An Introduction to the Book of James/Martin Luther
by Lane Rogers
A ny introduction to the book of James is incomplete without mentioning Martin Luther who has for the most part tainted the modern mind with his historical comments. Below is a brief sketch.
Martin Luther, referred to the book of James as an "epistle of straw." Frustrated by religious leaders who claimed this book supported their mistaken ideas that people could buy their salvation through monetary gifts to the church, Luther uttered his ill-advised phrase. Consumed in the debate, he went beyond a proper understanding of the Scriptures and dismissed James' statements that works are a necessary evidence of faith.
Many people today misapply Luther's words, not understanding the circumstances behind them. Martin Luther's life was one of dedication and chaste behavior. But his zealous words and arguments are sometimes taken out of historical context to excuse undisciplined lifestyles or other erroneous plans of salvation that espouse salvation apart from obedience.
Jesus Christ expects actions -- works from us: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven" (Matthew 7:21).
At the same time Jesus is also described as our merciful High Priest (Hebrews 2:17). Works and grace go together. James, a younger half brother of Jesus, wrote his epistle in harmony with Jesus' teachings and instructions. He not only wrote about works (James 2:14-26) but addressed grace (James 4:6) and Christ's "compassionate and merciful" nature (James 5:11).
The Bible is consistent and plain in its teaching that salvation is a gift from God. But, even though it is a gift, something we cannot earn, we are expected to obey God if we are to receive that gift.
Paul wrote, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith," and we are "created in Christ Jesus to do good works" (Ephesians 2:8, New International Version). James summarized this concept simply and concisely, telling us that "faith without works is dead" (James 2:20).
The above comments from an unknown author sum up the matter. It was in Luther's rebellion against the Catholic Church that formed much of modern Protestantism. Even his use of Romans 1:17 "the just shall live by faith" was exegetically dishonest. Martin Luther forgot to read the 'rest' of the book of Romans that tells us that those to whom Paul wrote had already been baptized (Romans 6:3-4). The point is that those people Paul wrote had already been obedient. Luther never understood that faith and works were the same and ever since Luther's time people continue to misuse Romans chapter one. Listen to how the Hebrew writer explains the matter:
But look on down at Hebrews 4:6
"Since therefore it remains that some must enter it and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience." No faith = disobedience, willful unbelief, obstinacy (i.e. a failure to do works).
What I want you to see is that "unbelief" and disobedience are the same, as can be see in the two passages above. Martin Luther did start the Protestant Reformation but he was not without his problems, as all of us are___ even so we all (even us non-Protestants), owe him a great deal.
Authorship and Date
The traditional position on the authorship and date of James definitely appeared by AD 253 (the death of Origen) and established itself firmly by the end of the 4th century. (Jerome, Augustine, and the Council of Carthage). From then until the 16th century, James was generally accepted without question and coming from the hands of James the Just while he presided over the church in Jerusalem (roughly AD 40-62), the lower limit being less clear. Martin Luther and Erasmus attributed the work to another pious Christian due to internal evidence. But their criticism was muted until the rise of modern criticism which has developed three news lines of thought.
1. The epistle was written later than the lifetime of James the Just. Those who hold this position originally dated the letter at some time in the 2nd century. More modern criticism by this group hold to the last quarter of the 1st century. Their reasons for this position are: (1) The epistle's late attestation by other writers (2) Its good Greek grammar could not have come from a Jew (3) Its dependence on the teachings of Paul.
2. The second and more recent attack on the book asserts that the epistle comes from material spoken by James the Just but in its final form it has been re-worked. In the end, this position is a compromise between those who claim Greek origins and those who claim Jewish origins.
3. The third line of thought is that the book is of pure Jewish origin with later Christian re-working and interpolations. Those who hold this position claim that James was a work taken over by Christians and they point to 1:1 and 2:1 as interpolations. Some even claim that the letter is an address of the patriarch Jacob to the twelve tribal fathers. It must also be mentioned that there is no evidence for such a position and it is usually dismissed.
The traditional position that James the Just wrote the letter still stands and has its defenders. Most date the epistle prior to the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) since Jewish practices are not defended, they are are assumed.
As far as James the Just is concerned, he is the only one who fits with the generally accepted date of the letter. James, the son of Zebedee, probably died too early and James, the son of Alphaeus, drops from sight so completely that he and James the Little face the same problems that most others known by the name James face. They were too unknown to write the letter since the letter assumes all know the author. Also, this letter conforms to what Luke tells us about James. This statement sums it up:
"Indeed in primitive Christianity there was only one James so well known and who assumed such a position that his mere name would identify him sufficiently. James, the brother of the Lord."
