Book of James
Summary of the Book of James
This summary of the
book of James provides information about the title, author(s), date of writing,
chronology, theme, theology, outline, a brief overview, and the chapters of the
Book of James.
The author identifies
himself as James (1:1); he was probably the brother of Jesus and leader of the
Jerusalem council (Ac 15). Four men in the NT have this name. The author of this letter
could not have been the apostle James, who died too early (a.d. 44) to have
written it. The other two men named James had neither the stature nor the
influence that the writer of this letter had.
James was one of
several brothers of Christ, probably the oldest since he heads the list
in Mt 13:55. At first he did not believe in Jesus and even challenged him
and misunderstood his mission (Jn 7:2-5). Later he became very prominent in the
church:
3. Paul, on his first post-conversion visit to
Jerusalem, saw James (Gal 1:19).
7. Jude could identify himself simply as "a
brother of James" (jude 1:1), so well known was James. He was
martyred c. a.d. 62.
Some date the letter
in the early 60s. There are indications, however, that it was written before
a.d. 50:
1. Its distinctively Jewish nature suggests that
it was composed when the church was still predominantly Jewish.
2. It reflects a simple church order -- officers
of the church are called "elders" (5:14) and "teachers" (3:1).
3. No reference is made to the controversy over
Gentile circumcision.
4. The Greek term synagoge ("synagogue"
or "meeting") is used to designate the meeting or meeting place of
the church (2:2).
If this early dating
is correct, this letter is the earliest of all the NT writings -- with the
possible exception of Galatians.
The recipients are
identified explicitly only in 1:1: "the twelve tribes scattered among the
nations." Some hold that this expression refers to Christians in general,
but the term "twelve tribes" would more naturally apply to Jewish
Christians. Furthermore, a Jewish audience would be more in keeping with the
obviously Jewish nature of the letter (e.g., the use of the Hebrew title for
God, kyrios sabaoth, "Lord Almighty," 5:4). That the recipients were Christians is clear from 2:1; 5:7-8. It has been plausibly suggested that these were believers from
the early Jerusalem church who, after Stephen's death, were scattered as far as
Phoenicia, Cyprus and Syrian Antioch (seeAc 8:1; 11:19 and notes). This would account for
James's references to trials and oppression, his intimate knowledge of the
readers and the authoritative nature of the letter. As leader of the Jerusalem
church, James wrote as pastor to instruct and encourage his dispersed people in
the face of their difficulties (see essay, p. 2539).
Characteristics that
make the letter distinctive are: (1) its unmistakably Jewish nature; (2) its
emphasis on vital Christianity, characterized by good deeds and a faith that
works (genuine faith must and will be accompanied by a consistent lifestyle);
(3) its simple organization; (4) its familiarity with Jesus' teachings
preserved in the Sermon on the Mount (compare 2:5 with Mt 5:3; 3:10-12 with Mt 7:15-20; 3:18 withMt 5:9; 5:2-3 with Mt 6:19-20; 5:12 with Mt 5:33-37); (5) its similarity to OT wisdom writings
such as Proverbs (see essay, p. 970); (6) its excellent Greek.
I.
Greetings (1:1)
II.
Trials and Temptations
(1:2-18)
A.
The Testing of Faith (1:2-12)
B.
The Source of
Temptation (1:13-18)
III.
Listening and Doing (1:19-27)
IV.
Favoritism Forbidden (2:1-13)
V.
Faith and Deeds (2:14-26)
VI.
Taming the Tongue (3:1-12)
VII.
Two Kinds of Wisdom (3:13-18)
VIII.
Warning against
Worldliness (ch. 4)
From the NIV Study
Bible, Introductions to the Books of the Bible, James
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
Copyright 2002 © Zondervan. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
James 1 NLT
1 This letter is from James, a slave of
God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish
believers scattered abroad. Greetings!
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when
troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great
joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is
tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.
4 So let it grow, for when your
endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous
God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
6 But when you ask him, be sure that
your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is
as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.
7 Such people should not expect to
receive anything from the Lord.
8 Their loyalty is divided between God
and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.
9 Believers who are poor have something
to boast about, for God has honored them.
