LEARNING DAILY

1 Corinthians 15:7, Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles.

I have been wanting to explore the epistle written by James to receive and pass on the wisdom for Believers today. I have been writing about various men that have written parts of the Bible and will introduce James today. I believe reading about the lives of these men is necessary in understanding their writing even when it is not always exciting to read. What could we come to know about these men that will help us follow the Lord Jesus Christ more?

The James that wrote this epistle is not the well-known James read about in the Gospels. That James was a part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples and was the first disciple to be martyred. The James who wrote this letter probably knew Jesus better than most because he was the half-brother of Jesus. Can you imagine growing up sharing the same house, playing games, and even working beside Jesus. He knew Him very well and was probably why he had so much difficulty believing Him to be the Messiah, the Son of God (John 7:5).

Bu after the resurrection, Paul wrote the risen Lord revealed Himself to many people. Paul indicates that Jesus met with James personally and privately at some time. That meeting forever changed James; he grew in the faith to be a leader of the Jerusalem Church. That is where Paul met James. In Galatians 2:9 Paul wrote of James being a pillar of the church.

There have been those who have said that the teachings of Paul and James contradicted each other, especially regarding justification by faith. Paul declared a person is declared righteous through faith alone; James declared that one’s faith was to produce good works. There are no contradictions – they are complimentary.

The letter is written to “the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” the Jews that had been scattered outside the land of Israel. He wrote what was a collection of wisdom instructions on how to deal with the trials and difficulties these Jews were facing. What ties these instructions together is allowing their difficulties and circumstances to prove their loyalty to the Lord. As we work through this epistle it will be important to see, “James does not write, ‘I recommend that you do,’ but, ‘You must do’” (David Jeremiah Study Bible).

There are several things to note here. Meeting the Risen Christ personally changes the person. To have Him come into one’s life will cause their faith to stand out. Being saved by Jesus was never meant to be something the Believer receives and then never does anything with it. The Believer’s faith must translate into their life, their walk every day. “If your faith in Christ means anything we (you) will stand out. People will notice the difference.” (DJSB). It does not make any sense to claim to belong to Christ and act like the rest of the world!