Family Study Guide for James 2

Family Study Guide for February 16 – February 22, 2006
(Read James 2 Online)

Reflections on James 2 by Mark Chesner, Coach

During the presidency of Bill Clinton, there was one particular Republican policitian whom I had great respect for. He was a great intellectual - writing books and teaching classes about American history and the theories of democracy. He was a successful politician - rising to the leadership of Congress, passing many important bills, and helping to bring a majority of his party into Congress. And he was a crusader for morality - standing up to the problems in the Clinton administration. I looked up to this man, and wondered perhaps if he would be President one day.

And then it all changed.

It was revealed, during the Impeachment Hearings, that this man was himself having an affair. Shortly after it was exposed, he divorced his wife of many years - who was also sick with cancer and in great suffering - and quickly left his post in Congress. He was disgraced and I was disillusioned.

James cautions us all in chapter 2, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" Living in a post-Martin Luther world, we tend to be very big on salvation being thru faith alone. And it is. But this sometimes leads us to forget that a faith that is not reflected in our lives is not faith at all. Claiming to be a Christian is claiming much more than that you attend church, that your parents are Christians, that you read the Bible, or even that you recognize God as God. James notes, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe thatóand shudder." Being a Christian means to "come after Christ," which Jesus said meant to "pick up your cross and follow me." Not only believe in your mind, but also to live it out in your life.

When we were studying Romans, we highlighted Romans 10:9-10 as being the formula for Salvation, "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved." Note that even Paul shows that belief is not enough. Confession - speaking with your mouth - is part of the process of accepting Jesus Christ and becoming part of His family. Neither belief alone, nor acts alone, are what God is looking for. He wants both our minds, and our hearts, and our lives. Every part of us. Otherwise, we are just fooling ourselves. And setting up those around us for disappointment.

The man I looked up to during the Clinton years proved to be a hypocrite. He spoke all the right words, but in the end it turned out that his actions did not line up with them. He was shown to be false. May the same never be said of us.

Questions to Consider:

• What actions in your life show that your faith is alive?
• What actions in your life might make others doubt your faith is live?
• Have you both believed in your heart AND confessed with your mouth, as Romans 10:9-10 says?

Chapter Outline:

B. Specifics (2:1–3:18)

1. Partiality Vs. Obedience (2:1-13)

a. Summary (2:1)

b. Hypothetical Situation: Rich and Poor Enter the Assembly (2:2-4)

c. Rebuke for Showing Partiality (2:5-7)

d. Conditions of Obedience (2:8-11)

e. Principle (2:12-13)

2. Passivity Vs. Obedience (2:14-26)

a. Summary (2:14)

b. Hypothetical Situation: Impoverished Believer in your Midst (2:15-17)

c. Rational Argument: Demons’ Faith is Passive (2:18-20)

d. Biblical Argument: Abraham’s and Rahab’s Faith is Active (2:21-25)

e. Principle (2:26)

Finish the Verses for this Chapter:

My brothers, as believers // in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism.
James 2:1

For whoever keeps the whole law // and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.
James 2:10

As the body without the spirit // is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
James 2:26

Sample Questions for Studying

Capitalized words are once-used-words

1. Love whom as yourself?
2. What was made complete by what he did?
3. 2 Part : Was not even RAHAB the PROSTITUTE considered righteous for what she did when she WHAT?
4. 2 Part : A person is justified by what?
5. As BELIEVERS in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't what?
6. What is USELESS?
7. Reference : According to James 2:22, you see what?
8. As the body without the spirit is dead, so what?
9. 2 Part : What were WORKING together?
10. Who are EXPLOITING you?
11. It was credited to him how?
12. Who also comes in?
13. 4 Part : Have you not DISCRIMINATED among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts if what?
14. Reference : According to James 2:17, what is dead?
15. Who gave LODGING to the SPIES?
16. What will be SHOWN to anyone who has not been MERCIFUL?
17. Why speak and act as those who are GOING to be judged by the law that gives freedom?
18. Who believed God?
19. 2 Part : Suppose a brother or sister is without what?
20. Judgement without mercy will be what?

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