Christian/Religion Studies

The Epistle of James:

This is one of my two favorite books in the Bible, the other is The Book of Job.  The Epistle of James is a good book that was not accepted immediately by those who put together the Canon of the Bible. To some degree this book seems to clash with some of the writings of Paul and that would be a  reason for it to be accepted by those putting together the Canon. It was a while before people saw the importance of such a book as James and its deep knowledge. There are various views about the date of this epistle, some say around 45 AD and this could be right.  James chapter 1, verse 1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.  Here the impression is that this epistle is written to the Jews because of the mention of the Twelve Tribes and that these Jews are scattered abroad. So this was written to Jews that had spread to a wider area and they would be early believers in the faith who wanted to know the contents of this letter. But this very important epistle is for you and I. Most of us are not Jews, but we are receivers of the teachings of Jesus and that is why this book is needed by us to understand so much of what God was trying to say to us, what God was trying to teach us. This epistle was written to all the Jews, and all the world as a letter of important Christian instruction. You could imagine the persecution of the Jews who were Christians at this time in history in Jerusalem and in other parts of the world. Remember that most Jews stuck to their old beliefs and they held to those beliefs to the extent of being fanatical. Jews that chose to follow the teachings of Christ would have been targets for ridicule and would have had a hard life at least around the Jews that stood by the old religious ways. I have read about individual Jews today who have decided to follow the teachings of Jesus and that they have suffered for their conviction in this area. To write to all those people and give Holy instruction is to show great love as James clearly wanted this instruction and the wisdom of the instructions to go to all Jews at that time. James like his brother wanted to spread the Good Word far and wide. You can imagine James following up this epistle with preaching to give more information to the people who would listen. Here  James is seen as a great evangelist. A preacher and spreader of the True Word. He has a great reputation in history. In the Greek language the word "servant" should be taken to mean to totally believe in the teacher which is in this case Jesus. So James was a servant in belief and practicing life of what Jesus taught and of his belief in God. This makes James a "believing Christian" in total self. As a servant he is at one with those of the past who were a "servant of God". Malachi chapter 4, verse 4  Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.  Psalm chapter 105, verse 26 He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen.  2 Samuel chapter 3, verse 18 Now then do it: for the LORD hath spoken of David, saying, By the hand of my servant David... Jude chapter 1, verse 1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:  Being a servant of God was nothing to be ashamed of. It was a high, humble position, and those who were servants of God would have been deep believers in all that they thought and did. The Author it has been concluded is James the Less, the Lord's brother. This view was also held by Origen. All that was needed for the people who read this epistle was his name "James" to know who he was, so obviously he was well known to the many of his time. And it is said to be written in Jerusalem. Even though James was a prominent and influential leader in the early days,  the beginning of this epistle gives us some knowledge of James' character, it tells us that James is humble in attitude to himself as he introduces himself as the servant of God and of the Lord Jesus. Because the author introduces himself as James this gives an indication that he was our Lord's brother. Although this book does not contain the full doctrinal statements of the other Epistles there is mention of our trials as followers of God and the temptations that we may face and how to feel when they come and to be mentally strong in the midst of this. James chapter 1, verse 2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.  It may seem hard at the start but by being happy that challenges are coming your way you can learn to deal with them one by one until it is overcome. Often the life we have is tarnished with many struggles and emotional pain, and often these come from addictions, bad habits and other temptations and in our lives we need to learn to overcome them, one by one. James is telling us some good common sense, to attack the problem with joy in our hearts as we deal with our troubles, and to be joyful when it is overcome because this means freedom from that personal torment. Take smoking as an example. A person is hurting their body every time they smoke. Once this person has given up this addiction then he or she will not be hurting their personal body anymore. So that is something to celebrate and be joyful about. One also feels that there has been an accomplishment when one overcomes an addiction. So be joyful as you deal with those grievous afflictions and be joyful when you have completely overcome them, even if it is painful to deal with - focus on the end result. Today it seems all people are accepted to be addicted to some sin - a favorite saying is "What vice do you have, everybody must at least have one vice?" So worlds people today seem to expect you to have vices which are the harsher sins I would imagine.  Clearly this is a book of reform, instruction, of correcting the readers who may be backsliding or lost and James is attempting to help motivate them to avoid the sins and errors and to encourage the people to go through the trials because the end benefit is theirs. To remove a sin (or addiction) is to have freedom, and to have freedom would be heavenly. James is telling us to stick to the good Christian way, the way of Jesus, to be steadfast and solid in our faith and beliefs and live those beliefs to the full being a good example. You can see that James is somebody who writes as he has  experienced, and he wants to share that with you in a positive way to help you deal with your trials. You could almost see this book in the Old Testament with its firm rules on what is right and what is wrong. The mention of Jesus firmly puts this book in the New Testament. This is a set of instruction that if they are approached mentally with a willful mind wanting for self correction much good will come into your life by following the book of James. Who can receive you into their home or heart if you are not a good example of Christ, which is as a Christian you are to be for the world to see.  James is writing of the practical life of a Christian and how it is to be lived. You can see a connection between the text of the epistle of James and the speeches of Jesus in the Synoptic texts where there are parallels. The Greek used by the author is of more than expected from a mere religious person. This could mean a more educated man.  I have read that Martin Luther struggled with this book (epistle) of the Bible and for some time would not accept it. Although in a dictionary of the Bible it is noted that Martin Luther said: "I praise it and hold it as a good book, because it sets up no doctrine of men and lays great stress upon God's law" and that is where the strength of the Epistle of James is, in its firm standing on God's laws.