James Chapter One: Trials and Christian Maturity
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Handout
The book of James was most likely written by James the brother of Jesus. He didn’t believe that Jesus was the messiah while Jesus ministered on the earth but actually became a believer after the resurrection. James was an important leader in the early church and was one of the primary overseers of the Jerusalem church. There are a lot of themes throughout the book of humility and equality in the church and it is important to note how James identifies himself in the address of his letter.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings.
Identity is very important to our culture today. Everybody tries to find their identity in something. Some people find their identity in their job, some people find their identity in their sexual orientation, some people find their identity in their hobbies or interests. James begins his letter with an identification. He doesn’t boast of being Jesus’ brother or try to use his status as leader in the Jerusalem church to plead his case. Instead, he sees himself as a servant.
The quest for spiritual maturity begins when our lives are transformed by the Gospel
This is the first and most important step. We desperately need Jesus to make us new. James became a new person when he believed Jesus was who He said He was.
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
Our identity is changed.
“I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
A mark of our spiritual maturity is our willingness to serve
You can never out grow being a servant. Jesus demonstrates this for us.
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Now when it was time for supper, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into his hands, that he had come from God, and that he was going back to God. So he got up from supper, laid aside his outer clothing, took a towel, and tied it around himself. Next, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around him.
When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer clothing, he reclined again and said to them, “Do you know what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are speaking rightly, since that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done for you. “Truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his master, and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.
The life of a Christian is one of service to the Lord. In verse one James identifies who it is that he serves. It is not for status or self righteousness that he serves but it is for God and the Lord Jesus. Gone are the days of James living for himself believing his brother was out of his mind. Here James is, a new creation, gone from slave to sin to servant of God. James recognizes that Jesus was more than his carpenter brother but was in fact the Lord. This is important for us to understand as well. The life we live as new creations in Christ is not done for our own glory, comfort, or benefit. We live to glorify Jesus in everything we do. Our identity is transformed and now we find our purpose in the mission and will of God by being a servant above all else.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ: To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings.
The audience James was writing to was likely Jewish believers that had been scattered due to the persecution of the church in Jerusalem. These were people familiar with suffering and heartache by the hands of their own people.
Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
A mark of our spiritual maturity is our perseverance in suffering
Nobody likes when bad things happen in their life. It is a sad thing when people we love pass away or friends who were close now seem distant. It can be difficult when people make fun of you for your faith. It can be hard to say no to temptation.
What is faith?
Faith is trust in God
Having faith in difficult times doesn’t mean that if we believe hard enough we can make all the bad things go away. Having a steadfast faith means that even when things are terrible you can still trust in God. James is trying to comfort a people who have suffered. People who have lost their homes, lost loved ones, lost comforts all for the sake of the Gospel. His encouragement to us is that when we face trials it is producing within us endurance. It is producing a faith that lasts. I think of it like a muscle. When you work out a muscle you are putting it through a stressful process. Your muscle goes through micro tears so that it can grow back stronger than it was before. If you have ever worked out you know that those muscles you build take time. You don’t develop those overnight but through consistent repetition. Those of you that have played a sport know that gym muscles are different from game muscles. Some of those muscles or even muscle memory develop from the experiences you have in the game. You can build up strong muscles and still be lacking in technique and those niche muscle groups. Hardship and trials is how our faith muscle gets worked out. We can spend a lot of time in the spiritual gym studying our Bible, praying, memorizing Bible verses, doing all kinds of spiritual disciplines. All those things help to prepare us for trials, but suffering exercises our faith in a different way. God is able to use our pain to make us stronger in our relationship with Him. That is why James encourages us to lean into our suffering. Don’t run away from it. Don’t avoid it. Most of all, don’t waste it. God has been able to use my heartache in all kinds of ways. When my friend Jason passed away I remember praying and asking God to not let all this pain I felt be for nothing. I wanted to grow in my trust in God. I wanted to grow in my compassion and ability to minister to others who are hurting. I wanted God to take this terrible situation and use it for good.
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
We can have joy in suffering when we recognize God is working all things for our good and His glory.
A mark of our spiritual maturity is our desire for spiritual maturity
Something that is important for us to think through is, do we want to be spiritually mature? Do we want to be wise?
