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JAMES - Be Doers of the Word, and not Hearers Only
Studies in the Letter of James (by Dr. Richard Thomas)

Introduction


„All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” We have here the most complete and unequivocal pronouncement on plenary inspiration in the Bible. The text further highlights the object of revealed truth as doctrinal and disciplinary. A thoughtful and prayerful study of the Epistle of James will show how admirably these objectives have been achieved in that apostolic letter. Whether or not you agree that James is substantially doctrinal, he is full of practical instruction, exhortation, and when occasion requires reproof.

Can we understand this Epistle without knowing the writer’s circumstances or even his precise identity? The answer to this question will probably be in the affirmative. ‘James’ is a general letter addressed to all types of Christians – rich and poor, learned and ignorant, professing and practising. The epistle’s injunctions are uni­formly plain and to the point. They follow the pattern of our Lord’s commandments, which are hard to live up to but easy to grasp. For this reason they are deeply disturbing and illustrate Mark Twain’s well known admission: “What worries me in the Bible are not the parts I do not understand, but those I understand too well.”

The Writer

There are five persons named James in the New Testament. Which of these is the writer who left us this incomparable letter? We are told of James, one of the sons of Zebedee, James the son of Alphaeus, James a son of Mary, James the father of a lesser known Judas. This leaves us with James ‘a brother of our Lord’, whose name appears in Matthew 13:55. The citizens of Nazareth list the names of the carpenter’s sons, James, Joses, Simon and Judas. The apostle Paul designates James as our Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:19). In Acts he holds a position of prominence among the company that waited for the promise of the spirit. Years later we find him presiding over the first council of the Church held appropriately in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13).

During our Lord’s earthly ministry His brothers showed little response to His claims: “Neither did His brethren believe in Him” (John 7:5). After the resurrection Jesus made a point of appearing to James, singling out one who was assumed to be a natural brother for a supernatural appearance; one that was as moving as Christ’s appearance to Thomas. “Henceforth I call you not servants, but I have called you friends” (John 15:15). These words were addressed to the disciples, and through the beloved disciple to each one of us. Further, “He is not ashamed to call them brethren, since both He that sanctifies and those who are sanctified are one” (Hebrew 2:11). James reverses the sequence; he who had the legal right to call Jesus brother, would after conversion dare only call himself ‘the bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ’. Throughout his epistle he speaks of Jesus as Lord. Christ may condescend to treat us as friends and brethren; He ever remains our Lord and our God to be obeyed and adored. The four evangelists modestly refrain from mentioning each his own name in the text of their individual Gospels. With equal modesty James omits all reference to the kinship that linked him to his Lord. Nowhere in the epistle dose he use the first person pronoun in the singular, except to put the “I” in the mouth of an hypothetical objector.

We may then safely ascribe the Epistle of James to this brother of Jesus. Certainly there is no more suitable contender for the title. This ascription was first proposed by Origen, the outstanding biblical scholar of early Christianity. Many present-day scholars of refute would agree with him in this; the names include several who are not strictly speaking conservative evangelicals.

Christ’s post-resurrection appearance to James came as a most moving experience. What of their earlier relationship and their daily contacts in Nazareth? As a boy of twelve Jesus had astonished the doctors in the temple by His responses and grasp of truth. He continued to grow into manhood demonstrating increased wisdom and graciousness. At Nazareth He gave expression to that heavenly wisdom by concern for His family’s welfare. For a long time James was just a hearer, not a doer of those words. At the opportune moment late in James’ life the Holy Spirit brought these pearls of wisdom to his remembrance. Somewhere around the year 60 A.D. he was inspired to write this priceless epistle for our correction and instruction in practical righteousness.

Some Characteristics

Among the things you will discover from a comparison of ‘James’ with the Gospels is the remarkable coincidence of thought and language revealed in the sayings of Jesus and those of James. We could pile up the evidence from all parts of the epistle. It will suffice to select one verse from each of the five chapters and set it alongside an evangelic saying.

