Luther’s scornful dismissal of the epistle of James as an “epistle of straw” has coloured the attitude of most Protestants ever since toward this remarkable book—even of those who recoil from his language as impious toward an integral part of the canonical Scriptures. The extraordinary mistake Luther made in regarding James as antagonistic to Paul, and his teaching as contradicting that of justification by faith, still persists. This is not strange, perhaps, on the part of superficial readers of the New Testament. At a hasty glance, it might well seem that James is seeking to displace faith by works, as the ground for justification. A more serious study shows, however, that his teaching is complementary to that of Paul, and not contradictory. He does not substitute works for faith, but demands works as evidence of it. And never was so salutary and down-to-earth a requirement more essential than it is today.

(Herbert F. Stevenson, James Speaks for Today, Westwood, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1966, 11; Excerpt from Chapter 1, The Bondslave of Jesus Christ)