The book of James

At a glance

Chapters

5

Author

James, most likely the brother of Jesus

Written

Possibly 40s to 60s AD

Written for

Scattered Jewish Christian congregations

Themes

speech, action, favouritism, patience

What it is about

James reads like wisdom literature: short, punchy, concrete, and organised loosely by topic rather than by argument. It is about speech, money, favouritism, patience and what people actually do.

Its most discussed passage is chapter 2, where faith without works is called dead. Luther found it hard to square with Paul and called it an epistle of straw. The usual resolution is that the two are addressing different questions — Paul, how a person is accepted; James, what a living faith looks like from outside.

The material on the tongue in chapter 3 is the sharpest short writing about speech in the Bible, and it long predates any medium that made speech instant and public.

Where to start

Chapter 1, which sets out most of the book's themes in twenty-seven verses.

The chapters worth knowing

• James 1 — Trials, wisdom for the asking, and the instruction to be doers rather than hearers.
• James 2 — Favouritism towards the rich, and the passage about faith without works.
• James 3 — The tongue — a small rudder, a spark, and the sharpest short writing about speech in the Bible.

What people get wrong about it

That James contradicts Paul on faith. They use the same words for different questions — Paul is arguing about how someone is accepted, James about how a real faith is recognisable — and both quote Abraham to make their case.

From this book

• Bible verses about temptationTen passages on temptation and the way out, with notes on what each says — including why 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises an escape rather than an absence.

Questions