Have you ever felt like an outsider in your own skin? Maybe even an outsider in your own faith?
Well, guess what? The book of James was written, believe it or not, specifically for you. Understanding Why coming up right now on the Clear Read Today Show. You're listening to Clearview Today with Dr. Abadan Shah, the daily show that engages mind and heart for the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I'm Ryan Hills. I'm John Galantis. Welcome to the Clearview Today Show with our host, Dr. Abadan Shah. We're so glad you're joining us in the studio today for the conversation.
And if today's your very first time, we want to say welcome. Thank you for tuning in. And we're going to let you know exactly who's talking to you today. Dr. Shah is a PhD in New Testament textual criticism, professor at Carolina University, author, full-time pastor, and the host of today's show.
Dr. Shah, we've had so much fun in the book of James, but all good things must come to an end.
Well, the good thing about this is the passage we're about to go into is almost like loops us right back into James chapter one. Yeah, it's talking about. If anyone wanders from the truth, Now you may look at that and go, okay, yeah, it's about backsliding. And yes, it is. But If you would open up James chapter 1 and In verse 1, what does it say?
Because If you just look at it like this, it seems like it's sort of anticlimactic. You said all these things, and then. We're talking about wandering from the truth. But go back to James chapter 1. And starting in verse 1, how does it begin?
James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad. To the twelve tribes what? Which are scattered abroad. James is writing this letter.
Now, we're going to go a little deep, okay, just if that's okay. You can do a little bit deeper, and then we're going to come back to it. There's a big debate, and has been for a long time, or not a big debate, but it's a medium-sized debate over. Is the book of James or this this this work of James, is it a letter or is it an epistle? There's a difference.
An epistle. Is a letter But not all letters are epistles. Like a hot tub is a jacuzzi or a jacuzzi. Right, something like that. Yeah, gotcha.
So an epistle is a letter. It's a letter written by somebody like an apostle or an associate of an apostle to a person or people or churches.
sort of like to be read many times by different peoples.
Okay. A letter is more occasional, means I'm writing to you over some situation, but I'm not quite sure if this letter will be like included in the Word of God. I believe that All of the New Testament writings that are in the form of a letter are epistles.
So that was going to be my question. Are there any. Letters that we have in the New Testament that are not epistles. No, I think they're all epistles, in my opinion, because I mean, they all knew that they were the word of God and they're laid out that way. I can't think of any that may not be.
I mean, Romans, of course, is very easy. 1, 2 Corinthians is easy. Galatians, Philippians is easy. Ephesians, Colossians, you know, people doubt whether they were written by Paul or not. I think they were.
I think they are. They're also epistles. Thessalonians epistles, pastoral epistles, 1, 2 Timothy, Titus, also epistles. They were not just written to Timothy or not just written to Titus, although Paul does address Certain situations that are very pertaining to the church in Ephesus for Timothy. But it also applies to everybody.
Trevor Burrus, Jr.: So, is the debate over James whether it is an epistle or whether it was intended as an epistle? I mean, I guess both. Both, yeah, yeah. Like, could it be the case that James never intended it to be an epistle, but because of God had other plans, it is? I mean, I guess you can say that because that's a whole different debate.
I got you. Were they aware of what they were writing? I would say yes, they were aware that what they were writing was going to be on the same level as the Holy Scriptures. But this medium-sized debate you're talking about is whether or not it is an epistle by definition. Right.
Gotcha. And I would say, yes, it is an epistle because of this, the nature of everything laid out.
Something else. Let's go a little deeper if that's okay. It's not in the notes here, but I can talk about it. A letter can be Paranetic. Paranetic means it's an encouragement.
Or it can be protreptic. Protreptic means it has.
Okay. So peranetic is encouragement, protreptic is conversion.
Okay. This letter In a sense, may have a little bit of both. May be heavier on the parenetic side, but it also has the protreptic nature that it's also intended to reach people who are lost. I know I'm going a little deeper, but hopefully it'll benefit people. Is there a typical pattern that epistles follow, paranetic or protreptic?
Do they most are paranetic?
Okay. Like encouragement. Most of the encouragement. Encouragement or something. Yeah.
But they can also, they definitely have the protreptic element to it. Basically, the book of Romans, I think it has very much the conversion purpose. Is it the whole Romans road? Is it conversion unto salvation specifically? Like I'm thinking of 1 Corinthians where Paul wants them to change their behavior, but they're already saved.
Right. That would be more on the paranetic side of things.
