James is the first New Testament letter addressed to the believers generally, rather than a specific church or individual. Most scholars also believe it is one of the earliest New Testament letters to be written, though, ironically, it is one of the last documents to be included in the official canon of the New Testament.
Author
According to most authorities “James” is Jesus’ brother (not James the apostle, the brother of John). Even though he was not a disciple while Jesus was alive on earth, he became a believer after Jesus’ ascension and was a leader of the Jerusalem church by the time Paul returned from his initial missionary journey and the Council dealt with the question of circumcision for Gentile Christians [Acts 15]. The designation, “servant,” rather than apostle, indicates the author was well known to his intended audience.
Dates for the letter range from as early as A.D. 45-50 to A.D. 62, when James was martyred. Some scholars believe the reference to “Jewish Christians scattered among the nations” indicates the letter was written after A.D. 70 when Rome destroyed the temple and dispersed the Jews — and Jewish persecution dispersed the Jewish Christians.
Purpose
The letter is a straightforward message on the practical aspects of Christianity. Its style is more like a sermon than a letter or exposition of Christian beliefs. Unlike Paul’s letter to the Romans, James focuses on the consequences of faith, not the theological arguments for believing in Christ. He describes what the day-today life and actions of a believer look like — the visible component of faith.
The setting for James’ letter is important to understand his message. The early church was predominantly Jewish Christian. Believers knew well the God of the Old Testament and the Mosaic Law. Because of this there was confusion and controversy about how a person who accepted Christ as savior and was now “free” of the Law should go about his or her daily life. The elaborate rule book and checklists of the Pharisees no longer governed a person’s relationship with God — but what should guide a Christian’s life and actions?
James focuses on “faith” just as the other New Testament writers do. But for James “faith” is the living result of believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is not the “saving” or “justifying” faith that Paul explores and explains in his letters. James’ encouragements and exhortations are not actions a person must accomplish in order to be saved, he agrees with Paul that faith is the only thing that makes a relationship with God possible, a person can do nothing in this life to overcome sin. “Faith” is the foundation of a Christian’s new life and James explores its meaning and consequences here and now.
Major Themes
James puts his purpose statement at the end of his letter: If anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will save the sinner’s soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins, [5:19-20]. He wants to build up the church by helping believers help one another.
The major problem, according to James, is compromising or being friends with the world and he puts it in very strong language: Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God, [4:4]. His solution is equally direct: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you, [4:7-8]. He tells his readers to cleanse their hands, purify their hearts, lament and mourn and weep, and humble themselves, and God will exalt them, [4:9-10.
The author also deals with three specific concerns:
Partiality – evidently many believers were favoring some people over others – people with status were treated better than poor people. James said, if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors, [2:9]. Believers should fulfill the “royal” law and love their neighbor as themselves.
Wealth – James also called out wealthy people who were hoarding money and possessions and oppressing poor laborers, [5:1-4].
Works – if Christians look and act just like everyone else in the culture, non-believers cannot see that faith changes lives and brings a new relationship with the living God. Again, James uses blunt language: Just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead, [2:26].
James deals with patience and prayer in two mini-sermons that conclude the letter:
He acknowledges that Christians are suffering, that most of them are struggling economically, socially and spiritually. He encourages them to be patient: As an example of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed, we call blessed those who showed endurance, [5:10-11].
He also emphasized the importance of prayer: Are any among you suffering? They should pray. Are any cheerful? They should sing songs of praise, [5:13], and the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective, [5:16].
Paul vs James
Martin Luther called this book a “letter of straw,” but he was not the only scholar to question the apparent theology of the book (in fact it was one of the last books to be included in the New Testament).
The argument is that Christianity teaches that we gain salvation only by God’s grace through our faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. We cannot “earn” salvation by any action or “work” we do.
James appears to teach that we can be “justified by works,” [2:21]. The critical passage is, You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone, [2:24]. But he is actually saying that our “works” are the evidence for our faith. Try reading that passage above as: You are able to see our changed life by our work, not by what we say we believe.
