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Introduction
Tonight, we are getting back to our study of James.
We finished chapter 2. We will be starting chapter 3.
As a reminder, we are studying verse-by-verse, paragraph-by-paragraph through each chapter.
Our goal is to rightly divide God’s Word through an intense Bible study seeking to apply its principles to our lives.
A secondary goal is to help each of you learn a method of Bible study or to help you develop a method of Bible study.
So far, we have learned that this entire book deals with our faith in Christ.
In particular, it is all about living our faith before Him and others.
Thus, the theme of James is “Living Out Our Faith.”
In chapter 1, we discovered how to live out our faith victoriously.
Some of the key verse being verses 2-4 which say.
Chapter 2 taught us how to live out our faith openly before God and others.
Here are a couple of key verses from this chapter.
Now, as we move into chapter 3, we will learn how to live out our faith skilfully.
Now, before we go any further, let’s take a few minutes to examine this chapter as whole.
Chapter 3 contains 18 verses.
There are 21 sentences or complete thoughts.
This chapter is divided into two paragraphs.
Verses 1-12 complete the first paragraph.
Verses 13-18 complete the second.
Let’s read the first paragraph together.
Tonight, we begin study of the first paragraph starting with verse 1 which reads.
Grammatically, this verse breaks down like this.
There are two phrases.
The first is “My brethren, be not many masters.”
The second is “knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.”
There are three nouns.
They are...
Brethren - a male (believer) understood as one’s sibling in God’s family; sometimes used of any siblings (regardless of gender) in God’s family
Masters - in general, a person who teaches others; in church leadership, a person who teaches the doctrine and way of life of Christianity
Condemnation - judgment, decision, verdict; specifically connotes the result of a judgment or a manner of quickly passing condemnation
There are three verbs.
They are...
Be - state of being
Knowing - to have seen, to know; refers to the past act of seeing with the present effect of knowing what was seen
We shall receive - to experience, conceived of as coming into the possession of an experience
There are two adjectives.
They are...
The word “many” describing “masters.”
The word “greater” describing “condemnation.”
There is one adverb and it is the word “not.”
There is one conjunction which is the word “that.”
Let’s take a look at what this verse teaches us.
Be not many masters (v.
1a),
Master means teacher.
The Greek word used here comes from the root word meaning to teach, and it is the same word used in John 1:38 which says...
Thus, word “Rabbi” means “Master” which means “teacher.”
Christ used this same word of Himself in Matthew 23:8.
This particular passage brings us to the heart of the issue here in James 3. The Holy Spirit reminds us that being a teacher comes with great responsibility.
All of us must understand that there is only one Master, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And, even though the Holy Spirit calls those who are to teach others also (2 Timothy 2:2), we must be careful.
Teaching others is a huge responsibility.
Therefore, we must always weigh the responsibility of teaching before engaging to teach others.
For this reason, Christ reminds us we are all to sit at His feet.
He is the Master.
Anyone who seeks to teach must first learn to humble himself by sitting at the feet of Jesus.
Humility is a theme that runs throughout the book of James.
Note with me James 4:10.
Here is my thought as I see it from Scripture.
The person who learns to humble themselves before the Lord and seeks to have His grace in their lives is a person who allows God to lift them.
Our desire should always start with pleasing God first.
Then, as God sees fit, He will be the one Who leads us into positions such as teaching.
However, it all starts with us realizing that He is everything and we are nothing.
There seems to be another element here as well.
How many have heard the saying there are too many cooks in the kitchen.
It would seem that many were desiring to be teachers or, as I may, Masters over others.
The problem with too many cooks or too many teachers is that it leads to confusion.
Yes, there are those whom God has gifted and called to teach, and there is no doubt about that.
However, there is also an order that God has ordained within each local church.
That order established by God begins with a pastor who God calls to be His under-shepherd.
From there, all teachers within each respective local church must answer to the pastor as God’s ordained authority.
In doing so, we avoid confusion.
Additionally, the pastor becomes the one who is accountable to God for all teaching within a church.
All this brings us to the following phrase here, which is “knowing that.”
Knowing that
As we have already noted in the past, the word “knowing” here means to be cognizant or aware of a fact or specific piece of information.
It is all about possessing the necessary knowledge or information about something to act upon it.
Biblical knowledge comes by reading and studying God’s Word.
If you spend enough time in God’s Word, you will realize that increased knowledge leads to greater responsibility.
Let me give you a simple illustration by using salvation as an example.
We know the passage in Romans 10 that says
It is clear from this passage that people must hear the good news of the gospel before they believe.
Thus, we must proclaim it so they can hear.
Upon hearing the gospel, the responsibility of that information falls upon them.
Thus, with knowledge comes responsibility.
That is the essence of what the Holy Spirit is saying to us in this verse.
Be careful about seeking after something, especially a position such as teaching.
Why?
To answer that question, we must go to the following phrase.
We shall receive the greater condemnation(v.
1b).
Note the use of the pronoun “we.”
We must remember that the Holy Spirit is using the apostle James to pen these words.
James was one of Christ’s chosen disciples having walked and talked directly with Christ.
More importantly, James sat at the foot of Jesus, learning from the Master.
Now that Christ had returned to Heaven, James and the other remaining apostles had a commission to teach others.
Remember Christ’s words in Matthew 28.
Thus, James uses the pronoun “we,” referring to him and all Christ commissioned to teach.
James knew the considerable responsibility that came with teaching others.
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