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James on Wisdom
A study of James 3:13-5:20 that highlights the ability of the saving faith that transforms us to also equip us to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in this present age. James says it does this so well because it is rooted in the wisdom that comes down from above instead of the wisdom that is earthly, natural, and demonic.
174 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
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January 10, 2009
As Bible Study books go, James on Wisdom by Carol Ruvolo was definitely not a favorite for me. The author's writing voice came across as a bit legalistic & distancing throughout the book. Overall, the tone of the book was not endearing; it did not build a sense of trust with the author. I think this trust-building is an important quality for a study to have, because it assists the reader in opening his or her heart to the author -- it facilitates an openness to hearing what the author has to say -- a readiness to be taught.
As one example, I'll share a passage from early on in the study where the author talks about why we should study the Bible. Pay attention to the use of the important pronoun "they" in this passage:
"The vast majority of Christians I know do not live lives that consistently glorify God, and they certainly don't appear to be enjoying Him forever. Why not? If they know they should, and they want to, why don't they? You might be thinking, "Because they're just sinners, that's why!"... They are sinners; however, they are sinners who have been transformed by regeneration in Jesus Christ... So why don't they? (1) They know very little of the truth contained in God's Word, and (2) They have never learned how to apply the scriptural truth they do know in everyday life."
To me, this passage was extremely distancing. It immediately set up an "us/them" mentality. And in reading it, I was finding myself suddenly pushed out of the author's circle of welcome and into the fold of black sheep labelled "they!" For who of us glorifies God all the time?!
Not that I'm an editor (though I've often thought that would be a fun job), but I think this passage would have been so much more honestly & effectively written, had all the "they"s been changed to "we."
Listen to the inviting voice of humility that immediately draws the reader and writer together in fighting the same battle:
"So many times we as Christians do not live lives that consistently glorify God... Why not? If we know we should, and we want to, why don't we? You might be thinking, "Because I'm just a sinner!" And that's true -- we are sinners. But we are sinners who have been transformed by regeneration in Jesus Christ." etc etc
This is what I needed when I approached this study. Not an author who had all the answers, but one who was a real person. I think this mentality would have gone a long way to making this study more productive for me. I definitely learned things from the study, but it was a bit of a battle. I had to enter each Bible study session, praying for God to keep me teachable, to hear what He wanted to teach me, in spite of being turned off by the author's tone.
--Jen
As one example, I'll share a passage from early on in the study where the author talks about why we should study the Bible. Pay attention to the use of the important pronoun "they" in this passage:
"The vast majority of Christians I know do not live lives that consistently glorify God, and they certainly don't appear to be enjoying Him forever. Why not? If they know they should, and they want to, why don't they? You might be thinking, "Because they're just sinners, that's why!"... They are sinners; however, they are sinners who have been transformed by regeneration in Jesus Christ... So why don't they? (1) They know very little of the truth contained in God's Word, and (2) They have never learned how to apply the scriptural truth they do know in everyday life."
To me, this passage was extremely distancing. It immediately set up an "us/them" mentality. And in reading it, I was finding myself suddenly pushed out of the author's circle of welcome and into the fold of black sheep labelled "they!" For who of us glorifies God all the time?!
Not that I'm an editor (though I've often thought that would be a fun job), but I think this passage would have been so much more honestly & effectively written, had all the "they"s been changed to "we."
Listen to the inviting voice of humility that immediately draws the reader and writer together in fighting the same battle:
"So many times we as Christians do not live lives that consistently glorify God... Why not? If we know we should, and we want to, why don't we? You might be thinking, "Because I'm just a sinner!" And that's true -- we are sinners. But we are sinners who have been transformed by regeneration in Jesus Christ." etc etc
This is what I needed when I approached this study. Not an author who had all the answers, but one who was a real person. I think this mentality would have gone a long way to making this study more productive for me. I definitely learned things from the study, but it was a bit of a battle. I had to enter each Bible study session, praying for God to keep me teachable, to hear what He wanted to teach me, in spite of being turned off by the author's tone.
--Jen
Displaying 1 of 1 review