James: Guidelines for a Happy Christian Life

By John F. MacArthur

The apostle James, the oldest half-brother of Jesus, was a key leader in the Jerusalem church. During the early days of the young church, the Jewish believers had been scattered by persecution. Out of compassion, James wrote this epistle to confront them and motivate them to test the quality and consistency of their faith.

Pastor John MacArthur will take you through the book of James, passage by passage, so that you can better understand this short but powerful book and how James gives us practical guidance on issues that also measure our true faith and our spiritual fruitfulness. James calls all believers—then and now—to live a life that demonstrates saving faith marked by godly behavior.

—ABOUT THE SERIES—

The MacArthur Bible Study series is designed to help you study the Word of God with guidance from widely respected pastor and author John MacArthur. Each guide provides intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture by examining its parts and incorporates:

• Extensive, but straight-forward commentary on the text.
• Detailed observations on overriding themes, timelines, history, and context.
• Word and phrase studies to help you unlock the broader meaning and apply it to your life.
• Probing, interactive questions with plenty of space to write down your response and thoughts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: Jun 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9780718035358

John F. MacArthur

Widely known for his thorough, candid approach to teaching God's Word, John MacArthur is a popular author and conference speaker. He has served as pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, since 1969. John and his wife, Patricia, have four married children and fifteen grandchildren. John's pulpit ministry has been extended around the globe through his media ministry, Grace to You, and its satellite offices in seven countries. In addition to producing daily radio programs for nearly two thousand English and Spanish radio outlets worldwide, Grace to You distributes books, software, and digital recordings by John MacArthur. John is chancellor of The Master's University and Seminary and has written hundreds of books and study guides, each one biblical and practical. Bestselling titles include The Gospel  According to Jesus, Twelve Ordinary Men, Twelve Extraordinary Women, Slave, and The MacArthur Study Bible, a 1998 ECPA Gold Medallion recipient.

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Title page with Thomas Nelson logo

JAMES

MACARTHUR BIBLE STUDIES

© 2007, John MacArthur

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Nelson Books, an imprint of Thomas Nelson. Nelson Books and Thomas Nelson are registered trademarks of HarperCollins Christian Publishing, Inc.

Nelson Books titles may be purchased in bulk for education, business, fundraising, or sales promotional use. For information, please email [e-mail].

Published in association with the literary agency of Wolgemuth & Associates, Inc.

Produced with the assistance of the Livingstone Corporation. Project staff include Jake Barton, Betsy Todt Schmitt, and Andy Culbertson. Project editors: Mary Horner Collins, Amber Rae, and Len Woods.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the The New King James Version®. © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Unleashing God’s Truth, One Verse at a Time is a trademark of Grace to You. All rights reserved.

Context and some Truth for Today material taken from James: MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. © 1998 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press: Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

Keys to the Text material taken from the following sources:

1 Corinthians: MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. © 1984, 1996 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press: Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

The Freedom and Power of Forgiveness (electronic edition) © 1998 by John MacArthur. Published by Crossway Books: Wheaton, IL. Used by permission.

Galatians. MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. © 1987, 1996 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

The Gospel According to Jesus (electronic edition). © 1988, 1997 by John MacArthur. Published by Zondervan: Grand Rapids, MI. Used by permission.

James: MacArthur New Testament Commentary Series. © 1998 by John MacArthur. Published by Moody Press: Chicago, Illinois. Used by permission.

The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic edition). John MacArthur, General Editor. © 1997 by Word Publishing. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Nelson’s New Christian Dictionary. George Thomas Kurian, Editor. © 2001 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Cover Art by Holly Sharp Design

Interior Design and Composition by Joel Bartlett, Livingstone Corporation

ISBN: 978-0-7180-3516-7

ISBN: 978-0-7180-3535-8 (eBook)

First Printing April 2016

Information about External Hyperlinks in this ebook

Please note that footnotes in this ebook may contain hyperlinks to external websites as part of bibliographic citations. These hyperlinks have not been activated by the publisher, who cannot verify the accuracy of these links beyond the date of publication.

