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Posts in The Epistle of James

“A Transgressor of the Law” The Fourth in a Series on the Book of James (James 2:1-13)

Christianity Is Fundamentally Different

Christianity is a revolutionary religion which utterly confounds those who do not have faith in Christ. Sinful human nature tells us that good people go to heaven and that bad people go to hell. But Christianity teaches that God justifies the wicked (Romans 4:5). Sinful human nature tells us that the standard by which we judge people is external: beauty, fame, accomplishments, power, and fortune. But Christianity teaches that God’s standard of judgment is the Ten Commandments.

In the first-century world in which the Epistle of James was written, society was dominated by social castes and wealthy land-owners. But James tells his audience that Christians must show no partiality, either to the rich, or to the poor. Furthermore, James points out how flawed human judgment can be when it comes to matters of sin and salvation. Sinful human nature tells us that people who have more good deeds than bad deeds somehow make it to heaven. But James tells us that God is not going to grade the final exam for eternal life on a curve–God’s passing mark is 100% perfect obedience. In fact, as James will point out, commit but a single sin, and God regards you as a law-breaker, guilty of breaking all of his commandments.

In this sense, Christianity is an utterly revolutionary religion because it completely levels the human playing field. All of us are sinners who deserve to be punished. This is why we have no business judging anyone else. God saves sinners based not upon their merits, but upon the merits of Christ. And once saved by the merits of Christ, all manner of good works spring forth. Non-Christians simply cannot understand this because this is so contrary to sinful human nature.

A Level Playing Field

Continuing our series on the Epistle of James, we now make our way into the first thirteen verses of James chapter 2. In this section of his epistle, James takes up a discussion of the evils of discrimination, in particular the way in which wealthy land-owners and merchants throughout Palestine and Syria were exploiting those in James’s audience who were suffering this persecution and hardship because of their loyalty to Christ. Many of those to whom this epistle is addressed–the twelve tribes of the diaspora (persecuted Jewish Christians)–had been cut off from all ties to family, work, and both the temple and the synagogue, because they became followers of Jesus. Evicted from the synagogue and rejected by their families, many joined newly formed house-churches, but were being looked down upon in these assemblies because of their poverty, an important pastoral matter James now addresses head-on.

In many ways, this section of James amounts to the author fleshing out several of the comments he made at the end of the first chapter. In verse 22, James exhorted his audience to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” In verse 27, James spoke of the need to show compassion to the poor. “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” Therefore, the theme of this next section of James–a theme to which James will return in chapter five–is that discrimination against the poor is a violation of the law of God.

Based upon what James has said in chapter one about those who hear the word but do not do the word, it is not a stretch to conclude that those who use worldly standards to judge each other in self-righteousness are actually self-deceived. The standard of measurement which counts is not someone’s opinion, or their sinful prejudices. The standard of measurement that God uses is his law. And when we are measured against that standard, all of us quickly realize that we are sinners.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Epistle of JamesKim RiddlebargerMarch 4, 2026The Lord of Glory, How We Treat the Poor, James 2:1-13Comment

“The Law of Liberty” The Third in a Series on the Book of James (James 1:19-27)

Setting the Scene

In the most direct and pointed of terms, the Book of James exhorts Christians to do good works. According to James–the brother of Jesus–God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. One of these good and perfect gifts is the fact that God has brought his people forth from death to life through the means of his Word (the preaching of the gospel). But James goes on to point out that since believers have been brought to life through the preached Word, believers are therefore to obey that same Word which has given them life. James directs us not only to hear the Word, but do the Word. This simply means that we are to obey the commandments given by God to his people. We are to do this not to become Christians, but because we already are Christians. We will obey the commandments of God as revealed in the perfect law of liberty, because God has given us a living faith, which not only hears, but does.

Doers of the Word

As we continue our exposition of the Book of James, we now move into the last half of the first chapter (verses 19-27). In these verses, James makes the point that those who have been brought forth by God, need to obey the Word which has given them life. To put it yet another way, true, genuine, saving faith, necessarily leads to the production of good works. The relationship between the new birth and good works–an important theme in the Book of James—is an essential aspect of Christian doctrine. But this is also a topic about which many Christians are woefully confused. So we’ll begin by taking up the subject of the relationship between regeneration and good works in order to prepare us to make our way through verses 19-27 of the first chapter, where persecuted Jewish Christians are exhorted by James to be doers of the Word and not mere hearers only.

I have been making the case that the proper way to interpret the Book of James is to place this book in its historical context. With this book, context is everything. I contend that James was quite likely the first book written in our New Testament, and that this epistle was written at some point in the mid 40's of the first century. As we saw in the previous exposition, the original audience was persecuted Jewish Christians who were scattered throughout Palestine. Written before the controversy over justification broke out between Jewish and Gentile Christians in Asia Minor in 48 CE, James is writing to exhort Jewish believers to live in a manner which is consistent with their profession of faith.

