James

Faith that works: the evidence of genuine faith in trials, speech, humility, and care for others.

James is the most Jewish letter in the New Testament. It is addressed “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (1:1), names Christ only twice, and draws its illustrations from the Law, the prophets, Abraham, Rahab, Job, Elijah, and the world of nature. It has more than fifty references to the Old Testament and closely echoes Christ’s Sermon on the Mount.

The letter is intensely practical. It tells scattered believers to count it all joy when they fall into divers temptations (trials), to ask God for wisdom in faith, to be doers of the word and not hearers only, to show no respect of persons to the rich, to bridle the tongue, to submit to God and resist the devil, to stop boasting about tomorrow, and to be patient unto the coming of the Lord. Its famous center is 2:14–26: faith without works is dead.

James does not contradict Paul. Paul in Romans shows how a sinner is justified before God—by faith, apart from works. James shows how genuine faith is recognized before men—by its works. The faith that saves is never alone. James also carries a special application to Jewish believers under persecution, before the fuller revelation of Church truth given through Paul, and to the believing remnant of the Tribulation.

Writer: James, son of Zebedee
Written: From Jerusalem before about AD 42–44, during the scattering after Stephen’s death.
Name: James is the New Testament form of Jacob; the name is associated with supplanting.

Title and authorship

Iakobos is the Greek form of Jacob, “supplanter” or “one who takes by the heel.” The English James comes through Latin and Old French forms.

Three men named James appear among Christ’s followers: James the son of Zebedee, James the son of Alphaeus, and James the Lord’s brother. Most writers attribute the letter to James the Lord’s brother, leader of the Jerusalem church. This handbook follows the view that it was written by James the son of Zebedee, John’s brother and one of the inner three, before his martyrdom about AD 44 (Acts 12:2), which fits its pre-Pauline character and its address to the believers scattered by the persecution of Acts 8.

Historical background

On the early view, written from Jerusalem before about AD 42–44, during the scattering that followed Stephen’s death (Acts 8:1; 11:19). Those who attribute it to the Lord’s brother date it before his death in AD 62.

Jewish believers scattered abroad, facing poverty, oppression by the rich, and persecution.

The scattering

After Stephen’s death, a great persecution arose against the church at Jerusalem and the believers were scattered abroad, except the apostles (Acts 8:1). Those scattered traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching to the Jews only (Acts 11:19).

James son of Zebedee

James and John, sons of Zebedee, were fishermen called “Boanerges,” sons of thunder (Mark 3:17). James was one of the three who saw the transfiguration and Gethsemane. Herod Agrippa I killed him with the sword about AD 44 (Acts 12:1–2), the first apostle to be martyred.

Rich oppressors

The land-owning aristocracy of Judea oppressed poor laborers and dragged believers before the courts (2:6; 5:1–6). James’ warnings echo the prophets’ denunciations of injustice.

Key passages

James 1:22

Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

James 2:17–18

Faith, if it hath not works, is dead; I will shew thee my faith by my works.

James 4:7–8

Submit to God, resist the devil, draw nigh to God.

James 2:14–17

A profession of faith that refuses practical mercy is exposed as dead.

Outline

1 · Faith under trial

Endurance, wisdom, resistance to temptation, and obedience begin the examination.

2 · Faith without partiality

Mercy and active obedience expose the difference between living faith and empty claim.

3–4 · Faith in speech and submission

The tongue, wisdom, conflict, pride, and presumptuous planning require correction.

5 · Faith that waits and prays

Judgment of oppression, patient endurance, prayer, and restoration close the letter.

Original language

πειρασμός (peirasmos, G3986) — “temptation”

A test or trial, and in context an enticement to sin. James distinguishes outward trials that prove faith (1:2–3, 12) from inward lust that entices to evil (1:13–15). God tests; He never tempts to sin.

δικαιόω (dikaioo, G1344) — “justified”

The same verb Paul uses, but James applies it to the demonstration of righteousness before men: Abraham was “justified by works, when he had offered Isaac” (2:21), years after righteousness was imputed to him (Genesis 15:6).

