I have found reading and studying this short letter a real challenge. It is not really difficult to understand what James is saying. It is much more difficult to practise what he is teaching. In short, he is telling his first-century audience that faith is dead without works. It is not enough to claim that a person has faith in God and in His Son, Jesus the Messiah. This must be demonstrated by their character and conduct. He issues many commands. In particular, he deals with abuse of our speech - in careless talk or slander or gossip. In short, he states that we should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry. He condemns them for discriminating against the poor and even for exploiting their workers. He talks about the experience of testing and trials and tells us that these bitter experiences are for our good as 'faith develops perseverance.'
Here is a video to remind us of the journey we have travelled as we studied this challenging letter in the New Testament. The music is from Handel's Messiah: Every valley shall be exalted (Isaiah 40:4) which is relevant to one of the major themes of the letter: the lowly and the poor will be exalted, and the arrogant rich will be brought low.
Fantastic to see it all put together like that Robert. Thank you for all your hard work bringing these to us. It’s very much appreciated.