FAMILIARITY BUILDS COMMITMENT by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: Today, we begin our new series on the Book of James. I’ve preached and taught James several times before. The first time was back in 2003. I had been pastoring for just 4 years, and we had only 2 kids at the time. The second time was in 2011. In between, I also taught this book in various settings (to the teachers and staff when I was a principal, at a family camp in the mountains, and, even recently, to Converge, our College and Career ministry at Clearview). When we prayed about the next series, God laid this book on our hearts. As I went back over my notes from 15 years ago, it felt like one of our old family traditions. Over the years, one of Nicole’s favorite things to do is to create family albums. Back in the day, it was scrapbooking. With the coming of the internet, its photobooks. Every time she would put a new scrapbook or photobook together, especially of our kids, she would bring it to me, and we would go from their baby pictures to the present. It was amazing to see the growth and transformation in them over the years. Still the same person but grown up. When I was looking through my notes on James from 2003 and 2011, the message was still the same, but the messenger had grown up. There was a depth now that I did not have before. It was still truth, but it was truth that had been tried, tested, and found to be true. This series is titled “PRACTICAL BOOK FOR PRACTICAL PEOPLE” and today’s message is titled “Familiarity builds commitment.” Turn to page #1849. By the way, all the images in this series will have the Americana theme because this series will lead us right into the 4^th of July. As you know, this year is special since it marks the 250^th anniversary of our nation’s founding. Invite people to this series. It will be life-changing! When Bill Wilson (Bill W) and Bob Smith (Dr. Bob) began Alcoholic Anonymous (AA), they leaned heavily on the Bible, especially the Sermon on the Mount, 1 Corinthians, and the Book of James. The last one was so important that they almost named their fellowship “The James Club.”

James 1 (page #1849) 1 “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Context: To begin with, who was James? There are several “James” mentioned in the Bible. Two of them were Jesus’ disciples but this is neither of them. Early church tradition (as far back as Origen, 185-254 AD) tells us that this was James, the half-brother of Jesus. Keep in mind that Jesus had an earthly mother (Mary), but he did not have an earthly Father. Jesus’ father was not Joseph. He was born of a virgin. He was born of the Holy Spirit. Luke 1:35 “And the angel answered and said to her (Mary), “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Jesus was God the Son who entered the human world through the Holy Spirit receiving his human nature through Mary. Yet, he remained without sin. It’s a miracle of God.

Something else – Mary was engaged to Joseph and later they were married. Matthew 1    24 “Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son…” After Jesus was born, other children were born to them and Joseph was their father. The early church understood this, and there was hardly any problem. Unfortunately, there was a growing devotion to Mary and a doctrine known as the Perpetual Virginity of Mary became popular – Mary was not only with child as a virgin, but she remained a virgin the rest of her life. Such views were opposed:

• As early as the fourth century, Helvidius, a Christian writer from Rome, had argued that Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born but not after that (post partum). He was not teaching anything novel. It was the view of the early church.
• After him, a monk named Jovinian argued that Mary definitely experienced virginal conception but did not remain a virgin when Jesus was born (in partu). It was also a view found in the early church. Jovinian wrote “Our religion has invented a new dogma against nature” (See the works by David G. Hunter). 

By the way, this is not the same as the Immaculate Conception which teaches that Mary herself was conceived in her mother’s womb as a sinless being! This was a doctrine that came out of the medieval times. Nonetheless, the reason Helvidius and Jovinian opposed the Perpetual Virginity of Mary is because the movement that claimed that virginal life was superior to married life and they were using the virginity of Mary at Jesus’ conception as the support for it. Helvidius argued against church fathers like Ambrose and Jerome that “Virgins and married women are equally glorious.”

Why am I talking about all this? 

• First, when we add to our beliefs more than what Scripture allows, we open ourselves to a lot more problems and divisions.
• Secondly, we lose something precious when we give up a view that was passed down from the early church that James, the half-brother of Jesus, was the writer of the Book of James.

Back to James: James was Joseph and Mary’s child. He is mentioned in the Gospels but not as a follower of Jesus Christ. In fact, he was embarrassed of Jesus during His ministry.

