This document provides an introduction and overview of the letter of James in the New Testament. It discusses the following key points: 1. James was one of the General or Catholic Epistles addressed to Jewish Christians scattered abroad. It was likely written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, around 45-50 AD. 2. The letter focuses on practical Christian living and faith in action. It discusses topics like trials, wisdom, faith and works, the tongue, worldliness, riches, patience, and prayer. 3. The letter's canonical status was questioned until the early church realized its author was Jesus' half-brother. Martin Luther questioned its usefulness compared to Paul's letters since it says little

1. THE EPISTLE OF JAMES

2. INTRODUCTION TO
THE LETTER OF JAMES
AUTHOR: James Date: 45-50
The General Epistles James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John,
and Jude were called by the early church the “General,”
“Universal,” or “Catholic”epistles because their addresses(with the
exception of 2 and 3 John) were not limited to a single locality.
James, for example, is addressed “to the twelve tribes who are
dispersed abroad” (1:1) – a designation for believers everywhere
(likely all Jewish Christians at that early date.)
Authorship Ofthe four men bearing the name Jamesin the New
Testament, only two have been proposed as the author of this letter
– James the son of Zebedee (and brother of John) and James the
half brother of Jesus. It is a unlikely that the son of Zebedee was the
author, for he was martyred in A.D. 44 (Acts 12:2). The
authoritative tone of the letter no only rules out the two lesser
known Jameses of the New Testament (“James the less” and the
James of Luke 6:16) but points to the half brother of Jesus who
became the recognized leader of the Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17;
15:13; 21:18). This conclusion is supported by the resemblances in
the Greek between this epistle and the speech of James at the
Council of Jerusalem (1:1 and Acts 15:23; 1:27 and Acts 15:14; 2:5
and Acts 15:13).
Date Some, denying the authorship by James because of the
excellent Greek used, place the writing ofthe book at the very end of
the first century. However, Galileans knew and used Greek well,
along with Aramaic and Hebrew. Further, an early date is
indicated by the lack or reference to the Jerusalem Council
(A.D.49), by the use of the word “synagogue” (assembly), for the
church in 2:2, and by the strong expectation of the Lord’s soon
return (5:7-9).
Canonicity The canonical status of this letter was questioned
until the church realized that its author was almost surely the half
brother of Jesus. Luther did not questionthe genuineness of James,

3. only its usefulness in comparison with Paul’s epistles, because it
says little about justification by faith, while elevating works.
Contents “The book is concerned with the practical aspects of
Christianconduct;it tells how faith works in everyday life. Jame’s
purpose was to provide concrete ethical instruction. Compared to
Paul, James shows much less interest in formal theology, though
the letter is not without theological statements (1:22; 2:1, 10-12,19;
3:9; 5:7-9,12,14). Many subjectsare discussed in this book, making
it like a series of brief sayings arranged in the form of a letter.
While there is little formal structure to the book, its many
instructionsexplainhow to be doers of the Word (1:22). In the 108
verses of the epistle there are references or allusions from twenty-
twobooks of the Old Testament and at least fifteen allusions to the
teachings of Christ as embodied in the Sermon on the Mount.
Among the key subjectsdiscussed are faith and works (2:14-16), the
use of the tongue (3:1-12), and prayer for the sick (5:13-16).”

4. OUTLINE OF JAMES
Testing Your Faith, 1:1-27
I. Greating, 1:1
A. Greatings from James
Faith and Endurance (1:2-18)
II. Trials, 1:2-18
A. Trials, Testing, and Faith, 2-18
1. Faith and Wisdom, 2-8
a. Profiting from trials
2. True Riches, 9-11
a. The perspective of rich and poor
3. Temptation is not from God, 12-18
a. Loving God under trials
The Word of God (1:19-27)
III. The Word, 1:19-27
A. Hearing and Doing the Word, 19-27
1. Qualities Needed in Trials, 19,20
2. Does – Not Hearers Only, 21-27

5. Love All People (2:1-13)
IV. Partiality: The Sin of Partiality, 2:1-13
A. Partiality forbidden: Don’t Favor Rich People over
Poor People
1. The Command, 2:1
2. The Conduct, 2:2-3
3. The Consequence, 2:4-13
Faith and Works 2:14-26
V. Faith and Works, 2:14-26
A. Faith without Works Is Dead, 14-26
1. We show our faith by what we do, 14-16
a. The Inquiry, 2:14
b. The Illustration, 2:15-17
c. The Indoctrination, 2:18-26
VI. Sins of the Tongue, 3:1-12
A. The Tongue Is a Fire
1. Speck wisely: Controlling the things we say
a. It’s Bridling, 3:1-4
b. It’s Boasting, 3:5-12
VII. Two Kinds of Wisdom, 3:13-18
A. Heavenly versus Demonic Wisdom
1. Live Wisely: True Wisdom Comes from God

6. Things to Avoid, 1-17
VIII. Worldliness, 4:1-17
A. Worldliness: Stop fighting with each other, 1-10
1. It’s Cause, 4:1-2
2. It’s Consequences, 4:3-6
3. It’s Cure, 4:7-10
a. Humility Cures Worldliness
B. Worldliness: Characteristics, 4:11-17
1. It’s Characteristics, 11-17
a. Do not judge a brother, 11-12: Stop slandering each other, 11-12
b. Arrogant boasting about the future: Let God Plan Your life, 13-
17
Misuse of Riches
IX. Riches, 5:1-6
A. Warning to rich oppressors
1. Rich Oppressors will be judged
a. Woes on the rich who oppress others
Exhortation, 7-20
X. Patience, and Perseverance, 5:7-12
A. Patience in Suffering, 7-12
1. Be Patient, waiting for the Lord, 7-11

7. 2. Truthful Speech
a. Be Careful what you say: Don’t Take Oaths, 12
XI. Prayer, 5:13-18
A. The Power of Prayer
1. The Effective Prayer of Faith
a. Meeting specific needs
XII. The conversion of the Erring, 5:19-20
A. Restore Wandering Believers
1. Bring back the erring one
a. Help those who have wandering away from the truth
Source: The RYRIE Study Bible – New International Version by Charles
Caldwell Ryrie, Th.D., Ph.D., New King James Version – (NKJV), New
International Version – (NIV), Holman Christian Standard Bible – (HCSB),
New Living Translation – (NLT); New American Standard Bible – (NASB),
English Standard Version – (ESV), Lexham English Bible – (LEB); New
Century Version – (NCV) and GOD’S WORD Translation – (GW)

8. 1. Bibles
1.1 BibleGateway.com
Available Versions
Language Version Available Versions
አአአአ (AM) – Amharic New Amharic Standard Version PDF
Amuzgo de Guerrero
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Cakchiquel Occidental
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14. 1.2 Bible Hub
Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages

15. 2. Commentaries
2.1 Matthew Henry Complete
Bible Commentary
James
James 1 James 2 James 3 James 4 James 5

16. 2.2 The Wiersbe Bible Commentary
The Wiersbe Bible Commentary : New Testament

17. 3. Bible Dictionaries
ISBE Main Index:
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The ISBE is part of SwordSearcher Bible Software.
Holman Bible Dictionary
Browse by: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

18. 4.
My Presentations – (Minhas Apresentações)
http://www.slideboom.com/presentations/1385921/THE-LETTER-OF-JAMES

19. 5. Daily Bible Reading
(Leitura Bíblica Diária)
http://biblialeituracomentarioshinos.blogspot.com