Question

What would James, the brother of Jesus, exhort us to do in response to his words to Jewish Christians scattered among the nations?

Get wisdom.
Compare what he wrote about faith to what Paul wrote about faith.
Make friends with wealthy and powerful people who might reward us.
Determine how his original readers responded to his letter.
Understand that his letter is for a first century audience, not a twenty-first century audience.

Answer 1

Short answer: Yes to “Get wisdom.” No to “Make friends with wealthy and powerful people who might reward us.” The other three are not things James himself would have explicitly told you to do, but two of them are wise moves for a modern reader.

Item-by-item:

- Get wisdom. Yes. James explicitly tells his readers to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5) and repeatedly urges practical, God‑given wisdom in how they live (e.g., James 3 on wisdom and the tongue).

- Compare what he wrote about faith to what Paul wrote about faith. Not something James would have said, but a good modern practice. James insists that genuine faith shows itself in works (James 2:14–26). Paul emphasizes justification by faith apart from works (e.g., Romans, Galatians) but the two authors are complementary once you sort categories (justification, sanctification, the role of works as evidence). So comparing them is helpful for understanding Christian doctrine.

- Make friends with wealthy and powerful people who might reward us. No. James condemns favoritism toward the rich and warns about the oppression and greed of wealthy people (James 2:1–9; James 5:1–6). His ethic is solidarity with the poor and practical justice, not currying favor.

- Determine how his original readers responded to his letter. James wouldn’t command that, but it’s a useful historical question for us. Knowing how first readers heard and lived under his words helps interpret and apply the letter faithfully.

- Understand that his letter is for a first‑century audience, not a twenty‑first‑century audience. Partly true and partly misleading. James wrote to first‑century Jewish Christians (James 1:1) and his original context matters. But his moral and spiritual exhortations were meant to be lived out, and Christians have treated his teaching as applicable beyond the first century. So: attend to original context while seeking principled application today.

If you want, I can summarize the main practical exhortations James would give (ask for wisdom, be doers not hearers only, love the poor, control the tongue, persevere under trials) with key verses.