τέλειος (teleios, G5046) — “perfect”

Complete, mature. James uses it repeatedly: patience has her perfect work (1:4), the perfect law of liberty (1:25), and the perfect man who bridles his tongue (3:2).

δίψυχος (dipsuchos, G1374) — “double minded”

Literally “two-souled,” a word possibly coined by James. The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (1:8); he must purify his heart (4:8).

συναγωγή (sunagoge, G4864) — “assembly”

In 2:2 the believers’ assembly is literally their “synagogue,” a sign of the early, Jewish setting of the letter.

Doctrinal study

James and Paul

Paul says Abraham was justified by faith (Romans 4:3, quoting Genesis 15:6); James says he was justified by works when he offered Isaac (Genesis 22). The events are separated by many years. Paul describes God imputing righteousness to a believing sinner; James describes the works that demonstrated that faith was real. Paul answers legalism; James answers dead orthodoxy.

The coming of the Lord

“Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth... until he receive the early and latter rain” (5:7). The early and latter rain echo Joel 2:23 and point to the harvest at the end of the age.

Prayer and healing

James 5:14–16 instructs the sick to call the elders, who pray and anoint with oil in the name of the Lord. The passage is not a guarantee of healing in every case; Paul left Trophimus sick (2 Timothy 4:20) and was refused relief from his thorn (2 Corinthians 12:7–9). Pray, use means, and submit to God’s will.

Commentary notes

Questions James answers

What should I do in trials? Count it all joy (1:2). Why does God allow them? To work patience (1:3). How do I get wisdom? Ask in faith (1:5–8). Why am I tempted? Because of my own lust (1:14). Will I be blessed by studying the word? Only if I obey it (1:25). Why aren’t my prayers answered? Wrong motives (4:3).

Marks of a mature man

Suffering (1:1–20), Scripture study (1:21–27), sincerity (2:1–13), service (2:14–26), sound speech (3:1–18), submission (4:1–17), self-sacrifice (5:1–6), steadfastness (5:7–11), supplication (5:12–18), and soul-winning (5:19–20).

Luther and James

Martin Luther, just out of Rome’s works-religion, called James “an epistle of straw” and doubted it belonged in the Bible. He overcorrected. It is possible to fight so hard against what you hate that you misread the Book. James does not teach salvation by works; it teaches that saving faith works.

Christ in the book

  • The Lord of glory (2:1)
  • The Judge standing before the door (5:9)
  • The coming of the Lord for whom we wait (5:7–8)

Applications

Historical

  • James writes to the scattered Jews of the first century after the resurrection, encouraging them in suffering and explaining the evidence of genuine saving faith, before Paul’s Church epistles were written.
  • The proposed early date associates the letter with the scattering described in Acts 8 and places it before the martyrdom in Acts 12.
  • The letter identifies its author simply as James; its precise identification is an attribution that controls the proposed date.

Doctrinal

  • James is the Lord’s letter to His Jewish Tribulation saints, encouraging them in their trials and warning of false faith. The nature references—wind-driven waves, withering grass under a burning sun, the early and latter rain before the husbandman comes—fit that setting, as do the rich who kill the just and the patience of Job and the prophets.
  • James examines the obedience that demonstrates living faith, while Paul explains acceptance before God by grace through faith. The works described by James are evidence of faith in relation to its practical responsibilities.
  • The address to the scattered tribes and the expectation of the Lord’s coming also have a future tribulation application to a Jewish remnant.

Devotional

  • True saving faith is evidenced not only in words but in the way we live: in trials, in speech, in humility, in generosity, and in prayer.
  • Ask God for wisdom with a sincere willingness to obey.
  • Control of speech, impartial treatment of others, and provision for people in need are particular expressions of obedience required by the letter.
  • Plan humbly under God’s will and persevere in prayer.

Answering the critics

Most critics accept James as part of the canon, though Luther and others questioned it because of its emphasis on works; critics also debate which James wrote it and when.

James has no quarrel with Paul when both are read in context. Its early, Jewish character—synagogue, the twelve tribes, the Law—fits a date before the Gentile mission had developed and before Paul’s epistles were written.