Okay, okay.
So he's encouraging them even if he's encouraging them to change their behavior. Even if he's not happy with them, he's encouraging them to change their behavior.
Now, what does that have to do with the book of James? James is written. In in in I would say as an epistle. Let's have settled that. I think it's an epistle, not just an occasional letter.
There's not a whole lot of occasional chit chatting happening there. Right. Which I think may happen in parenthetic letters. There will be some chit-chatting, but it's not In an epistle, but it's not quite that much. Like Paul can tell Timothy, Here, bring my parchments with you when you come.
But he has a whole list of things he's talking about needs to happen in churches. Yeah, yeah.
So keep that in mind. Secondly, more on the paranetic side of things, but then there is the the Protreptic nature to it. Third thing here, there were also letters written back in the day that were. uh written to the dispersed groups. Dispersion began in the eighth century BC.
With the Northern Kingdom being dispersed. Ten tribes to the north, gone. Right? They were scattered. The Assyrian exile took them away, gone.
We don't know where they went. Scattered everywhere. Does that mean they were completely lost? No. But they lost their identity.
Right. They were no longer functioning as the tribe of Judah. or the tribe of Levi. Or even Benjamin, if you want to throw it in there, because Benjamin was that small tribe that hung around with Judah. Mm-hmm.
The rest of the ten sorta knew that they were with, say, Manasseh or Ephraim or Gad or Simeon. But they never truly maintain, like, these are we're all simeonites. That was over. Yeah. Or were all Ganites.
That was over. They didn't have that classification anymore. That grouping, like we hang together, like the Jewish people. Yeah, right. They're the tribe of Judah hanging together.
So these are the dispersed ones. And rabbis. at different times wrote letters. to the dispersed peoples.
Okay? I know we're going a little deeper than what most people would expect, but hopefully this is something maybe educational for you that would help you appreciate God's word even more. That's right. Yeah, go for it. When James begins his letter to the dispersed people, he's using.
the epistle format with parenetic style, with some trotreptic in it, but written in the diasporic letter pattern.
Okay. So once you understand some of these classifications, you're able to go, oh.
So you're writing to a people or peoples who have lost their identity. Or they feel left out. Or they feel like things are happening somewhere. But they're no longer as directly connected.
So is the discussion about James being an epistle related to the intended audience, the Jews that are living scattered? That's not another question. Who is James writing to? Is he writing to those twelve tribes that are dispersed? Is he writing to the Jewish Christians of those twelve tribes who are dispersed?
Is he writing to just Gentiles? Which I don't think so. Who is he writing to? By the way, something very important. This will also be very enlightening.
James, the name James. There was no name James back in the day. What was the name? It was Jacob, wasn't it? That's right.
Jacob had twelve sons. James is writing, which is really Jacob is writing the twelve sons. Wow, that connection is much more powerful when you think about it in those terms. Yeah, so the way we read this as James, the bondservant, no, it would be Jacob, the bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes.
So, like, like. thematically paralleling Jacob in the Old Testament with his twelve sons. Yeah. That's what's happening here.
So, when we come back to this in verse 19: brethren, if any among you wanders from the truth and someone turns him back. What we just discussed for the past 10 minutes, do you think that helps you understand that verse better? Yeah, because these are people who would have been wandered from the truth. They've wandered from their identity. And just because this letter is written to a different people group than like an Ephesians or like a Colossians, it follows the same trajectory, the same format as an epistle.
So it makes it no less an epistle, although it is in the rabbinical letter style to the dispersed Jews. Yeah. Oh, dispersed peoples. Dispersed people. Yeah.
And Jewish people may be one of the groups as well. But more than just the Jewish people. More than just that one tribe of the Jewish people. That makes sense. You see, understanding some of these things helps you understand he's writing to a dispersed group, and then he ends with if someone is wandering away.
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So it's not like a little tag dawn in the end. No, it's all connected from James 1:1 to James 5, 19, 20. It's all connected.
It's a mastercraft of a letter. Yeah. Everything just kind of ties back in together, a nice, nice rounding, nice, nice back to form at the beginning. Yeah, it's like it's looping. Yeah.
And so for us, right? Like we're. Do we see ourselves as those wanderers, or is it more like this is what James is telling us to do for people in our life who are wandering, or maybe some both? I think it's both. Yeah.
