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Authorship of James

James was a common name in New Testament times, there being five mentioned in the New Testament:

(1) James the father of Judas (not Iscariot), one of the Twelve (Luke 6:16);

(2) James the son of Alphaeus and his wife Mary, one of the Twelve (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13);

(3) the James mentioned in Mark 15:40, of whom nothing is known;

(4) James, one of the Twelve, a brother of the apostle John and one of the sons of Zebedee and his wife Salome. (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:17);

(5) James the biological brother of Jesus (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3; Galatians 1:18, 19).

Most scholars credit James, the brother of Jesus as the author of this epistle.  It is not certain that this is a fact.  However, it is in keeping with the distinction that the Lord's brother had within the church to credit him as the author.  The facts as we know them are that James, along with the Lord's other brothers, was very slow to believe in him. John wrote that "Even his brothers did not believe on him" (John 7:5).  However, Acts 1:14 records that His brothers were present in the "upper chamber" following the crucifixion.  In 1 Corinthians 15:7, Paul recorded a singular appearance of Christ to James after the resurrection.  No doubt, this event had a significant impact to the conversion of James who went on to be a prominent leader in the Lord's church (Galatians 2:9). 

When Peter was miraculously released from prison, he sent word "to James, and to the brethren" (Acts 12:17).   When the Jerusalem Council was held, James had one of the leading parts (Acts 15:13).  The Jerusalem council, also referred to as the "Apostolic Council"  was a meeting between delegates from the church at Antioch (Paul, Barnabas, and others) and those from the church at Jerusalem where they convened to settle a dispute raised by some Jewish-Christians from Jerusalem who had come to Antioch teaching that gentile converts could not be saved apart from the Mosaic rite of circumcision.  In Acts 15:24-25 we learn that the entire council of whom James was a prominent speaker united to send out letters and chosen men with the intent of stopping the influence of the Judaizers. 

When Paul made his first visit to Jerusalem, he wrote in Galatians 1:18-19, "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.  But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord's brother".   Here James is apparently referred to as an "apostle".  We know that he was not one of the original twelve.  In Acts 14:14 we read that Barnabas was also referred to as an apostle.  The Greek word literally means "one sent forth" and is also translated as a "messenger".  This word has a wider reference than just the 12 Apostles and Paul. In 2 Corinthians 8:23, in the original Greek, two unnamed brethren are called 'apostles of the churches.  In Philippians 2:25, Epaphroditus is referred to as 'your apostle.  It is used in 1 Thessalonians 2:6 of Paul, Silas and Timothy, to define their relation to Christ.  So in referring to James as an "apostle" we understand that in so doing, the writer indicates that James is a prominent figure in the church.  

The Judaizing force at work in the early church which sought to bring Christians back under the law of Moses, (Acts 15:5) was a powerful force to contend with. They were successful in bringing their influence to the churches in Galatia which prompted Paul to write an Epistle to the Galatians.  The Judaizers had attacked Paul's position as an Apostle and in his defense he wrote of the meeting we refer to as the Jerusalem Council where he presented the gospel he had been preaching to the Gentiles and was given approval by the Jerusalem church.  Of significance here is that Paul referred to James as a "pillar" in the church (Galatians 2:9). 

While it is not certain that the author of the Epistle bearing the name of James was written by the Lord's brother,  the content certainly points to someone who was very familiar with the Lord's teachings.  Some scholars have ascribed James as a commentary on Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount" because of the parallels found within the two.  Two of the Twelve Apostles were named James, but it is unlikely that either of these wrote the letter. One apostle, James, the son of Zebedee, was martyred about 44 AD. This would be too early for him to have been the writer because this predates the dispersion of the Jewish Christians. The other apostle James, the son of Alphaeus, is not prominent in the Scriptural record, and very little is known about him.  Another thing to consider here is that the author of James did not identify himself as one of the apostles of Christ anywhere in the letter suggesting that it was not written by one.    

The prominence that James, the brother of Jesus had within the church leads one to the conclusion that he is the best candidate among those mentioned in scripture.  The reasoning behind this is that when James penned the salutation, he simply referred to himself as "James".  No other means of identification was given other than his being a bond-servant of Christ.  This author had to have been a well known figure within the church in order to get away with such a salutation.  Keeping in mind the poor communication capabilities of this time period in comparison with what we have today, this is a remarkably brief identification.  This author wrote very authoritatively and in very plain language which is indicative of his upbringing as a working class man.  He expected his readership to know who he was with no more introduction than just his first name and to heed his instructions.  This man was obviously universally known within the church and his teachings obviously carried a great deal of authority. 

