James 1:2–3 (ESV) 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. Possibly one of the earliest of the New Testament writings (A.D. 40–50), the book was written by Jesus’ brother James. The apostle James was killed much earlier by Herod. James is like the NT book of Proverbs. Many have claimed that James and the apostle Paul differed on the question of faith versus works, but in reality, the spiritual fruit that James talks about simply demonstrates the true faith of which Paul wrote. Their writings are complementary rather than contradictory.