Getting Back to the Letter of James

This Sunday, God willing, I will resume my verse-by-verse exposition of the Epistle of James. This past week was Prayer Emphasis Week here at Shiloh. And I have preached on prayer the past two Sundays. I am now heading back to James.

This Sunday’s message will be on James 2:1-13 – The Sin of Partiality. It will be the first of two sermons on James chapter 2, the second will be on verses 14-26.

Interestingly, it took me nine sermons to get through chapter 1. But I plan to get through chapter 2 in two sermons.

The two passages in chapter 2 are vital to the letter. They are also difficult passages to study and preach. For instance, verses 1-13 addresses again (cf. 1:9-11, 27) the matters of poverty and wealth. Specifically, it commands us not to show favoritism toward those who are wealthy in the church. And this matter of how you treat the rich and poor is an illustration of a larger principle. There is no place for partiality in the body of Christ.

The thought of the practical implications of this text is staggering.

Please pray for me as I work through this important text in preparation for Sunday. And pray that the Lord will help me to present the message of the text in a clearly, faithfully, and accurately.

May the Lord help my congregation – and all Christian congregations to live out the royal law to love our neighbor as ourselves to the glory of God in Christ.