10 And those who are rich should boast
that God has humbled them. They will fade away like a little flower in the
field.
11 The hot sun rises and the grass
withers; the little flower droops and falls, and its beauty fades away. In the
same way, the rich will fade away with all of their achievements.
12 God blesses those who patiently
endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life
that God has promised to those who love him.
13 And remember, when you are being
tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong,
and he never tempts anyone else.
14 Temptation comes from our own
desires, which entice us and drag us away.
15 These desires give birth to sinful
actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
16 So don’t be misled, my dear brothers
and sisters.
17 Whatever is good and perfect is a
gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the
heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.
18 He chose to give birth to us by
giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized
possession.
19 Understand this, my dear brothers and
sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get
angry.
20 Human anger does not produce the
righteousness God desires.
21 So get rid of all the filth and evil
in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for
it has the power to save your souls.
22 But don’t just listen to God’s word.
You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
23For if you listen to the word and don’t
obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.
24 You see yourself, walk away, and
forget what you look like.
25 But if you look carefully into the
perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget
what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.
26 If you claim to be religious but
don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is
worthless.
27 Pure and genuine
religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in
their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.
James 2 NLT
1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can
you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some
people over others?
2 For example, suppose someone comes
into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another
comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes.
3 If you give special attention and a
good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over
there, or else sit on the floor”—well,
4doesn’t this discrimination show that your
judgments are guided by evil motives?
5 Listen to me, dear brothers and
sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t
they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love
him?
6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it
the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?
7 Aren’t they the ones who slander
Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear?
8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey
the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as
yourself.”
9 But if you favor some people over
others, you are committing a sin. You are guilty of breaking the law.
10 For the person who keeps all of the
laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s
laws.
11 For the same God who said, “You must
not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” So if you murder
someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law.
12 So whatever you say or whatever you
do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free.
13 There will be no mercy for those who
have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be
merciful when he judges you.
14 What good is it, dear brothers and
sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that
kind of faith save anyone?
15 Suppose you see a brother or sister
who has no food or clothing,
16 and you say, “Good-bye and have a
good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food
or clothing. What good does that do?
17 So you see, faith by itself isn’t
enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.
18 Now someone may argue, “Some people
have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith
if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.”
19 You say you have faith, for you
believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and
they tremble in terror.
20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith
without good deeds is useless?
21 Don’t you remember that our ancestor
Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son
Isaac on the altar?
22 You see, his faith and his actions
worked together. His actions made his faith complete.
23 And so it happened just as the
Scriptures say: “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because
of his faith.” He was even called the friend of God.
24 So you see, we are shown to be right
with God by what we do, not by faith alone.
25 Rahab the prostitute is another
example. She was shown to be right with God by her actions when she hid those
messengers and sent them safely away by a different road.
26 Just as the body is
dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.
James 3 NLT
1 Dear brothers and sisters, not many
of you should become teachers in the church, for we who teach will be judged
more strictly.
2 Indeed, we all make many mistakes.
For if we could control our tongues, we would be perfect and could also control
ourselves in every other way.
3 We can make a large horse go wherever
we want by means of a small bit in its mouth.
4 And a small rudder makes a huge ship
turn wherever the pilot chooses to go, even though the winds are strong.
5 In the same way, the tongue is a
small thing that makes grand speeches. But a tiny spark can set a great forest
on fire.
6 And among all the parts of the body,
the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting
your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by
hell itself.
7 People can tame all kinds of animals,
birds, reptiles, and fish,
8 but no one can tame the tongue. It is
restless and evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Sometimes it praises our Lord and
Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of
God.
10 And so blessing and cursing come
pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not
right!
11 Does a spring of water bubble out
with both fresh water and bitter water?
12 Does a fig tree produce olives, or a
grapevine produce figs? No, and you can’t draw fresh water from a salty
spring.
13 If you are wise and understand God’s
ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility
that comes from wisdom.
14 But if you are bitterly jealous and
there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting
and lying.
15 For jealousy and selfishness are not
God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic.
16 For wherever there is jealousy and
selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of
all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to
others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism
and is always sincere.
18 And those who are
peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness.
