Why should you read James?

The practical vision of James

Why should Christians read the book of James? Well, for one, it's part of our new testament. It's part of our bible. Realistically, we should be reading the whole of our bibles, and so, James would fall within that. 

But, more pragmatically to the point, James offers a very practical vision of the Christian life, that most people can relate to very quickly when we read it.

What does James focus on?

It's talking about temptation. We experience that. It talks about our tongues. We all struggle with those. It talks about illness. It talks about wealth and how to deal with our plans for the future. 

All of these things are intensely pragmatic and James speaks to that with a grace reminding us that we need the wisdom from above to be able to deal with these different situations, that we need to repent when we've sinned, but that when we repent, God will draw near to us as well. So it is not that we just have to do all these works, but actually that God is a responsive God in all of this, and is trying to give us what we need to do what he's asked us to do.

This excerpt has been lightly edited for clarity