JamesGospel
1:22 Be ye doers of the word, not hearers only.Luke 8:21
My brethren are those who hear the word and do it.
2:5Hath not God chosen the poor rich in faith and heirs of the Kingdom?Luke 6:20
Blessed are ye poor for yours is the Kingdom of God. 
3:12Can the fig tree bear olive berries or a vine figs?Matthew 7:16
Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?
4:10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord and He shall lift you up.Matthew 23:12 
He that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
5:1Go to now, rich, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Luke 6:24-25
Woe to you that are rich … ye shall mourn and weep.

Structurally ‘James’ may be described as a sermon in better form. An eighteenth century commentator suggests that the epistle came from the hand of an excellent speaker who was writing for the first time. There is in it a wealth of epigrams, short pitty sayings and metaphors. James makes effective use of the imperative mood. In the 108 verses of his epistle the imperative is employed 60 times. A notable instance of this frequency occurs in 4:7,8,9: “Resist …, draw nigh …, cleanse …, purify …, be afflicted …, mourn …, let your laughter be turned …”. The juxtaposition of these makes an effective evangelistic call; the whole passage is pure gospel as much as anything we find in the Sermon on the Mount or in Paul.

The Greek in ‘James’ is fluent and elegant. To demonstrate this we would need to explain technical words such as hapax legomena, paronomasia and anadiplosis, and then select examples of these. The view that the letter could not have been written by a Galilean craftsman has lost much of its cogency. Sharon is living proof of the fact that a Jew can use a lingua franca, in his case English, without the benefit of a public school education, and do so accurately and vividly.

As one who lived in Palestine during early youth, I can vouch for the statement that ‘James’ breathes a Palestinian air. The imagery reminds of our Lord’s discourses and parables. Note the following, wind and waves, sea and sun, bridle and bit, horse and helm, fountain and fig tree – these are of key examples. What we can surely infer from a study of this imagery is a love of nature, sympathetic human interest and a readiness to find ‘sermons in stones’.

James remained in Palestine becoming a missionary to his own people. In this he has been followed by the vast majority of Christians, whose mission is to stay at home and witness to their compatriots. Tradition tells us that he was appointed bishop in the mother church at Jerusalem. He spent hours on his knees praying for others. Eventually he died a martyr at the hands of his fellow Jews. I like the note in Acts 21:17-20: Paul has told James and the elders about the great things that God had done among the Gentiles; then James assures his brother apostle that many thousands of the Jews have also turned to the Lord. so Christ is glorified at home and abroad.

Faith and Works

For some folk the apparent antithesis of faith and works is the only significant issue in James. This is a pity since we may become obsessed with a controversial point and miss equally vital matters that figure prominently in this rich epistle. None the less the issue must be tackled, initially with a few tentative remarks. Eventually a more extended treatment may help us resolve the conflict of views.

We owe an immense debt to that valiant reformer, Martin Luther. His rediscovery of the doctrine of ‘Justification by Faith’ was the spiritual counterpart of the discovery of the New World. Both these events the one in the theological sphere, the other in the geographical have altered the course of history. However, he did make one or two wild assertions that have a bearing on the canonicity of Scripture. For instance he expressed his dislike for the Book of Revelation on the grounds that revelation should reveal, whereas this book does nothing of the sort. Yet it is the Apocalypse ‘which beyond all other books has made people feel that heaven is real’. Luther went further; he devalued ‘James’ as an ‘epistle of straw’. All good protestants know about the happy day when the light of the gospel shone upon his heart as he wrestled with the middle verses of Romans 1: “THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.” In attempt to guard against all equivocation Luther added the phrase sola, by faith alone.

Well, Luther soon noticed that James seemingly disagreed with the truth as he saw it: “Even so faith if it hath not works is dead being alone” (2:17). Here James uses the precise word that Luther added to his text, but with contrary intent.

