Ever since he began his letter James has been talking about faith.

Today he speaks about faith that saves. That’s the faith you want. What use is a faith that doesn’t save?

Church is different from any human institution on the planet, or should be.

It is a direct, visible, testimony to the existence of God.

The crown of life is so valuable that James is going to rough us up today.

I had to be rough with a friend once because he was lazy.

When we begin following Jesus we begin a process of being tested by God. His purpose is that we be humbled and made more dependent on God.

The future, the end of this process, is blessing, eternal life, immortality, and glory. In the meantime we learn humility.

James is writing to Christians right at the beginning of Christianity. And he begins writing to them about suffering and trusting in God.

They didn’t like suffering in the first century. We don’t like it any better in the 21st century.

James is a daunting book. It’s so practical. And therein lies the rub. We are prone to live below what we can and should live like as Christians.