We know from the epistles of Paul that salvation is the gift of God, through grace. We can't earn salvation by living well, because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. So where does this guy James get off saying, "Faith without works is dead?" Martin Luther called James a "right strawy Epistle" as he fought against the corrupt theology of works in his day. But a thriving community of believers will return again and again to James. It teaches us to stop kidding ourselves -- that our faith is meaningless unless it changes our priorities and prompts us to love and serve others. "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only," is the great admonishment of James. Like his brother Jesus before him, James uses examples from nature to illustrate spiritual truth. He gives practical advice to the Christian community about taming the tongue, not playing favorites, how to pray, and how to speak about each other. Join us for a joyful and challenging look at this beloved book, sometimes called "the Proverbs of the New Testament." As Marin Luther himself said, "You are saved by faith alone, but if faith is alone it is not faith."

Richard P. Trismen has been a member of Old South since 1993. He was formerly the coordinator of Adult Education and was co-leader of the first DISCIPLE Bible Study class at Old South. He has taught Adult Ed classes on Faith Sharing, Lent, Paul's Letter to the Ephesians, and Galatians.