In studying the Book of James, there are solid grounds for believing the author was the half-brother of Jesus. James was skeptical until the resurrection. Then he did a 180 and eventually became the leader of the church at Jerusalem. Unusual credentials, wouldn't you say? Perhaps that's why his Epistle is so unusual. Sometimes it pulses with the fire of an Old Testament prophet, and other times it throbs with a sensitive pastoral heartbeat. But whether prophetic or pastoral, it is always pointed and practical.

We’re all familiar with the mistaken idea that it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere. James also stresses the importance of how we believe. He insists that valid faith is readily observable in action.