"After forty days Noah opened a window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find nowhere to perch because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth."~Genesis 8:6-11

Friday, January 11, 2013

James


James, the brother of Jesus, wrote this letter to the early Jewish believers between 40 and 49 AD (BRI).  He was a major leader in the church in Jerusalem (class handout), and therefore well known amongst the believing Jewish population.  The “twelve tribes in the Dispersion” are believing Jews around Jerusalem who are facing various levels of persecution.  They are struggling to live out their faith, to speak honorably, with holding onto worldly desires, and quarrelling with one another.  James writes to address these issues and strongly admonish them, commanding that they change their ways.

"And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?" -James 2:25

OBSERVATION
What example does James give of someone who is justified by works? 
Rahab, by receiving messengers and sending them out another way.

INTERPRETATION
Are there examples in the NT of people proving their faith by works?
Mark 9:41 and Matthew 10:42 say whoever gives a cup of water to someone because they belong to Christ will not lose his reward. It is unspoken yet true that supporting someone because they are a believer proves that individual is also a believer, because they care about what they are living for.  In each case it is what the person has done that proves their beliefs.

TIMELESS TRUTH 
Faith is proven through works.
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