For starters, he's talking to God's people. Like on the day of Pentecost, you know, all those that were Medes and Parthians and Arabs and Cretans and all that, they were not just Medes, Parthians, Arabs, and Cretans. They were background Hebrew Israelites who were from all these places, the dispersed tribes, who were hearing them in their own language. That's who heard the gospel. But now going where they went They took the gospel with them.
And those who are willing to come to the living, true, triune God whose messiah had come. Are also in a way grafted.
Now, here's where Romans comes in: grafted into that family, into those tribes. Yeah, maybe you can talk about that for a minute because you know, 800 years, we read that in Bible terms and goes, okay, yeah, 800. But 800 years, like, There was no America. We would have been part of, I guess, Britain, Europe, right?
So. Why don't we, and maybe it's just completely different, but like if someone said, you know. I feel as an American, I feel lost. I feel wandering because we haven't been Britain in 400-something years. That makes no sense at all.
Do you think these people, these Arabs, these Cretans, these people who were dispersed, still did feel that longing for their Jewish, their Hebrew background? Or had not Jewish, but I would say Israelite. Right, that Israelite background. Do you think they felt that longing, or was it more like this is a spiritual thing where you used to be this, but you don't recognize it? No, they felt that longing.
Absolutely. In fact, after. They became Christians. That they okay, already they felt outsiders, right. Because they were part of the dispersed ones.
Because of God's judgment 800 years ago. Imagine the 800 years ago. Yeah. Where was the mother country 800 years ago? Where was England 800 years ago?
You're talking about the time of what, Chaucer? Yeah, that would be like what, 15 something? Earlier. 13 something? Yeah.
13. Yeah. 13 hundreds? Yeah. I mean, the printing process hasn't haven't happened yet.
Right. The the the Greek New Testament has not been published under Erasmus or whatever. King James Bible hasn't been translated. I mean, none uh the Jamestown colony, sixteen oh seven, right? Yeah, has not happened.
None of that has happened. Yeah. I mean, we're not even to Columbus yet at that point. No, we're not even to Columbus. No, no, no.
1492 would be Columbus. 1300s. Add another hundred some years prior to that. Right. So For all these years.
You have been scattered all over the world. How much do you feel connected to people in 13th century or 14th century England? No, I mean, you're talking generations down the line. Yeah. Several times removed.
Yeah, I guess that's what I was asking because as an American, I don't feel any connection, but I also don't feel a longing to. But in this case, there was a longing. That's why they were there on the day of Pentecost. They wanted to return to that. I think the difference, too, with us is that, you know, America was formed by winning our individual.
Well, that's by actively choosing to leave versus these people having been forced out. Yeah. And not forced out by. Each other, but forced out by God. Right.
Yeah. Because you disobey me, because you're turning away to false gods. Right. I will. Scatter you among the nations.
And he did. And they were scattered. That's a good point because it wasn't just that they were conquered by a foreign nation, they want to go back to it. It's that this is that God has scattered them. Yeah, right.
So I guess really it's a longing to return to God as well. And here's a double whammy. Not only did they already feel like outsiders, But the ones who got converted. They were double outsiders. Wow, that's true.
I haven't thought about that. The Jewish people around them wouldn't. Not Jewish, but their own tribal people, wherever they lived, now didn't want them. Right. Wow.
So you were outsiders, but now you're outsiders of the outsiders. Wow.
And what do you do with that when you're outside the ones on the outside? You're never coming back in. To damn James's writing. Wow.
To damn. Peter made that message on the day of Pentecost. And they heard the gospel in their own languages. Like, this is how much God cares about you: that He wants you who are now living in a whole different nation. You don't even know how to read Hebrew.
But now I will Get the word to you. Yeah. You know, you grew up in a non-Christian country, even though you did grow up in a Christian environment with your family. You know, can you speak to, because I'm sure you had friends who grew up on the outside of Christianity or who grew up on the outside, maybe grew up Hindu or Muslim and came to America. Can you speak to what it's like to feel like an outsider among Christians?
As a Christian? Yeah, I I guess so. Yeah, I mean, I I remember that. Yeah. When I first came here, you know, some some Christians will gladly accept some just look at you like, Who are you?
What are you doing here? you know, and and that you feel like an outsider. And I felt like that at times. And it was. Frustrating, it was shocking to have Christians treat you as outsiders.
So that is difficult. I didn't come illegally, I came legally in every way, but still it was I was an outsider. Yeah. And so If you don't have a strong relationship with God, you can really lose your mind. You can feel frustrated, or you'll be like, okay, fine, then I'll be on the outside and I'll.
