Date: Apr. 18, 2013
Starting on April 21, we will be starting of our study of letter of James. Before we begin, we wanted pass on a little background information concerning the text.
The book of James is one of the oldest books of the New Testament, with only Galatians possibly being older. It was possibly written before AD 50.
James was written by one of Jesus brothers, most likely his oldest brother. Like the rest of Jesus' family, James did not believe or understand Jesus' ministry, but after Jesus' resurrection, James became a prominent member of the church.
The letter was written to "the twelve tribes scattered among the nations" (James 1:1), quite possibly meaning the Jewish Christians who scattered after Stephens death, as noted in Acts 7. The letter contains a considerable amount of Jewish language, which Jewish recipients would, no doubt, understand.
The letter's main theme is about a working faith. Faith needs to be expressed through actions. The letter deals considerably with practical matters in a Christian's life.
