Epistle Of James

 Your findings How to read letters  Who is James?  Criticism  Text references  Themes

Your Findings  Strong language. Harsh  Advisory

How to read letters/epistles  Form of Letters  Exegesis: Context, context, context  Hermeneutics: 2 rules  Hermeneutics: problems

Form  1 – Name of the writer √  2 – Name of the recipient √  3 – Greetings X/√  4 – Prayer wish or thanksgiving X  5 – Body √  6 – Final greeting and farewell X

Exegesis  Context, Context, Context!  The Historical Context  Jewish  James is easy

 The Literary Context  Methaphors (1:10, 1:23-24)  Paradox (1:4-5)  Repetition (1:13-14)  Paragraphs! (KJV)

Hermeneutics: two rules  What is cultural and what is not?  Rule #1 – a text cannot mean what it

never could have meant to its author or his readers  Rule #2 – Whenever we share

comparable particulars with the firstcentury hearers, God’s Word to us is the same as his Word to them

Hermeneutics: problems Extended application:  Uncomparable particulars (food

sacrificed to idols?)  Cultural relativity (women’s position in Church?) Task Theology

Who is James?  James the Apostle? Acts 12:1-17  James, Jesus’ brother? Mat 13:55

Acts 21:17-19  Another person, using James’ name?

Criticism  1: Almost no mentioning of Christ

(judgement and grace)  2: Not written by an apostle (only 8 books of the NT were)  3: no structure (implicit structure)  4: not respected by early church, only accepted incrementally (true, but so were most books)

Text references  To understand the NT, know the OT!  Don’t skip over references, look

them up!  Abraham (sure…) and Rahab (?!?!?)  Joshua 2:1

Themes?  James 1 –  James 2 –  James 3 –  James 4 –  James 5 –

Themes?  James 1 – Trials, Hearing & doing

(Religion?)  James 2 –  James 3 –  James 4 –  James 5 –

Themes?  James 1 – Trials, Hearing & doing  James 2 – Hearing & doing, Faith &

deeds  James 3 –  James 4 –  James 5 –

Themes?  James 1 – Trials, Hearing & doing  James 2 – Hearing & doing, Faith &

deeds  James 3 – Tongue, good vs. Bad

wisdom  James 4 –

Themes?  James 1 – Trials, Hearing & doing,  James 2 – Hearing & doing, Faith &

deeds  James 3 – Tongue, good vs. Bad

wisdom  James 4 – Submission, Deo Volente

Themes?  James 1 – Trials, Hearing & doing  James 2 – Hearing & doing, Faith &

deeds  James 3 – Tongue, good vs. Bad

wisdom  James 4 – Submission, Deo Volente

Next Week  Specifically James 2 and 3  James vs. Paul  Application (Hermeneutics)