Make sure you include the audience: to the twelve tribes scattered abroad. James is not a doctrinal book to the body of Christ.
I disagree. James is completely in harmony with the doctrine of Christ and very relevant to Christian’s. Yes, he writes to Jews, but these Jews are Christian’s. He is not trying to convert them to Christ—they are already “”converted” and he calls them “brethren” over and over in the book. I know this because chpt. 1:25, he tells these Jews to “CONTINUE” in “the perfect law of liberty. Those words are used to describe the law of Jesus Christ in Galations 2:4, 5:1, 13. The old Jewish law on the other hand was called a “law of BONDAGE in Galations 4:21-31 and again in chapter. 5:1. So, I know he is writing to Christian’s.
In chat. 2:1 James calls them “brethren” and says they share a faith in Jesus Christ: “the faith of OUR Lord Jesus Christ.” These Jews he was writing to are “believers” and his fellow Christians. But there’s more. Verse 13 says they “have been CALLED” by the law of liberty (Christ’s law). He writes to them about the works of Christ that accompany salvation in verses 14-26. “faith only” was not a doctrine of Judaism. It was a belief in the doctrine of Christ. Why bother these Jews with such things if they are not even Christian’s in the first place??
In chat 5:7, he again calls them brethren and tells them to be “patient” until the “coming of the Lord.” These Christian Jews are anxiously awaiting the “coming of the Lord.” This, along with all of the others I have given, proves that James is writing to Christian’s—Jews, yes—but Christian’s, Believers in Christ, who are continuing in His law of liberty, and patiently waiting for the coming of Christ their Saviour.
It is a very common practice of opponents of the Bible to dismiss anything that does not agree with their doctrine by trying to discredit the author, the book, or the scripture that exposes their error. Yes, it would be very convenient for those holding on to the doctrine of “faith only” if they could just eliminate the book of James. How else are they going to answer or justify their false doctrine? They can’t, so the best way to handle it is to say that the book of James is not “doctrinal”, was not written for Christians, and should not be in the cannon of scripture.
They do the same thing to Mark 16:16 because it teaches baptism is necessary to be saved. They can’t answer or explain it so they try to discredit it.
John 12:48- “He who rejects Me and DOES NOT RECEIVE MY WORDS, has that which judges him—-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” Be careful what you reject.