Tiago Exegetical

General Outline

I. Problems And Believers: 1:1-12

A. The Reason We Have Problems (1:1-4)

Temos que lembrar que a igreja primitiva acabou de ser disperse e estava de uma perseguição violenta. Então essa carta vem para simpatizar, encorajar, instruir e desafiar.

“Quando” problemas vem, não “se”. Problemas virão. (2)

2Ti 3.12

Seja uma oportunidade de alegria. (2)

Não fingir felicidade, mas olhar o lado positivo; o que vai produzir na sua vida.

Sua fé vai ser testado. (3)

Sua perseverança tem uma oportunidade de crescer.

Deixe crescer (4)

Vai ser forte em caráter e pronto para qualquer coisa.

O lugar que tudo mundo quer chegar – PRONTO.

Soldado – o que leva a ser pronto guerrear?

Atleta? Lutador?

Muito suar.

A caráter da pessoa é visto quando vem a pressão.

É fácil seu um pai amoroso nas férias e tudo mundo está relaxando, mas quando os filhos estão brigando e não tem dinheiro suficiente para pagar as contas, como você responde aos seus filhos?

É fácil ser bondoso com todas quando tudo vai ao nosso jeito, mas quando uma injustiça acontece contigo, você continuar sendo amoroso?

Você saberia se a sua corda para escalar a montanha é forte até você escorrega e se acha pendurado por ela 500m acima do chão.

Deus quer nos fazer maduro e completo, não nos protege dos problemas da vida. Até, é Ele que manda e deixa.

Então temos que parar de reclamar e murmurar. Vamos ver eles como oportunidades.

Eu não tenho problemas na minha vida, mas tenho muitas oportunidades e crescer e ver a mão de Deus operar.

Devemos agradecer Deus por eles e pelo fato que Ele estaria contigo durante. Pede que Ele resolve e dar a força para agüentar enquanto espera.

Hb 13.5

How To Resolve Problems (1:5-8)

Se você precisa de sabedoria.

Quem não precisa???

Se você quer saber do que Deus quer da sua vida???

Quem não quer???

Pedir Ele. Só isso? Somente pedir? E fazemos o que com as campanhas e propósitos e tudo que fazemos para descobrir o que Deus quer?

Como os homens complicam as coisas. Deus fala de fazer uma coisa e os homens adicionam mais quatro para garantir.

Isto é o que os fariseus fizeram e deixaram Jesus bravo com eles.

Ele responderia de boa, pois é generoso.

Não existe muito misticismo nisso.

A Sabedoria que Deus dar não é somente conhecimento, mas, a habilidade de tomar decisões sábias dentro de circunstancias difíceis.

Sabedoria quer dizer “discernimento prático”.

Ela começa com um temor por Deus

James 1:5, Job 28:28, Ps 111:10, Prov 2:6 and 29:15, 1 Cor 12:8, Col 3:16

leva a uma maneira correta de viver, e resulta numa habilidade de melhor discernir entre o que é correto e o que é errado.

Deus está disposto a nos dar essa sabedoria se os nossos alvos não são centrados em nós em vez Dele.

Para aprender a vontade de Deus, temos que ler as nossas bíblias.

Esse falso evangelho de hoje que prega e convence muias pessoas da tal vontade de Deus que eles sejam prósperos gastam horas pedindo sabedoria para que podem se tornar ricos sem ler as suas bíblias para entender o que Deus quer.

1Ti 6.6-10

Não espera nada.

Quem pede e duvida que Deus vai responder não deve esperar nada.

Por que nós não esperamos Deus responder?

Talvez o problema não está em tanto Ele respondendo, mas não respondendo na maneira que queremos.

Sl 33.4

Quando você está pra dar algo a alguém e ele fala, “Duvido que você vai me ajudar.” Você não dar mesmo.

Uma mente que duvida não está convencida que o que Deus quer realmente é melhor.

Ela trata a resposta de Deus como qualquer opinião de aceitar ou rejeitar.

Our Reward (1:12)

II. The Result Of Going Through Problems (1:9-11)

“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you” (Matthew 5:10-12).

Note on verse 9

Christians who aren’t in high positions in this world should be glad, because they are great in the Lord’s eyes.  Such people are often overlooked, even in our churches today, but they are not overlooked by God.

