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James is unavailable, but you can change that!

The book of James has aroused controversy throughout the church’s history. On the one hand, we are saved by grace. On the other, we must do good works. How do the two fit together? Verno Doerksen traces the interpretive history of the book of James, and helps modern readers make sense of what turns out to be a false distinction: grace and works go together.

James illustrates his point by an example of wrong and right behavior. The first example is of the wrong behavior: listening but not doing (vv. 23–24). The portrait is of one who looks into a mirror and leaves without making any changes in his appearance, forgetting what he saw. “Natural face” is the face of one’s birth, the physical face. Three actions continue the illustration (v. 24). The first and last verbs are aorists, and the middle one is a perfect. He looks, then goes away and forgets. “Gone
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