Ancient Anglican

Jude is one of the few places in the New Testament where the persons of the Trinity are explictly mentioned together and their unique role is explained.

In his letter, Jude gives us the example of three groups of people who incurred divine judgment and three examples of corrupt teachers all within the Old Testament.

James ends his letter with the themes of being patient in times of trial, being in constant communication with the One in charge, and being responsible to bring back those who have strayed.

James’ condemnation lies with how the rich obtain and retain their riches – by withholding wages, hoarding their wealth, and condemning the righteous. Wealth is not simply a danger because it forms the basis of inequality, but wealth itself corrupts the human soul. 

The one thread that holds this chpater together is that of humility. When we count others as better than ourselves then there is no room left for envy or jealousy, nor for slander or judgment, nor for total self-reliance.

For James, the speech that teachers must control is not doctrinally subversive speech where someone teaches the wrong thing, but ethically subversive speech where someone speaks condemnation and evil.

In this verse, James is telling us that a faith that is not placed into action simply cannot reach its perfect teleological end.

What does it profit, my brother, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him?

James makes the connection between (1) respecting the poor and shunning partiality towards the rich and (2) the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

One of the great titles that James uses for God is the “Father of Lights” in v.17. 

The three necessary and sufficient conditions for committing a sin are: receiving an evil suggestion, taking pleasure in the thought of performing the act suggested, and consenting to perform the act.

The Christian life that James will describe in his letter begins with the recognition that a pervasive and all-encompassing joy is the essential characteristic of the Christian life despite what may come our way.