Note on verses 9-11

The poor should be glad that riches mean nothing to God; otherwise these people would be considered unworthy.  The rich should be glad that money means nothing to God because money is easily lost.  We find true wealth by developing our spiritual life, not by developing our financial assets.  God is interested in what is lasting (our souls), not in what is temporary (our money and possessions).  See Mark 4:18, 19 for Jesus’ words on this subject.  Strive to treat each person as Christ would treat him or her.

Note on verses 10, 11

If wealth, power, and status mean nothing to God, why do we attribute so much importance to them and so much honor to those who possess them?  Do your material possessions give you goals and your only reason for living?  If they were gone, what would be left?  What you have in your heart, not your bank account, matters to God and endures for eternity.

The poor person should take pride in his high position, the rich person should take pride in his low position. This means that a poor person should be glad that riches mean nothing to God, otherwise he would be considered unworthy. Similarly, a rich person should also be glad that money means nothing to God because money is easily lost. By taking pride, James may mean that a wealthy Christian is to take pride in trials that bring him low, perhaps including the loss of his wealth.

Although James says to take pride in your low position, it's kind of an oxymoron to take pride in humility. In Romans, Paul says he glories in his service to God, but then says in his letter to the Galatians that you can take pride in your actions as long as you test them against the teachings (law) of Christ (and presumably, find them satisfactory against that test). Paul also boasts about God-fearing churches (2 Cor 1:14, 7:4, Php 2:16) and boasts "in the Lord" (1 Cor 1:31) as does Jeremiah (9:23-24) and David (Ps 34:2, 44:8). All of the other references to pride in the Bible -- and there are many -- speak of it as sinful and warn against it.

What is the difference between God's view of wealth and the world's view?

Wealth, power, and status mean nothing to God but the world attributes much importance to them and honors those that have them. If your wealth, power, and status were gone, what would you have left? You would have what is in your heart and that, not your bank account, and that is what matters to God and endures for eternity.

he heard was how Christians were sup-posed to be rich and have stuff. Many of them said they had the desire to have a ministry in order to be a blessing to the poor. They would, and still will, do anything to achieve that goal, like sowing financial seeds expecting to become wealthy in return, or follow teachings that tell them that God’s blessings are being bestowed upon them in accord-ance with how well they manage to keep a pure and unselfish motive for having and desiring riches. “I also heard many well known preachers and pastors teach on how to unlock the secrets to your financial success, making you believe that being rich has to be seen as a sign of God’s favor and that being poor is basically a curse”, adds Edwin Ogenio.Edwin Ogenio: “Down the road many believers get disillusioned and discouraged because their dream of becoming rich ultimately did not come to pass. I started asking myself the question; “Why do we attribute so much importance to wealth, and give so much honor to those who possess them?” Do Christians who want to become wealthy really desire to help the poor while waiting for their fortune to come through? It is interes-ting to me, that for the five years of me giving out food and clothing to the poor and the needy in Los Angeles on a daily basis, I have only en-countered less than a handful of people who were doing the same thing, where only one of them was a Christian. I concluded that wealth, power and status does not mean anything to God, and that being rich or poor has nothing to do with whether you are favored by God or not.”

After all, Christ commanded us, if we loved Him, to tend to His lambs ( HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=joh+21:15-17&version=nas" John 21:15-17). HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=jas+2:15&version=nas" James 2:15 admonishes us not to ignore those in need of food or clothing. Paul and the Apostles started churches among those who were poor ( HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=ac+9:36&version=nas" Acts 9:36; HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=ac+10:4&version=nas" 10:4). Poverty was crippling in the time of Christ and so it continues to be now. The very fact that Jay had a roof over his head and the fish he despised came in a can rather than him having to catch it made him one of the wealthiest persons on the planet. So the holidays are certainly a time to think about – nay, physically assist – those less fortunate than ourselves ( HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=2co+9:9&version=nas" 2 Corinthians 9:9).

Then again, are we missing something? Consider James 1:9 – "Christians who are poor should be glad, for God has honored them." There are lots of ways to be poor, and Jesus told us they brought about blessing in the long run ( HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=mt+5:3-12&version=nas" Matthew 5:3-12). Those poor in spirit will inherit the kingdom of heaven. Those mourning loved ones will be comforted. Those who make peace rather than seeking their own profit will be called sons of God, Who chose the poor of this world to be rich in faith ( HYPERLINK "http://beta.biblestudytools.com/OnlineStudyBible/bible.cgi?passage=jas+2:5&version=nas" James 2:5). 2 Corinthians 6:10 states: "Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything."

