It has never been easy to be a Christian. But imagine how difficult it would be if you were a Jewish Christian living in the first century city of Jerusalem. The Jewish temple still stands in the city square. Worshippers come from far and near to participate during the hours of prayer. Christianity is not yet 30 years old. It has yet to be embraced in the farthest reaches of the world. You as a follower of Jesus Christ know of the difficulties of your profession. Your traditional Jewish neighbors are mortified that you would believe the claim that a condemned and executed criminal could be the long awaited Messiah. There have been persecutions from the Jews since the beginning. Some of your Christian brethren have even lost their lives in the oppression.

Judea is seething with fury against the Roman occupiers and all Jews who cooperate with them. Assassins and terrorists are in every crowd. Rome has responded with an iron fist. Troops stand in the streets ready to quash any uprising. Within a few years there will be war. In the face of this, the leaders of the Christians have told their followers to "be in subjection to governing authorities," not a widely appreciated view by your non-Christian Jewish brethren.

The temptation to quit is great. Who could blame you if you were to give it up and go back to the temple worship of your ancestors? Your friends and relatives whom you left to serve Jesus would be there to greet you.

But then the lot of the Christians elsewhere isn’t much better. If you were to imagine yourself as a Gentile Christian of the same era, you would know their difficulty, too. In every city where the gospel has gone it has sharply divided people. The Jews who do not accept it dedicate themselves to its eradication and the Gentiles, often deriving their power, income, self-esteem, and religious beliefs from their idols, which the Christians denounce, retaliate with discrimination and outright violence in some cases. Again, there is a temptation to quit.

These are the circumstances into which James, the author of the New Testament book that bears his name, sent his epistle. He knew what the Christians of his day were going through. Besides having to earn their livings, pay their taxes, raise their families, and care for their health, they must also deal with neighbors who thought them strange and antisocial for their beliefs and lifestyles. Heretical teachings were already raising up.

The situation was difficult. Strong and relevant advice was needed. So, somewhere around the year 58-60 AD, the New Testament book we refer to as "James" was written. Probably written by either the Apostle James, called "James the Less" (AKA, James the Son of Alphaeus) or James the brother of the Lord, it is a book that pulled no punches as to what suffering Christians are to do. (It is good for non-suffering Christians, too.) In fact, that word "do" is really a theme for James’ book, for he knew that those who professed Christ must be doers and not merely hearers.

Over the next few Sunday evenings I want to lead you on a study through the book of James. Though it is a relatively short book, it is not short on content. In fact, in my mind, the book of James is a lot like a first aid kit. It is compact and contains no nonsense items that could save your life. We'll read an entire chapter, then return to consider what we have read verse by verse.

Let’s read chapter one…

Dave Redick is Minister of the Hwy 20 Church of Christ in Sweet Home, Oregon and Editor of The Preacher's Study. He may be reached at pstudysupport@comcast.net.

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All Scripture quotations and references are from the New American Standard Version unless otherwise stated.

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