Dr. J. Vernon McGee turns to the Epistle of James to present very practical lessons on Christian living. The subject of James is faith. The Epistle of James "pinches," says Dr. McGee. It "hurts you because he gets right down to where we are living-or, more accurately, to where we're not living." He challenges believers to a faith that works and walks in shoe leather. Because James emphasizes the ethics of the Christian faith, Dr. McGee uses the metaphor of "God's University." When life presents us with "quizzes" or "tests," Dr. McGee explains, the believer need not worry because James has provided us not only with the test questions, but also the answers. Chapters cover such relevant topics gossiping, worldly versus heavenly wisdom, the testing of faith through trials, God's condemnation of class distinctions, confession and forgiveness of sins, effective prayer, faith versus works, resisting the devil, and finding the meaning of life.
John Vernon McGee was born in Hillsboro, Texas, in 1904. Dr. McGee remarked, "When I was born and the doctor gave me the customary whack, my mother said that I let out a yell that could be heard on all four borders of Texas!" His Creator well knew that he would need a powerful voice to deliver a powerful message.
As a student pastor, Dr. McGee's first church was located on a red clay hill in Midway, Georgia. It was there that he received his greatest compliment: "It was from a country boy wearing high buttoned, yellow shoes. After a morning service he came to speak to me. He groped for words, then blurted out, 'I never knew Jesus was so wonderful!' He started to say more but choked up and hurried out of the church. As I watched him stride across the field, I prayed, 'Oh, God, help me to always preach so that it can be said, I never knew Jesus was so wonderful.'"
After completing his education (earning his A.B. from Southwestern University in Memphis, Tennessee; his B.D. from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia; his Th.M. and Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas), and after pastoring Presbyterian churches in Decatur, GA, Nashville, TN, and Cleburne, TX, he and his wife came west, settling in Pasadena, where he accepted a call to the Lincoln Avenue Presbyterian Church. He recalls this period as the happiest in his life, with a young family and a young congregation whom he loved.
Dr. McGee's greatest pastorate was at the historic, Church of the Open Door in downtown Los Angeles, where he served from 1949 to 1970. There he began a daily radio broadcast called "High Noon Bible Class" on a single station.
Dr. McGee began teaching Thru the Bible in 1967. After retiring from the pastorate, he set up radio headquarters in Pasadena, and the radio ministry expanded rapidly. Today the program airs on over 400 stations each day in the United States and Canada, is heard in more than 100 languages around the world and is broadcast worldwide via the Internet.