And the Epistle to the Hebrews goes down deeper than any other in the New Testament, or the Old Testament for that matter, and that is why we latch on to that.īut James, well, it is unappealing. Ephesians and Colossians go to the heights with spiritual truth, and we like that. Romans and Galatians, intellectual documents, present the great doctrines of the faith, and that appeals to our heads. John is the Gospel of love, and it appeals to our hearts. You see, we dismiss the Epistle of James as being unimportant. So I come in under the category of those who may be a little afraid to open this book. But I have never spoken on the Epistle of James at a conference. I take the Book of Ruth in the Old Testament a great deal because I love it, also the Minor Prophets and the Book of Psalms. When I go to conferences I speak on Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, Romans, Galatians, Acts, and all of the Gospels. In preparing to teach on this epistle, I went back to make an inventory of my own ministry, and it was rather humiliating. The policy, I think, of the average Christian is “hands off,” “handle with care,” “let this alone,” or “do not open” (it is not “do not open ‘til Christmas,” but do not open at all). It is a book that is feared by both saint and sinner.

In fact, it is the spiritual atomic bomb of the Bible. James is the most explosive epistle in the New Testament. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain. However, a little Christian courage will be helpful in looking frankly at this subject given to us by James-namely, hell on fire. Proper warning must be given to those who are gossips: This study may bring a measure of discomfort of mind and heart.

Flaming Tongues by Kenya Wright