My Reflection on James

Hypothetically Speaking

If I lived in Corinth and was a Gentile Christian during that time, I would have been tattletaled by the household of Chloe who reported to Paul as one who was in the "I am of Paul" crowd. Paul's message of grace and his declaration about the gospel of Jesus as having the power unto salvation for those who believe resonated with me. I do not work for my salvation because Jesus already paid it all on the cross for me. If there's any good work that followed after receiving that salvation, it was only by grace that I was able to do it. The good works I produced were not by my own will power but by God who willed his good works through me. Besides, the good news of the salvation work of Jesus, was that the salvation encompasses all the areas of my life - mind, body, and spirit. Paul's letters, if those were the only ones I read, would have made me afraid of even lifting a finger to earn my salvation even more so because I would still be considered an infant - a type of unbelieving believer. I would be someone who has earned salvation but unsure of what that translates to in daily life. In contrast to James' letter, Paul taught complete trust in the Lord that was void of keeping up with outside appearances. James' retort cuts to the mind and heart of what it means to be both a professor of the faith as well as a partaker. But Paul's arguments for "by grace through faith alone saves" trumps James' "show your faith by your good works".
I admit though that Paul did agree with James that good works should follow in the faithful's life after salvation. This I read in Galatians 5:6, Philippians 2:11-12, and Ephesians 2:10. Paul in writing to Titus to help him lead the Cretan church even said those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works which are not only good but profitable (not in a financial sense) for everyone. Paul's letters though, came years after James' and the Jerusalem Council and so were they letters of correction to those who are slipping back into the law?
James' letter was circulated to the scattered Jewish Christians outside Palestine earlier than Paul's. Could this letter, because it was circulated even before the Jerusalem council took place, have been one reason why Paul would have been disliked because his message of grace abrogated the old Law to the extent that no ounce of good work was ever going to be needed in salvation at all? These Jewish Christians who would read only James' letter of practicalities could have mistakenly concluded albeit understandably that James was just simply repackaging the works of the Law in a Christian context. Could the Judaizers that Paul was warning the Galatian church about have come from James' followers who were traditionalists and deeply rooted in Judaism?

In my Opinion

I'm a Law and Grace type of believer. And what I mean about this is that I only see my own walk in two absolutes - Law on one side, Grace on the other. Either I live under the Law which is living life on pretense and putting up a veneer of good works and believing that good things happen to those who do good things or I live under grace which is living freely without guilt or shame in accordance to God's purposes for my life.
The hope and faith that I have which are all hinged on the same kind of love Jesus displayed on the cross, must somehow and better yet some time later turn into good works. Abraham took 40 some years to prove his faith when he was willing to kill his beloved son. In my own life experience, from the time I answered the altar call to the time I started showing my trust in the Lord was a good 8 years. Why then must I expect my fellow Christian brothers and sisters to transform over night? Surely that can happen too but only by the grace of God and certainly not by guilt-tripping and repeatedly falling in and out of condemnation.
Giving up my salvation for someone else - can I really do that sincerely? Should I pray to remain sick (if I become sick) so my perseverance in the faith despite my illness could be a good testimony for others? Should I give up a job promotion so a colleague who is not a Christian can have his? These are soul stretching questions that I hope to answer "yes" some time and only by the measure of grace and faith that God bestow on me. Not all Christians are the same. Some are "of Paul", some are "of James", but all are "of Jesus".