INTRODUCTION

“Actions speak louder than words.”  Becoming a Christian entails much more than assenting to a few spiritual truths.  It demands a change in behavior and thought.  James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem and so his letter has a very Jewish flavor.  His teachings resemble Jesus’ teachings especially the Sermon on the Mount.  He discusses pride, discrimination, greed, lust, hypocrisy, worldliness, and slander.  He insists that true faith must evidence itself in good works.  It is a very practical book on Christian life emphasizing good works as a fruit of Christianity and gratitude.  James is the half-brother of Jesus. 

Date written: is about 45 AD and sometime prior to the Jewish council in 50 AD.

Purpose: To correct the notion that a person could truly be a Christian and not have a change of behavior.

Themes:  Faith and deeds; trials of faith; controlling the tongue; and the dangers of wealth. The central theme being that those who profess faith will manifest it through their behavior and works in a realistic way.

The author is most likely to be the half brother of Jesus of the four James’ mentioned in the New Testament.  Matt 13:55 identifies the older of Jesus’ siblings, by the order they are listed, as James.  John 7:2-5 shows that James was not a believer in Jesus at the time of His ministry.  He must have become a “true” believer afterward and can speak from personal experience of the things he is teaching in this letter.  Jesus revealed Himself to James after His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7).  Paul visited James on both his first and last trips to Jerusalem (Gal. 1:19 and Acts 21:18).  He was martyred in AD 62.  The book of James is possibly one of the earliest NT writings with the possible exception of Galatians. 

James addresses his letter to “the twelve tribes,” indicating this is directed to the Jewish believers in Christ.  A few scholars feel James the brother of John could be the author, but most feel he was martyred by Herod too early to write this (AD 44) – (Acts 12:1-2).  The vocabulary and authority of James’ speech in Acts 15:13-29 is very similar to the letter that bears his name.  He uses terms that indicate he is speaking to believers and that they are Jewish believers.  He mentions the synagogue, where the early Jewish believers met.  He does not mention the Gentile believers or anything about the circumcision conflict between the Jewish and Gentile believers.  He uses the term “Lord Almighty” (NIV) or “Lord of hosts” which is a familiar formal address for God to the Jews.  He also writes with authority that he had over the Jewish church in Jerusalem.

It is possible that he is writing to the believers who fled Jerusalem after Stephen’s death (Acts 7:54 – 8:4).  The letter is addressed to the general church rather than to a specific city, group, or person.  James was tolerant of the Gentile Christians and very interested in Paul’s ministry, but his main concern was the Jews.  His letter is written as an absent pastor urging his people to make the needed changes in their lives and in their corporate relationships.

The letter was questioned regarding canon for several reasons: the specific identity of James, its brevity, the fact that it is a general letter not addressed to a specific person or church, it was not written by one of the twelve apostles, and its untheological nature.  However, after careful consideration it was unanimously accepted.  There were never any faults in the book itself but many early Christian writers did not refer to it.

Many claim a similarity with the Sermon on the Mount.  One example of this is the connection between Jas. 5:12 and Matt. 5:34-37.  Others: (Jas. 2:5 to Lk. 6:20), (Jas. 3:10-12 to Matt. 7:16-20), (Jas. 3:18 to Matt. 5:9).  James reflects the thoughts and even the words of Jesus.  James also bears some style similarities to the Proverbs.  (Jas. 1:8,22; 4:17) and also uses the word “wisdom” (Jas. 1:5; 3:13-17).  The Proverbs abound with references to wisdom.  Both James and the Proverbs attribute the source of wisdom to God Himself.  James even quotes from Proverbs – (Jas 4:6 & Pr. 3:34 – Jas. 1:5 & pr. 2:6; 1:19 – PR. 29:20; 3:18 – Pr. 11:30; 4:13-16 – Pr. 27:1; 5:20 – Pr. 10:12)

James is possibly the least theological of the NT books although it does have theological value and is theologically accurate.  Three doctrines often surface:

1)         Doctrine of God: He is generous (1:5) – holy (1:13) – the unchanging source of good (1:17) – the one and only God (2:19) – the Father of His people and the One in whose image we are created (3:9) – He is sovereign (4:15) – and just (5:4) – filled with pity and tender mercy (5:11).

2)         Doctrine of sin: He views sin as: universal (3:2) – indwelling all persons (1:14-15) – resulting in death (1:15) – expressing itself in anger (1:20) – moral filth (1:21) – blasphemy (2:7) – discrimination (2:9-11) – bitterness and lust (4:1-3) – and theft and oppression (5:4).

3)         Doctrine or theme of eschatology: as a day of rewards (1:12) – when God’s kingdom will be introduced (2:5) – day of judgment (2:12; 3:1) – time of the Lord’s return (5:7-8).

He briefly mentions other doctrines but does not focus on them, such as:

            Christ as Lord (1:1; 2:1)

            Regeneration (1:18)

            Salvation (1:21)

            Justification (2:21-25)

            Forgiveness of sin (5:15)

            Saving faith and resultant good deeds (2:14-26)