New Testament

James

James is a practical letter of wisdom teaching, written to scattered believers about trials, speech, wealth, favoritism and the kind of faith that shows itself in action. It sounds much like the Old Testament wisdom books and like Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. It belongs in the Bible because it insists that genuine faith in 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' () produces a changed life, and it guards the church against a faith that is only words.

Author: James, 'a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ' (1:1), traditionally James the brother of Jesus, who led the Jerusalem church (Acts 15:13; Galatians 1:19). Some scholars think the polished Greek points to a later writer using his name or to help from an editor, while many hold that James himself wrote it.
Audience: 'The twelve tribes of the Dispersion' (1:1), most likely Jewish believers living outside the land of Israel. They met in an assembly (2:2, literally 'synagogue'), and some were poor and oppressed by wealthy landowners (2:6; 5:1–6).
When: If written by the Lord's brother, before his death in AD 62, which Josephus records; many place it in the 40s, which would make it one of the earliest New Testament writings, while others date it to the late 50s. Those who doubt his authorship usually date it later.
Where: Probably Jerusalem or Judea, where James led the church. The imagery of early and late rains (5:7) and of farm laborers fits that region.
Genre: James is a letter in form but reads like a collection of wisdom teaching, close to Proverbs and to the sayings of Jesus. It moves quickly between topics, uses vivid pictures (a wave tossed by wind, a mirror, a ship's rudder, a forest fire), and is full of commands. Read it in short units, notice how topics like trials, the tongue and wealth return, and remember that its sharp sayings are meant to expose self-deception, not to set out a full doctrine of salvation.

Shape of the book

Trials, Wisdom and Doing the Word · ch 1Trials produce endurance, God gives wisdom generously and never tempts anyone to evil, and believers must be doers of the word and not hearers only.
Favoritism and Living Faith · ch 2Showing favoritism to the rich breaks the royal law of love, and a faith that has no deeds is dead, as Abraham and Rahab show.
The Tongue and Wisdom From Above · ch 3The tongue is small but sets great things on fire, and true wisdom from above is pure, peaceable and full of mercy, unlike bitter envy and selfish ambition.
Friendship With the World · ch 4Quarrels come from desires at war within, God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble, and plans must be made under the Lord's will.
The Rich, Patience and Prayer · ch 5Oppressive rich landowners are warned of judgment, believers are called to patience until the Lord comes, and the letter ends with prayer for the sick and restoring a wanderer.

Themes

Faith That Works. James asks whether a faith without deeds can save () and answers that faith by itself, without action, is dead (, ). Even demons believe God is one, and shudder (). The faith James commends is like Abraham's, whose faith was working with his actions (). Protestant readers have generally taken James to mean that works show and complete a living faith, while Catholic and Orthodox readers see works done in grace as part of how a person is justified; both read James as rejecting a bare, idle faith.
Trials and Mature Endurance. Trials of many kinds test faith and develop perseverance, so that believers may be mature and complete (). The one who perseveres will receive the crown of life (). Temptation to sin, however, comes from one's own desires, never from God ().
The Power of Speech. James returns to the tongue again and again: be quick to listen and slow to speak (), bridle the tongue (), the tongue as a fire (), no slander (), no oaths (). Words reveal whether religion is real.
Rich and Poor. God has chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith (), and pure religion cares for orphans and widows (). The rich are warned that their wealth will rot and that withheld wages cry out to the Lord of Hosts (), in the tradition of the prophets.
Wisdom From Above. Wisdom is a gift God gives generously to those who ask in faith (). True wisdom is shown in humble conduct and is pure, peace-loving, gentle and full of mercy (). James contrasts single-minded trust in God with being double-minded (; ).

Where Christ is

James names Jesus only twice (; ), but calls Him 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' and himself His servant, a striking confession from one who grew up in the same household. The letter's moral teaching closely echoes Jesus' own words, especially the Sermon on the Mount. It looks forward to the Lord's coming as near ().

