James 5:

being rich is OK. being rich opressor is not OK.

suffering , persevere, tough, character.

swears
issue #1 - whether swearing is allowed at all
issue #2 - above ALL, don't swear

illnesses? Are they because of sin?

some of them are, some are not.

we don't know though how to determine whether the ilnesses are because of sin, or because of natural causes, just keep an open mind there.

James 4

1-3:

three wrong stuff:

1. don't ask at all from God (depending on ourselves)

2. asking the wrong things

3. asking the right thing with wrong motives

why ask when God knows what we want at the first place?

picture dad-son in mind, dad already knows what son wants. but dad will be happy to hear his son asking him stuff. it's a communication that's quite important here.

when you're giving much details in your prayers, it's also the communication stuff.

17:

put the verse in context.

in EE, they kind of expanding the meanings in this verse, which is not exactly right...

james' context: "if you know that X is sinful, and you do it anyway, it's a sin."

now, not everything is sinful, things get complex. in those cases, just think about your conscience and do follow up on that.

one thing for sure is that we shouldn't use verse 17 as a weapon to make people feels guilty about themselves.

James 3: Taming the tongue, Two Kinds of Wisdom

1-12 - Taming the Tongue
- what considered curses are always changing, depending on the time and culture
- curse words with a bad intention is definitely forbidden
- when there's no bad intention, cursing is still bad because it might be a stumbling block for others and should be avoided.

- no clear definition on "gossip"
- for the most part, talking about other people is considered good or bad depending on the intention
- good intentions can also produce a bad effect, so we also have to be wise about it

13-18 - Two Kinds of Wisdom
-

James 2: Favoritism Forbidden & Faith and Good Deeds

1-13
- Favoritism is forbidden. This should apply to all cases.
- The reason for this is that LOVE should be applicable for all, not only for certain groups of people

14-26

- good deeds are byproduct of faith (i.e. real Christian faith). It is impossible to have faith but not do good deeds

faith --> good deeds
no faith -- ???

v24 - in Greek, the word "justified" here means only to prove justification that has been received before (when accepting Christ) to fellow humans. But the good deeds itself is never required to receive salvation nor do they affect your salvation.

James 1: Trials and Temptation

Jemaat di sekitar sedang menghadapi daily difficults.
untuk encourage, and instruct.

1-18 Trials and Temptation<>

Believers will face temptations and trials.

How to reacts? consider them pure joys.
Why? trials testing of your faith and develops perseverance. so that you become mature & complete.

trials: external.
tempt: bukan Tuhan, dari kita sendiri.

When we are in trials we can ask God for wisdom

19-27 Listening and Doing

- Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry (v.19)
- Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. (v.22)

"When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise" -- Proverbs 10:19

James - Introduction

Author:
James, Jesus' brother

Purpose:
To teach wisdom from God that helps believers persevere in the midst of trials

Date:
AD 44 (Jerusalem council) - 62 (James' death)

GALATIANS 6

1-10: Doing Good to All

Load and burden:

2:"....each other's burden...."
5:"....his own load...."

2 ---> When someone is caught in a sin (obvious, black area). This is the person's struggle, the person's burden. This will need to be shared if needed.
5 ---> this relates to our actions, these are our own responsibility in face of God. This is our own load that must not be shared with the others.


What's the guideline?

6:1"... if someone is caught in a sin, you..."
So, when's the right time for you to help a person share the load? What's standard will you use to say that this dude is sinning right now?
Sin is pretty much obvious, and we believe this is what Paul intending here.
And don't forget the keyword "gently".
Help in a gentle way, use common sense there.


"...Not weary in doing good..."

This applies to both things discussed before: helping up ppl sharing the load and do your own actions.