EBOOK INSTRUCTIONS

In this ebook edition, please use your device’s note-taking function to record your thoughts wherever you see the bracketed instructions [Your Notes] or [Your Response Here]. Use your device’s highlighting function to record your response whenever you are asked to checkmark, circle, underline, or otherwise indicate your answer(s).

CONTENTS

Ebook Instructions

Introduction to James

1 From Trouble to Triumph

James 1:1–12

2 Understanding Temptation

James 1:13–18

3 Belief that Behaves

James 1:19–27

4 Favoritism in the Church?

James 2:1–13

5 Dead Faith

James 2:14–20

6 Faith that Passes the Test

James 2:21–26

7 Taming the Tongue

James 3:1–12

8 True Wisdom

James 3:13–18

9 Friendship with the World

James 4:1–12

10 Responding to the Will of God

James 4:13–17

11 Riches, Trials, and Oaths

James 5:1–12

12 Righteous Praying

James 5:13–20

INTRODUCTION TO JAMES

James, like all the general epistles except Hebrews, is named after its author (v. 1).

AUTHOR AND DATE

Of the four men named James in the New Testament, only two are candidates for authorship of this epistle. No one has seriously considered James the Less, the son of Alphaeus (Matt. 10:3; Acts 1:13), or James the father of Judas, not Iscariot (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13). Some have suggested James the son of Zebedee and brother of John (Matt. 4:21), but he was martyred too early to have written it (Acts 12:2). That leaves only James the oldest half brother of Christ and brother of Jude (Matt. 13:55; Mark 6:3; Jude 1). James had at first rejected Jesus as Messiah (John 7:5), but later believed (1 Cor. 15:7). He became the key leader in the Jerusalem church (see Acts 12:17; 15:13; 21:18; Gal. 2:12), being called one of the pillars of that church, along with Peter and John (Gal. 2:9). Also known as James the Just because of his devotion to righteousness, he was martyred ca. AD 62, according to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus. A comparison of James’s vocabulary in his letter recorded in Acts 15 with that in the epistle of James further corroborates his authorship.

James wrote with the authority of one who had personally seen the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 15:7), who was recognized as an associate of the apostles (Gal. 1:19), and who was the leader of the Jerusalem church.

James most likely wrote this epistle to believers scattered abroad as a result of the unrest recorded in Acts 12 (ca. AD 44). There is no mention of the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15 (ca. AD 49), which would be expected if that Council had already taken place. Therefore, James can be reliably dated ca. AD 44–49, making it the earliest written book of the New Testament canon.

BACKGROUND AND SETTING

The recipients of this book were Jewish believers who had been dispersed, possibly as a result of Stephen’s martyrdom (Acts 7, AD 31–34), but more likely due to the persecution under Herod Agrippa I (Acts 12, ca. AD 44). The author refers to his audience as brethren fifteen times (1:2, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19); this was a common epithet among first-century Jews. Not surprisingly, then, James is Jewish in its content. For example, the Greek word translated assembly (2:2) is the word for synagogue. Further, James contains more than forty allusions to the Old Testament (and more than twenty to the Sermon on the Mount, Matt. 5–7).

HISTORICAL AND THEOLOGICAL THEMES

James, with its devotion to direct, pungent statements on wise living, is reminiscent of the book of Proverbs. It has a practical emphasis, stressing not theoretical knowledge but godly behavior. James wrote with a passionate desire for his readers to be uncompromisingly obedient to the Word of God. He uses at least thirty references to nature (e.g., wave of the sea [1:6]; reptile [3:7]; and heaven gave rain [5:18]), as befits one who spent a great deal of time outdoors. He complements Paul’s emphasis on justification by faith with his own emphasis on spiritual fruitfulness demonstrating true faith.

INTERPRETIVE CHALLENGES

At least two significant texts challenge the interpreter: (1) In 2:14–26, what is the relationship between faith and works? Does James’s emphasis on works contradict Paul’s focus on faith? (2) In 5:13–18, do the promises of healing refer to the spiritual or the physical realm? These difficult texts are treated in the notes for those chapters.

1

FROM TROUBLE TO TRIUMPH

James 1:1–12

DRAWING NEAR

James opens his book by emphasizing the reality of hard times. How do you usually respond to trials or setbacks in your life? Why?

[Your Response Here]

Describe a situation in which a Christian you know has