James 1:1

Scriptural view of God, self and brethren -- James 1:1: The epistle of James begins, "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." (James 1:1) James refers to himself as servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He served God in many ways, but especially as a proclaimer of the gospel. James realized that he was not his own. (1 Corinthians 16:20) He knew that a person cannot be a servant of God without becoming a Christian.

If we want to have the best life here and eternal life hereafter, we must come to Jesus, the Son of God. We must obey Him. (Hebrews 5:9) There are five steps which Jesus has commanded that we take in order to be born again.again.

We must hear and learn "...that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) We learn this from hearing the Word of God preached.

We must believe that Jesus is the son of God. We must believe that Jesus died for our sins. Unless we believe this, we cannot have eternal life. (John 3:36)

Jesus will not forgive our sins if we do not repent of them. (Luke 13:3) To repent of our sins means we change our hearts or minds about sin and we turn away from doing them.

If we truly believe in Jesus Christ, we will CONFESS our faith in Him. "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved..." (Romans 10:9-10)

We must be baptized for the forgiveness of our sins. We are buried in the water just as Christ was buried in the grave. We are raised from the water just as Christ was raised from the grave. Thus, we show our faith that Christ died, was buried, and arose. When we are baptized our old life of sin is finished. (Romans 6:1-4)

James showed great respect for God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the Father is Lord so is Jesus Christ as well. Jesus Christ is God, just as the Father is God. God desired that all people honor the Son as they honor the Father. It takes humility and submission to be God's servant. (James 4:7; James 4:10) James expressed a high esteem for God and for Jesus as ruler of his life. (Revelation 21:3)