Study of James - week 2
Notes
Transcript
James 1:9-18 week 2
James 1:9-18 week 2
Last week we began the study of James by looking at some background information for the Book of James, and then looking at the first eight verses.
In that we seen, this James is Jesus’ half brother who was the leader of the church in Jerusalem, and that he wrote this letter probably with in the first few years after taking the leadership role, believed to be around A.D. 46.
The letter or epistle was sent to all the churches, with no specific church in mind.
We seen that James writes this letter in the sense of like a self-help book we would see today, with a lot of illustrations.
In verses 1-8 we talked about how we as Christians are to endure trials and tribulations, and that God uses those trials in our lives to build our character, and we must rely on God to get us through those trials.
Tonight we are going to pick up in verse nine, the sub-title for verses 9-11 is the perspective of rich and poor.
Here James offers two examples of trials, one is a lowly brother and the other is about the rich man.
Let’s read verses 9-11 and then we will examine them deeper.
9 But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position;
10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
For James there was a close relationship between being humble in status and being humble in spirit, at least within the context of genuine faith, which he assumed.
Although poor men and women had nothing visible to boast in, their boast was nevertheless greater than those who boasted in themselves.
Their poverty, then, had turned into a double benefit, for it encouraged the humility and faith that God requires.
The poor and lowly are encouraged to glory in the rich heavenly reward that has been promised to them.
James was showing that the poor believer has a special place in God’s plan by exhibiting this essential relation.
The poor believer is to glory in the fact that God has exalted him by allowing him to experience difficult circumstances, for these will only perfect his character and faith.
As we seen last week that God uses trial in our lives to perfect us and build our character, to draw us closer to him and build our faith in Him.
James is teaching us to adopt a non-materialistic worldview.
10 and the rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.
This verse is for the rich man.
Knowing that in the judgment the rich of the world will be stripped of their perishable wealth and influence, rich believers should “take pride” in their “low position”; that is, they should humble themselves now.
The condemnation of those whose pride is in their wealth is a common biblical theme.
Such pride is an overwhelming temptation.
11 A rich man’s wealth is his strong city,
And like a high wall in his own imagination.
We tend to rely on our own wealth instead of relying on God.
We try to fix our own problems and rely on our own self, instead of turning to God when we are faced with difficult times.
As the Proverb is saying that the rich man uses his wealth to defend himself and protect himself, instead we should turn to God for protection.
See death comes to the rich and to the poor, wealth maybe can help you live a little longer but when God calls your number it does not matter how much money you have you will die.
You cannot take the wealth with you either.
See the rich should be humbling themselves to guard against temptation of trusting in wealth.
25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
A wealthy person is easily tempted to depend on earthly riches rather than on God.
Jesus used to figure of speech, easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, to emphasize the difficulty of turning from wealth to find salvation.
11 For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.
The process of fading away is harsh.
The Middle Eastern sun rises and its heat scorches the flowers, quickly causing their beauty to fade.
They become mere withered grasses to kindle fires.
The beauty of the flower is compared to the beauty of a wealthy man’s busy life.
All of the hurrying about to maintain success and influence is soon lost.
15 Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
Life is more than riches and wealth and acquiring things.
Life is about serving God, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy but we can use that wealth to serve God.
Maybe you say well I give my tithe, but are you helping people out that are in need.
If God has blessed you richly, then you can bless others with what God has blessed you with.
34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in;
36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?
38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?
39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
See when we do for others, that do not have, then Jesus says here in Matthew that we are doing it towards Him.
Yes it is important to give your tithe, but we can do a whole lot more.
We can help others out, now I understand we are not all financially able to help others, but we can do something.
That something might be just giving someone a ride somewhere, or giving them some clothes that you have grown out of.
Allow God to use you and He will guide you to help others.
Now we come to the next section verses 12-18, which return to the theme of steadfastness and endurance in the midst of trials.
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
Because of the faithfulness of the believer under trial, James declared that such a person is blessed.
Mankind understandably may look on tragedy as the curse of God, as did Job’s friends and his wife.
Trials are, however, the means through which God’s blessings can come.
One’s endurance in and victory over trials bring God’s blessings.
Anything can be endured with wisdom from God, because the reward of divine life has been secured for the believer.
