Walk This Way: Who are you under pressure? James 1:1 9/9/2018

Walk This Way

                                 “Who Are You Under Pressure?”

                                               (James 1:1-4)

James teaches us how to live by faith through the trials and temptations of life. James tells us how to follow the Way of Jesus. He wants us to know what it looks like to be a believer and live like it wherever we might be.

Know who you are in Christ (1:1)-

•      Notice how James sees himself: “slave” (doulos)- he is a bond servant of “God and the Lord Jesus Christ” (v.1). (Cp. Mk.3:21; 6:3; Jn.7:3ff)
•      His self-understanding directs him to act for the benefit of others. He writes to Jewish believers scattered by persecution (“12 tribes”)
•      His humility heightens the impact of his positional authority.
•      His “greetings” (lit., “joy to you”) connect to his theme of our faith response under the pressure of trials.