We are officially in week two of our series through the book of James. Last week, we started with a bang. We discovered that James, the brother of Jesus, wrote this letter to scattered Jewish Christians facing immense persecution in the early church. He wasted no time addressing a massive question: What can we expect from the Christian life? His answer wasn't a prosperity gospel; it was a reality check. We can expect all sorts of trouble. Becoming a follower of Jesus doesn't place you in a protective bubble. In fact, you might encounter more trials. But James reframed these challenges not as a problem, but as an opportunity for God to purify and strengthen our faith.

It was a highly practical start to our series. Today, we continue digging into chapter one. You might assume James is going to stay in that strictly practical lane as he pivots to talking about temptation. However, we are actually going to get a little theological and historical today to answer a fundamental question: Did James believe in the gospel of grace?

At first glance, this might seem like a strange question. James was a leader in the early Christian movement; of course he believed in grace! Yet, throughout church history, the book of James has been incredibly controversial. This controversy stems from an apparent contradiction between James’s emphasis on good works and the Apostle Paul’s foundational doctrine of salvation by faith alone.