So it is with confidence, that this Bible student supports the general conclusions of the commentators and scholars upon whom he relied in their conviction that this epistle was written by James, the Lord's brother. This man was one of the sons of Mary and Joseph after the birth of Jesus.  This Bible student utterly rejects the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary.  In Matthew 1:24-25 we learn that Joseph went ahead and accepted Mary as his wife after discovering her pregnancy; "When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus."  The text supports that Joseph refrained from having sexual relations with Mary until after her full term of pregnancy with Jesus was finished.  Some time after His birth, they engaged in normal marital relations which we learn in Mark 6:3 resulted in a rather sizable family, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" (ESV).  Three other verses of scripture make a direct reference to the siblings of our Lord: 

Matthew 12:46, "While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him." (ESV).

Matthew 13:55-56, "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?" (ESV).

John 2:12, "After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother ands his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days." (ESV).

This would make James the biological half brother of Jesus Christ with a plethora of scriptural evidence for support. 

Fox's book of Martyrs records the death of James thus: 'At the age of ninety-four he was beat and stoned by the Jews; and finally had his brains dashed out with a fuller's club.'  A number of other uninspired early sources has come up with this account reconciled and compiled by Hegesippus:

'The scribes and Pharisees came to James for help in putting down Christian beliefs. The record says: They came, therefore, in a body to James, and said: "We entreat thee, restrain the people: for they are gone astray in their opinions about Jesus, as if he were the Christ. We entreat thee to persuade all who have come hither for the day of the Passover, concerning Jesus. For we all listen to thy persuasion; since we, as well as all the people, bear thee testimony that thou art just, and showest partiality to none. Do thou, therefore, persuade the people not to entertain erroneous opinions concerning Jesus: for all the people, and we also, listen to thy persuasion. Take thy stand, then, upon the summit of the temple, that from that elevated spot thou mayest be clearly seen, and thy words may be plainly audible to all the people. For, in order to attend the Passover, all the tribes have congregated hither, and some of the Gentiles also."

To the scribes' and Pharisees' dismay, James boldly testified that Christ "Himself sitteth in heaven, at the right hand of the Great Power, and shall come on the clouds of heaven." The scribes and Pharisees then said to themselves, "We have not done well in procuring this testimony to Jesus. But let us go up and throw him down, that they may be afraid, and not believe him." Accordingly, the scribes and Pharisees ...threw down the just man... [and] began to stone him: for he was not killed by the fall; but he turned, and kneeled down, and said: "I beseech Thee, Lord God our Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." And, while they were thus stoning him to death, one of the priests, the sons of Rechab, the son of Rechabim, to whom testimony is borne by Jeremiah the prophet, began to cry aloud, saying: "Cease, what do ye? The just man is praying for us." But one among them, one of the fullers, took the staff with which he was accustomed to wring out the garments he dyed, and hurled it at the head of the just man. And so he suffered martyrdom; and they buried him on the spot, and the pillar erected to his memory still remains, close by the temple. This man was a true witness to both Jews and Greeks that Jesus is the Christ.'

The time of James' death is generally assumed to be just prior to the siege of Jerusalem.  Some scholarship gives his death around AD 62 while others give it as AD 69.  It is generally believed that he wrote this epistle sometime close to the end of his life.  This Bible student believes that James was executed by the Jewish people during the reign of Nero who committed suicide in AD 68.  The Jews began the revolt which led to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 66.  There was a lot of Roman civil war after the death of Nero which eventually settled with Vespasian as the emperor in AD 69.  This was a period of great unrest among both the Jewish and Roman societies.  The Christians were caught up in the midst of all of this and unfortunately bore considerable persecution as a result of it from both sides.  It is impossible to pinpoint the exact date of James' death but it should be noted that both Peter and Paul were believed to have been executed by Roman authorities under the rule of Nero.  Several prominent leaders of the early church met their deaths during this period of history.  These events set the backdrop for the purpose of the letter.

