I’m teaching the book of James (Jesus’ brother) this quarter.  Which is a cold shift from teaching Paul’s writing.  Paul left Judaism behind him when he found Christ and called himself the apostle to the Gentiles.  No more rules of the Jewish laws.  Now everyone was included. He taught faith centered salvation and dropped ritualism.

Jews had spent their entire life as God’s special people and now, they were being asked to include everyone.  They wouldn’t be special anymore and it was hard to take.  James (the apostle) was head of the church in Jerusalem and was having a really hard time letting go of rules concerning food, holy days, rituals etc. Many of the Jewish converts except Paul were struggling with it.

So it is understandable that when James wrote his letter to disbursed Christians Jews (who were being hunted down and murdered by the Jewish priesthood) James wanted to stress that; yes, faith was what saved you, but faith would always produce works.  He approached converts with a more rigid way of living than Paul did.  The outcome was the same, they were saved by faith.  But Paul was much kinder to the Gentiles who hadn’t been raised with Jewish legalism.  

We say the Bible is inspired by God, but we need to remember that it was written by very different personalities.  Real people.