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord. …
The problem of the relationship between faith, justification, and works is as old as the church itself. James addresses the issue in the second of his three meditations (James 2:14-26). But in the Protestant world, justification is associated with Paul’s letter to the Romans far more than James 2, so I want to begin in …
I am not going to consider all sixteen “proverbs” nor all three “sermons” in James. His “proverbs,” even long ones that stretch the definition of a proverb, are best understood through meditation, not exegesis. I will therefore leave most of the text alone and invite you to meditate upon it. But given that this was …
Continue reading Poverty, Wealth, Temptation, Life, and Death (James 1:9-16
James is possibly the deepest and most profound New Testament book. It is wisdom literature in the tradition of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Sirach. As such it resists academic-style exegesis because it is not speaking to the intellect. Each discreet segment is designed to be read and digested slowly through meditation and prayer. As a result, …
Just Another Jim 