Publisher's Synopsis
James may be the most practical of the New Testament epistles. James meets us where we live - in lives that face trials and temptations and quarreling and social unrest. As the early church reviewed the many writings received, the discussion of James as authoritative was uncertain for a time (along with Hebrews, Jude, Peter and others). Martin Luther called James a "right strawy epistle" that did not belong alongside Peter and Paul. Others note its apparent lack of "doctrinal" teaching. They see a contradiction between James' "salvation by works" and Paul's "salvation by faith." James could have been from Missouri, USA - the "Show Me" state. James says, "You think you are a Christian? Show me!" James presents us with the reality of life as a Christian. Answers to the question, "How then should we live?" become clearer as we read topically through James. James becomes the kind of friend who stands alongside when the "going gets tough." His advice is plain and to the point. Much of James is similar to the Sermon on the Mount (see the detailed comparison in the appendix). James points us to the source of answering the questions of life - "wisdom from above." More than thirty color illustrations help "bring home" the concepts under discussion. WHO IS JAMES? James 1:1 WISDOM / FROM ABOVE James 1:5-7, 17-18; 3:13-18 POOR / PREJUDICE / RICHES James 1:9-11; 2:1-11; 5:1-6 TESTS / TRIALS / TEMPTATION James 1:2-4; 1:12-16; 5:11 HEARING / DOING James 1:22-25 FAITH / WORKS James 2:14-26 PURE / UNDEFILED RELIGION James 1:26-27 THE TONGUE James 1:19-21, 1:26, 3:1-12 BOASTING / PRIDE James 4:10,13-17 QUARRELS / CONFLICTS James 4:1-7 SUBMIT / RESIST / DRAW NEAR James 4:7-10 JUDGING / COMPLAINING James 4:11-12; 5:9 MERCY / GRACE James 2:12-13; 5:11 PATIENCE / PRAYER James 5:7-8, 10-20. More than 40 color illustrations bring the concepts to visual consideration. An excellent resource for personal study or to guide a group study with thought provoking questions.
