¹James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.

The book of James has elicited considerable debate throughout Christian history. Martin Luther considered it a “strawy epistle” because of its focus on righteous living. Paul’s letters present faith alone as necessary and sufficient for salvation, apart from the works of the Law. James asserts that saving faith is not alone, but that faith is proved genuine by its works. We would love to have listened in on a conversation between Paul and James about this!

A careful study of this book, when rightly understood, will result in cohesive harmony between grace and works, with James working out the practical implications of salvation in everyday life and practice. And this is a needed counterbalance for those whose faith is so esoteric that it has no relationship to their behavior. The book of James is the “prove it to me” voice.

Which James wrote this book? That was a common name, but the book was obviously written with authority. Of the four Jameses identified in the NT, only two would have had the stature to have written a book that came to be identified as inspired. The first was James the apostle, brother of the apostle John (who were called the sons of Zebedee). This James was martyred (Acts 12:2) around 44 A.D., too early to have been the author of this book.

The other contender for authorship of this book is the Lord’s half-brother (Matt. 13:55). Jesus was virgin-born; He shared with James the same earthly mother but they did not share an earthly father. This James had already come into prominence by the time the apostle James died (Acts 12:17). This James was a witness of the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7) and was present in the upper room immediately after the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:14). The apostle Paul referred to James as “the Lord’s brother” (Gal. 1:19) and called him a “pillar” of the church (Gal 2:9). Hardly in that context would Paul be using “brother” in the Christian fellowship sense. He was singling out James for his filial relationship to Jesus and his prominence.

This James was visibly and vocally prominent in settling the doctrinal issue debated in Acts 15, about the relationship between the gospel of grace and the Law of Moses. Scholars have pointed out the similarities between his speech in Acts 15 and the book of James. Some have noticed the similarities also with the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. We take it, then, that the author is, in fact, James, the half-brother of our Lord.

Lord, thank You for raising up James to write this important book for us. Help me to understand that my faith must prove its genuineness through my actions.