Live my own life. I don't need you, kind of thing. And you don't want to do that either. Yeah. I didn't want to walk away from my Christian roots just because a few Christians treated me like outsiders.
Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. So, yeah, I can maybe, is that what you were referring to? Yeah, I guess what I'm saying is, like, just like someone like me growing up here in America, you always are told and shown in media or whatever that you belong here.
You're the default. This is your life, your world, your country. And then someone like you coming from the outside, even though you are Christian, I can imagine it's. It could be tough to adopt that new culture. I'm trying to put myself in the, I guess, really what I'm saying is, speaking as someone who has never been made to feel like an outsider, how is it different?
You know, what are those challenges? Because I'm sure there's lots of people listening to this right now who say, yay, I have felt like that. I felt like an outsider before. And that's something that I can't speak to.
Well, that's where the book of James comes in. James, it's an incredible book. I mean, we're going through the series again in our church on Sunday mornings, but I'm not just heating up an old sermon and serving it again. I'm going deeper. I'm digging deeper.
The Old Testament is the bedrock on which the book of James. is written. but with a clearer, fresher Understanding of who Jesus Christ is.
Now, yes, Jesus is mentioned maybe twice. In the opening, and I think in chapter two, it talks about the Lord Jesus Christ.
So it's not a Jewish letter written by, or an Israelite letter written by a Jewish person from Jerusalem to his scattered brothers and sisters from other tribes. It's not like that. It is a Christian letter. It is written by a Jewish Christian to. Other Israelite Christians scattered all over the world.
And he's using the Old Testament. Standard of righteousness to call them. To a higher standard of living based on their walk with Jesus Christ. It's multilayered. Yeah, it is.
Very multi-layered.
So, on one surface, it seems like, oh, yeah, this is nothing, man. Just like, do good, do good, do good. Yeah. Faith without works is dead. Yeah, what is that?
It's only by grace through faith that we're saved. That's why Martin Luther at times called this An epistle of straw because to him it was like this, this is crazy, yeah, yeah, but it's not this is so surfacy, but I think that's a great point, and maybe you can you can speak to this is that. In yes, in the Eternity of history, God wrote this for us. I'm not saying that it's not applicable, I guess, but what I am saying is that it was written to a specific audience with a specific purpose. And part of hermeneutics, right?
Part of interpreting that and understanding it is understanding that context. Yeah, and all of the books of the Bible are written to particular people at particular times with the understanding that it's also applicable. To all peoples at all times. That's just the nature of the Bible. That's why the Bible is such a different book than anything else anywhere in the world.
No book. I don't care what your holy book is. And you may get angry about it. And that's why let's discuss. Don't get angry.
Don't get violent. Let's talk. But it doesn't compare. None of those books ever can compare with the Bible, which is grounded in solid historical places and times. and peoples But at the same time, the message transcends all people, places, and times.
You know, I think even as, and maybe tell me what you think about this, but even as great as Martin Luther was, the fact that he wasn't able to see that sort of reminds me, like, even of myself, you know, where you're, you are sort of in this entitled position where this isn't immediately applicable to me.
So it must not be that important. But someone else somewhere is like, that changed my life.
Well, I also don't think because of all of your acumen and all of your accolades that you are above missing. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Martin Luther, genius, brilliant. And I mean, the, the, at the forefront of a lot of developments that we know and love as part of our church life today.
He, I would say, missed the ball there. Yeah, absolutely. He did. And I've fallen into that trap where I'm like, man, this is basic. I already know this stuff.
It's like, yes, but someone else is getting way more than the basics for this because of their experiences, because of the way that they grew up, because of the way that they see the world. They're taking in way, way more. And if I could put myself in their shoes for a minute, I would get way more out of this rather than just say, this is easy. I already know all this stuff. Yeah.
And yes, you can say that if you have truly done your heart rock, you know, just deep research. Right. If you haven't done that, then no, you're not ready to say that. This is this is simple. I already know this.
Yeah. You don't.
So, yeah. I think this is some of the beauty of James. You know, we talked before about how James is such a grounded book. It's such a practical book. It's so easily accessible.
And yet, the more we've talked about it and the more we've studied it, the more. Formal and more eloquent, James' layout and his structure, and his rhetoric seems. Do we know? Are we given information about what James' profession was, about what his training was? No, we haven't been, but I have in other places, I have covered.
