The Epistle of James (Black’s New Testament Commentary | BNTC)

Considered as a part of the Christian canon, the epistle of James is an oddity. It lacks almost all of what might be thought to be the distinctive marks of Christian faith and practice. Luther, in fact, denies that James is the work of an apostle, because of what he sees to be its opposition to Paul in its interpretation of justification. The chief interest of the epistle of James is in its evidence of the way the nature of Christianity was understood by the author, his readers, and perhaps by those who accepted his work as part of Scripture. In his reinterpretation of traditional ideas in new situations, in his insistence on the right practice of prayer and of charity, and in his appeal to the nature of man and the nature of God in establishing rules for conduct, the author of the epistle deserves a continued hearing.