James Book Preview #8: Introduction
As many of you know, I will be publishing James, a book on the letter of James, on February 21st (just a few weeks away!). In anticipation of that, I've been posting snippets of the book for all of you to enjoy. I have already posted some other previews, but I realized that I never posted anything about why I wrote the book. Here is a portion of the introduction to the book:
Introduction
In June of 2013, I had finished reading a particularly exciting section of When I Don’t Desire God by John Piper. In that section, Piper conveyed an effective way to memorize whole books of the Bible at a time and I enthusiastically embraced it and began to memorize the Letter of James. It took me longer than I originally planned, but as with many journeys worth taking, arriving at the destination was not the only reward.
After I finished memorizing the last chapter, I felt that God was inspiring me to dedicate whatever time was needed to complete a book about the Letter of James. God introduced to me a desire to dive even deeper into his Word so I can bring back the pearls of truth and mystery he has hidden there. God’s gentle strength has guided me throughout the adventure of writing this book and I pray that you will have the same experience as you read it.
The purpose of this book is to inspire and enlighten. Christianity is innately authentic, but people have gotten the terms confused and distorted the meaning. When a person chooses to follow Christ, they are immediately commanded to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) and to “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” (James 1:2). These commandments are not for the faint hearted, and that is why Jesus has imparted to us his strength to accomplish them with zeal. When you become a Christian, you are required to become lionhearted and are simultaneously given the strength to achieve it. No matter how long we’ve been Christians or how much we’ve read the Bible, we should all be reminded consistently about certain core attributes of Christianity. An authentic Christian lifestyle means that we don’t just say we are Christians; we live, think and breathe as Christians.
Authentic Christianity is pursued and embraced through the ideas that are discussed in this book. In this 24/7 war we call life, we must use these concepts to fight under God’s authority and treat even the mundane moments as crucial pivot points in a battle. Often we must ignore what seems to be an obvious enemy and instead, attack what lies behind it. As Henry David Thoreau so eloquently put it: “There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.” In other words, our weapons must be sharp and our aim precise. God's inspiration in the letter of James is a weapon forged in the heart of Christ. Our thoughts must be aligned with our salvation in Christ and our faith raised before us. This is what James was trying to hit home about and that is what we will be exploring.
The author of James, who will be introduced in the first chapter, wrote this book with the inspiration of God. It is a rather unique letter, especially when compared to the letters written by the Apostle Paul. It may seem scattered and a little ADD on the surface. James is constantly jumping from subject to subject without much pause. However, this book is like a beautiful orchestral piece. It flows through many seemingly different sections and notes with gusto. Sometimes it is soft and sweet, and other times it comes to life with a passionate blast of energy. Beyond the surface, there is an underlying current: James desires for everyone to be free from sin and brokenness and to be with Christ. That may sound like too simple of an answer, but God’s messages often have a way of boiling down to sweet simplicity.
We are surrounded with opportunities to love things that have no place in God. Our minds are filled with jealously and selfish ambition that causes spiritual sickness and horrible habits (James 3:16). The topics in James’ letter are what will keep you afloat in the middle of an ocean of lies. This is not another feel-good sermon; it is a rescue mission for your soul.
For more information on James, click here.