THE LETTERS OF JAMES AND PETER Translated with an Introduction and Interpretation by WILLIAM BARCLAY CONTENTS JAMES Introduction to the Letter of James Greetings (Jas. 1:1) The Jews Throughout the World (Jas. 1:1) The Recipients of the Letter (Jas. 1:1) Tested and Triumphant (Jas. 1:2-4) The Result of Testing (Jas. 1:2-4) God's Giving and Man's Asking (Jas. 1:5-8) As Each Man Needs (Jas. 1:9-11) The Crown of Life (Jas. 1:12) Putting the Blame on God (Jas. 1:13-15) The Evasion of Responsibility (Jas. 1:13-15) God's Constancy for Good (Jas. 1:16-18) When to be Quick and When to be Slow (Jas. 1:19-20) The Teachable Spirit (Jas. 1:21) Hearing and Doing (Jas. 1:22-24) The True Law (Jas. 1:25) True Worship (Jas. 1:26-27) Respect of Persons (Jas. 2:1) The Peril of Snobbery within the Church (Jas. 2:2-4) The Riches of Poverty and the Poverty of Riches (Jas. 2:5-7) The Royal Law (Jas. 2:8-11) The Law of Liberty and the Law of Mercy (Jas. 2:12-13) Faith and Works (Jas. 2:14-26) Profession and Practice (Jas. 2:14-17) Not "Either Or", but "Both And" (Jas. 2:18-19) The Proof of Faith (Jas. 2:20-26) The Teacher's Peril (Jas. 3:1) The Universal Danger (Jas. 3:2) Little but Powerful (Jas. 3:3-5a) A Destructive Fire (Jas. 3:5b-6) The Corruption Within (Jas. 3:5b-6) Beyond All Taming (Jas. 3:7-8) Blessing and Cursing (Jas. 3:9-12) The Man who Ought Never to be a Teacher (Jas. 3:13-14) The Wrong Kind of Wisdom (Jas. 3:15-16) The True Wisdom (1) (Jas. 3:17-18) The True Wisdom (2) (Jas. 3:17-18) Man's Pleasure or God's Will? (Jas. 4:1-3) The Consequences of the Pleasure-Dominated Life (Jas. 4:1-3) Infidelity to God (Jas. 4:4-7) Friendship with the World and Enmity with God (Jas. 4:4-7) God, the Jealous Lover (Jas. 4:4-7) The Glory of Humility and the Tragedy of Pride (Jas. 4:4-7) Godly Purity (Jas. 4:8-10) The Godly Sorrow (Jas. 4:8--10) The Godly Humility (Jas. 4:8-10) The Sin of Judging Others (Jas. 4:11-12) The Mistaken Confidence (Jas. 4:13-17) The Worthlessness of Riches (Jas. 5:1-3) The Social Passion of the Bible (Jas. 5:1-3) The Way of Selfishness and Its End (Jas. 5:4-6) Waiting for the Coming of the Lord (Jas. 5:7-9) The Coming of the King (Jas. 5:7-9) The Triumphant Patience (Jas. 5:10-11) The Needlessness and the Folly of Oaths (Jas. 5:12) A Singing Church (Jas. 5:13-15) A Healing Church (Jas. 5:13-15) A Praying Church (Jas. 5:16-18) The Truth which Must be Done (Jas. 5:19-20) The Supreme Human Achievement (Jas. 5:19-20) 1 PETER Introduction to the First Letter of Peter The Great Inheritance (1Pet. 1:1-2) The Chosen of God and the Exiles of Eternity (1Pet. 1:1-2) The Three Great Facts of the Christian Life (1Pet. 1:1-2) The Rebirth of the Christian (1Pet. 1:3-5) The Great Inheritance (1Pet. 1:3-5) Protected in Time and Safe in Eternity (1Pet. 1:3-5) The Secret of Endurance (1Pet. 1:6-7) Unseen But Not Unknown (1Pet. 1:8-9) The Foretelling of the Glory (1Pet. 1:10-12) The Message of the Preacher (1Pet. 1:10-12) The Necessary Virility of the Christian Faith (1Pet. 1:13) The Christless Life and the Christ-Filled Life (1Pet. 1:14-25) 1. Jesus Christ, Redeemer and Lord 2. The Christless Life 3. The Christ-Filled Life What to Lose and What to Yearn For (1Pet. 2:13) That on which to Set the Heart (1Pet. 2:13) The Nature and Function of the Church (1Pet. 2:4-10) 1. The Stone which the Builders Rejected 2. The Nature of the Church 3. The Glory of the Church 4. The Function of the Church Reasons for Right Living (1Pet. 2:11-12) The Greatest Answer and Defence (1Pet. 2:11-12) The Duty of the Christian 1. As a Citizen (1Pet. 2:13-15) 2. In Society (1Pet. 2:16) A Summary of Christian Duty (1Pet. 2:17) The Duty of the Christian as a Servant (1Pet. 2:18-25) The Peril of the New Situation (1Pet. 2:18-25) The New Attitude to Work (1Pet. 2:18-25) Two Precious Names for God (1Pet. 2:18-25) 1. The Shepherd of the Souls of Men 2. The Guardian of our Souls The Silent Preaching of a Lovely