• Mark 3 (page #1549) 31 Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him. 32 And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You.” 33 But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?” 34 And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
• John 7 (page #1648) 1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee; for He did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill Him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.
• Matthew 13 (page #1513) 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

What happened to James? It’s the adage – “FAMILIARITY BREEDS CONTEMPT.” Sometimes, when are so close to the truth, we lose value for the truth. James had grown up with Jesus. I’m sure he realized that Jesus was different, but he could not accept that he was the Messiah that they had been waiting for – not Jesus, not my brother! Maybe Mary told them that he was born of the Holy Spirit, but James could not accept that. He was thinking – “Mom just had some crazy experience” or “Mom made a mistake as a young girl.” Other than a sinless life, there was nothing spectacular about Jesus in his childhood. According to the Infancy Gospel of Thomas (not to be confused with the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas from the 2^nd century), which is from the late 2^nd century, there are some far-fetched stories of the years of Jesus between ages 5-12. Some of the stories includes Jesus making birds out of mud and clapping them to life and they fly away. One time, a child bothers Jesus while he was playing and Jesus made the boy wither away. Another time, a child bumps into him and Jesus utters a curse and he dies. He embarrasses teachers with his superior knowledge and even kills one for getting on to him. All these are just fanciful tales…As Isaiah 53:2 tell us, “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.” 

Bottom line: Familiarity breeds contempt. Because James saw Jesus so up close that he could not believe that his own half-brother was God in flesh.

Application: This can happen to us as well. When we grow up in church or in a Christian home, we can be so close to the truth that familiarity breeds contempt. Unless you grew up with Jesus, which I doubt, most of the time what we see are all “the warts and all.” We see a father who can be perfectly calm and collected in church, but he loses his temper at home. We see a mother who is a model of faith and joy, but she struggles with depression in private. Sometimes, we even see people who serve in church, but they are anything but godly in their private life. This is often described as hypocrisy.

Make no mistake, yes, there is plenty of hypocrisy among Christians. Some can be downright evil. Having said that, much of what we think is evil is simply human. Christianity is not perfect men and perfect women. It is simply men and women saved and kept saved by the grace of God.

Back to James: Something happened in James when Jesus hung on the cross. Something clicked. He realized that who he thought was just an illegitimate half-brother with a God-complex was none other than the Messiah – the Son of God. While he was still contemplating all this, Jesus paid a visit to His younger half-brother. 1 Corinthians 15 (page #1770) 3 “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles….”

Can you imagine that conversation? James – “So, are you really God? Why didn’t you say so?” Jesus – “I tried.” James – “So, did you know all of my thoughts?” Jesus – “Yeah, even before you thought them…” James – “What do you want me to do?” Jesus – “Follow me.” Listen to how James describes himself – James 1:1 “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…” 

What convinced James? 2 Things: Jesus’ Resurrection and His Sinless Life. We saw the first in the reference from 1 Corinthians, but how about the second? Church Historians tells us that James was a deeply spiritual man and a man of prayer. His knees were covered with thick calluses. Why? He spent a lot of time on his knees in prayer for his church. They called him “Camel Knees.” He was also referred to as James the Just/Righteous. Being so up-close to Jesus, what at first appeared a hypocritical life became a holy life. He was in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost. James became the pastor of the Jerusalem church – the headquarters of Christianity. He was totally committed to Jesus. In the end, he was martyred for his faith. 

Familiarity can Breed Contempt, but Familiarity can also Build Commitment.

Personal example: Growing up, I saw hypocrisy as well. Yeah…it was hard at times. I even turned away from church for a period, but I didn’t deconstruct my faith. When I saw people as God sees me, it freed me to show grace to others. I went from contempt to commitment.

Application: How about you? You saw things that were painful and conflicting. You saw things that were puzzling and contradictory. Sometimes, we can be in a bakery and lose all taste for bread. You can either discard all of it as fake and hypocritical, or you can see things through the lens of God’s grace. Did you really expect to grow up with Jesus? Being Christian does not mean that we are perfect. It simply means that we are forgiven. This should make us even more committed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Are you saved? Is it time for you to get committed? Do you know someone who needs to return to God? Jesus did not give up on his family, neither should you! Come pray for them. Invite them to the play – Job: The Director’s Cut. This is a story of a man and a family that returns to God after facing some incredible pain, kind of like Job.