Echoes of the Sermon on the Mount. Echo. James repeats themes and even wording from Jesus' teaching: blessing on the poor (; ), hearing and doing (; ), and letting yes be yes and no be no (; ). James passes on the teaching of Jesus as the church's wisdom. (; ; ; ; )
The Lord of Glory. Fulfillment. James calls Jesus 'our glorious Lord Jesus Christ' (), using language the Old Testament reserves for God's glory. The 'noble name' by which believers are called () is most likely the name of Jesus. (; ; ; )
The Royal Law of Love. Fulfillment. James calls 'Love your neighbor as yourself' the royal law (), quoting , which Jesus named as the second great commandment. Living by the law that gives freedom (; ) means living by the law as Jesus taught it. (; ; ; )
The Coming Judge. Promise. The Lord's coming is near and the Judge is standing at the door (), which grounds James's call for patience under injustice. The New Testament elsewhere identifies that coming Judge as Jesus. (; ; )

Voices

Martin Luther. In his 1522 preface to the New Testament he called James 'an epistle of straw' compared with books such as John, Romans and 1 Peter, because he judged it did not preach Christ clearly and seemed to give justification to works. More from Luther at CCEL ↗
John Calvin. He defended James as fully consistent with Paul, arguing that when James says Abraham was justified by works he means the proof or demonstration of righteousness before people, not the ground of acceptance with God. Read the full commentary ↗
Augustine. He held that Paul and James do not contradict each other: Paul speaks of works done before faith, which cannot earn it, and James of works that follow faith and flow from it. More from Augustine at CCEL ↗

Reading well, key terms and common misreadings

Read it well

Read James 2:14–26 alongside Romans 3:21–4:5 and Galatians 5:6. Paul and James both quote Genesis 15:6, but they answer different questions and use 'works' and 'justify' in different senses.
Read Proverbs and Matthew 5–7 alongside James. Its themes and images come straight out of the Old Testament wisdom tradition and the teaching of Jesus.
Notice James's audience: an assembly where the rich got the good seats and the poor stood (2:2–3). The ethical teaching addresses real social pressures.
Follow the threads that return across the letter, such as speech, wealth and wisdom, rather than expecting a step-by-step argument.

Key terms

Trial, temptation πειρασμός (peirasmos) — Can mean an outward test or an inner pull toward sin. James uses the noun for trials that test faith (1:2, 1:12), and the related verb for temptation, which never comes from God (1:13).
Mature, perfect, complete τέλειος (teleios) — Whole, fully developed. Endurance makes believers mature (1:4), every good and perfect gift comes from above (1:17), and the 'perfect law of freedom' (1:25) is God's word received and obeyed.
Double-minded δίψυχος (dipsychos) — Literally 'two-souled': divided in loyalty between God and the world (1:8; 4:8). The opposite of the wholehearted trust James calls for.
Justify δικαιόω (dikaioō) — To declare or show to be righteous. James says Abraham was justified by what he did (2:21, 2:24), a usage that must be read with Paul's in Romans 3:28 and 4:2–3, since both cite Genesis 15:6.
Wisdom σοφία (sophia) — Skill in living according to God's ways. It is God's gift (1:5) and is known by its fruit (3:17).

Easy to misread

Setting James against Paul as if they taught opposite gospels. Paul rejects works of the law as the ground of acceptance with God (Romans 3:28), while James rejects a profession of faith that produces no deeds (2:14). Paul too says what counts is faith expressed through love (Galatians 5:6). Traditions explain the harmony differently, but none needs to choose one apostle over the other.
Reading James as a moral rulebook with no gospel. James grounds his ethics in God's gift: God gave believers new birth through the word of truth (1:18), and grace is given to the humble (4:6).
Taking 1:13 to mean God never tests His people. James means God never entices anyone to evil. The same letter says trials test faith for good (1:2–3), as God tested Abraham (Genesis 22:1).
Reading 5:14–15 as a promise that every sick person anointed and prayed for will be healed. Traditions apply it differently, from the anointing of the sick in Catholic and Orthodox practice to elders' prayer in Protestant churches, but James sets it within the Lord's will and links it with confession and restoration.

Further reading: David Guzik, Enduring Word · Matthew Henry on CCEL · BibleProject overview video