Purpose of the Letter

The letter is specifically addressed to "the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad" (James 1:1).   In verse two, James wastes no time at all, jumping immediately to the subject of his letter which is summed up as the testing of the Christian's faith.  The Christians of this time period were living in constant fear of persecution from both the Jews and the Romans.  Nero blamed the fire of Rome on the Christians as a political move to draw the attention from himself.  The Jewish leaders who rejected Christianity were intent on destroying anyone professing Christ.   According to Paul in Galatians 2:9, James was a prominent leader in the Jerusalem church and the revolt which led to the destruction of Jerusalem was either beginning or had already begun.  Keeping in mind that the Christians knew that the destruction of the city was imminent and were prepared to flee Jerusalem when necessary to escape the wrath of the Roman army (Matthew 24).  No doubt many had left Jerusalem already, choosing not to wait until the last minute, and were faced with the prospect of finding a place to live elsewhere in the Roman Empire who at this time was also hostile to Christianity.  This letter was written

There can be no doubt they needed this letter.  Peter was an elder in the Jerusalem church (1 Peter 5:1) and was most likely martyred by this time.  Someone needed to stand up and fill the void left in the Jerusalem church after the death of Peter.  This was a dark period in the early church and staying faithful to Christ was not an easy task.  James wrote this letter to help encourage the readership to patiently and steadfastly endure the trials of the times and to eliminate from their behavior things which caused their faith to be less than what it should be. 

It has been speculated among scholars that another purpose for this letter was to answer the great heresy which arose from the perversion of Paul's teachings.  While the letter of James directly opposed that heresy, it is not in this Bible student's opinion the primary purpose for the writing of it.  James may have had this mind when he wrote it and there can be no doubt he was aware of the heresy when he wrote it.  Peter alluded to it in 2 Peter 3:16-17 and Paul even knew about and mentioned it himself in his letter to the Romans in 3:6.  It is not entirely outside the realm of possibility that James wrote this letter for a dual purpose.  However, this student believes the primary purpose to be for the benefit of the persecuted Christians of the day. 

James wrote this letter to:

(1) warn Christians against falling in to a host of sins commonly practiced among the Jewish people.  

• Formalism as contrasted with true religious service (James 1:27);

• Unusual wrath, anger with misplaced religious zeal (James 1:20);

• Failure to accept personal responsibility for sin (James 1:13);

• Favoritism to the rich (James 2:2);

• Evil speaking (James 3:3-12; 4:11);

• Strife and Envy (James 3:14);

• Boasting (James 2:5; 4:16);

• Pride (James 4:10);

• Failure to act, sins of omission (James 4:17);

• Oppression (James 5:4);

• Swearing of Oaths (James 5:12).

(2) To teach Christians to persevere with patience:

• In trials (James 1:2),

• In good works (James 1:22-25),

• Under provocation (James 3:17),

• Under oppression (James 5:7),

• Under persecution (James 5:10).

• In assisting one another when they fall into error (James 5:19).

(3) The promise and expectation of patience and perseverance is:

• A living Faith completed by obedience (James 2:20-22);

• Justification (James 2:21);

• Righteousness (James 2:23; 3:18);

• Salvation (James 4:12);

• The Lord's swift coming to right all wrong (James 5:8).

Application of the Letter Today

Paul's teachings were perverted in the first century and they are perverted today.  Despite the warnings found in scripture, countless millions of people professing Christ erroneously use Paul's teachings to promote the doctrine of salvation by faith alone.  This doctrine is held by the vast majority of those claiming Christ as savior today and is the result of selective use of Paul's teachings and an utter misapplication or downright dismissal of what the author of this epistle wrote.  This letter by James has been called the gospel of common sense and well it is.  It is written by a man who grew up as a carpenter and knew how to communicate in simple and easy to understand terms.  His message is clear, concise, to the point and very easily understood unless someone approaches it with a preconceived belief structure. 

James wrote that Christians have an obligation to work in service to Christ.  There are duties expected and standards to live by which are essential if one is to live acceptably and receive a home in heaven with God.  Martin Luther rejected James' epistle on the grounds that it was hopelessly contradictory to the teachings of Paul.  He denied it was the work of an apostle and termed it an "epistle of straw" as compared to some other books in the New Testament because of the conflict he thought it raised with Paul on the doctrine of justification.  What Luther and the vast majority of people today fail to take into consideration is that James does not conflict with Paul's corpus of teaching.  The doctrine of salvation by faith alone can only be supported with a selective use of scripture, most of it coming from the pen of Paul.  However, when all of New Testament is considered in light of the redemption of man, it is plainly evident that salvation cannot be by faith alone.  The book of James goes so far as to make the inspired statement that salvation is not by faith alone in James 2:24, "You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone"  (ESV).  Anyone who is at all concerned for their salvation and either believes or teaches that salvation is by faith alone cannot approach this book of the New Testament and not seriously question this belief. 