Life (1Pet. 3:1-2) The True Adornment (1Pet. 3:3-6) The Husband's Obligation (1Pet. 3:7) The Marks of the Christian Life (1) (1Pet. 3:8-12) The Marks of the Christian Life (2) (1Pet. 3:8-12) The Christian's Security in a Threatening World (1Pet. 3:13-15a) The Christian Argument for Christ (1Pet. 3:15b-16) The Saving Work of Christ (1Pet. 3:17-4:6) The Example of the Work of Christ (1Pet. 3:17-18a) The Descent into Hell (1) (1Pet. 3:18b-20; 1Pet. 4:6) The Descent into Hell (2) (1Pet. 3:18b-20; 1Pet. 4:6) The Descent into Hell (3) (1Pet. 3:18b-20; 1Pet. 4:6) The Descent into Hell (4) (1Pet. 3:18b-20; 1Pet. 4:6) The Baptism of the Christian (1Pet. 3:18-22) The Obligation of the Christian (1Pet. 4:1-5) The Ultimate Chance (1Pet. 4:6) The Approaching End (1Pet. 4:7a) The Life Lived in the Shadow of Eternity (1Pet. 4:7b-8) The Power of Love (1Pet. 4:7b-8) Christian Responsibility (1Pet. 4:9-10) The Source and Object of All Christian Endeavour (1Pet. 4:11) The Inevitability of Persecution (1Pet. 4:12-13) The Blessedness of Suffering for Christ (1Pet. 4:14-16) Entrusting all Life to God (1Pet. 4:17-19) The Elders of the Church (1Pet. 5:1-4) The Christian Eldership (1Pet. 5:1-4) The Perils and Privileges of the Eldership (1Pet. 5:1-4) The Ideal of the Eldership (1Pet. 5:1-4) Memories of Jesus (1Pet. 5:1-4) The Garment of Humility (1Pet. 5:5) The Laws of the Christian Life (1) (1Pet. 5:6-11) The Laws of the Christian Life (2) (1Pet. 5:6-11) A Faithful Henchman of the Apostles (1Pet. 5:12) Greetings (1Pet. 5:13) At Peace with One Another (1Pet. 5:14) 2 PETER Introduction to the Second Letter of Peter The Man who Opened Doors (2Pet. 1:1) The Glorious Servitude (2Pet. 1:1) The All-Important Knowledge (2Pet. 1:2) The Greatness of Jesus Christ for Men (2Pet. 1:3-7) Equipment for the Way (2Pet. 1:3-7) The Ladder of Virtues (l) (2Pet. 1:3-7) The Ladder of Virtues (2) (2Pet. 1:3-7) On the Way (2Pet. 1:8-11) The Pastor's Care (2Pet. 1:12-15) The Message and the Right to Give It (2Pet. 1:16-18) The Words of the Prophets (2Pet. 1:19-21) False Prophets (2Pet. 2:1) The Sins of the False Prophets and Their End (2Pet. 2:1) The Work of Falsehood (2Pet. 2:2-3) The Fate of the Wicked and the Rescue of the Righteous (2Pet. 2:4-11) 1. The Sin of the Angels 2. The Men of ihe Flood and the Rescue of Noah 3. The Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and the Rescue of Lot The Picture of the Evil Man (2Pet. 2:4-11) Deluding Self and Deluding Others (2Pet. 2:12-14) On the Wrong Road (2Pet. 2:15-16) The Perils of Relapse (2Pet. 2:17-22) The Principles qf Preaching (2Pet. 3:1-2) The Denial of the Second Coming (2Pet. 3:3-4) Destruction by Flood (2Pet. 3:5-6) Destruction by Fire (2Pet. 3:7) The Mercy of God's Delay (2Pet. 3:8-9) The Dreadful Day (2Pet. 3:10) The Moral Dynamic (2Pet. 3:11-14) Hastening the Day (2Pet. 3:11-14) Perverters of Scripture (2Pet. 3:15-16) A Firm Foundation and a Continual Growth (2Pet. 3:17-18) THE LETTER OF JAMES INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTER OF JAMES James is one of the books which bad a very hard fight to get into the New Testament. Even when it did come to be regarded as Scripture, it was spoken of with a certain reserve and suspicion, and even as late as the sixteenth century Luther would gladly have banished it from the New Testament altogether. THE DOUBTS OF THE FATHERS In the Latin-speaking part of the Church it is not until the middle of the fourth century that James emerges in the writings of the fathers. The first list of New Testament books ever to be compiled is the Muratorian Canon, which dates to about A.D. 170, and James is absent from it. Tertullian, writing in the middle of the third century, is an immense quoter of Scripture; he has 7,258 quotations from the New Testament, but never one from James. The first appearance of James in Latin is in a Latin manuscript called the Codex Corbeiensis, which dates to about A.D.