I have a lot of sympathy for James. He was Mary's second son. Imagine what it must have been like growing up a Jesus' little brother. Tracking him carefully through the New Testament, we see he didn't believe Jesus' message and the truth of His identity until after the resurrection. His faith, however, was unshakeable and he quickly rose to a position of leadership in the early church, including pastoring the church in Jerusalem. Josephus records his martyrdom around 62 A.D.
He wrote his epistle probably to Jewish believers scattered by intensified persecution. The difficult situation doesn't prompt him to water down his message, though. His style is straightforward, to the point, and requires very little extra interpretation. He says what he means and means what he says.
So what does he say?
How believers should behave. James has practical instruction on living a godly life. Some writers have even called his letter a New Testament version of Proverbs. Note the distinguishing marks of true believers he mentions.
How does he say it?
He uses references to nature and evocative similes and metaphors. He calls the tongue a fire, and compares it to a ship's rudder for its tiny size relative to the body it often drives. Keep track of the images he uses.
He uses short directive statements. "Let us be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." Make a list in your notebook of the instructions and commands.
He addresses questions and objections his reader may have. Note the questions and his responses.
Note: Some writers make much ado about a seeming contradiction between Paul and James about works and faith. Paul says you can't be saved by them. (Eph. 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.) James says you can't be saved without them. (James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.)
What's the resolution? A careful reading in context shows that Paul and James use the same word, but they are talking about two different things. Paul is discussing the things we might do to try and earn our salvation. James is talking about the evidence of it. I wrote a little more on this in this study tip Resolving Contradiction.
Lauren Wiseman says
Yeah, it can’t have been easy for James growing up. (“Well, it couldn’t have been Jesus, James.”) 🙂
This post is full of information. I’ve read James, and maybe I’ve studied it, too, but this gives some great new perspectives on it. I’ve never heard of James being called a New Testament Proverbs, but that is so accurate, and I think that’d be a great way to study it someday as a parallel. Great post!