Exegetical Paper on James 2:18-26

Newly converted Christians needed to know how they could maintain their traditions but not let them interfere with accepting Christian believers who may not accept their social guidelines. James' teachings were also for Christians that had been scattered about as the result of the Roman persecution. Throughout the book, there are many instances where James talks about strength and reassurance in the face of hard times.

The third section dissects the formation of the New Testament with more historical context and views of other writings defined as Gnostic writing. Bruce explains the spoken words of the apostles carried as much authority as their written words and gives an in depth explanation how the Gospels and Pauline writings were viewed by the Church Fathers. The rest of the section demonstrates the Church Fathers and their views of what was to be considered scripture and the councils that affirmed the inspired scripture.

Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ produces an inward change, which in turn is shown to others by outward actions. The question being asked here by James is if there is no evidence of this inward change by the outward actions is then the faith in Christ real and more importantly is then, salvation sure. James in his message is often misunderstood and seen as contradictory in light of the rest of the New Testament but that is truly not the case. James is trying to relate a very real and timely assessment of salvation as it relates to faith and the action of those proclaiming faith in Jesus Christ. In other words are they walking the walk of the faith the claim to be talking?

James was written in Koiné Greek and is one of the earliest books in the New Testament. His letter talks and demonstrates Jesus teachings such as: how God does not tempt us, how we are to do what God says, don’t show favoritism, be careful what you say, don’t criticize others, be patient when you suffer, and pray when you are sick. These teachings from God are written by James were and still are being practiced today amongst Christians everywhere ( James Richards p.1352).

The purpose of this table is to provide a fairly complete list of the widely suggested parallels. Since a number of these parallels are still so weak, reflecting only some conceptual similarity or a single shared word, one may legitimately question whether they can offer any decisive evidence for clarifying the type of relationship between James and the supposed parallel synoptic traditions. Of the twenty-four parallels list only eight have strong parallels. It was only with the development of scholarship dealing with the source criticism of the gospels generally, and more specifically with the formulation of the Q hypothesis that a literary relationship between James and the hypothetical source of the double tradition material began to emerge.

Throughout the history of the Bible, few words have had more controversy than the words, faith, works, and justification. James’ uses a powerful interrogative to pose the

In doing so, we can discover that final authority is not in and of scripture itself but of the Triune God who is the Author of scripture. The second obstacle to consider is that many have dismissed scripture as a book of Israelitic & Christian stories. Wright contends that these stories are told to inform us of “internal dynamics” of the past so as to engage us in the present for transformation into Christ-likeness. (p.25). Thirdly, Wright asserts that the question of scripture’s authority should not be viewed as a list of rules where God condescends to man. Rather, scripture should be received as God’s purpose to save and renew the entire world by authorizing the church—God’s agent in the world—with His mission through the work of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is imperative that biblical scholars “see the role of scripture not simply as being [informative about or revelatory of God’s truth] but as a means of God’s action in and through us.” (p.28)

The book of James expresses a message that often times has been referred to by skeptics as being in contrast to that of the Apostle Paul’s message, at least, in regards to the grounds of justification. The Christian is justified by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. The Bible even supports the doctrine of imputed righteousness, something that falls in line with both James and Paul’s messages. So do the apostle Paul and James suggest contradictory grounds for grace or do the two actually agree? To shed light on how the two disciples agree, one can examine their writings to determine the truth.

Controversial and “embellished”, the Infancy Gospels of James, otherwise known as the Protoevangelium of James, has an extensive history in the archaeological sources of early canonical Christian writings; yet, the precise date when it was first transcribed is unknown. However, scholars know of two other ancient manuscripts that seem to refer to the Protoevangelium of James. Origen and Clement of Alexandria both wrote in their personal commentaries on the synoptic gospels, of aspects and storylines found in the Infancy Gospel. From this, one can reason that the Gospel would have to be written some time before the two writers’ deaths. Origen died in 254 AD, while Clement of Alexandria died in 215 AD. So the death of Clement of Alexandria and his explicit references to the Infancy Gospel has helped scholars determine that the original document must have been written by 215 AD at the latest. Otherwise, the Infancy Gospel of James would have to have been written at just before Origen and Clement of Alexandria had been born since there is no other evidence of scholars or theologians writing about the Gospel prior to the aforementioned writings.

“In 2002, what was thought to be a significant archaeological discovery was made. An ancient ossuary or bone box dating to the first century was found with the inscription James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus. While controversy continues regarding the authenticity of the inscription, the fact that such a find enthralled the religious world shows the historical importance attached to James, the brother of Jesus.” Mark 3:21-35 describes James before his transformation. It is here that he was at least doubtful, if not in disbelief, of Jesus and His ministry.

works is dead.” It is clear that the audience of James struggled with putting their faith to work,

The name “James” appears frequently in gospel narratives. There are three separate James’ mentioned amidst the early church in Jerusalem: James, the Son of Zebedee; James the Less; and James the righteous. Correct interpretation of which James is being mentioned when discerning Scripture is imperative.

The book of James has created disputations amongst its readers for years. Like almost all of the New Testament writings, contemporary readers have questions about it origin, composition, and content. Also like most New Testament writings, there are multiple hypotheses that have been presented to answer each of these enquiries. For example, many scholars have suggested that it is the least Christian amongst all of the New Testament writings due to the fact that it only references the name of Jesus twice. This a particular point that I feel needs to be addressed when trying to understand James, and it is a point I will answer further while also trying to present information regarding other possible questions an individual may have while reading

Many readers of the New Testament are thought to have misinterpret both Paul and James, this would be the assumption that they contradict each other. They have different emphasis but they simply don’t have a contradiction with their teaching. In a Christian life, both believe that faith and works are essential but play different parts. Another belief they have in common is that faith comes from God and Jesus and it does not come from us. The reason why they have different ideas may be because they had different audiences going through different problems and situations. Paul stresses that Jesus’ death is where our salvation begins, not the laws of Moses. James stresses that Christians put their faith into actions. The misinterpretations come

At first glance, one of its main messages seems to contradict that of Paul’s ideology found in Romans and other of his books. James places an emphasis on work, while Romans focuses more on faith. However, upon analyzing the verses found in both books and taking them into context, it becomes clear that both Paul and James believe that “Authentic trust in Christ results in good works” (Elwell and Walter, 336). James moves on from the theme of faith and actions and starts to discuss other important topics such as taming the tongue and the two kinds of wisdom in chapter three.