This past week, we introduced the book of James. We will be studying the words of Jesus’ younger brother into early April. It is going to be challenging, exciting, and motivating! I hope that you will join us each week and bring someone from your Circle that needs to hear how faith works itself out in life.
One of the things I mentioned is that controversy has swirled around James for hundreds of years. No less than Martin Luther (the catalyst of the Reformation) called James “the epistle of straw.” He questioned whether or not it should be included in the canon (the officially recognized collection of Scriptural writings). Eventually, he conceded that it should be.
If you take a step back, you can understand Luther’s hesitation. James is a book that declares “faith without works is dead” as a main thesis. Luther desired to see reform in the Roman Catholic church that had declared certain good works are necessary for salvation. Luther, in the early days of his awakening, discovered the wonderful truth of Scripture that “the just shall live by faith” (Gal. 3:11). Paul was fighting the same battle with the Galatians that Luther was waging against the Roman church—faith alone saves. James, though, was addressing a different issue—the issue of people who claimed the name of Jesus, but never evidenced spiritual growth.
Should James be in the canon? There is a whole field of study dedicated to textual criticism and biblical canonicity (I know, impressive words, right?), and there is ample evidence for the rightful place of James in the pages of Scripture. For all of us who are not experts and academics, a simple defense is this: What do you believe about God? Does He intend to communicate with people? If that is His intent, is He sovereign to preserve His word so that we can be confident we are hearing from Him? This can be applied to arguments against the Bible’s accuracy as well as the books that were included (and not included) in the canon.
Satan wants us to believe that we cannot trust what has been recorded as God’s words. Think of the temptation of Eve (“Did God really say…?” in Gen 3). But God has spoken! And in His words—the Bible—He has offered us a solution to our sin, and the Way back to Him (Jn. 14:6). Praise Him for His words and praise Him for our salvation!
