Unlocking The New Testament

James 1

David Pawson says that James is concerned with practical Christianity. James is not hugely on doctrine or belief, but on behaviour which is a vital dimension to Christianity. The keyword is ‘do’. David points out that ‘do’ is a keyword to the entire Bible. Though it is well written, James is not a structured book and David describes it as ‘pearls of wisdom that haven’t been strung.’ The author was the half-brother of Jesus. David reveals two nicknames used of James which give us an insight into his character. The letter was written to help Jews understand how to behave toward Gentiles.

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James 2

David Pawson says that, although written to dispersed Jews, the book of James is very applicable to Christians today. It is a very practical word for our everyday lives. James was not focusing on doctrine or faith but was giving Christian advice to counter poor attitudes. As many of his readers were businesspeople intent on money making, James warns against neglecting God and the poor. He covers greed, envy, selfish ambition, pride, boasting, presumption, impatience, anger, arguments, gossip and litigation. If you’re not careful, money comes in and God goes out. James says we need to be alongside people but not to be infected by worldly attitudes. He encourages joy in the face of testing. He shows that we can get wisdom from above right away by asking for it without doublemindedness, without doubting. This is a very helpful book though some find it objectionable that it focusses on human activity, but David points out that James’ reason for writing explains why this is so. “Legalism says we’re saved by our good deeds; license says we’re saved without good deeds; but liberty says we’re saved for good deeds.”

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