Rejoicing In Right
Notes
Transcript
Last week we examined the first 8 verses of James 1, and we saw how there are three things we may know, that—when we apprehend that knowledge—will bring joy. James begins by describing joy over divers temptations. We may experience that joy when we unwaveringly trust God for His sustenance amid our trials, knowing that those trials are tempering our faith and perfecting our lives.
Today, we’re going to build on that knowledge by considering more things from God’s perspective. Mankind tends to look at things from an earthly perspective, but when we see things like God does, we may be joyful! Today’s passage in James will help God’s people in “Rejoicing in Right.”
I. Rejoicing in the Word of God
I. Rejoicing in the Word of God
Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
This is a curious passage. We understand rejoicing in exaltation. But rejoicing in withering and being made low? What is James saying here? The reason for rejoicing is that the Word of God is being performed and accomplished, thus manifesting God’s knowledge and wisdom.
A. God’s exaltation
A. God’s exaltation
Low degree: cast down; humble; “low estate.”
Exaltation is good, right? Not always!
Pride goeth before destruction,
And an haughty spirit before a fall.
When pride cometh, then cometh shame:
But with the lowly is wisdom.
A man’s pride shall bring him low:
But honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.
Notice the wording in James 1:9 — “…is exalted.” This is a passive exaltation. This is a brother of low degree, being exalted. He isn’t lifting himself up. He has abased himself already. And in God’s time and according to God’s Word, he is being exalted.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
Is exaltation enough reason to rejoice? It is for humans. But is that all that James is recommending here? No, and that is made clear in verses 10-11.
B. God’s abasement
B. God’s abasement
But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.
How can this be reason for rejoicing? Only because God’s Word is being proven true and faithful!
1 Peter 1:24-25
Job 14:1–2 (KJV 1900)
Man that is born of a woman Is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down: He fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.
Isaiah 40:6–8 (KJV 1900)
The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, And all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: Because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it: Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: But the word of our God shall stand for ever.
In Hebrews, we read of believers who had a very Godly response to a form of this abasement.
Hebrews 10:32-35
James begins his epistle by counseling his readers to do something very foreign and unnatural: rejoice when they encounter a variety of trials. He continues this counterintuitive instruction by advising the rich to rejoice when they go through the trial of humiliation…because when God does it, it is good. It also proves God’s Word to be true once again. May God’s people always rejoice when God’s Word comes true, no matter the personal and temporal cost!
God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.
Thy word is true from the beginning:
And every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever.
C. The alternative
C. The alternative
What’s the alternative to rejoicing every time God’s Word is proven faithful? Since God’s Word represents His interests, the alternative is to rejoice when our interests are accomplished. There may be some overlap if we value Godly things, but there will be frequent differences. So when things don’t go our way, we’ll be frustrated or angry at the injustices that we suffer. And that anger will tend to turn on God and accuse Him. Notice the conflicting spirits present in Job 2.
Job 2:7-10
How could Job have this spirit? Look at Job 1:20-22.
Job’s wife was under immense grief and strain, and she responded like probably all of us would respond. The alternative to rejoicing when God’s Word is proven faithful was her response: anger and bitterness. May we rejoice in what is right—God’s Word coming true!
II. Rejoicing in the Love of God
II. Rejoicing in the Love of God
Back in our text, James presents us with another reason to rejoice: the love of God.
James 1:12-16
A. Enduring temptation (vs. 12)
A. Enduring temptation (vs. 12)
Blessed: happy; fortunate. This is the same word as in Romans 4:7-8 “Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.”
How does enduring temptation bring us this kind of happiness? And what does this “enduring” entail? Notice Paul’s words in his first epistle to the church at Corinth.
There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Praise God that He monitors our temptations with our faithfulness in mind! Notice that He doesn’t match the temptation to OUR strength. Otherwise, why would we need a way to escape? No, our Father gives us the opportunity to be victors, by His grace!
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
So in 1 Cor. 10:13, we saw that God’s provided way to escape temptation is the reason we can bear it. Bear: to carry; endure/tolerate. In this situation, we “bore up under” the temptation; it didn’t crush us or overturn us. We bore it.
But that is not what James is talking about in verse 12. “Endureth” is a different condition altogether.
Endureth: to last; to continue in the same state. (Translated “abode” and “tarried.” Acts 17:14, Luke 2:43)
The man that suffers temptation, bears it, and comes out of it in the same Godly position as before, THAT man is blessed! And this isn’t a one-time thing: James is talking about diverse temptations.
B. Incentives
B. Incentives
This sounds a bit twisted to our human understanding. Experiencing long, drawn-out periods of suffering brings happiness? Why would I sign up for that? There are several reasons why God’s Word is true in saying that enduring divers temptations brings blessedness.
It brings Heavenly rewards (vs. 12b)
This crown of life is a far greater reward than we can currently imagine. 2 Cor. 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”
We love Him (vs. 12c)
Just as Jacob serving seven years for Rachel “seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her,” so our trials shrink in severity when we are enthralled with the Saviour and in love with Him. Do you love Him?
He loves us
“This isn’t in the verse.” No, but our love for Him is impossible if He didn’t love us first! (1 John 4:19)
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Child of God, when life is easy, rejoice in the love of God that reached down and saved you! And when life brings divers temptations, rest in the Lord, take the way of escape from them, and endure faithful through them for God! He loves you more than you understand, and He will demonstrate that love one day with a crown of life.
C. The cause for temptation (vs. 13-14)
C. The cause for temptation (vs. 13-14)
“If God loves me, why does He let me go through such temptation and trial?” This makes a faulty premise: that I deserve better than my trials. It also assumes that we are the victims in temptation. But Scripture paints a different picture.