James tells us that God freely gives wisdom to us when we ask but He isn’t going to give us something we don’t really want.
Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.
There are a lot of immature and unwise people in the church (I don’t mean specifically our church I just mean the church as a whole). There are a lot of people that want the freedoms and luxuries of being an adult without the responsibility that comes with being an adult. With maturity and wisdom comes the responsibility to serve. The church is in desperate need of leaders. It needs people who have honorable character and are humble. It needs people that want wisdom. There is not an age requirement for wisdom. God gives openly and freely to all who want it. He is generous and ungrudging in his giving of wisdom.
A mark of spiritual maturity is boasting in God’s grace
Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities. Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
In the Jewish culture of those days people found a reason to boast in everything. If they were poor they would say they were brothers in arms with Maccabees who, during the intertestamental period, led a revolt against the rich aristocracy of the Seleucid empire. If they were rich they would boast in their self-sufficiency. They needed nothing and were drowning in comfort and luxury. James tells the people not to be proud of their status but to boast instead in God’s grace. Circumstances change. The poor might become wealthy, the wealthy might become poor. Our identity is not in what we own or don’t own but our identity is in Christ alone. The book of Job shows us what this looks like in action. Job lost everything he had and got it all back and more yet his attitude never changed.
saying: Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will leave this life. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Regardless of his condition, Job found a reason to boast in God’s grace.
For if I want to boast, I wouldn’t be a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I will spare you, so that no one can credit me with something beyond what he sees in me or hears from me, especially because of the extraordinary revelations. Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself. Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times that it would leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and in difficulties, for the sake of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
The blessing of trials is God’s strength being perfected through our weakness and eternal life free of pain in heaven.
If enduring trials and temptations is a blessing from God does that mean God causes us to be tempted?
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death. Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
God is not the source of temptation. We are tempted by our own desires. It is important to note, being tempted is not a sin. Jesus was tempted several times throughout His life yet He was sinless. Temptation can lead to something worse. Look at the progression James lays out.
Temptation begins in the heart and is drawn away by evil desire
The thought gives way to action
An action becomes a habit
A habit leads to a dead faith.
God’s will for our life is to be free from our slavery to sin. To be free of satan’s hold in our life.
No temptation has come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful; he will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to bear it.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Jesus is not a tempter but a giver of all good things. Every good and perfect gift is from above. James shows us a bit about who God is. God is good, He is a giver of good things. He is a father of lights who does not change. He is not hiding anything from us. He is not secretly evil. There is no darkness in Him at all. Not even a shadow of change. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God is good.
A mark of spiritual maturity is knowing when to be quick and when to be slow
My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
I learned this passage at a very influential moment in my life. My family was falling apart, my dad had to resign from his job, the people that I loved treated my family poorly and were mean to us. I had a lot of hurt and a lot of anger. This passage, along with my circumstances, were showing me that my emotions should not be the compass on which I live my life by, but instead the pursuit of righteousness is what I am governed by. Human anger does little to heal wounds and forgive. Human anger often tries to get revenge, it holds onto grudges, it creates bitterness. The spiritually mature will be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger. Not assuming the worst but showing discernment and wisdom. Not consumed by pettiness but dedicated to justice. It is not a sin to be angry. Jesus was angry at times. But Jesus’ anger led to righteousness. It’s okay for you to feel angry. That’s healthy. If you see an injustice or someone being abused or harmed that should make you angry. The question to ask is if your anger is selfishly motivated or righteously motivated. Don’t be governed by your feelings be governed by God’s word.
A mark of spiritual maturity is when God’s word moves us to action
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works—this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, his religion is useless and he deceives himself. Pure and undefiled religion before God the Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
God’s word shows us how we should think, act, and believe. God is revealing to us how to be wise and what our identity should look like through His word. Hearing the word of God and not doing anything about it is like looking at your face in the mirror and forgetting what you looked like. God’s word shapes and directs our lives. James is challenging all of us to not just be hearers of the word but doers also. He gives us some easy application as to what this looks like. Take care of people who need help and pursue a life of holiness. That’s as simple as it gets. If you’re looking for a way to start growing in your obedience, that is a great place to start.