When I read this scripture in James, I often think of the following scripture in 1 Corinthians about how God’s plan, vision, and thoughts are so different than ours.  Think about it, God honors the poor, how contradictory to how we think about poor and rich people.  I can’t even begin to describe exactly how deeply instilled in me is this thought of God’s greater plans and that His thoughts are higher than mine, yet it is in Corinthians and even in Isaiah and it is unmistakable. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.  1 Corinthians 1:27-29

And what about the rich? That’s the hard part, literally. Jesus said it’s very difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven. Those who love their life too much find it hard to lose it. James reminds us it’s the rich who "oppress us and drag us into court, blaspheming the fair name by which we’ve been called (2:6-7)." Rick Warren, in the final segment of 40 Days of Community, notes that the word "miserable" has at its root the word "miser." The love of money isn't just the source of evil, but also of depression and dissatisfaction.

I am thankful that I am not rich.  But even though I am not rich, I know that I battle with wanting “stuff.”  Not that I need stuff, but “it looks neat,” or “it would be nice to have” or some other little thought.  I wish that I didn’t have these selfish desires, but they are there and so I must continue to work at allowing God to humble my heart and mind in this area.  What has become my mainstay is that I know that none of this, nothing from this world will go with me to the next life.  Thank God for that!

Does God honor or humble us in this world?  Absolutely!  Though usually it doesn’t seem to be this way.  The poor tend to stay poor and the rich tend to have a haughty attitude.  I think that in the lives of these people, they know, even if no one else does what God has done or is doing in their life.  I hear time and again from people that have done mission work in other countries that the poorest of the poor are the ones with the greatest faith and tend to be the happiest.  Why is this?  I believe because they have been affirmed by God in their own hearts that God has honored them.  They know what awaits them in heaven.  Their whole life is to live for the Lord.

I’ve seen people that are rich have no real friends.  They are eaten up by their need to “protect” their investments or their money or wealth.  They are more stand-offish.  They tend to be uptight and overly concerned with the things of this life as opposed to the things of the life to come.  Normally they live in this world and don’t know how to live in this world living for God’s kingdom.  Picture the rich young man that turned away from Jesus saddened because he had great wealth.  How hard is it for someone who places such security in their wealth to rely solely on the Lord?  It is probably one of the most difficult things in the world.

The Rich Family in Our Church

by Eddie Ogan

I'll never forget Easter 1946. I was 14, my little sister Ocy 12, and my older sister Darlene 16. We lived at home with our mother, and the four of us knew what it was to do without many things. My dad had died 5 years before, leaving Mom with seven school kids to raise and no money. By 1946 my older sisters were married, and my brothers had left home. A month before Easter, the pastor of our church announced that a special Easter offering would be taken to help a poor family. He asked everyone to save and give sacrificially. When we got home, we talked about what we could do. We decided to buy 50 pounds of potatoes and live on them for a month. This would allow us to save $20 of our grocery money for the offering. Then we thought that if we kept our electric lights turned out as much as possible and didn't listen to the radio, we'd save money on that month's electric bill. Darlene got as many house and yard cleaning jobs as possible, and both of us baby sat for everyone we could. For 15 cents, we could buy enough cotton loops to make three pot holders to sell for $1. We made $20 on pot holders. That month was one of the best of our lives. Every day we counted the money to see how much we had saved. At night we'd sit in the dark and talk about how the poor family was going to enjoy having the money the church would give them. We had about 80 people in church, so we figured that whatever amount of money we had to give, the offering would surely be 20 times that much.

After all, every Sunday the Pastor had reminded everyone to save for the sacrificial offering. The day before Easter, Ocy and I walked to the grocery store and got the manager to give us three crisp $20 bills and one $10 bill for all our change. We ran all the way home to show Mom and Darlene. We had never had so much money before. That night we were so excited we could hardly sleep. We didn't care that we wouldn't have new clothes for Easter; we had $70 for the sacrificial offering. We could hardly wait to get to church!