The Epistle of James___Analysis
I. Epistolary Introduction
II. Opening Statement 1:2---27
1. First segment: testing, wisdom, wealth 1:2-11
a. Testing produces joy 1:2-4
b. Wisdom comes through prayer 1:5-8
c. Poverty excels wealth 1:9-11
2. Second segment: testing speech, generosity 1:12-27
a. Testing produces blessedness 1:12-18
b. Pure speech contains no anger 1:19-21
c. Obedience requires generosity 1:22-25
d. Summary and transition 1:26-27
III. The Excellence of Poverty and Generosity 2:1-26
1. No partiality is allowable 2:1-13
a. Illustration: judicial assembly 2:1-4
b. Rational argument 2:5-7
c. Biblical argument 2:8-12
d. A call to obedience (transition) 2:13
2. Generosity is necessary 2:14-26
a. Illustration: poor Christian 2:14-17
b. Rational argument 2:18-20
c. Biblical argument (two part) Abraham/Rahab 2:21-26
IV. The Demand for Pure Speech 3: 1-4:12
1. Pure Speech has no anger 3:1-12
a. Warning against self-exaltation 3:1-2a
b. Warning about the power of the tongue 3:2b-5a
c. Warning about the doubleness in the tongue 3:5b-12
2. Pure speech comes from wisdom 3:13-18
3. Pure prayer is without anger/in trust 4:1-10(12)
a. Prayer with anger and desire 4:1-3
b. Condemnation of compromise 4:4-6
c. Call to repentance 4: 7-10
4. Pure speech is condemning 4: 11-12
V. Testing through wealth 4:13-5:6
1. The test of wealth 4:13-17
2. The test by the wealthy 5:1-6
VI. Closing Statement 5:7-20
1. Endurance in the test 5:7-11
2. Rejection of oaths 5:12
3. Helping one another through prayer/forgiveness 5:13-18 (health)
4. Closing encouragement 5:19-20
A Possible Sitz IM Leben
Unlike many of the NT letters James seems to be very general. It apparently isn't written because of a specific crisis as many letters were. James 1:2 covers those aspects. What appears to be happening is class warfare between members of the church. It is James 5:1-6 that informs us about the wealthy men but we ought not suppose this is just a single group. The writer of our letter has an OT background in matters of money and oppression.
Our author would not use the theme of rich men as persecutors if he perceived the church situation as one in which the rich members were tolerant. Nor would he portray the wealthy as farmers if he understood that the really wealthy were merchants.
The basic material for this cultural data appear in the "woe" sections of Jas. 4:13-5:6. There are two groups of people: a mercantile group (4:13-17), and an agricultural group (5:1-6). James stigmatizes the former group with the title of "you rich." Jas. 2:6-7 adds to the description of the "rich" indicating that they have some authority in the community and enough antipathy toward Christians to persecute them.
While Palestine is not the only place this data fits, it certainly fits Palestine well from a historical perspective, especially in period before 70 AD. Although Josephus (Ap.1:60) claims that the ancient Israelites were simply farmers and not traders the economic necessities of life and the needs of their land turned many Jews into merchants. It can be proven that Greek merchandise flooded Judea during this period of time and that merchandise was sold by Jews. Wealthy Jewish mercantile groups arose in urban centers, while outside the urban centers agriculture remained the main activity of the people. Thus, when the Temple was destroyed, the commercial importance of Jerusalem ceased.
James has strong words for these merchants of materialism in the church. He accuses the merchants of ignoring God and boasting of their self sufficiency. But in reality, these men have failed to follow the basic teachings of Jesus.
The rich agricultural group was not a new occurrence in Palestine but the concentration of land in the hands of a wealthy minority stems from setting up a monarchy. The ancient tradition was that God alone owned the land and it was given to tribal groups and divided into family plots never to be sold. The ancient tradition of the land came to an end when Israel (Judah) enshrined a king. This produced men whose power derived from the King and not God. These men amassed large estates.
So then in pre-70 as well as post-70 we have a cultural situation where the majority of the population is poor and they are being forced to live on ever smaller plots of land. Continued poor harvests, wealthy land owners, (who had loaned money for seed and other things) continued to oppress the poor to the point that the oppressed were actually "free" labor for the rich.
To be continued with zeal.
1Belief and faith are the same and have the same stem as a word. Belief is used in the verb form and faith is used in the noun form when translated.