James 3:1-5 – The Tongue
The basic problem of self-deception and double-mindedness raised in chapter 1 is at the root of the problem with inactive faith confronted in chapter 2.… Read More »James 3:1-5 – The Tongue
The basic problem of self-deception and double-mindedness raised in chapter 1 is at the root of the problem with inactive faith confronted in chapter 2.… Read More »James 3:1-5 – The Tongue
James has introduced us to two kinds of faith that can never save the sinner: dead faith (the intellect alone), and demonic faith (the intellect… Read More »James 2:21-26 Devotional – Dead Faith and True Faith
The second part of James 2, verses 14-26, really should be handled all together as one, but that would create a lengthy post. As such,… Read More »JAMES 2:14-20 EXPRESSION AND EVIDENCE OF TRUE FAITH
Christian love does not mean that I must like a person and agree with them on everything. I may not like the words they use… Read More »James 2:8-13 – Mercy Triumphs over Judgment
Chapter 2 is really about compassion. The believer who is properly connected to the Bible is also properly connected to the body of Christ. The… Read More »James 2:1-7 – Remove all Partiality
Ultimately the key both to responding to trials and resisting temptation is to be found in one’s reaction to God’s Word. Receptivity to the Word,… Read More »James 1:19-27 – Hearing and Doing the Word
All too often trials prompt groanings and complaints. This kind of response does not contribute to Christian maturity. It only makes matters worse. Trials are not to be seen as tribulations but testings. A test is given to see if a student can pass, not pass out. James gave sound advice on how to score high on every test. One who brings the right attitude to the trial, who understands the advantage of the trial, and who knows where to obtain assistance in the trial will certainly end up on God’s honor roll.
1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Having finished our devotional study on Colossians, we now move to a new book. Today, we start our study on the Book of James. Also, this post will mainly be an introduction to the book of James by looking at its authorship, date, recipients, and a general summary of the book. I have provided a significance study on the book of James previously and would suggest that as a primer as well.
Few books of the Bible have been more maligned than the little Book of James. Controversy has waged over its authorship, its date, its recipients, its canonicity, and its unity.
Martin Luther famously took issue with the book of James. He didn’t think it expressed the “nature of the Gospel,” it appeared to contradict Paul’s statements about justification by faith, and it didn’t directly mention Christ. He said James “is really an epistle of straw, compared to these others, for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.” However, that “straw” is really one that sticks and pricks. James has enough strawy needles to prick the conscience of every dull, defeated, and collapsed Christian in the world. James is able to exhort and encourage, to challenge and convict, to rebuke and revive, to describe practical holiness and drive believers toward the goal of a faith that works. James is one of the most practical books in the NT because it offers instruction and exhortation to Christians who are experiencing problems, as all of us do.
Considered one of the General Epistles, James, like the epistles of Peter, John, and Jude, is an letter addressed not to individual churches or persons but to a larger sphere of believers. The teaching in these general letters complements the doctrine of Paul. Paul emphasized faith; James stressed conduct; Peter, hope; John, love; and Jude, purity.[1]