Given the historical circumstances, this kind of direct exhortation should not come as a surprise to us, nor does this mean that James is somehow in conflict with Paul when it comes to the doctrine of justification. This simply means that those who profess faith in Christ are not to wilt in the face of difficult times and persecution. James tells his readers in the opening verses of the first chapter that their current trials serve as a test of faith, and that God will graciously give them the wisdom needed to gain the proper perspective on these trials when enduring them. James has made it plain that God allows various trials to come our way–the purpose of which is to strengthen our faith and to bring God’s work in us to fruition. But no one can say that God is tempting them when they sin. This is because in God there is no shadow of turning, there are no sinful desires, and there is no change. Rather, God alone is the source of every good and perfect gift.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Epistle of JamesKim RiddlebargerFebruary 18, 2026Doers, Doers Not Merely Hearers, James 1:19-27Comment

“Ask in Faith”- The Second in a Series on the Book of James (James 1:1-18)

The Background and Context

I wish I could promise that God will not call you to suffer. I wish that I could tell you that living the Christian life is a very easy thing. But I can’t do that. The reason is simple. Neither of these things are true. As you well know firsthand, God does indeed call us to suffer–some of us much more than others. All of us who place our trust in Jesus know full well that the Christian life often includes difficult trials designed to test our faith. Suffering, trials, temptations, and the testing of our faith, are all realities of the Christian life. And all of these difficult issues are raised in the opening chapter of the Book of James, a letter written to persecuted Christians living during the most trying of times.

Lets jump right in and make our way through the first eighteen verses of the opening chapter of James. Last time, we spent a great deal of time on introductory matters–which are very important when it comes to interpreting this book correctly. In the introductory essay, I attempted to make my case that we can best interpret this epistle by looking carefully at James’s role in apostolic history, which, I think, serves to eliminate many of the difficulties which are often raised by those who seek to pit James against Paul, and who see this book as nothing more than Jewish legalism. So, I strongly encourage you to read the previous exposition, because much of what we’ll be doing in this series grows directly out of the historical context which I labored to establish in the initial installment.

To briefly recap, if the Book of James was written before the Jerusalem Council in CE 48 as recounted in Acts 15, this means that James is writing before the controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over justification broke out in the Galatian churches. An early date for the Book of James is an important key to resolving the supposed controversy between James and Paul over the doctrine of justification. James’s epistle was very likely written before any of the gospels were composed, and during that time in the mid-40's when Christianity was rapidly spreading throughout Jerusalem, Palestine, and Syria. This time frame helps us to identify James’s original audience (persecuted Jewish Christians), as well as the purpose for which this epistle was written–to exhort these persecuted Christians to put their faith in Christ into action. Paul does not contradict James. Paul is dealing with a controversy between Jewish and Gentile Christians over the doctrine of justification, while James is writing to exhort struggling Jewish Christians not to be satisfied with being mere hearers of the word only. James is exhorting his reader to be a doer of the word, which is important counsel to persecuted Christians.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Epistle of JamesKim RiddlebargerFebruary 4, 2026James 1:1-18, Suffering and PersecutionComment

A New Series on the Epistle of James-- “Be Doers of the Word, and Not Hearers Only” – The First in a Series on the Book of James (James 1:19-27)

Introduction

When I first announced that I was going to post an exposition of the Book of James, there were two common responses. The first was “good, about time you got around to something practical.” The second (and more common) response was “ugh . . . there’s no gospel in that epistle of straw.” My hope and prayer is that both sets of complainants will find something of value in this series on the Book of James.

The Book of James is about as straight-forward a book as you will find in the New Testament. There is a higher percentage of imperatives (commands) in the Book of James than in any other book of the Bible. James did not write this epistle to instruct his reader, as much as to exhort persecuted Christians to put their faith into practice. If you want “practical,” this is a book for you.[1] But James is also chock full of theological insight and interpreting this book correctly–which entails understanding the context in which this epistle was written–will eliminate many of the fears and misunderstandings people commonly have about the Book of James, i.e., that it contains no gospel, or that James’s doctrine of justification is in conflict with Paul’s.

Luther and Calvin’s Initial Reservations

That said, the Book of James can be quite difficult in places because this letter is not structured like most of the other epistles in the New Testament (i.e., the epistles of Paul). Many of you know of Martin Luther’s reservations about the Book of James–Luther called it an “epistle of straw,” although Luther cited from James many times, and often encouraged Christians to read it and study it. Calvin’s assessment was much more nuanced. Calvin stated that James “seems rather reluctant to preach the grace of Christ than an apostle should be” but Calvin goes on to say, “we must remember not to expect everyone to go over the same ground.” In fact, says Calvin, James “is a rich source of varied instruction, of abundant benefit in all aspects of the Christian life.”[2] I think Calvin got this absolutely right.

A General Letter – To the Churches

Unlike the letters of Paul, the Book of James is a more “general” letter written to the church at large, not to a specific congregation facing a unique set of circumstances. This is why James is known as a “catholic” or “general” epistle, and is placed in the canon with the other so-called “catholic” or general epistles: 1 & 2 Peter; 1, 2, 3 John; and Jude. While James draws much of his material directly from the teaching of Jesus–which is not surprising since James is the brother of our Lord–this epistle is written to Jewish Christians, who, at the time of the epistle’s composition, were scattered throughout Palestine and Syria. These early Christians were, apparently, facing a great deal of persecution and hardship because of their allegiance to Jesus Christ. Since James’s readers were likely facing very difficult times they surely were tempted to take the easy way out and make “friends with the world” as James puts it (4:4) so as to avoid persecution.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Epistle of JamesKim RiddlebargerJanuary 21, 2026Introduction to JamesComment