On Sunday morning, rain was pouring. We didn't own an umbrella, and the church was over a mile from our home, but it didn't seem to matter how wet we got. Darlene had cardboard in her shoes to fill the holes. The cardboard came apart, and her feet got wet. But we sat in church proudly. I heard some teenagers talking about the Smith girls having on their old dresses. I looked at them in their new clothes, and I felt so rich. When the sacrificial offering was taken, we were sitting on the second row from the front. Mom put in the $10 bill, and each of us girls put in a $20. As we walked home after church, we sang all the way. At lunch Mom had a surprise for us. She had bought a dozen eggs, and we had boiled Easter eggs with our fried potatoes! Late that afternoon the minister drove up in his car. Mom went to the door, talked with him for a moment, and then came back with an envelope in her hand. We asked what it was, but she didn't say a word. She opened the envelope and out fell a bunch of money. There were three crisp $20 bills, one $10 and seventeen $1. Mom put the money back in the envelope. We didn't talk, just sat and stared at the floor.

We had gone from feeling like millionaires to feeling like poor white trash. We kids had had such a happy life that we felt sorry for anyone who didn't have our mom and dad for parents and a house full of brothers and sisters and other kids visiting constantly. We thought it was fun to share silverware and see whether we got the fork or the spoon that night. We had two knives which we passed around to whoever needed them. I knew we didn't have a lot of things that other people had, but I'd never thought we were poor. That Easter Day I found out we were. The minister had brought us the money for the poor family, so we must be poor. I didn't like being poor. I looked at my dress and worn-out shoes and felt so ashamed that I didn't want to go back to church. Everyone there probably already knew we were poor! I thought about school. I was in the ninth grade and at the top of my class of over 100 students. I wondered if the kids at school knew we were poor. I decided I could quit school since I had finished the eighth grade. That was all the law required at that time. We sat in silence for a long time. Then it got dark, and we went to bed.

All that week, we girls went to school and came home, and no one talked much. Finally on Saturday, Mom asked us what we wanted to do with the money. What did poor people do with money? We didn't know. We'd never known we were poor. We didn't want to go to church on Sunday, but Mom said we had to. Although it was a sunny day, we didn't talk on the way. Mom started to sing, but no one joined in and she only sang one verse. At church we had a missionary speaker. He talked about how churches in Africa made buildings out of sun-dried bricks, but they needed money to buy roofs. He said $100 would put a roof on a church. The minister said, "Can't we all sacrifice to help these poor people?" We looked at each other and smiled for the first time in a week. Mom reached into her purse and pulled out the envelope. She passed it to Darlene. Darlene gave it to me, and I handed it to Ocy. Ocy put it in the offering. When the offering was counted, the minister announced that it was a little over $100. The missionary was excited. He hadn't expected such a large offering from our small church.

He said, "You must have some rich people in this church." Suddenly it struck us! We had given $87 of that "little over $100." We were the rich family in the church! Hadn't the missionary said so? From that day on I've never been poor again. I've always remembered how rich I am because I have Jesus.

II. Temptations And Christians: 1:13-18

A. Where Temptations Come From (1:13-14)

B. The Results Of Temptation (1:15-16)

C. Overcoming Temptation (1:17-18)

What is the difference between a "trial" and a "temptation"?

According to the dictionary, a trial is "a test of faith, patience, or stamina by suffering or temptation." A temptation is "an enticement to do something wrong by promise of pleasure or gain." It is "the act of tempting, especially to evil." Temptation comes from evil desires inside us, not from God. It begins with an evil thought and becomes sin when we dwell on the thought and allow it to become an action. People who live for God sometimes wonder why they still have temptations. Does God tempt them? No. God tests people but he does not tempt them by trying to seduce them into sin. But God does allow Satan to tempt people in order to refine their faith and help them grow in their dependence on Christ. Don't ever confuse temptatioon with God's testing your faith as a way to strengthen it.

Where do temptations come from? (Matt 4:1, 18:7-9, Mark 9:42-50, 1 Cor 7:5)

Certainly from Satan (Matt 4:1, 1 Cor 7:5), but also from inside yourself (Matt 18:7-9), from other people (Mark 9:42), taking the easy way (Matt 7:13-14), pride in yourself (Gal 6:1), persecution (1 Thess 3:4-5), and riches (1 Tim 6:9).

