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 is often set in contrast to the writings of the apostle Paul, yet both refer to themselves as “a bond-servant” of God (Titus 1:1) and of Jesus Christ (Rom. 1:1). They serve the same master and are both recognized in their writings as divinely inspired and spiritually authoritative. So we need not fear that their contrasting approaches to spiritual truth would uncover contradictions of any sort. Rather, the differences are like two sides of the proverbial coin, balancing divine truth as it should work out in the lives of Christians animated by genuine faith. James presents us with the obedience of faith, of which the apostle Paul wrote:

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure. (Phil. 2:12–13)

James and Paul come to obedience to Christ from starkly different backgrounds. Paul was a rabbi, trained in the “finest” of Pharisaical tradition, who adamantly persecuted the Christian movement. His conversion to Christ is enshrined in Acts 9 and was pivotal to the expansion of the gospel into the worldwide movement it has become. James, on the other hand, grew up with Jesus as his older half-brother. He had doubtless heard from his parents the birth stories, the virgin birth and angelic pronouncements concerning Jesus. Yet, he did not believe in Jesus (John 7:5) before He was crucified. Jesus Himself said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” (Matt 13:57). Along with Jesus’ other relatives, James seriously questioned his brother’s sanity (Mark 3:21).

However, in contrast to the apostle Paul, James’ conversion is not recorded in Scripture. But we know that he was a personal eyewitness of the resurrected Lord Jesus (1 Cor. 5:7), and we find him with his siblings in the upper room after the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:14), awaiting the Holy Spirit. And now, some twenty years later, he writes that he is a bondservant of Jesus.

Both men had life-changing experiences with the risen Lord. Just as God assigned Paul to reach the Gentiles, He apparently assigned James to minister to the Jewish believers (Gal. 2:7); and so we see him writing to the “twelve tribes,” an apparent reference to the Jews, who were scattered away from Jerusalem.

Lord, thank You for turning even the most ardent rejecters into disciples.