This past Sunday morning, I began a series of messages from the book of James. I’ll never forget my first sermon, which I preached at First Baptist Norfolk on a Wednesday night some 33 years ago. My text was from James, and the title was, “The Bionic Tongue.” I remember how nervous I was and the good natured teasing I received over the title.

I don’t recall much else, other than the church voted to endorse me to attend Southwestern Seminary shortly after that. I’m not sure if they endorsed me because they recognized God’s call on my life or if they thought I needed a lot of help after hearing that sermon.

Curiously, I have never felt led to preach from James since that day. Over the years, I’ve used certain passages in my sermons, but to focus on it from the pulpit isn’t something I’ve done until now.

I’m not sure exactly why I’ve been guided this way. The book of James describes the acceptable conduct of a follower of Christ. I tend to focus on the love of God and our love for Him over outlining suitable conduct of believers. I’ve always tried to avoid building on the Law from which the Cross releases us.

However, recent events have made me more aware than ever that we need to spend some time reminding ourselves of just how believers should behave toward each other and to the world. It’s not just enough to declare our loyalty and faith in Christ, but we need to “clothe ourselves with Him” as well. A great deal of pain can be avoided when the principles found in James are understood and followed.

The Apostle Paul warned the Corinthians of this very thing. He said that many have become physically ill, and some have even died, because they received Christ and did not reflect Him in their behavior toward each other. The refusal to reconcile differences and work things out had made this a serious problem with equally serious personal consequences.

The conduct of a believer is as important as the faith of a believer. This is the theme of the book of James.

PJ