God desires that when we are going through a trial that we mature in and through the trial.
He will provide an escape if the testing becomes unbearable.
How many have heard the saying, that God will not put more on your plate then you can handle.
Well, I have heard it this way before, that what happens is that God allows our plate to get full enough that we cannot handle any more so that we will turn to Him.
See we are not meant to go through this life on our own, we are meant to rely on God through the trials and difficulties of this life.
When trials become hard we need to turn to God and not try to handle them on our own.
He is waiting to help us but is waiting for us to ask for help.
James tells us here that if we endure the temptations in life that we will receive a reward and that reward is a crown of life.
The crown is the prize given to a winning athlete.
It was usually a wreath of woven olive leaves the athlete won, and was valued more than a gold medal today.
The value is not in the substance of the medal, but, rather, in its meaning and the achievement.
When we endure, we win too!
We are victorious we we endure struggles.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.
The focus of the chapter turns from trials to temptations
Enticement to sin does not come from God.
God will never lead a person to commit sin because that would not only go against His nature, but it would be opposed to His purpose of molding His creation into His holy image.
Here tempting is that of seducing, to get someone to fall into sin.
There can be nothing evil about that which concerns God.
Therefore there can be nothing evil about His ways with His people.
God will try our faith from time to time to strengthen our faith, but He will not lead us into sin.
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
Our own evil desires or deformed desire is the cause of temptation.
It is not God but ourselves that is the cause of temptation.
Temptation to sin is the operation of evil forces and the devil.
In this case the believer himself is the source of temptation.
When you tell a child do not touch that hot stove what do they normally do, touch the hot stove.
We are curious people and we want to know what is behind the door.
We shake a present to see if we can figure out what is inside.
See we cause ourselves to fall into sin.
God tells us no you do not want to do that and that is what we do, exactly what God just got done telling us not to do.
Temptation to sin is the problem of the person’s own condition as a sinner.
We allow our own desires to get in the way of what God is trying to do in our lives.
We are born into sin and by nature our desires tend to be sinful.
So when we do not focus on Jesus and God’s will for our lives then we allow our own wants and desires to tempt s into sin.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
The Self-tempting process is inseparably tied to the doing of sin itself. Desire conceives its offsprings, sin.
We have to recognize what our weak points are, what things cause us to sin, and then stay away as much as possible from those things.
See satan knows what our weak points are and that is exactly what He places out there in front of us to give something to tempt us.
We start to desire something, maybe it is food, and we don’t really need to eat any more but then your wife bakes cookies.
Now there is something there that is tempting us, and the desire turns into eating a cookie and than another, and before we know it we have done eaten three or four.
And yes eating to much can be a sin.
We know that the end result of sin is death.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When we yield or fall into temptation it can bring physical death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Some among James’ audience had adopted the idea that God is the cause of temptation.
And yet, in no case can a role be assigned to God in relation to evil, temptation, and sin.
Again God does not tempt us into sin and we cannot believe or thing that He does.
We are not to blame God for our temptations or our falling into temptation.
17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.
God is not involved in the evil we do when we are tempted; instead, He is only the source of good in our lives.
He is the source of good fight within us that resists temptation.
The gifts of God are good because they never foster evil desires or sin.
The gifts of God are perfect because they are the fulfillment of His will for His people.
Three great principles are presented:
God is the Father, or Creator, of the heavenly bodies.
As our Creator, He is certainly more stable than we are. With God there is not even the slightest change; He is immutable.
God is only good - and always good.
Since God is always and only good, then this is why He cannot do evil or tempt us with evil or sin.
18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.
As God’s people we came into existence through no act of our own but owe our beings solely to God’s will, and we are set apart from other men as a kind of first fruits.
God gives birth to believers by means of His truthful Word.
The Word of truth here is the same as the gospel.
The gospel is the instrument by which God implants new life in the believers.
The first fruits here are speaking of Christians.
This Word of truth is like seed that produces a fruit-bearing plant.
So as we believe the Word of truth which is the gospel we become the first fruit of the gospel.
We have to take a leap of faith in trusting God to lead us to endure through trials and to provide strength for temptations.
We can trust Him.
His intentions are good.
We have no excuses for falling away.