John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress gives a helpful metaphor for the book of James. Christian and Hopeful were finding the narrow way difficult. “They wished for a smoother path,” Bunyan writes. “Soon they saw a little way ahead of them a pleasant-looking field called By-Path Meadow.”[2] It looked easier and more comfortable, but in By-Path Meadow they ended up following Vain-Confidence into an ambush of trouble. They were overtaken by Giant Despair and locked away in Doubting Castle.
The lesson is simple: the way that leads to trouble often seems harmless and at times helpful. The book of James brings sinners back from the By-Path Meadows of sin to the narrow way of Christ that leads to life (Matt. 7:13–14). You should preach it to your people for several reasons. Below I’ll list three.
1. Preach James to bring sheep back to Christ in the face of trials (1:1–18).
The gospel is powerful enough to supply joy even in trials. The first part of James is all about the role of trials in the Christian’s life:
Trials expose whether or not our joy is fixed on Christ. James 1:12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when
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