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Apr 2, 2024 · Brief Summary: The Book of James outlines the faith walk through genuine religion (1:1-27), genuine faith (2:1-3:12) and genuine wisdom (3:13-5:20). This book contains a remarkable parallel to Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7.
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Summary. The book of James is a General Epistle (Apostolic Letter). James the half-brother of Jesus wrote it approximately 48-49 A.D. It was likely the first New Testament book (letter) to be written. The key personalities of this book are James and Persecuted Christians.
- Introduction
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Word List
- Book List
1 The writer
James is the writer of the letter. But he does not tell us whichJames he is. James was a common name and there are several men called James inthe *New Testament. He wrote to the *Jewish Christians who had left *Israel tolive in other countries. They accepted this letter, so they must have knownhim. He wrote with such authority that he must have been a leader in thechurch. Otherwise, he would have said which James he was. Of all the personswith the name of James, two were leaders in the church...
2 The time of writing
For many reasons, the date of the letter seems to be between AD40 and AD 60. The most likely date is between AD 45 and AD 55. The main reasonsfor this date are: • The letter doesnot mention Christians who are not *Jewish. The first Christians were almostall *Jewish. So James probably wrote it before there were many Christians whowere *Gentiles (not *Jewish). • When *Gentilesbecame Christians, there were problems about the rules that they were to obey(Acts 15). There is no mention of this, so...
3 The purpose and contents
A large number of the Christians had left *Jerusalem and had goneto live in other countries. But the *apostles and leaders of the church did notgo. So, these Christians no longer had the day-to-day contact with theirleaders. James wrote to help them. He wrote to encourage them to live asChristians should, in the places where they now lived. What Christians believe must affect what they do. That is themain subject of his letter. He shows how they should apply their trust in Godto the problems...
Greeting from James 1:1
Verse 1 James was the half-brother of the *Lord Jesus. Theirmother was Mary but Joseph was the father of James. After Jesus came back fromthe dead, James trusted in him. He soon became a leader in the church in*Jerusalem. The *apostle Paul talks about him as one of the three top leaders(Galatians 2:9). Among these, he seems to have been the one with the mostauthority. Both those in the church and those who did not believe in Jesusrespected him. *Jewish Christians left *Jerusalem and settled i...
Testing builds character 1:2-4
Verse 2 James calls them his brothers and sisters because hecares about them. They are his brothers and sisters as children of God becausethey trust in Jesus Christ. They were having many *trials that were hard for them toovercome. These *trials came to them from other people and were a real test oftheir trust in God. The same word can mean *temptations that come from insideourselves. It has this meaning later in James 1:13-18. We have to fight the*trials that come to us. We have to be carefu...
God gives wisdom to those who ask in *faith 1:5-8
Verse 5 Those who suffer *trials need wisdom. They need thewisdom to know how to deal with them. It will help them to understand the*trials. And it will help them to decide what they must do. God gives thiswisdom so that they can choose to do what is right. They will know how Godwould want them to live in their troubles. Then they can overcome them all andnot give up the struggle. God alone can give this wisdom to them. All who feel the need ofit must ask God for it. He will answer the prayer...
Respect of persons 2:1-7
Verse 1 James again calls them brothers and sisters. In this, heshows them that he respects and looks after them. To God we are all of equalworth whether we are rich or poor. They must accept people for what they areand not for what they have or have not. They had considered the rich to bebetter than the poor. So James tells them to stop doing it. They must nothonour the rich and show a lack of respect for the poor. They must be fair andhave the same respect for the poor person as for the ric...
Royal law 2:8-13
Verse 8 James now writes about the royal law. It is royal becauseof its nature and it comes from the great king. The great king is either God orthe *Lord Jesus. This is the law of the *kingdom of God. It is the law that isabove all laws. It tells us what God commands us to do. And it tells us how weought to live. Part of this law is the command to love our neighbours. Love forone’s neighbour is at the heart of God’s law. Jesus gave this as a new commandthat we love one another (John 13:34). I...
*Faith and works 2:14-26
Verse 14 The subject here is the nature of real *faith. True*faith will always lead to doing good works. These good works are the work oflove. Where there is no active love, there is no real *faith. *Faith that is in words alone is of no use at all. True *faith isnot just to feel good or to accept the truth only with the mind. There is nobenefit in that kind of *faith. That kind of *faith is not really *faith atall. *Faith has to prove itself by what it does. The works of *faithhere does not...
Responsibility of the teacher 3:1-5a
Verse 1 In the early church, the role of the teacher was a veryimportant one. The church members had a great respect for their teachers. So,it seems that many church members wanted to be teachers. Some of them may havewanted it for the wrong reasons. They wanted other people to think well of themand they wanted to enjoy the power of the job. Most of them did not qualify forthe task. They did not have the natural skills and God had not called them todo it. Teachers must take care to teach the...