Martin Luther was well aware of the contradiction James had with his idea of Paul's justification by faith alone.  Luther was quoted as saying:  "Faith justifies.., faith does not justify." I will pledge my life that no one can reconcile those propositions; and if he succeeds, he may call me a fool?"  So Luther's approach to this was to take verses such as Romans 5:1, Galatians 2:16 and others, and build his doctrine around these verses without taking into consideration what Paul taught elsewhere on these same subjects.  It cannot be overstressed that Paul did not teach two different gospels, neither did he contradict himself in his body of writings.  If this were the case, the entire case for the divine inspiration of scripture would crumble and none of the New Testament could be authoritative for us today.  So with this said, we'll examine some comparisons between James and the teachings of Paul concerning works. 

James taught that people are justified by works (James 2:24) and not by "faith only"; and Paul taught exactly the same thing. "The righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his works" (Romans 2:6). "Wrath and indignation to every man that worketh evil.., glory, honor and peace to every man that worketh good" (Romans 2:8,9);  "..eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness — indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; 10 but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good." (Romans 2:7-10) (NKJV).

James required of Christians that they be "doers of the law" (James 4:11); but Paul also said categorically that "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified" (Romans 2:13). When Paul spoke of faith, he always referred to an obedient faith, as in Romans 1:5; 16:26.

James taught his readership in James 2:21-23, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar?  You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works"  Paul taught the Christians in Philippi in Philippians 2:12-13, "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling" (ESV).

James required that the Christian should "keep himself unspotted from the world" (James 1:27); and Paul required the same thing: "And be not fashioned according to this world" (Romans 12:2).

Martin Luther claimed to be unable to reconcile the teachings of Paul and the teachings of James regarding works.  And if one approaches the scriptures with the preconceived notion that all works of righteousness are unnecessary then it is indeed impossible to reconcile the two.  And significant to this discussion, if works of righteousness are unnecessary then Paul's teachings cannot even be reconciled with themselves.  Any attempt to reconcile the doctrine of salvation by faith alone with all of scripture results in denying the essentiality of obedience to the will of God.  Either one must be obedient to God or not, and scripture is saturated with verses which affirm the essentiality of obedience.  It is not possible to obey God in any way without engaging in some kind of work.   Even simple belief is a mental exercise acted upon as the result of a choice and is scripturally identified as a work in and of itself in John 6:29, "Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God that you believe in him whom he has sent." (ESV).  Therefore if works are categorically unnecessary, it would be unnecessary to believe or repent of our former lifestyles.  Luke quoted Jesus in 13:3 and again in V5 as saying, "...unless your repent, you will all likewise perish" (ESV).  If faith alone were all that was necessary, then there will be people in heaven who did not repent and Jesus said they would "all likewise perish".  

Jesus was quoted by Matthew in 7:11 as saying, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven" (ESV).  If salvation is by faith alone, then there will be people in the kingdom of heaven who were disobedient to the will of God. 

Paul declared that men are justified by faith, and James wrote that men are justified by works. In simple truth, they are justified by both, the absence of either being a forfeiture of any hope of justification.  Luther misunderstood both Paul and James, because Paul did not say that "faith alone justifies"; nor did James say that "faith does not justify," but that "faith alone cannot justify." It is in the perversity of that little word "alone" or "only" wherein all the difficulty lies.

Paul declared that men are justified by faith, and James wrote that men are justified by works.  So how do we harmonize the two so that we have the proper understanding with no contradictions? 

