06.31. The General Epistle of James

Chapter 30 The General Epistle of James

We have now reached that part of the New Testament containing the General or Catholic epistles. They are so called because they are addressed not to any particular individual or church, but to the church at large. And yet this is not true of all of them, as we shall see, giving us an opportunity to remark that this general title, like the headings to the chapters in our English Bible, and the superscriptions in italics at the end of some of the books are not part of the inspired text, and have no authority but that of the human printer or editor--often not to be relied upon, as in the present case. To begin with the authorship of the first of these epistles, there are three persons named James mentioned in the New Testament. One was the brother of John, another the son of Alpheus, and a third the brother of our Lord. The first named was martyred at an early date in the history of the church (Acts 12:1-25), and is not likely to have been the author, because, although the epistle is doubtless of an early date, yet it reveals a state of Christian or church development more advanced than that likely to have been true then. Nor is it likely to have been written by the son of Alpheus, for nothing is heard of him in the later history of the church, while the James who wrote this epistle is evidently well known and influential, a fact which was also true, it would seem, of James the brother of our Lord. It is he, apparently, who presided at the first council of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-41), and who is distinguished in other places as a leader, notably Acts 12:17; Acts 21:18, Galatians 1:19, Jude 1:1, etc. A peculiar interest attaches to the fact that, as the brother of our Lord, he did not believe on Him as the Messiah up until the resurrection perhaps. Compare John 7:5 with Acts 1:13, and 1 Corinthians 15:7. His conversion may have taken place at the time mentioned in the last named Scripture, which, if so, accounts for his presence with the church as shown in the reference to the Acts. Tradition teaches us that he was a particularly holy and just man, being designated indeed, “James the Just;” and that he ended his life in martyrdom, being stoned to death under one of the high priests, sometime after the death of Festus mentioned in the Acts. As to his religious character, he was a very strict Jew, a faithful observer of the law, both moral and ceremonial, without, of course, relying upon it as a ground of salvation. He gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship in their work among and for the Gentiles, but personally he remained more firmly attached to the Jewish form or aspect of Christianity. His place in the Christian scheme was to win over the Jewish people, and no one probably was better fitted for this than he. The epistle is addressed “to the twelve tribes scattered abroad,” which proves its Jewish designation; but that they were Christian Jews nevertheless is shown in the further language of the salutation, where James styles himself “a servant of Jesus Christ.” There are several indications in the epistle of their Jewish origin, however; for example, their place of assembly is called a “synagogue,” (James 2:2, Revised Version), and there are several references to the law. As to their social condition they seem to have been composed of rich and poor, the tendency of some of the former being both to oppress and despise the latter. Like all the other classes of Christians, they were passing through trials of various kinds, and like them, too, they were more or less under the influence of false teachers. The doctrine of justification only by faith was especially being perverted among them, and from various points of view, indeed, their condition was disclosed as quite unsatisfactory. The writer comforts them in their trials, but he sternly rebukes them for their sins, and seeks throughout to give them much needed instruction concerning the matters in which they were in error--(Quoted from Synthetic Bible Studies, “James”).

There are indications, as already intimated, that this epistle was written at an early date, perhaps the earliest of all the epistles. For example, no reference is made to the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-41), which would have been likely to have been done had it yet taken place. Moreover, the epistle contains no recognition at all of any Gentile Christians, while the word “synagogue” is the only one employed to designate a place of Christian worship. These circumstances are not convincing, of course, but suggestive. The canonicity of the epistle is firmly established. While at first, it was questioned in the Western church, I believe, yet the Eastern received it from the beginning, and at an early date, comparatively speaking, it was universally recognized.