THE BIBLE BOOK OF JACOB / YA’AKOV (name changed by King James of England 1611 & the Church of England to “JAMES”& Wycliff)
“Ya’akov (James) served as the chief Rabbi of this early Messianic Jewish community centred in Yerushalayim.
He was a Torah teacher par excellence, spokesman for the entire community, and chief halakhic judge and authority (halakhic refers to Jewish religious law, which means that Ya’akov interpreted and applied community practices based on his understanding of the Torah; cf. Acts 15).
He was respected in the non-Messianic Jewish world, where he was referred to as a tzaddik, a wise man. Understanding Ya’akov in these contexts can help us better understand the purpose of his book.
Behind the Koine Greek as thoroughly Torah-based concepts ,and the textual sources for the subjects he addresses are all from the five books of Moshe.
He does not present new teaching but a uniquely Messianic Jewish view of Torah-based, as seen in his encouraging asiyat hatorah (the practical application of the Torah’s teachings).
It is crucial to see the continuity between the teachings of Ya’akov and (Rabbi)Sha’ul (Paul). Too often, incorrect understanding of Ya’akov’s writings on “faith and actions” leads the reader to view them as holding diametrically opposed views about the role of faith and the functions of “actions”.
Here we should think of “actions” as mitzvot (the faithful performance of the biblical commandments). This is how the first-century Jewish world defined this concept of “actions”.
All first-century Jews, including Messianic Jews, saw the performance of the biblical commandments as stemming from one’s faith in God, never in opposition to it.
Keeping the Mitzvot was a result of their relationship with God, not to earn a relationship. In Jewish thought the purpose of fulfilling the biblical commandments was never to earn entrance into the “world to come”.
If we understand Ya’akov’s belief that faith in God and in his Messiah is the basis for correctly fulfilling the biblical commandments, then his book makes more sense.
The letter was likely among the first books written in the B’rit Hadashah between 46 and 60 C.E. According to Jewish historian Josephus, Ya’akov was martyred in 62 C.E.”
EXTRACT FROM THE COMPLETE JEWISH STUDY BIBLE – DAVID. H. STERN.
AGAINST CHRISTIANITY THAT TEACH ,“ Once saved, always saved” ,the letter of Rabbi YA’AKOV show the exact opposite-
“✡️Wasn’t Avraham avinu declared righteous because of actions when he offered up his son Yitz’chak on the altar?
✡️You see that his faith worked with his actions; by the actions the faith was made complete;
and the passage of the Tanakh was fulfilled which says, “Avraham had faith in God, and it was credited to his account as righteousness.”
✡️He was even called God’s friend. You see that a person is declared righteous because of actions and not because of faith alone.”
‭‭Ya’akov (Jas)‬ ‭2:21-24‬ ‭CJB‬‬