James: Faith That Works

James in Brief

James reads like a sermon. It is direct, full of pictures from daily life, and asks hard questions of anyone who says he believes. It does not argue against grace. It asks what grace looks like when it lives in a person.

• Author. James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ (James 1:1). He was the Lord's half-brother. He did not believe during Jesus' ministry (John 7:5), but the risen Lord appeared to him (1 Corinthians 15:7), and he became a leader of the church at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13; Galatians 1:19; Galatians 2:9). The historian Josephus records that he was stoned to death about AD 62.
• Date. About AD 45 to 49, probably the earliest New Testament letter. It says nothing about the council of Acts 15 and its decision about Gentile believers, and the setting is still mostly Jewish.
• Written To. the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (James 1:1): Jewish believers who had been scattered by persecution (Acts 8:1; Acts 11:19).
• Setting. Believers were poor, pressed by wealthy landlords, tempted to favor the rich in church, and quarreling with one another.
• Key Verse. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22).
• Key Word or Theme. Tested, genuine faith. A faith that is real shows itself in how a person lives.