1. Grace:  We are saved by grace in that man did nothing to merit or earn God's favor.  God looked down on lost mankind and out of His loving nature, He graciously provided mankind with a way out of sin and back into fellowship with Himself.  There is nothing mankind did or could do to earn, merit or deserve such a wonderful opportunity.  Grace is not unconditional or else everyone would be saved regardless of religious affiliation.  The condition for grace:
2. Faith:  Ephesians 2:8, "For by grace you have been saved through faith."   Faith is the condition for grace. 
3. Working for Grace:  We cannot earn, merit or deserve the gift of God's grace: Ephesians 2:8-9, "And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."   It is exceedingly important to keep in mind that Paul is talking about grace.  Mankind cannot do anything to earn, deserve or obtain God's grace on his own.  The opportunity and method for man to be reconciled to God cannot be achieved by the works of man in any way.  It is 100% available only through the working of God.  Mankind had nothing to do with the deliverance of God's grace.
4. Works of Man:  Mankind cannot devise a system of works whereby he can be justified.  The only way mankind could do that would be for him to make it unnecessary for Christ to have died on the cross.  The opportunity for man's salvation came at an enormous personal sacrifice by God.  That sacrifice can not be repaid by the works of man.  Man can never make it to God without the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.
5. Works of Faith:   Works of faith are those things that man must do in obedience to God's will.  Man must obey the command to believe, (John 6:29).  Obeying the command to believe does not repay God for the personal sacrifice He made to redeem mankind.  God does not owe mankind anything because they obeyed Him.  Man must repent, (Luke 13:3, 5).  Obeying the command to turn from one's former sinful life does not earn one a spot in heaven.  God does not owe man salvation because he obeyed God's command to repent.  This principle applies to every command Jesus gave, either directly or through His inspired teachers.  In this regard, works cannot save because no amount of them can repay God for the tremendous personal cost incurred when salvation was made possible. 

But the inability for works of faith to repay the cost does not excuse mankind from the obligation to obey God.  Works of faith can never earn anyone a spot in heaven but that does not mean mankind is free to live as he sees fit.  James and Paul were talking about two different sides of the same issue.  One one hand, Paul is explaining that works cannot earn or merit one's salvation.  James is explaining that works are required for salvation.  We understand this to be works in obedience to God and not works contrived by mankind.  So to harmonize the two concepts, works of faith are required, but we must understand that these works, while necessary, can never repay what it cost God to offer us salvation. In the end, no matter what good we may do on this earth, we are still going to fall short of repaying God what it cost Him to offer us redemption which was centered on the life of His Son.  And we need to understand that and know that this is why Paul teaches in Ephesians 2 that grace is a gift that cannot be earned by man's works and then turns around and tells the Philippian Christians in 2:12 to work out their own salvation with fear and trembling. 

Many of the commentators who have written on this book have made the claim that this letter is practical and not doctrinal.  This is a veiled attempt to do away with this letter as a document with salvational requirements.   This letter is all about obedience to God, which is a requirement for salvation and is saturated throughout the New Testament.  Jesus said Himself in Matthew 7:21 that only those who do the will of the Father in Heaven will "enter the kingdom of Heaven" (KJV).  So when James wrote that by "works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (James 2:24), he was simply reinforcing what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21.  That is a matter of salvation and therefore as doctrinal as it gets.

In summary, the primary application for the epistle of James is that it teaches us that faith in God is meant to be active, loving and obedient.  The other writers of scripture affirm the same thing, but James devoted an entire letter to this theme thus making this one of the most important books of the New Testament as far as Christian living is concerned.   If one wants to know how a Christian is expected live, one can turn to almost any verse in this marvelous letter and learn. 

The Book of James 

Introduction by Matt Mazzalongo of BibleTalk.tv

Faith and Practical Christianity. 

If you were to ask people to define or to explain the word religion they would probably describe the organizations and the ceremonies carried out by various Church groups.

This could probably be why younger people say that they are spiritual, but they're not religious.  They don't relate as easily to organized religion as people born several years earlier.  And the reason for this is that they no longer relate to the various rituals and observances practiced by the large denominations in this country. So when you mention religion to a younger person, they think of a big building, big organization.   They have guessed that Christianity is more than just candles or processions or rituals and complex church hierarchies that dominate the Christian religion of our day.

When you watch the news and they have a story about religion, it's about the pope or it's about the Archbishop, or they show the big long procession during Easter or at Christmas.  All you see is the crowds, the ceremonies, the candles. That's what they show. And younger people are saying, I believe in God, and I think I'm a spiritual person, but I don't relate to that stuff.

Unfortunately, most people do not realize that Biblical Christianity really has only two observances that involve some type of ceremony or ritual.  The first, of course, is Baptism where a repentant believer in Jesus Christ is immersed in water and at that moment by faith, receives forgiveness of sin.  The second ceremony is communion where the church comes together on the Lord's day to share the bread and the fruit of the vine in order to commemorate the death of Jesus and to witness their faith and their hope in His resurrection and in His return. (Acts 20:7)

These are the only two ceremonies given by God in the Bible for Christians to perform and both of them have to do with personal salvation. In baptism we experience salvation.  In communion we remember salvation. That's it. All the rest of it - all the parades, and all the smoke, and all the candles, and all the images, and all the stuff has been invented by human beings.  Those are all add-ons that don't have any real authority in the scriptures.

