Preface

This study began with a question I have heard countless times in confessional Lutheran circles: didn’t Luther call the Epistle of James an “epistle of straw”? And if he did, why should we devote ten weeks of our adult Bible study to it?

The question is fair, and the answer matters. Luther’s famous remark was made in a particular moment for particular reasons, and it has been pressed into service for far more than he ever intended. The Lutheran Church has always received James as canonical Scripture. The Book of Concord quotes James as Scripture. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession and the Formula of Concord address the apparent tension between James and Paul and resolve it within the same Lutheran framework that has nourished the faithful for nearly five centuries.

This book is the fruit of teaching the Epistle of James to ordinary congregations and small groups. It is written for adult Bible study classes, for small group settings, for Sunday school teachers preparing lessons, and for individuals who want to read James carefully with a confessional Lutheran guide at their elbow. It assumes nothing more than a willingness to open the Scriptures and to take their teaching seriously.

The ten sessions follow James in order. Session One does the necessary introductory work: meeting the author, understanding the audience, hearing Luther’s concern on its own terms, and setting out the interpretive framework that will guide the rest of the study. Sessions Two through Ten work through the letter passage by passage, with particular attention given in Session Five to the famous faith-and-works section in James 2 that has caused so much confusion and that the Formula of Concord addresses with such care.

Each session is built for use in a single class meeting of about an hour. The teaching content is followed by a set of discussion questions designed for group conversation but useful also for individual reflection. A “Looking Ahead” paragraph and a closing prayer round out each session. Group leaders may wish to read the session in advance, mark the passages they want to highlight, and select a subset of the discussion questions appropriate to the time available.

My hope is that those who use this book will come away from James not with the Reformer’s reservations but with the same conviction expressed by the Church across the centuries: that this letter is Holy Scripture, given by the Spirit through the brother of our Lord, calling the baptized to live out the faith they have already received. To God alone be the glory.

Larry Herzog Jr.