Scot McKnight's commentary expounds James both in its own context and in the context of ancient Judaism, the Greco-Roman world, and the emerging Christian faith. --from publisher description

In this volume, A. Boyd Luter initially makes the case that the Letter of James was the first New Testament document and that it was written for a primarily Messianic Jewish audience in the Diaspora. Its early origin places James as the foundational Messianic Jewish Scripture of the new covenant era. That, however, is a drastically different take on the letter’s dating, audience, and purpose from the long-held supersessionist view in which Israel is replaced by the church. In the supersessionist understanding, James is one of the later New Testament books, originating supposedly at a time when it was already expected for the church to be symbolically “the twelve tribes in the Diaspora.” And, since a common first impression of the letter is that its style is reflective of Old Testament wisdom literature, it was taken as dealing with practical issues of the Christian life through a staccato format much like Proverbs. Instead, through the elegant literary vehicle of an overarching inverted parallel structure, the Letter of James communicates its author’s approach to issues among his Messianic Jewish audience related to spiritual growth and purity, as well as putting away class-based favoritism and the relationship between faith and works.

THE NEW AMERICAN COMMENTARY is for the minister or Bible student who wants to understand and expound the Scriptures. Notable features include: * commentary based on THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION; * the NIV text printed in the body of the commentary; * sound scholarly methodology that reflects capable research in the original languages; * interpretation that emphasizes the theological unity of each book and of Scripture as a whole; * readable and applicable exposition.

Arguing against restricting the meaning of purity language to the individual moral sphere (as many commentaries do), the central argument of Purity and Worldview in the Epistle of James is that purity language both articulates and constructs the worldview in James's epistle. Lockett offers a taxonomy of purity language, applied as a heuristic guide to understand the function of purity and pollution in the epistle. Through this analysis the study concludes that James is not calling for sectarian separation, but rather demonstrates a degree of cultural accommodation while calling forth specific socio-cultural boundaries between the readers and the world.

The Cornerstone Biblical Commentary series provides up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Each volume is designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God’s Word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text. The commentary series has been structured to help readers understand the meaning of Scripture, passage-by-passage, through the entire Bible. The New Living Translation is an authoritative Bible translation, rendered faithfully into today's English from the ancient texts by 90 leading Bible scholars. The NLT’s scholarship and clarity breathe life into even the most difficult-to-understand Bible passages—but even more powerful are stories of how people’s lives are changing as the words speak directly to their hearts. That's why we call it “The Truth Made Clear.” About the authors of this volume: Grant R. Osborne (PhD, University of Aberdeen) is Professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He has authored and edited numerous books, including The Hermeneutical Spiral and many commentaries on the New Testament. M. Robert Mulholland Jr. (ThD, Harvard Divinity School) is vice president of Asbury Seminary and an expert in New Testament and Christian Origins and spiritual formation. His several books include The Deeper Journey and contributions to the Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels. He is also a frequent speaker at Bible and spiritual renewal conferences.

George M. Stulac provides a focused, insightful and pastoral exposition of the book of James. Combining helpful background material with passage-by-passage commentary, he helps us uncover James's answers to tough question like: what is the relationship between faith and deeds? How do we learn to control our tongues and embrace the poverty of Christ?