So all other ceremonies and traditions have been added by men and without any authorization from God. Now the problem with these man-made ceremonies and traditions is when they become compulsory. I mean, is it ok if somebody celebrates Christmas, or if somebody decides to fast on Tuesdays, is this wrong? No.  The problem is when we make that compulsory for everybody else.  It is set up as a religious law and everybody else has got to do it.  The result of all of this man-made activity is that Christianity has become, for many people, a series of festivals, Easter, Christmas and others.

Christianity, for many, has become simply a series of personalities. The pope, cardinals, TV evangelists and other individuals, who have some sort of "high position" in some church organization. Groups who have their own distinctive ceremonies and language.  It comes down to religious branding. Certain churches have specific means of identification, they put up the same sign in front of their buildings in order to identify themselves and separate themselves from other groups.  

Now, you're wondering, what does this have to do with James? Well, what it has to do with James is this

Christianity is more than just ceremonies.  It's more than just a religious leader who has some sort of great following.  It's more than just a building.  Christianity is a way of life. That's going to be James's primary focus in this letter. 

Christianity is a way of life. For example, every farmer, regardless of the country or time has a similar lifestyle. It doesn't matter if you're farming in Nebraska or if you're farming in Texas or in Russia.

Farmers get up early in the morning. Farmers don't sleep in, no matter who or where they are.  They work outside, not inside. They deal with the weather.  Farmers all have a similar lifestyle that characterizes them.  They all have a similar lifestyle. Well, in the same way, Christianity is a certain lifestyle.

Regardless of the time or place.  Christianity has been made to be buildings and people and branding and this type of thing, and the general public has lost the idea that Christianity is a way of life.  It's a way of life defined by what the Bible teaches.  It's a way of life that is very different from others who are not Christians.

The purpose of this study is to learn about the Christian way of life as James explains it in his book and how to adapt to it. The book of James an extremely practical guide to living the Christian life in a way that pleases God.  Living in a way that maintains order and peace in the church and provides a clear Christian witness to those outside the church.  The goal of James's book is not to preach the gospel or to prove Jesus as the son of God.  He wants to teach the people he's writing to, how to live the Christian life.  It's not the same life as you had before you became a Christian.  One who comes to the knowledge of the truth and responds to it must change their life accordingly. 

When studying this epistle, there's always the question of authorship. Which James wrote this letter? There are four James' mentioned in the New Testament.

The first James, the brother of John, in Matthew 41, it says, “Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called to them” 

Herod had James, the brother of John put to death with a sword."  James, the brother of John could not have written this book because he before this letter was written.  We believe this letter was written somewhere between 4 and 6 AD. And James, the brother of John, was put to death much earlier than that. So that rules him out.

Another James, James the son of Alphaeus, the apostle. Matthew 13, it says, "Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector, James, the son of Alphas, and Thaddeus. This James was referred to as James the less. He was likely Jesus's cousin.  There's no other mention of him in historical records.  That rules him out as the author because the author of James was well known in the early church .  We don't know anything about this particular James.  So that rules him out as well.

James number 3, James the father of Judas. He's also an individual who is mentioned here.  But he's not mentioned anywhere else, other than in one passage in the New Testament.  So that kind of rules him out. There's three of the four James' that have been mentioned.

The fourth James, James the earthly brother of Jesus, Matthew 13:55 says, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" People were questioning, Jesus.  “Is not His mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas."  So this James who introduced himself only as James demonstrates he assumes that everyone knows who he is. James, the brother of Jesus had that kind of reputation in the first century.

James doesn't claim that he's an apostle of Jesus.  We know from other passages that the Lord's brother became a leader of the church in Jerusalem, and thus had the authority to write such a letter.

In Acts 15:12 in regards to the Jerusalem council it says, "All the people kept silent and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul, as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the gentiles."

So they were reporting their mission trip to the church in Jerusalem. Then it says, "After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me."  One must have some status in the church if your audience is Paul and Barnabas and the other apostles and the elders, and you stand up and you say brethren, listen to me and they listen.  And so, this James had authority. He had position in the church in Jerusalem.  He went on to help craft a letter about Gentiles being eligible to be Christians without being circumcised. When you read his letter you can see that he does not waste words at all.   It’s short and to the point. 

