JAMES
Guidelines for a Happy Christian Life
JAMES
MACARTHUR BIBLE STUDIES
Copyright © 2001, John F. MacArthur, Jr. Published by Word Publishing, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.
Scripture passages taken from:
The Holy Bible, New King James Version
Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Cover Art by The Puckett Group.
Interior design and composition by Design Corps, Batavia, IL.
Produced with the assistance of the Livingstone Corporation. Project staff include Dave Veerman, Christopher D. Hudson, and Amber Rae.
Project editor:
Len Woods ISBN 0–8499-5548–3
All rights reserved.
James
Table of Contents
From Trouble to Triumph … and Back!
James 1:1–12
The Fault for Temptation
James 1:13–18
Belief that Behaves
James 1:19–27
Favoritism in the Church?
James 2:1–13
Dead Faith!
James 2:14–20
Faith that Passes the Test!
James 2:21–26
Taming the Tongue
James 3:1–12
True Wisdom
James 3:13–18
Worldliness!
James 4:1–12
Responding to the Will of God
James 4:13–17
Riches, Trials, and Swearing
James 5:1–12
Righteous Praying
James 5:13–20
THE EPISTLE OF JAMES
Introduction
James, like all the general epistles except Hebrews, is named after its author (v. 1).
Author and Date
Of the four men named James in the New Testament, only two are candidates for authorship of this epistle. No one has seriously considered James the Less, the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3; Acts 1:13), or James the father of Judas, not Iscariot (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). Some have suggested James the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matt. 4:21), but he was martyred too early to have written it (Acts 12:2). That leaves only James, the oldest half brother of Christ (Mark 6:3) and brother of Jude (Matt. 13:55), who also wrote the epistle that bears his name (Jude 1). James had at first rejected Jesus as Messiah (John 7:5), but later believed (1 Cor. 15:7). He became the key leader in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 2:12), being called one of the “pillars” of that church, along with Peter and John (Gal. 2:9). Also known as James the Just because of his devotion to righteousness, he was martyred ca. a.d. 62, according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. A comparison of James’s vocabulary in his letter wrote recorded in Acts 15 with that in the epistle of James further corroborates his authorship.
James Acts 15
James 1:1 "greetings" Acts 15:23
James 1:16, 19; 2:5 "beloved" Acts 15:25
James 1:21; James 5:20 "your souls" Acts 15:24
James 1:27 "visit" Acts 15:14
James 2:10 "keep" Acts 15:24
James 5:19, 20 "turn" Acts 15:19
James wrote with the authority of one who had personally seen the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:7), who was recognized as an associate of the apostles (Gal. 1:19), and who was the leader of the Jerusalem church.
James most likely wrote this epistle to believers scattered (1:1) as a result of the unrest recorded in Acts 12 (ca. A.D. 44). There is no mention of the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15 (ca. A.D. 49), which would be expected if that Council had already taken place. Therefore, James can be reliably dated ca. A.D. 44–49, making it the earliest written book of the New Testament canon.
Background and Setting
The recipients of this book were Jewish believers who had been dispersed (1:1), possibly as a result of Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7, A.D. 31–34), but more likely due to the persecution under Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12, ca. A.D. 44). The author refers to his audience as “brethren” fifteen times (1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19); this was a common epithet among first-century Jews. Not surprisingly, then, James is Jewish in its content. For example, the Greek word translated “assembly” (2:2) is the word for “synagogue.” Further, James contains more than forty allusions to the Old Testament (and more than twenty to the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5–7).
Historical and Theological Themes
James, with its devotion to direct, pungent statements on wise living, is reminiscent of the Book of Proverbs. It has a practical emphasis, stressing not theoretical knowledge but godly behavior. James wrote with a passionate desire for his readers to be uncompromisingly obedient to the Word of God. He uses at least thirty references to nature (e.g., “wave of the sea” [1:6]; “reptile” [3:7]; and “heaven gave rain” [5:18]), as befits one who spent a great deal of time outdoors. He complements Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith with his own emphasis on spiritual fruitfulness demonstrating true faith.
Interpretive Challenges
At least two significant texts challenge the interpreter: (1) In 2:14–26, what is the relationship between faith and works? Does James’s emphasis on works contradict Paul’s focus on faith? (2) In 5:13–18, do the promises of healing refer to the spiritual or the physical realm? These difficult texts are treated in the notes.
John MacArthur, James: Guidelines for a Happy Christian Life, MacArthur Bible Studies (Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group, 2001), 1–3.
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