James: Faith That Works

James 1:1 

1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.

The letter of James was seemingly written by Jesus’s brother (Matthew 13:55), who was the leader of the first church in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9, Acts 12:17, 21:18).  He does not boast of who he was or even his position, but first identifies himself as Christ’s willing servant who is bound to follow and obey Him.  This will be seen throughout this letter as he challenges believers to live out their faith and exhort each other to validate where they stand in Christ by how they live and for whom they live.  Therefore he writes to all those, especially Jewish believers, who are in churches scattered through the known world at that time (Acts 8:1).  This begins with a heartfelt greeting, then begins to make them confront a faith not forged upon a foundation of good works, but a faith that works out good as a result of the change Christ makes in transforming us.