Acts 15:23-29, “and they sent this letter by them,

"The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.

24 "Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, 25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 "Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

28 "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell."

The brevity of this letter resembles the writing style of the book authored by James.  It is the general consensus that James, the earthly brother of the Lord, one of the early leaders in the church at Jerusalem, was the one that wrote the epistle of James.

The Lord's brother didn't believe in Him before His death and resurrection In John 7 it says, "Therefore, His brother said to him, 'Leave here and go into Judea, so that your disciples also may see your works, which you were doing. For no one does anything in secret when he, himself, seeks to be known publicly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world, for not even his brothers were believing in him.”

We know that this James was married.  In 1 Corinthians 9:5-6, we read, “Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?”

He was married. He and the rest of the family thought that Jesus was actually unbalanced, and they tried to bring Him home.

Mark 30-22

 And He came home, and the crowd gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21 When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses." 22 The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

The word that they use – “take custody of Him.”  They went out to bring Him home by force if necessary. 

We know that James was in the company of the apostles in the upper room after Jesus's appearance to him.

Acts 1:13-14

 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

Another writer, Josephus, was a Jewish Historian. He was not a Christian, but he lived at the time of Jesus and as a historian, recorded much of the history of that era.  Josephus mentions James in one of his history books. James was killed in 62 AD by the Jews. They threw him off the wall but it did not kill him.  They went down to the rocks and they stoned him. He still wasn't dead so they clubbed him to death. James had a difficult death as a martyr to his brother.   

In his introductory verse, James refers to himself as a bond-servant, or a lowly slave, of Jesus. Thus demonstrating, not only his love and his piety, but he also shows his humility. At first he didn't believe in Jesus.  He mocked Him. He thought he was crazy. But then, he became a believer.   And that to this student of God’s word is evidence of the authenticity of Christianity. 

No one knows you like your siblings.  If Jesus was not who he claimed to be, there is no way on earth a sibling could ever be convinced of it otherwise.   Bear in mind that Jesus claimed to be God, He had to have lived a sinless life growing up around his family.  Sinlessness was a qualification that Jesus had to possess in order to be capable of bringing about the forgiveness of sin He offered on the cross.   James’ ultimate decision to believe in and die for that belief in his brother had to have been based in part on his observations of Jesus; character growing up.   If Jesus were not who He claimed to be, who better would know it than a sibling that grew up with Him? 

A brief outline of the Book of James. 

Theme: Faith and Practical Christianity

“My brothers, whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance” (1:2-3). At first reading, we would probably think that James is going to spend this letter talking about trials. But as we read the letter we see that James is going to talk about faith. James is going to talk about the character of faith and the purpose of faith in our lives. The first half of chapter 1 is about the testing of faith.

The Testing of Faith (1:2-18)

The purpose of tests (2-12). James begins his letter by teaching the Jewish Christians that our faith must be tested so we can become mature, complete, and lacking nothing. There is no doubt that these Christians were experiencing a testing of their faith as they had to leave their homes in Jerusalem due to a severe persecution brought about through the Sanhedrin. During trials, James say we need to “ask in faith” for wisdom. If we do not ask in full belief that God will answer, then we ought not to expect anything from the Lord (vs. 7).

The source of temptations (13-18). For some reason, human nature seems to want to blame God for our problems. In the middle of these trials and temptations, do not blame God. Rather, God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. Since our faith must be tested to make us mature, complete, and lacking nothing, James is going to describe for us what mature, perfected faith looks like.

The Character of Faith (1:19-5:6)

Faith obeys God’s law (1:19-27). James will spend a lot of time in this letter discussing how faith is an obedient faith. James begins pointing out that obedience is a critical component of faith. Obedience requires us to be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We have to put away all filthiness and wickedness. Instead we have to receive with meekness the word of God. Therefore, we must be quick to listen to the word of God and be doers of the word. The purpose of listening to the word of God is so that you and I can do something about it. We do not look in the mirror and then walk away without making changes to our appearance. Yet how often to see look into the mirror of the word of God, but then walk away without making any personal changes.