The town of Nazareth. This was a community of. People coming from priestly background, from the tribe of Judah, or even the Levites, who were living there thinking that they were going to be the progenitors of the Messiah. The Netzer means root.
So Natzeret means we are the roots in a sense of the Messiah who's coming.
So with that in mind, I'm sure that they trained their children to study the word of God, the Torah, or the writings, or the Nevi'im. They really must study the Tanakh. And really grounded themselves in scripture. If you see Mary's Magnificat and you leave aside all the other trappings that have sort of been attacked onto her, you see her so grounded in scripture, that song. Is just rich and beautiful, and so messianic at the same time, so grounded in salvation history.
Yeah. James was her son. Yeah. That's a great point. James was our son.
We're talking about, and I'm sure there's people who are listening to this right now who maybe feel like outsiders, maybe have lived as outsiders. And so they're hearing this, and they're saying, I feel like when I read James, James is writing to me. Maybe, Dr. Sha, you can speak to the other people, the people who are more like me, who are like, no, I've always felt like I belonged. I felt like the world was sort of crafted for me.
America was crafted for me, all these opportunities. And I'm maybe missing what James is saying. Maybe speak to them and give some encouragement on how we can view this differently.
Well, just know that the Bible applies across time and place. It does. But there is no substitute to studying the Bible in its depth, in its history, in its context. There is no substitute to setting aside your presuppositions or, you know, your pre-understanding and going to the heart of what the message is of scripture. You will never walk away empty-handed just because you did that research.
I never do. I mean, all this research I've done over the past few weeks has helped me so much. The message hasn't changed. The messenger has grown up. And I have grown up not only because of my experiences over the past 15, some years since I last preached on this book.
But also, my theological academic scholarship has helped me a lot in appreciating the message and getting to the heart of that message.
So, again, message hasn't changed, but the depth behind it has deepened. Absolutely. And so, yes, absolutely. I will encourage people: hey. Don't shy away from digging deeper.
Some of those simple statements. If, brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, Well, let's go back to James chapter one. Those people of the dispersion, they were wanderers. They had lost their home. They had been scattered.
This is written to bring them back. And so when he ends with that, it seems like something just tacked on. Or something like, okay, keep the rules, but if you wander, you got to come back. No, it's more than that that's happening here. Yeah, you know, we're all wanderers in some ways.
Yeah, and we maybe have three minutes left in the show, just very quickly. You want to take 60 seconds to just speak to the people who feel like, man, you know, Dr. Shah, it looks like you've made a great life for yourself in America. Maybe I came here five years ago, 10 years ago, and I still feel like an outsider. What do I do?
Well, for me, I can tell you this much: there came a day in my life.
Okay, when I had to make that decision of whether I will be a double-minded man. Unstable in all my ways. Guess who said that? James said that. That's right.
So I had to make a choice: where am I going to be? And I'm going to be in America. This is my home. This is my life. And I chose this as my country.
Other than. My salvation? And my marriage to Nicole, and our life together with our children. This has been, I would say, I will also add the church in it. The church has been a big part of who I am today.
Fourth thing definitely would be the country. This nation has been a blessing to me that I cannot describe. I cannot put in words.
So that's also a big part of that.
So I would encourage people: if you are in that limbo, that wandering world, not sure where to pick, where to go, choose this place. That's right. It's not perfect. No place is perfect, that's right. But having considered all those places, I feel like I'm doing in the best of all the worlds in America.
Amen. Guys, make sure you join us next time. Same time, same station. We're going to dig further into this topic right here on the Clear Vee Today Show. Thanks to our sponsors for making today's episode possible.
As we're walking through the Book of James, if something grabs your attention or you have questions about something, write in and let us know: 252-582-5028. We'd love to hear from you and love to get to know our Clear Read Today Show family. Don't forget that if these episodes have been a blessing for you and you want to bless someone else, you can always consider giving financially to the Clear Vee Today Show. And you can do that at Abadanshah.com/ford slash give. That's right.
We want to remind you guys as well: you can pick up your pre-orders at the Robinson Pier Pont 2026 text form right now by following the link in the description. Thank you to everybody who's already made their pre-orders, and we're going to be having some more information and updates in the coming days.
So stay tuned. You can also follow all of our shows on the Abadan Shah Network or the channel on iTunes. We're going to leave a link in the description for that as well. We got some brand new shows coming in the summer, including How to Read Biblical Greek by Dr. Abadan Shah.
That's right. We love you guys. We'll see you tomorrow on Clear Vee Today.
