The Book of James

To teach us how to teach the book of James, in this episode of Help Me Teach the Bible we talk with Dan Doriani, vice president of strategic academic initiatives and professor of theology at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis. Doriani is the author of Getting the Message: A Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible, a book that is essential reading for every Bible teacher, as well as numerous commentaries. He also wrote the introduction and notes on the book of James in the Gospel Transformation Bible. Topics in this discussion include:

the way Jesus is presented differently in James compared to other epistles
the tree tests of James
the nature of “true religion”
the gospel according to James
bringing a social justice framework to teaching James
whether there’s conflict between James and Paul regarding faith and works
praying for healing according to James

Here are some additional resources you may find helpful in preparing to teach James:

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Doriani’s class lectures on James at Covenant Theological Seminary (registration required)
Sermons on James by Alistair Begg
Sermons on James by Dick Lucas
Let’s Get Real! sermon series by various teachers at All Souls, Langham Place

For further study, here are some books you may find helpful, including titles from Crossway, the sponsor of Help Me Teach the Bible:

James (Reformed Expository Commentary) by Dan Doriani
The Letter of James (Pillar New Testament Commentary) Douglas J. Moo
James: Faith that Works (Preaching the Word Commentary) by R. Kent Hughes
James: a 12-Week Study by Greg Gilbert

Subscribe to TGC’s podcast in iTunes or for other devices to get this and subsequent interviews in Help Me Teach the Bible with Nancy Guthrie. You can also download the interview here or stream it above. Help Me Teach the Bible is also available on Stitcher.

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Nancy Guthrie teaches the Bible at her home church, Cornerstone Presbyterian Church, in Franklin, Tennessee, as well as at conferences around the country and internationally, including through her Biblical Theology Workshop for Women. She is the author of numerous books and the host of the Help Me Teach the Bible podcast from The Gospel Coalition. She and her husband founded Respite Retreats for couples who have faced the death of a child, and they’re cohosts of the GriefShare video series.

Dan Doriani (MDiv, PhD, Westminster Theological Seminary; STM, Yale Divinity School; research fellow, Yale University, 1981, 1995) is professor of theology at Covenant Theological Seminary, interim senior pastor at Briarwood Presbyterian Church in Birmingham, Alabama; and a Board member of The Gospel Coalition. He is the founder and president of the Center for Faith and Work, St. Louis. He has written 18 books on exegesis and biblical ethics; most recently Romans (2022), Getting the Message, a Plan for Interpreting and Applying the Bible (2nd ed. 1996, 2022), Work That Makes a Difference (2021), and Matthew, ESV commentary series (2021). He has three children and five grandchildren.