Faith does not show favoritism (2:1-13). “My brothers, hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ without showing favoritism” (2:1). Mature faith does not make judgments based upon outward appearances. James warns about paying attention to people who would come into the assembly with fine clothes, but treating differently people who come in dressed poorly. We can never set aside God’s law to love our neighbor as ourselves. We do not get to apply this command when we feel like it. If we ignore one part of God’s law, then we are guilty of all of the law.

Faith requires works (2:14-26). As we have already noted, this point continues to be the repeated theme of the letter. The person does not look into the law of liberty and do nothing. He must act upon the knowledge of the word of God. Faith leads to obedience, putting away all wickedness. Now James says that faith without works is dead and useless. Faith without action is not faith at all.

Faith controls the tongue (3:1-12). In chapter three, we still see that James is talking about faith that leads to a mature person. A mature person is able to control his whole body (3:2). James warns that we must control our tongues. The tongue can be used for healing or for hurting. “So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it boasts of great things. See how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, the very world of iniquity” (James 3:5-6). As verses 10-11 point out, it is not possible to have a clean heart but a wicked tongue. The tongue reflects what is in our hearts.

Faith produces wisdom (3:13-18). James continues to press the teaching of active faith. “Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom” (3:13). Wicked must be put aside. This time, James declares our need to remove bitter jealousy and selfish ambition from our hearts. Our faith is shown through good conduct. I believe James said that we show our faith in God through wise living.

Faith produces humility (4:1-12). “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (4:6). Notice that right after James quotes Solomon’s proverb, he makes this application: “Therefore, submit to God.” James continues to stress the point that faith will obey what God has commanded. True faith will humble ourselves before God and let God gives us the honor.

Faith depends upon God alone (4:13-5:6). In verses 13-17 of chapter 4 we see that true faith will depend upon God on a daily basis. All plans are made through God. Wealth is probably one of the best ways to evaluate our faith in God. I think verse 5 of chapter 5 could be speaking of all of us: “You have lived luxuriously on the land and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.” The way we handle our wealth reveals how strong our faith is in God. Many times we only trust in God when we are doing well financially. As soon as something changes, through loss of money or loss of work, we can panic and make decisions that do not reflect a faith that depends upon God alone. We have to trust God through the difficult financial times, not throw away our faith because we think our family will not be provided for.

Faith patiently awaits the coming of the Lord (5:7-12). I think a point of clarification should be made immediately. It does not appear that James is talking about the final coming of the Lord. Two verses indicate this: “Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near” (5:8). Also, “Look, the judge stands at the door!” (5:9). Both of these verses speaking to the immediacy of the coming of the Lord. If James was speaking about the second coming, then James was wrong about when the Lord would come. This is not an acceptable conclusion. The coming of the Lord must refer to something else. Verses 9-11 are talking about examples of suffering and patience. These Jewish Christians had been suffering from the persecution by the Jews of Jerusalem. Therefore, the coming of the Lord must refer to the judgment that was going to take place against the Jews of Jerusalem for killing the saints. Christians have a faith that patiently awaits judgment upon those who cause us pain and suffering.

Faith knows the power of prayer (5:13-18). James discusses the power of prayer to save the sick. Elijah is used as an example of the effective power of prayer. Proof of the power of prayer is found in what Elijah was able to ask God to do. I think our problem returns to the fact that we do not believe God will do anything we ask. This problem ties back into the beginning of the letter where James said that those who do not ask in faith should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. We need to realize the power of prayer have the faith in God to answer.

Faith brings back the erring (5:19-20). True faith cares about the souls of others that they will help those who are spiritually sick. We should be zealous to help those who are weak in the faith. We help them with cards, letters, and visitation. We help the weak by being here for worship. Many of us do not have time to meet together on a daily basis. We need to meet together at every opportunity so we can strengthen the weak. Those who have fallen away needs us to come and try to help them come back.

The letter of James concludes without any closing or greeting, which is unusual.

Conclusion:

Trials show the value of our faith. Difficult times reveal the strength of our faith in God. Trials produce the character that God wants us to have. While painful, we need to view a trial as our opportunity to purify our faith and reveal our trust in God.

Real faith submits and obeys God. Verbal faith is useless and dead. God is looking for us to have a trust in God that will act upon our belief in God. If we are unwilling to be obedient to God’s laws, then we do not have faith and are lost.

Real faith will change our character. We will not show partiality toward others based upon external judgments. We will control our tongues and exercise humility. We will believe in the power of prayer and rely upon the Lord to act on our behalf.