What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. – James 2:14-17 (ESV)
James is written to the twelve tribes in the “dispersion” (1:1) and is therefore addressed to those Jews who were scattered from Jerusalem due to persecution early in the first century. James gives the twelve tribes a series of loosely connected instructions for how to live by faith as they are dispersed. He focuses on cultivating a real and active faith that shuns corruption and partiality and focuses on living in harmony and bearing up under persecution. James addresses many concerns, including the need to count trials as joy, being doers of the word, being impartial, being careful with words, being a peacemaker, being people of integrity, and how to handle sickness and sin. We are in similar places when we consider the fact that all these things still go on today. While for the dispersion, this was more or less a set of emergency instructions, for us it can function like a Christianity 101, an essentials kit.
The Big Idea of James
I have taught the Big Idea of James as the following: Deed-less Faith is Dead Faith
An Outline of James
Don't Confuse Trials with Temptations
James 1:1-15 teaches us not to confuse trials with temptations. James recognizes that believers undergo trials. However, instead of expressing sympathy as we might expect, James calls the believers to count it a joy to meet trials. This is because tested faith produces steadfastness, which in turn leads to perfection and completion. James then turns to exhort his readers to ask God for wisdom if they lack it. But he reminds them that they must ask in faith rather than as a double-minded person. James then calls them to humility and reminds them not to trust in riches. James concludes this section by returning to trials and telling them that the person who remains steadfast under trial is blessed. Nevertheless, they must not consider temptation to sin as coming from God but as coming from their own corrupt desires. If it is allowed to flourish, then it will result in death.
Don't Confuse the Good and Pure with the Bad and Impure
James 1:16-27 teaches us not to confuse the good and pure with the bad and impure. James begins by urging readers not to be deceived regarding the source of good things. They all come from God who never changes. He is the cause of believers having been brought forth from death to life. As such, believers should not be marked by anger or wickedness but by patience and submission to God’s word. Not only should they listen to God’s word, but they should also be doers of them. To be a hearer and not a doer is like looking in a mirror and immediately forgetting what you are like. Hearing and doing are not the same thing, but believers may be deceived in that regard. Real religion is not just hearing but living, especially with regard to the love of neighbors who cannot love back, i.e., orphans and widows.
Don't Confuse Dead Faith and Live Faith
James 2:1-26 teaches us not to confuse dead faith with live faith. Dead faith is no faith at all. James begins the section with a call not to be partial, showing favor to some and not to others on an unjust basis. The poor should not be disregarded because they are poor. The rich should not be favored because they are rich. People should be treated with favor or disfavor according to their keeping or breaking of the law. James transitions from this to describing dead faith versus live faith. Dead faith does not keep the law but only claims to have faith. But live faith is faith that obeys. Abraham’s faith was shown to be alive by his obedience to God, even at the cost of his son Isaac. In this sense, people are justified by works and not just faith. That is, people are justified by a faith that leads to works and not just a faith in itself that refuses to work or would never lead to works. Saving faith is not a theoretical position but an obedient disposition.
Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Tongue
In chapter three, James warns us not to underestimate the power of the tongue. James begins by writing that relatively few should become teachers due to the greater strictness with which they will be judged. The judgment is not explicitly said to be by God, but that seems most likely. Not stumbling in our words is exceedingly difficult, and yet words are exceedingly powerful. James compares the tongue and words to bits for horses, rudders for great ships, and a small fire that begins a blaze. James describes the tongue as an untamable and powerful source of evil. Even among believers, there is inconsistency in what we say and how we use it. As such, we must pursue meekness in wisdom and good conduct. We must guard against jealousy and selfish ambition, sowing righteousness in peace rather than unrighteousness by strife.
Don't Confuse Self-Understanding and God's Judgment
James 4:1-5:6 teaches us not to confuse self-understanding and God’s judgment. James spends the entire section rebuking the people for their tendency to fight, pride, evil speaking, confidence in riches, dishonesty, and unrighteousness. James writes that people should recognize the passions that lead to conflict and pursue friendship with God. He also says they must humble themselves and not speak evil of one another or judge one another as only God can.
Be Patient, Persevering, Prayerful, and Persistent Until the Lord Comes
James ends the letter by calling his readers to be patient, persevering, prayerful, and persistent until the Lord comes. The coming of the Lord is the great event on the calendar to which he looks forward. In the meantime, they should treat one another well and endure suffering as Job did. They should not swear by things but be simply honest. They should pray for healing and confess their sins to one another, trusting in the power of prayer and the importance of calling each other away from sin.
Benefits of James
James is a letter with lots of low-hanging fruit. It reads in some ways like the wisdom in the Old Testament, such as Proverbs. One character quality that comes through as necessary over and over again is humility. We little understand how detrimental and harmful our pride is. We tend to be over-focused on ourselves and under-focused on God and others. We tend to exalt ourselves in our own hearts and diminish the importance of God and others. James shows us how this only leads to conflict, strife, and enmity with God and others. If we would be humble, we must raise our eyes to God and stop looking constantly at ourselves.
James also has a consistent focus on the need for faith that acts. For James, faith that does nothing is worth nothing. Faith that does nothing cannot be said to be real faith at all. Faith is an entrusting of ourselves to God. It is not a theoretical position but an obedient disposition. To claim to have faith in God begs the question of how we live. If we say we have faith, do we have the works that should accompany it, or do we only claim to support the idea of faith? Do we have the theory of faith only and not the substance?
James calls us to follow God truly and tangibly, not trusting in ourselves but trusting in him. James calls us to get over ourselves and love and follow God so that we might live in light of the Lord’s coming as we ought. If nothing else, making sure that the greatest event on our calendar is the coming of the Lord would drastically shape the change of many Christians’ lives.