275 THE IMPLICATIONS GRACE THE ETHICS JAMES OF FOR OF sistently ethical document in the New Testament” 7, it ought to fare better in New Testament ethics texts. Thus, while much of what is said in this paper may seem relatively uncontroversial, there is a need for James to be brought to the table not merely of biblical theology but also of biblical ethics. James does have a clear theology of God, even if it is not laid out in programmatic (Pauline) fashion. The technique for reading a wisdom text, especially one that has been influenced by apocalyptic writings as James was 8, is quite different from reading an exposition such as Paul wrote or a history such as the gospels. Once we give James the credit of being a wisdom text where short elliptical sayings actually bear as much — if not more — weight than longer expository sentences 9, we can begin to unpack James’ theology from his themes, emphases, and statements. Much of his theology can be witnessed in chapter one, and several of the themes that become more important later in the text are at least alluded to in the first chapter. Hence most of our exploration of the specific theo-logy will de- rive from chapter one. What we will discover is that James sees all of Christian life as originating from and through God’s grace. His con- fidence in God as the divinely generous giver of everything we need undergirds all of his ethical imperatives. Just as with Abraham in Genesis or Israel in Deuteronomy, being chosen by God for covenant places requirements upon one’s life for obedience and holiness. These require- ments are laid out in 1,26-27 as three intertwined areas of ethics: speech, moral purity, and social justice. These are not optional, according to the author of the epistle. Those who have been reborn by the word of truth, a word implanted by God’s grace, must live according to that word. Using two of James’s warnings against self-deception, this paper will first pursue James’s theology of God before turning to our mandated ethical response. LAWS, James, 28. 7 James is primarily a wisdom text and uses eschatology as motivation for 8 how one should act in the present. J.E. BOTHA, “Simple Salvation, but Not of Straw ... Jacobean Soteriology”, Salvation in the New Testament. Perspectives on Soteriology (ed. J.G. VAN DER WATT) (Leiden 2005) 397, concurs: “It must be made clear that for James eschatology is not the focus. The fact that the day of the Lord is near serves as a motivation to be even more observant of the correct behaviour in order to be found perfect when the parousia takes place ”. B. WITHERINGTON, III, Letters and Homilies for Jewish Christians. A 9 Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on Hebrews, James and Jude (Downers Grove, IL 2007) 391 , emphasizes “Sapiential rhetoric is often compressed into pithy or even paradoxical maxims with brief support in order that they be both memorable and memorizable. The implications require a certain unpacking, and the density of the ideas deliberately forces meditation and reflection”.