James and 1, 2, and 3 John
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Lesson OneOverview of James18 Activities|1 Assessment
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: James
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In | Workbook: Faith that Behaves
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In | Key Themes in James
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In | Ministry in the Church
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In | Outlining Books in the Bible
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In | An Outline of James
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In | Old Testament Wisdom
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In | James and Proverbs
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In | Literary Forms, Part 1
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Behind | Jewish Wisdom Sources for James
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Behind | Onsite: Biblical Healing and Ancient Magic: View from the Pergamum Asclepion
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In Front | Worldview of the Wisdom Tradition
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In Front | Wisdom in Suffering
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In Front | The Early Influence and Authority of James
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In Front | Workbook: Writing with James
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In Front | James and Kierkegaard
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson TwoJames and Scripture19 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: James Review
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In | Workbook: Leviticus and James
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In | Leviticus and James
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In | James and the Old Testament
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In | James and the Sermon on the Mount
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In | Workbook: Matthew and James - The Life of Faith
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In | Workbook: Matthew and James - Faith in Action
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In | Matthew and James: Faith in Action
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In | James and Paul: Faith and Works
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Behind | Who Is James?
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Behind | "To the Twelve Tribes Scattered"
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Behind | Onsite: "To the Dispersion"
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Behind | 360 View: Synagogue of Sardis, View 1
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Behind | 360 View: Synagogue of Sardis, View 2
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In Front | Faith and Works in the NT
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In Front | Workbook: The Book of James and Martin Luther
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In Front | Paul and James on Justification: Works and Faith
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson Three1 John21 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 1 John
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In | Workbook: Dichotomies in 1 John, Part 1
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In | Workbook: Dichotomies in 1 John, Part 2
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In | Key Themes and Dichotomies in 1 John
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In | Brothers and Outsiders
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In | Belief and Denial
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In | Doubt and Truth
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In | Workbook: God vs the World
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In | The Spirit Abides in Us
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In | Workbook: Living in YHWH: Does the Father Abide in Us Too?
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In | Living in YHWH: Does the Father Abide in Us Too?
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In | Christians Are “Little Anointed Ones”
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Behind | Who Is John?
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Behind | 1 John and the Gospel of John
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Behind | John’s “Children”
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Behind | Apostasy and Idolatry
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In Front | That You Might Know
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In Front | Faith, Security and License
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In Front | Judgment and Fruit of the Spirit
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson Four2 and 3 John21 Activities
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Getting Started
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Lesson Text: 2 and 3 John
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In | Workbook: Greetings in 2 John
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In | Greetings in 2 John
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In | A Letter to a Lady and Her Sister
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In | 2 John: Truth and Love
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In | Mercy and Justice, Truth and Love
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In | 3 John: Hospitality and Family
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In | Diotrophes, Who Loves to Be First
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Behind | Workbook: 2 John and the Gospel of John
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Behind | 2 John and the Gospel of John
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Behind | Workbook: 3 John and the Gospel of John, Part 1
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Behind | 3 John and the Gospel of John
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Behind | Workbook: 3 John and the Gospel of John, Part 2
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Behind | Workbook: 3 John and the Gospel of John, Part 3
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Behind | Authority and Influence
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Behind | Church Stability and Tension
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In Front | First Century Churches
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In Front | Local and Regional Church
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In Front | Workbook: Reflection
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Lesson FiveProto-Gnosticism13 Activities
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Getting Started
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In | What We Have Seen with Our Eyes
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In | Proto-Gnosticism: Dualism
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Behind | The Biblical Balance
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Behind | Workbook: Proto-Gnosticism and the Bible
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Behind | Workbook: Gnosticism
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Behind | Gnosticism
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Behind | Workbook: Sin and Ignorance
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Behind | Sin and Ignorance
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In Front | The Physicality of Christ's Body
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In Front | The Church Is Incarnational
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In Front | Workbook: Guiding Questions - 1, 2 and 3 John
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Wrap-Up
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Getting Started
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Course Wrap-upCourse Completion1 Activity|1 Assessment
Participants 14
In | Leviticus and James
The book of James reinforces this idea by revisiting themes from Leviticus, whose moral commands are alive and well in the early church. See some comparisons between Leviticus and James in the table below.
Leviticus (NIV) | James (NIV) |
Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly. (19:15) | My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. (2:1) But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. (2:9) |
Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD. (19:18) | If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. (2:8) |
Do not go about spreading slander among your people. Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor’s life. I am the LORD. (19:16) | Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it. (4:11) |
Do not defraud or rob your neighbor. Do not hold back the wages of a hired worker overnight. (19:13) | Look! The wages you failed to pay the workers who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord Almighty. (5:4) |
Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people. (19:18a) | Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door! (5:9) |
Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD. (19:12) | Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. (5:12) |
Do not hate a fellow Israelite in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in their guilt. (19:17) | Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins. (5:20) |
Table adapted from: J. Michael Walters, James, 1997, pp. 74-75.
James reminds us that concepts like “law” and “works,” as well as those like “love” and “freedom,” are common to both Testaments. We heard from Jesus in the passage from Matthew above that, “whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:19 NIV).
So if we were tempted to misread Paul as contradicting Jesus, James provides a helpful correction. He reminds us that long before the gospel of God’s love in Christ and His Spirit, there was the “law of Love,” illustrated clearly in Leviticus 19.