How should we deal with temptation? (Matt 4:1-11, 26:41, Luke 22:40, 46, 1 Cor 10:13, Heb 4:15, 2 Tim 2:22, 1 Peter 5:8)

Know the word of God and look to it for strength (Matt 4:1-11), pray and call upon the Lord (Matt 26:41, Luke 22:40, 46 2 Tim 2:22), know that God and Jesus are standing along side of you (1 Cor 10:13, Heb 4:15, Eph 6:11), and be alert to temptation so you can recognize and resist it(1 Peter 5:8).

What is the difference between the "birth description" in verse 15 and verse 18?

In verse 15, James is speaking of an evil desire (temptation) giving birth to sin, which, in turn gives birth to death. In verse 18, he is speaking birth as regeneration, of God giving us birth through his word, i.e., being born again.

III. God's Word And The Believer: 1:19-27

A. Receiving God's Word (1:19-21)

B. Responding To And Revealing God's Word (1:22-27)

IV. Learning To Accept Other's, God's Way: 2:1-13

A. Respect For Others (2:1-7)

B. Observing The Royal Law (2:8-11)

C. Our Exhortation (2:12-13)

V. The Two Types Of Faith: 2:14-26

A. The Question Of Faith (2:14-17)

B. The Verification Of Faith (2:18-20)

C. Examples Of Faith (2:21-26)

VI. The Tongue: 3:1-12

A. The Accountability Of Teachers (3:1)

B. The Ability Of The Tongue (3:2-5a)

C. The Destructive Power Of The Tongue (3:5b-8)

D. The Revealing Power Of The Tongue (3:9-12)

VII. Two Types Of Wisdom: 3:13-18

A. The Outward Evidence Of Wisdom (3:13)

B. The Wisdom From Below (3:14-16)

C. The Wisdom From Above (3:17-18)

VIII. Christian Conflicts: 4:1-6

A. The Source Of Conflicts (4:1-2a)

B. The Behavior That Causes Conflicts (4:2b-3)

C. The Effects Of Conflict (4:2c, 4-5)

D. God's Grace And Conflicts (4:6)

IX. The Ten Commandments Of Resolving Christian Conflicts: 4:7-12

A. Submit Yourself To God (4:7a)

B. Resist The Devil (4:7b)

C. Draw Near To God (4:8a)

D. Cleanse Your Hands (4:8b)

E. Purify Your Hearts (4:8c)

F. Be Miserable (4:9a)

G. Mourn (4:9b)

H. Weep (4:9c)

I. Humble Yourselves (4:10)

J. Do Not Speak Evil Against Other Christians (4:11-12)

X. Losing Our Focus: 4:13-17

A. The Sin Of Presumption (4:13)

B. Regaining Our focus (4:14-15)

C. The Sin of Boastful Pride (4:16)

D. The Sin Of Knowing Better (4:17)

XI. Money Problems: 5:1-6

A. What Their Riches Will Bring (5:1-4)

B. The Way The Rich Used Their Wealth (5:3-5)

C. The Way They Got Their Wealth (5:4, 6)

XII. Patient Endurance 5:7-11

A. The Patience Of The Farmer (5:7-9)

B. The Patience Of The Prophets (5:10)

C. The Patience Of Job (5:11)

XIII. Oaths And Christians 5:12

XIV. The Prayer Of The Saints: 5:13-20

A. Prayer For The Afflicted (5:13)

B. Prayer For The Sick (5:14-16)

C. Prayer For The Nation (5:17-18)

D. Prayer For The Backslidden (5:19-20)

Outline

Greetings (1:1)

Trials and Temptations (1:2–18)

The Testing of Faith (1:2–12)

The Source of Temptation (1:13–18)

Listening and Doing (1:19–27)

Favoritism Forbidden (2:1–13)

Faith and Deeds (2:14–26)

Taming the Tongue (3:1–12)

Two Kinds of Wisdom (3:13–18)

Warning against Worldliness (ch. 4)

Quarrelsomeness (4:1–3)

Spiritual Unfaithfulness (4:4)

Pride (4:5–10)

Slander (4:11–12)

Boasting (4:13–17)

Warning to Rich Oppressors (5:1–6)

Miscellaneous Exhortations (5:7–20)

Concerning Patience in Suffering (5:7–11)

Concerning Oaths (5:12)

Concerning the Prayer of Faith (5:13–18)

Concerning Those Who Wander from the Truth (5:19–20)