James 1:1
Authentic faith is faith that works.
- James, the brother of Jesus, is the author.
“James used to enter alone into the temple and be found kneeling and praying for forgiveness for the people, so that his knees grew hard like a camel’s because of his constant worship of God, kneeling and asking forgiveness for the people. So, from his excessive righteousness he was called the Just.”—Eusebius per Hegesippus (early church historian)
“James was a late-bloomer, but he flowered well.”—R. Kent Hughes
- The twelve tribes in the Dispersion are the original readers of this letter.
- Introducing the themes of this letter.
“James is just a handful of pearls, dropped one by one into the hearer’s mind.”—E.G. Goodspeed
“The dominant theme is faith that is real works practically in one’s life. That is true faith is faith that works.”—R. Kent Hughes