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James, The Prophet? Essay

Decent Essays

James, the Prophet?

When we think of prophetic books of the Bible, James is not likely one that would top the list.
Of all the books of scripture, the book of James is, for the most part, one of the plainest written of all the New Testament books. It says what it means and means what it says. It lacks the deep theology of Romans; the typology of Hebrews; or the symbolism of Revelation. What you see is what you get. It’s the Christian’s vegetables; a teaching that should be part of the daily life of every Christian. It describes what saints are to look like on the outside. That said, my desire is not to reinterpret what the text is saying, nor is it to limit the universal application of those texts, but to try reading James from a particular perspective without nullifying its general application to all church saints in every age. James, like all books of the Bible, is for ALL Christians as we are all one in Christ Jesus.

This oneness is taught by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Yet in the desire to emphasize this oneness, some in the church, especially within Reformed circles, interpret and apply this passage beyond what the context allows. In a desire to rid any further Jewish perspective from God’s program, they nullify across the board any distinctions between Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan of redemption. The context in Gal

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