Several years ago I was asked by some missionaries in Lebanon to speak on Galatians and ‘James’ with a view to bringing nearer the divergent attitudes of the ‘legalistic’ local Christians and the ‘antinomian’ foreigners. Both parties have admirable qualities and were seeking to bring glory to God one by firmness the other by freedom. With the help of an eminent scholar let us try and define the two attitudes: ‘Legalism is the tendency to rely on human action as meritorious instead of constantly casting oneself on the mercy of God alone’. ‘Antinomianism is the assumption that the mercy of God condones licentious living or a selfish unwilling­ness to act charitably’. The mistaken assumption was that there was a legalistic element in James’ teaching; this being a reaction to the antinomianism of those who misjudged Paul’s teaching on faith and works.

But is James a legalist? Is it legalistic to pray fervently, for this is what he recommends? Is it legalism to visit widows and orphans, to avoid worldly pollution, to treat the poor man respectfully, to hold the tongue in check, not to judge our brothers harshly? Whatever the term works stands for in James, these particular ‘works’ are wholly admirable – without them there can be no true righteousness in conduct, and we would be no better than pagans. Calvin writes that we ought not to be disappointed if James seems more reluctant to preach our favourite doctrine. “We must not expect everyone to go over the same ground. Such diversity does not make us praise one apostle and blame another”.

I too was disappointed not to find any mention of the Holy Spirit in ‘James’. but great was my satisfaction to discover that all nine of the Spirit’s fruits stand out in the epistle. Seven are listed explicitly if not in the familiar sequence, one comes under a synonym and the ninth is a metaphor.

Paul roundly condemns the Legalists in Galatians. How does he deal with Antinomians? He exhorts them in Romans 6, challenging us through his contemporaries to lift high our Christian standards: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid”. What if such exhortation leaves us cold? There are theologians who insist that Christians can remain homosexual or indulge in extra-marital sex. Sadly there are also professing Christians who are envious, deceitful, proud, boastful, disobedient to parents. Paul does not hesitate to lump such respectable transgressors with the perverts in Romans 1:26-32.

In an extreme case Paul urges the Corinthian church to deliver “such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved” (1 Corinthians 5:1-5). How can anathemas of this sort be applied in our day? No longer do we burn heretics or brand adulteresses. The same Corinthian chapter warns us not to keep company with a brother who is covetous, a railer or a drunkard (1 Corinthians 5:11). James has a simpler solution: Faith without works is dead; there is living faith and a stillborn faith. Can such a sterile faith ever justify? No, it never works.

In 1 Corinthians 16 Paul pronounces anathema on those who do not love Jesus; in Galatians 1 he does the same to those who in the interests of legalism twist the Gospel. Implicitly James adepts an equally uncompromising attitude towards the antinomians, questioning the value and validity of their faith.

Summary of Contents

For some the Epistle of James has seemed an epistle made up of straw; by others it has been treasured as a collection of pearls beyond price. The letter defines neat analysis; it moves rapidly from theme to theme, from charge to challenge with the aid of imagery and illustration. We may in the language of music speak of motifs, repetition, development and recapitulation. ‘James’ may be conveniently summarized in brief phrases as follows:

1:01    -- Salutation
1:02-08 -- Faith and Wisdom
1:09-11 -- Poverty and Wealth
1:12-18 -- Testing and Tempting
1:19-27 -- Hearing and Doing
2:01-13 -- Warning against Inequity
2:14-26 -- Faith and Works
3:01-12 -- Misusing the Tongue
3:13-18 -- Wisdom from Above
4:01-10 -- Worldliness and Godliness
4:11-12 -- Presumption in Judging
4:13-17 -- Warning against Self-confidence
5:01-06 -- Warning against Wealth
5:07-12 -- Patience in Testing
5:13-20 -- Prayer and Faith

Notice how James begins and ends with faith, in between he merely seeks to remove the obstacles to genuine faith. ‘Riches’ is another subject that occupies his thoughts; the undue respect that wealth commands, and the false sense of security it engenders. He further insists on practical responses to hearing and believing the Word in terms of works or deeds. Above all he urges us to pray in the worst of circumstances and for the best of God’s gifts.

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