Now we know who his audience was and the reason (the Jews were under immense trials, tribulation and were in pain) why this Epistle was penned in the first place. James was the half-brother of our Lord Jesus; he joined the other disciples as he responded to the Gospel after the Almighty raised Jesus from the dead. We understood that he was one of the three disciples that Apostle Paul met when he went to the Jerusalem council for the great debate.
We are also aware of the fact that the book of James was one of the early Epistles written in the New Testament before the Pauline Epistles. By this, one would expect that there would be some kind of difference especially as we relate it to the message(s) to the Church. The earlier Apostles believed in the Gospel of Works; they believed the finished work at Calvary was insufficient and needed something (works) added in order to be completely saved. In light of this doctrine of Works, James wrote his Epistle coupled with the fact that the Jerusalem council meeting had to take place to iron things out about the Gentiles, circumcision and the Law.
