The book of James

1. The Book of James – 14th
April 2016
"Consideritpure joy,my brothers, whenever you face trialsof manykinds,because you know that the
testing ofyour faithdevelopsperseverance." “(James1:2-3).
The author of thisepistle isJames,alsocalledJamesthe Just,whoisthoughttobe the brotherof Jesus
Christas we can leanfrom Matthew13:55,” “Isn’tthisthe carpenter’s son?Isn’t hismother’s name
Mary? Aren’t hisbrothers James, Joseph,Simonand Judas? We can also readthisin Mark6:3. James
was nota believeruntilafterthe resurrection.AfterwhichJamesbecame the headof the Jerusalem
church and ismentionedfirstasapillarof the church. We can read thisis Galatians2:9, “James,Peter
and Johnare respected as pillarsinthe church…”. The Bookof Jamesisprobablythe oldestbookof
the NewTestament,writtenperhapsasearlyasA.D. 45, before the firstcouncil of JerusaleminA.D.50.
Jameswasmartyredin approximatelyA.D.62,accordingto the historianJosephus.
Some thinkthatthisepistle waswritteninresponsetoanoverzealousinterpretationof Paul’steaching
regardingfaith.Thisextreme view,calledantinomianism, heldthatthroughfaithinChristone is
completelyfree fromall OldTestamentlaw,all legalism,all secularlaw,andall the moralityof asociety.
The Book of Jamesis directedtoJewishChristiansscatteredamongall the nationsaswe canlearnfrom
James 1:1,“ I, James, amwriting thisletter. I serve Godandthe Lord JesusChrist..
Martin Luther,whodetestedthisletterandcalledit“the epistle of straw,”failedtorecognize that
James’steachingonworkscomplemented—notcontradicted—Paul’steachingonfaith.While Pauline
teachingsconcentrate onourjustificationwithGod,James’teachingsconcentrateonthe worksthat
exemplifythatjustification.JameswaswritingtoJewstoencourage themtocontinue growinginthis
newChristianfaith.Jamesemphasizesthatgoodactionswill naturallyflow fromthose whoare filled
withthe Spiritandquestionswhethersomeone mayormay nothave a savingfaithif the fruitsof the
Spiritcannotbe seen,muchas Paul describesthe fruitof the spiritin Galatians5:22-23.
The Book of Jamesoutlinesthe faithwalkthroughgenuine religionwhichwe canlearnbyreading
James1:1-27. We can alsolearnof genuine faith whenwe read James2: 12, “Speakand act as those
who are goingto be judged by the law that givesfreedom”. We can learnof genuine wisdomin James
3:13, “Whois wiseand understandingamongyou?Let them showit by their good life,by deeds done
in the humilitythatcomes from wisdom”. Thisbookcontainsa remarkable parallel toJesus’Sermonon
the Mount in.Jamesbeginsinthe firstchapterby describingthe overalltraitsof the faithwalk.In
chapter2 and the beginningof chapter3 he discussessocial justiceandadiscourse onfaithinaction.He
thencomparesand contraststhe difference betweenworldlyandgodlywisdomandasksusto turn
away fromevil anddrawclose to God. Jamesgivesaparticularlysevere rebuke tothe richwhohoard
and those whoare self-reliant.Finallyhe endswithencouragementtobelieverstobe patientin
suffering,prayingandcaringfor one anotherandbolsteringourfaiththroughfellowship.
We can learnof some keyteachingthatwe can getfrom thisepistle.We getan important
understandingwhenwe read James1:19: "My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone shouldbe
quickto listen,slowto speak and slowto become angry.” We can alsolearnthat withoutactionsof

2. withoutdeeds,Faith nouse.We canlearnthisin James2:17-18: "Inthe same way, faithby itself,ifit is
not accompaniedbyaction,is dead. But someone will say,‘Youhave faith; I have deeds.’Show me
your faithwithoutdeeds, and I will showyou my faithby what I do.” We are alsotaughtthat we need
to be careful of how we use outtonguesin James 3:5: "Likewise the tongueis a small part of the body,
but it makes great boasts.Considerwhat a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."
The Book of Jamesis the ultimate descriptionof the relationshipbetweenfaithandworks.Soingrained
inthe Mosaic Law andits systemof workswere the JewishChristianstowhomJameswrote thathe
spentconsiderabletime explainingthe difficulttruththatno one isjustifiedbythe worksof the law as
we can learnfrom Galatians2:16, “Knowthat a person isnot justifiedby the works of the law,but by
faithin JesusChrist. So we, too,have put our faithin ChristJesus that we may be justifiedby faithin[a]
Christand not by the works of the law,because by the works ofthe lawno one will be justified”. He
declarestothemthat evenif theytrytheirverybestto keepall the variouslawsandrituals,doingsois
impossible,andtransgressingthe tiniestpartof the law made themguiltyof all of it. We can learn of the
difficultyinadheringtothe MosaicLaw whenwe readin James2:10, “Forwhoever keeps the whole
law andyet stumblesat just one pointisguiltyof breakingall ofit”. We can learnthisdifficulty
because the lawisone entityandbreakingone partof it isbreakingall of it.
We see inthe Bookof Jamesa challenge tofaithful followersof JesusChristtonotjust“talk the talk,”
but to “walkthe walk.”While ourfaithwalk,tobe certain,requiresagrowthof knowledgeaboutthe
Word, Jamesexhortsustonot stopthere.Many Christianswill findthisepistlechallengingasJames
presents60 obligationsinonly108 verses.He focusesonthe truthsof Jesus’wordsinthe Sermonon
the Mount and motivatesustoact upon whatHe taught.The epistle alsoputstorestthe ideathat one
can become a Christianandyetcontinue livinginsin,exhibitingnofruitof righteousness. James
declares,thatsucha “faith,”issharedbythe demonswhobelieveandtremble whichwe canlearnfrom
James 2:19, “Youbelieve that there is one God.Good!Even the demons believe that—andshudder”.
Yet sucha “faith”cannotsave because itis notverifiedbythe worksthatalwaysaccompanytrue saving
faithas we can learnfrom Ephesians2:10, “For we are God’shandiwork,createdin ChristJesus to do
goodworks, whichGod prepared inadvance for usto do. We can alsolearnthroughthisepistle where
it clearly statesthat“Good works”are notthe cause of salvation,buttheyare the resultof it”.

3. "Consideritpure joy,mybrothers,wheneveryouface trialsof manykinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
(James 1:2-3).