James: Written to the Jew, Yet Received for Our Edification

Pastors, Seminary students, and theologians struggle with the Book of James in the New Testament.

Martin Luther went as far as suggesting that James was a straw which should be removed from the Bible.

One pastor told me that James has a circular  pattern, while Paul's Epistle have a direct connection.

Could we cut through all the comedy and just take the written Word of God, and let the Holy Spirit minister to us?

For the Spirit of God to lead us, we rest in the truth that Christ Jesus did it all when He died on the Cross.

From there, we can take the Word of God as we read it, and trust that the Spirit of God is not tricking or deceiving us, nor should we fear that His revelation of Jesus will distract us in any way.

Let us look at the General Epistle of James, then, without fear or trepidation.

Consider the first verse of the letter:

"1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting." (James 1: 1)

 

James, along with Peter and John, preached the Gospel to the Jews, or the circumcision, while Paul ministered to the Gentiles. Paul explains these missionary callings here:

 

"And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision." (Galatians 2: 9)

 

So, from the outset, let us respect the fact that James is writing directly to the Jewish community, men and women who had been operating under the Old  Covenant of the Law of Moses, including the ceremonial offerings of animal sacrifices.

 

James is writing to believing and non-believing Jews.

 

For this reason, we find passages like:

 

"14What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." (James 2: 14-17)

 

Keep in mind that one of the heresies springing up among Jewish Christians was the argument that since of the Old Covenant was completed, men and women could live sinful lives without fear of punishment or death.

 

Paul never preached "let us sin, that grace may abound", but pointed out that through Jesus' death, where sin increases, grace indeed superabounds to the believer (Romans 5: 20)

 

So, James is clarifying for Jewish believers, and indirectly for all of us, that anyone who claims to have saving faith, will also have works, the same way that we prove a tree by its fruit.

 

Moreover, the examples provided by James, all from the Old Testament, witness as examples of faith which justified Abraham and Rahab before man!

 

James later writes:

 

"Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded." (James 4: 8)

 

James is not writing to believers in this passage, for everyone who believes on the Lord Jesus is translated from dead in trespasses to alive and seated in heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 2: 4-8). No longer sinners, we are saints, and sons of Light (1 Thessalonians 5: 5)

 

When we learn to rightly divide the Word of God (2 Timothy 2: 15), recognizing that there are two covenants, a change from the Old to the New, and that there are individuals who were living under the Old yet invited to receive the New, then we find that many passages which conflict with the message of God's grace through Christ come clear.