Baptism in the River Jordan in Israel

 I Will Show You my Faith by my Works

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?

Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:14-26 kjv)

The Epistle of JAMES James was the oldest half-brother of the Lord Jesus (Matt. 13:55). He witnessed Chnst's appearance following His resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), and he was among those who assembled together following the Ascension (Acts 1:14), to await the coming of the Holy Spirit. Later, James became a leader of the believers in Jerusalem (Acts 12:17; Gal. 1:18, 19). Even Paul took his advice on how to deal with the new Gentile converts (Acts 21:18 -26).   James kept the potentially explosive situation concerning Gentile evangelism under control. In addition, he helped draft a very tolerant letter to the Gentile Christians in Antioch regarding the status (Acts 15:13 -19). James was cognizant of Paul's ministry to the Gentiles, but concentrated his own efforts on winning his Jewish brethren to Jesus. The phrase "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad" (James 1:1) is a symbolic reference to the Jews in general (cf. James 1:2, 18). The phrase "scattered abroad" denotes those Jews who were living outside of Palestine due in great part to the intense persecution of Christians living in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). Since the letter was written in the Greek language, it is logical to assume that these Jews had been scattered far enough north to have ended up in a locale chiefly populated by Greek speaking peoples (Acts 11:19). Most scholars suggest that this book was written shortly before James' martyrdom in A.D.). 62. There are some, however, who place the time of writing close to the time of the Jerusalem council in A.D. 46. Nevertheless, it seems likely that the Book of James was the first New Testament book that was written. The Book of James is a simple yet organized and logical treatise on the ethical aspects of the Christian life. This fact, along with the realization that the book is largely composed of general exhortations and admonitions, has led some to call the Book of James the "New Testament Book of Proverbs." The major theme of the book is James' appeal to the believer that it is necessary to put outward actions with inward faith or else that kind of faith usd1 accomplish nothing (James 1:22). [Source for Introduction of chapter: Hebrew Greek Key Study Bible KJV edited by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D. AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 37422]