1. “A rather strawy epistle”
James
“A rather strawy epistle”

2. I. Authorship Facts we know:
1. Calls himself – James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ
2. Man of authority among Jewish Christians
3. He has an Old Testament background
4. Judaistic leanings
5. A teacher

3. Narrowed to Three Possibilities
James, son of Zebedee
James, son of Alphaeus
James, brother of Jesus

4. C. Arguments for James, the brother of Jesus
1. Simplicity of self-designation
2. The Jewish flavor of the book
3. Similarities between this book and the speeches in Acts
4. The community is primitive
5. External evidence -- slightly

5. D. Against James, the brother of Jesus
1. Language
2. No mention of Jesus’ life
3. No mention of law
4. Possible dependence upon Paul’s letters
5. Moral degeneracy demands longer period for development.
6. Slow to be accepted into canon

6. Strong leaning towards, James, the brother of Jesus, as the author.

7. II. Date Early date – 49 A.D. Date near the death of James – 62 AD
Late date – AD

8. III. Destination
A. Book addressed to “the twelve tribes of the Diaspora.”
B. Who?
Jews who were not Christians
Christians in general
Jewish Christians – more likely

9. IV. The Problem with Paul
James
Rom. 3:28
James 2:14-26
Teaching
Faith plus nothing
Faith plus works
Error
Legalism
Antinomianism
Aspect of Life
How a person is saved
How a Christian lives

10. Paul
James
“Works
Ritualistic, legalistic
Acts of kindness
“Faith”
Commitment to Christ
Intellectual assent
Justification
Person declared right
Deeds prove one is righteous

11. Conclusion: Both are saying the same thing, but from a different perspective.
A person is saved by faith but works will be a part of the result of that salvation.

12. V. Theme
The Christian life must be demonstrated by everyday life.