Jensens survey of the old testament adam 566
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20James: Faith for Living
One of the earliest, perhaps the rst, New
Testament book to be written was the epistle
of James. Its practical, nondoctrinal
emphasis reveals the kind of message that
God wanted to share with the Christian
community in published form very soon
after Jesus ascended to heaven.
I. PREPARATION FOR STUDY
Think about the primary message of
Scripture. It is accurate to say that the Bible
dwells mainly on two themes: “The Way to
God,” and “A Walk with God.” No one can
w a l k with God who has not rst been
restored to God. Much of the New Testament
tells us the way a sinner can come to God
and be eternally saved. That way is by God’s
grace, through one’s faith in Jesus Christ
(Eph. 2:8). The epistle of James, on the
other hand, was written to instruct
Christians — those who have been
reconciled to God through Christ — how to
walk with God in this life.
Thoughts, words, and deeds are the
ingredients of a person’s daily living. The
important question here is, What kind of
thoughts, words, and deeds should be part
of the life of a Christian who walks with
God? James was written to give us God’s
answers to that question. Those are some of
the things you will be observing as you
survey this important book.
II. BACKGROUND
A. THE AUTHOR
To know the author of a book is to
understand and appreciate better his
writing. We do not have an abundance of
information concerning the man James, but
what we do know makes us feel that James
is no stranger to us after all.1 And what is
more, we as Christians know the divine
Author of this epistle in an experiential
relationship, which is the master key to our
understanding of its message.
So before we survey his epistle, let us
think about the man James.
1 . Personal name. The English name
“James” in the New Testament translates the
G r e e k lakobos. This is from the Hebrew
lakob, translated “Jacob” in the Old
Testament.
2 . Family background. To learn something
of the author’s family background, we rst
need to identify which James this is.
Actually, there are four di erent New
Testament persons with the name James:
James the son of Zebedee (Matt. 4:21;
Mark 1:19; Luke 5:10)
James the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3;
Mark 3:18; 15:40; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13)
James the father of Judas the apostle
(Luke 6:16, Berkeley)
James “the Lord’s brother” (Matt. 13:55;
Mark 6:3; Gal. 1:19).
There is strong support that the epistle’s
author was the last-named James. This is the
view followed by this study guide. James
really was a half brother of Jesus, both
having the same mother, Mary, but not the
same father. (Joseph was only the legal
father of Jesus; Jesus was conceived of the
Holy Spirit, Matt. 1:20.)
James had sisters and at least three
brothers besides Jesus: Joses (Joseph),
Simon, and Jude (Matt. 13:55). The home
environment in which James was reared
