What is the book of James about?

James is an interesting book.

Scofield says this...
..his epistle shows no trace of the larger revelations of the church and the distinctive doctrines of grace make through the apostle Paul, nor even the discussions concerning the relation of gentile converts to the law of Moses, which culminated in the first council (Acts 15) over which James presided. This presumes the very early date of James, which may confidently be set down as 'the first epistle to christians' (Weston)

So this letter is very elementary christian teaching prior to the revelations of Paul concerning the doctrines of the church and the grace of God.

It is set in the context of Christianity within Judaism. The believers in Christ are still attending synagogue 2v1 (The word ‘assembly’ is Synagogue in the original Greek) and are still part of the Jewish courts. In the last chapter God is still disciplining Israel with sickness for backsliding and James says call for the Elders of the Synagoue who will practise the Jewish ordinance of anointing with oil (Mark 6v13). This is still being practised on those who are sick and they are healed on restoration to the Lord. In the Mosaic law the Lord promised health to those who kept the law and sickness to those who fell in sin.

Some say that this letter is a corrective to the teaching of Paul but this is absurd because Paul had not written his letter to the Romans yet.

So the teaching of this letter is Christianity within the Jewish context. Its focus is on righteous living according to the law as an answer to faith in Christ.

Steve