Quizzing the New Testament: James

Answer: To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations

"James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings." (James 1 v. 1)

Although the writer identifies himself as James, it is impossible to say whether he is one of those bearing that name in the New Testament or an unknown author.

James, the brother of John, can probably be discounted as he was one of the early Christian martyrs (Acts 12 v. 2). James, the brother of Jesus and leader of the Jerusalem church, has a greater claim particularly given his known support for adherence to the Jewish Law (Galatians 2 v. 12). A major obstacle to this James' authorship, though, is that the epistle very rarely refers to Jesus, a surprising omission if they were indeed brothers.

Answer: Whether the epistle should be included in the Bible

One of the biggest obstacles to acceptance was the lack of existing manuscripts or references to the epistle in other writings before the end of the second century.

Luther's oft-quoted comment comes in his 1522 preface to the New Testament:
"In a word, St. John's Gospel and his first Epistle, St. Paul's Epistles - especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians - and St. Peter's first Epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that it is necessary and good for you to know - even though you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore, St. James' Epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to them. For it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it".
Although he relegated James to the back of the Bible, it should be pointed out that Luther never seriously argued for the letter's exclusion.

Answer: Humility

"Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom." (James 3 v. 13)

James is saying that his readers might consider themselves to have attained wisdom but this is only demonstrable by their deeds. True wisdom, he maintains, shows itself in humble service. He probably has in mind the sense of perspective given by Psalm 111:
"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Psalm 111 v. 10).

It is also noticeable that, with the exceptions of the single-chapter epistles of Philemon and 2/3 John, this is the only book of the New Testament that does not mention the Holy Spirit. James seems to prefer using the Old Testament concept of wisdom to personify God's active work in the world.

Answer: Love your neighbour as yourself

The verse first appears in the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 19 v. 18). Jesus, when asked for the greatest commandment, quotes it alongside "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength" (Deuteronomy 6 v. 4-5). He comments that:
"All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matthew 22 v. 40).

Paul agrees as he maintains that the command is a summary of the entire Jewish Law (Romans 13 v. 9 and Galatians 5 v. 14).

James' context is the treatment of rich people within the church who, in some places, are being shown preferential treatment compared to those who are poor:
"If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 'Love your neighbor as yourself,' you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers" (James 2 v. 8-9).

Answer: The tongue

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." (James 1 v. 26)

The basic premise behind James' letter is that what is on the inside of a person will be revealed in the actions of that person on the outside. In saying this, he is following the teaching of Jesus:
"For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean'" (Mark 7 v. 21-23).

The tongue is important, therefore, as the conduit between the inner and outer self capable of both "cursing men" and "praising God":
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing" (James 3 v. 9-10).

Answer: It's a rhetorical question and the expected answer is NO!

This is a further expansion of the teaching about the importance of the tongue. James has already pointed out that, like the rudder on a ship or the bit in a horse's mouth, something incredibly small can have a profound effect upon the direction in which one travels (James 3 v. 3-4).

He goes on to add that nobody can tame the tongue; in other words, it cannot be controlled to do other than what the inside of a person is dictating (James 3 v. 8). James now completes the triangle. If a farmer wants to harvest figs, he has to grow a fig tree. If his readers want to harvest goodness on the outside, then they must cultivate goodness on the inside.

Answer: Internal desires

"What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight." (James 4 v. 1-2)

James continues his argument from the previous chapter. Whatever one does - good or bad - does not come, primarily, from control by the mind but from the internal nature of a person. He accuses his readers of being adulterous, professing to be friends of God but really being "friends of the world" (James 4 v. 4). The conclusion to the argument comes with James' proposed remedy:
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded" (James 4 v. 7-8).

Answer: A mist that vanishes after a short time

"Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4 v. 13-14)

The image of life as a mist or cloud is drawn from the Old Testament, where its uses include:
"As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to the grave does not return" (Job 7 v. 9).

The problem that James again identifies is that his readers are too influenced by the world's way of thinking. Indeed, the picture presented is of a settled church that includes merchants and rich men within its ranks. They are comfortable and James would probably consider them too comfortable. There are disagreements and tensions but these seem no more than the typical problems of living as a community. The epistle makes no mention of persecution or divisions over doctrine, making this a very different situation to that typically faced by Paul's churches.

Answer: Job

"Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." (James 5 v. 10-11)

The name of Job has become synonymous with patient suffering, but this is the only book of the New Testament to quote his example. Although Job refused to curse God (Job 2 v. 8-10), he demanded with a passion that God grant him vindication. Subsequent interpretations have tended to swing between the two, emphasising either his righteousness or "rebelliousness".

Answer: Pray over you and anoint you with oil

"Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven." (James 5 v. 14-15)

Just as James has used the story of Job to illustrate perseverance, so too he quotes the example of Elijah to support his assertion that:
"The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5 v. 16).

In the Old Testament, the stories of Elijah do not specifically portray him as a man of prayer. This developed in later Jewish tradition. What does come across, however, is a very human character whose highs are matched by some pretty spectacular lows. Elijah may be larger than life but his weaknesses are those with which many can identify. Whether or not it was James' intention, he presents Christians with the example of a man whose prayers worked, not because of any inimitable saintliness, but through a simple faith in a God that can work miracles.