Chronological Life Application Study Bible 2nd Edition - Flipbook - Page 10
IN THE BEGINNING
undated–2100 BC
GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE
2100–1800 BC
BIRTH OF ISRAEL
1800–1406 BC
f ACTS 14:21-28 (cont.)
church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the el
ders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put
their trust. 24 Then they traveled back through Pisidia
to Pamphylia. 25 They preached the word in Perga, then
went down to Attalia.
26 Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria,
THE PROMISED LAND
1406–1050 BC
UNITED KINGDOM
1050–930 BC
where their journey had begun. The believers there had
entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they
had now completed. 27 Upon arriving in Antioch, they
called the church together and reported everything
God had done through them and how he had opened
the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. 28 And they stayed
there with the believers for a long time.
D. The Epistle of James
This epistle was written by James, the half brother of Jesus who had become a believer after Jesus’
resurrection and developed into the central leader of the community of believers in Jerusalem. James
had a strong ministry among Jewish believers, and his leadership in the early community of faith was
vital to maintaining doctrinal purity and unity among the growing and diverse body of believers. This letter
addresses many issues about how faith in Jesus needs to affect our behavior, and it addresses some
misunderstandings about the relationship between salvation by faith in Jesus and the need for believers to
live godly lives. James was probably written around the time of Paul’s first missionary journey, before the
Jerusalem Council. This letter could be considered a how-to book on faithful living. Confrontation, challenges, and a call to commitment await you. Read James and become a doer of the Word, not just a hearer.
Greetings from James
endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for
when your endurance is fully developed, you will be
This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he
Jesus Christ.
I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God
scattered abroad.
alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty
Greetings!
is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and
Faith and Endurance
tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect
JAMES 1:2-18
to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is
Dear brothers and sisters,* when troubles of any kind divided between God and the world, and they are un
come your way, consider it an opportunity for great stable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are* poor have something to boast
joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your
JAMES 1:1
AD
48
James writes a letter to believers
Jas 1:2 Greek brothers; also in 1:16, 19. Jas 1:9 Greek The brother who is.
Acts 14:28 Paul probably wrote his letter
to the Galatians while he was staying in
Antioch (A.D. 48 or 49) after completing his
first missionary journey. There are several
theories as to what part of Galatia Paul was
addressing, but most agree that Iconium,
Lystra, and Derbe were part of that region for
which the letter was intended. Galatians was
probably written before the Jerusalem council
(Acts 15), because in the letter the question of
whether Gentile believers should be required
to follow the Torah was not yet resolved. The
council met to solve that problem.
Jas 1:1 The writer of this letter, a leader of the
believers in Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17; 15:13),
was James, Jesus’ half brother, not James the
apostle. This letter may have been the earliest
of the New Testament letters, probably written
before A.D. 50. After Stephen was martyred
(Acts 7:55–8:3), persecution increased, and
Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem were scattered
throughout the Roman world. There were thriving communities of Jewish believers in Rome,
Alexandria, and Cyprus and numerous cities in
Greece and Asia Minor. Because these believers did not have the support of an established
1580
faith community, James wrote to them as a
concerned leader to encourage them in their
faith during times of difficulty.
Jas 1:2-3 James doesn’t say if trouble
comes your way; he says when it does. He
assumes that we will have troubles and that
it is possible to profit from them. The point is
not to pretend to be happy when we face pain
but to have a positive outlook (“consider it an
opportunity for great joy”) because of what
troubles can produce in our lives. James tells
us to turn our hardships into times of learning. Tough times can teach us perseverance.
There are many other passages that deal
with perseverance (also called patience and
steadfastness) (see Rom 2:7; 5:3-5; 8:24-25;
2 Cor 6:3-7; 2 Pet 1:2-9).
Jas 1:2-4 We can’t really know the depth
of our character until we see how we react
under pressure. It is easy to be kind to
others when everything is going well, but
can we still be kind when others are treating
us unfairly? God wants to make us mature
and complete, not keep us from all pain.
Instead of complaining about our struggles,
we should see them as opportunities for
growth. Thank God for promising to be with
you in rough times. Ask him to help you solve
your problems or to give you the strength to
endure them. Then be patient. God will not
leave you alone with your problems; he will
stay close and help you grow.
Jas 1:5 By “wisdom,” James is talking not
only about knowledge but about the ability
to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances. Whenever we need wisdom, we can
pray to God, and he will generously supply
what we need. Believers don’t have to grope
around in the dark, hoping to stumble upon
answers. We can ask for God’s wisdom to
guide our choices.
Jas 1:5 The wisdom that we need has three
distinct characteristics:
(1) It is practical. The wisdom from God
relates to life even during the most trying
times. It is not a wisdom isolated from suffering and trials. This wisdom is the tool by
which trials are overcome. An intelligent
person may have profound ideas, but a
wise person puts profound ideas into action.
Intelligence will allow someone to describe
several reasons why the car broke down. The