Danger of the tongue 3:5b-12
Verse 5b In the dry season, the grass, the low growing bushes andother plants were like dry straw. A small flame could set it all on fire. Theflames of that fire would spread like a wave that no-one could stop. It wouldsoon be out of control. It takes just a tiny flame to set on fire a great massof material. A little flame can destroy a great forest. What we say can be asdangerous as that fire. It can cause real problems for those to whom we speak.And it can cause real problems for those abou...
Two types of wisdom 3:13-18
Verse 13 James asks who among them has wisdom and knowledge.Perhaps he has in mind the teachers or those who want to be teachers. Those whoknow more may think that they are better than the other people. But knowledgeand wisdom are not the same. A person can know a lot but have little wisdom.They need to have both. They do not show wisdom so much in what they think orsay. They show it more in what they do. It is not what they say. It is how theylive. True wisdom does good works. Just as we can...
Desires and divisions 4:1-10
Verse 1 There were problems where there should be peace. Jamesasks the readers to see what was the true source of their quarrels. There werewars and fights in the church. The word ‘wars’ here means quarrels rather thanreal wars. So there were quarrels and fights among them. There were angry wordsand they said bad things about one another. It seems that things got so badthat there were actual fights. There could have been many reasons for theseproblems. They may have been arguing about what th...
Speaking evil and judging 4:11-12
Verse 11 In the church, there were those who said bad thingsabout other Christians. What they said was unkind. And perhaps it was not true.They must stop doing it because they are brothers and sisters. To speak againsta Christian is against the law to love him or her. They cannot speak evil aboutother Christians and at the same time love them. The person, who speaks badthings about another person, acts as a judge of that person. Those who do thisalso speak against the law of God. It is as if...
Planning without God 4:13-17
Verse 13 ‘Come now’ or ‘now then’ draws attention to whatfollows. James wants to show that it is a bad mistake to plan our lives withoutGod. The *Jews traded wherever they went in the world. Some of them wouldtravel for the purpose of trade. So, as an example, James speaks aboutmerchants who are in the church. Here are some merchants who are planning a trip. They say, ‘Wewill go on the day that we decide. We will go to a certain city and stay therea year. We will trade there and we will make...
Judgement of the rich 5:1-6
Verse 1 James speaks to the rich people as if he were writing tothem. But he is not sending this letter to them. Even if they were to receiveit, they would not accept what he says about them. James wrote, in this way, toshow his Christian readers that it is foolish to trust in *riches. They shouldnot be jealous of those who are wealthy. The rich people, of whom he iswriting, are not Christians. They were, at that time, the owners of the landand rich farmers. They were the wealthy people who c...
Patience until the *Lord comes again 5:7-11
Verse 7 James now speaks to his Christian brothers and sisters.They need to be patient until God acts on their behalf. They may have to sufferthese troubles as they wait for the *Lord to come. Then the *Lord will punishthose who have caused them to suffer. In the meantime, Christians must leavethe judgement of the rich to God. They must not do what is wrong against thosewho do wrong to them. This does not mean that we should not speak out for*justice. It is a Christian duty to look for *justi...
Do not swear 5:12
Verse 12 James is not saying that using *oaths is worse thanother *sins such as to steal or to murder. But he is saying that this isimportant. An *oath is to call on God, or some other person or things, to bewitness to what is being said. People use *oaths to show that they are speakingthe truth. And they use them to add strength to what they say. Not all *oathsare wrong. There are times when there is the need for an *oath. God himselfused an *oath (Hebrews 3:11; 4:3). He means that Christian...
Albinus ~ a *Roman ruler. He came after *Festus and afterJames, the *Lord’s brother, died. altar ~ the special table on which to offer gifts to God. Ananus II ~ the chief priest of the *Jews who wasresponsible for the death of James the *Lord’s brother. angel ~ a servant of God. He brings messages from God topeople on earth. anoint ~ to put oil put...
W Barclay ~ The Letter of James ~ Daily Study Bible D W Burdick ~ in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary C S Keener ~ Background Commentary ~ IVP R P Martin ~ in World Biblical Commentary J B Mayor ~ in Dictionary of the Bible, edited by J Hastings A McNab ~ The New Bible Commentary (IVF) R V G Tasker ~ James ~ The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries. ...
James. He was Jesus’ half-brother (Matt. 13:55), an unbeliever (Jn. 7:5) until the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), who later pastored the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13: 21; 21:17, 18), and authored the first New Testament book. 2.
Gain a better understanding of the book of James in the Bible. Explore key themes such as the wisdom of Jesus, how faith relates to action, and perseverance in difficulty through videos, podcasts, and more from BibleProject™.
James offered numerous practical examples to illustrate his point: faith endures in the midst of trials, calls on God for wisdom, bridles the tongue, sets aside wickedness, visits orphans and widows, and does not play favorites.
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The Book of James explains how to receive wisdom from God’s Word. Wisdom from God results in a life that is fruitful even in the face of hardships. James applies the teachings of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount, to everyday life. It explains what a life of obedience to Christ looks like.