1. God is NOT the author/source of temptation
1. God is NOT the author/source of temptation
God cannot be tempted, nor can He tempt others to do evil.
2. Lust opens the door to temptation
2. Lust opens the door to temptation
If we didn’t have a desire for what sin promises to deliver, we wouldn’t be in any danger of committing it! Heb. 11:25 “[Moses chose] rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season;”
(Greek dictionaries define “drawn away” as having the idea of being dragged out.)
3. Lust brings death
3. Lust brings death
Conceived: taken, caught. This is the idea of tracking down and capturing.
We may use “conceive” this way in a sentence like this: “I cannot conceive by what means this event has been produced.” We’re trying to track down the answer, but we can’t quite put our hands on it.
On a basic level, lust is a desire for something. When we talk about lust as it relates to the Christian life, we are referring to a desire for something we should not have. We lust after things that are sinful. We crave that which is wrong.
Temptation happens because as sinners, we have desires for things we should not have. Usually these are desires that have a proper place in our lives, but lust twists those proper uses.
When walking your dog, you better have a good grip on the leash when it spies a cat! If it’s a big dog, you’ll still have your hands full. The dog is trying to drag you in the direction of the cat. When “the dog” (lust) finally apprehends/catches the “cat,” sin is the result. When sin is finished, it brings death. When lust gets its way, death is the result.
But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
D. Alternative (to not rejoicing in the love of God): erring and death
D. Alternative (to not rejoicing in the love of God): erring and death
Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Err: to be deceived; to wander astray; to go out of the way.
This is no random exhortation! James has shown us the reason to rejoice in divers temptations. He has laid out the faithfulness of God in responding to prayers of faith. He has encouraged us to rejoice when Scripture is shown to be true, and to rejoice in the love of God. And with this foundation being laid, he continues by imploring his readers to not go astray!
If we fail to rejoice in God’s love, we will start to believe in lies. We will believe that God is failing to give us what we need or deserve, or is giving us something worse than we deserve. We will begin to doubt if He will reward us for obedience. We’ll begin to doubt if He will answer prayer. All this will lead to us believing the lies of lust and sin. And that path only leads to death.
Don’t cast away your confidence in the inerrancy and infallibility of Scripture! Don’t cast away your belief in the perfect love God has for you! Do not err, my beloved brethren!
III. Rejoicing in the Work of God
III. Rejoicing in the Work of God
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
A. Sin’s lost allure
A. Sin’s lost allure
What a statement this is! If anything good could come from any other source, then we would be justified in seeking those sources instead of God! But no good thing can come from any source but God. God has different channels that He uses, but He is the only source. We may go astray by returning to a channel God has used in the past, expecting it to be the source of good things. But if God isn’t giving good things by that channel, nothing good will come from it.
So these two statements are proven true by this one verse:
“Every good thing comes from God, who never wavers or changes.”
“No good thing comes from anyone other than God.”
Do you see how verse 16 is both a commentary on past statements, and an introduction on verse 17? Why would we go astray—err—if we truly believed that good things only come from God? Yet our fleshly lusts promise that good things come from sin. We demonstrate our trust and belief in lust’s promises when we follow them into sin. We are telling God that good things can be found outside of Him. We call Him a liar. May God keep us from erring!
B. Reinforcement of patience
B. Reinforcement of patience
It is often so hard to wait on God because we want to step in and fix it. And we often do. But if—when—we truly believe that ONLY God’s solution is good, choosing to patiently wait for it becomes a much simpler choice. It may not make our circumstances any more comfortable, but the angst and agony will be gone, which is a great improvement. Patience comes much more readily when we are fully convinced that all things good can only come from God.
C. Alternative: discontentment
C. Alternative: discontentment
When we don’t get what we think we need, we become discontented. We fret at needs that aren’t met, and this leads to accusing God of neglect, inability, or apathy. But if all good things come from God, and He hasn’t given us this thing we believe we need, then that MUST mean that for us to have it right now would not be good, but harmful. Our fretting changes to thankfulness at that realization!
The Holy Spirit, through the pen of James, desires for us to rejoice in the work of God. Since we don’t know every detail of His plan, we must focus on His character, and on what He has done. His character helps us interpret His actions. Sadly, we get it backwards.
I hope you can catch this vision, child of God. God is interested in spiritual and eternal objectives, which are always superior to temporal objectives. God sees our sinful and lustful tendencies, and how this dark and perverse world is constantly calling the saint to pursue sin. One day, God will give us a glorified body without sinful lusts, but until then, He has determined to use what would be a negative thing to bring eternal good.
God oversees our temptations, exhorting us to watch and pray, so that we don’t pursue our lusts voluntarily. But when our varied and innumerable lusts are confronted by the world’s enticements, God moderates them so that His faithful child will not be overrun. He provides a way to escape!
God also desires that we remain unmoved in the face of temptation, instead of looking for temporal and human ways to avoid going through trials. He desires that we stay the course! We do this out of love for Him, and a desire to please Him. We also do it because we recognize that only good things come from only Him.
What’s the point in all this? Is this some sort of spiritual “obstacle course” that we have to navigate? No, the point is much simpler: we are merely following in the footsteps of our Saviour.
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Can the servant escape something that His master did not? What makes us so special to think we won’t have to endure the kinds of things that Christ endured? In addition, what a privilege to be counted worthy to share in the sufferings that Christ experienced! When we are beset on every side with pressures and enticements to err and to give up from following God and doing right, and we endure, we are exemplifying our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. There is no higher calling!
Count it all joy, child of God. Rejoice in the Word of God, the Love of God, and the Work of God!
