Faith Tested and True

Introduction:

- Echoes of the Early Church

Illustration: The Echo of Faith in the Early Church

Picture yourself standing in a vast canyon, where your voice echoes off the walls, returning to you again and again. The strength and clarity of that echo depend on how loudly and clearly you speak. In the same way, the early church was the first to shout the message of Christ into the world, and their faith still echoes today.

The book of James was written to these early believers, scattered and facing trials. They were the first generation to live out the teachings of Jesus in a world that was often hostile to their faith. James knew that their actions—how they responded to trials, how they treated others, how they lived out their faith—would create an echo that would reverberate through generations.

The early church’s faith wasn’t just a whisper; it was a clear and powerful shout into the world, and the echo of that faith is what we hear today in the teachings of James. This echo has shaped the church for centuries, reminding us that genuine faith must be lived out in action.

As we explore James in this series, we are invited to add our voices to that echo. Just as the early church’s faith reverberated through their actions, our faith should continue to echo in the world around us. The way we live, speak, and act can become part of the same enduring echo, impacting not just our lives, but the lives of those who come after us. Let’s ensure that the echo of our faith is clear and strong, carrying forward the legacy of the early church and the teachings of James.

-Scattered people

Acts 8:1 NIV

And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

- James calls those he is writing to the “12 tribes”. This is a reference to church. Romans 11 (grafted in branches) and Ephesians 2 (members of one household)

James Greeting to the “Diaspora” (1:1)

we see that, far from displacing Israel as God’s beloved, the church participates in a new covenant that will ultimately be the fulfillment of the original Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant. Through Christ believers are adopted into the family of the Heavenly Father and father Abraham (cf. Rom 4:11)

The sense as I see it is that the church, like the nation of Isreal, is called to faithfulness.

1. Joy in Trials (James 1:2-4):

The issue James is dealing with is not UNBELIEF, but rather INACTIVE FAITH

The faith is not inactive, not passive; it is to believe into or to believe upon or to believe in. It is an active faith, which is trust.

J. Vernon McGee

- Discuss why Christians should consider it pure joy when facing trials.

- The purpose of trials in developing perseverance and maturity.

There then comes a dilemma, sometimes our inactive faith dulls our senses. James suggests we go to the source of all wisdom.

2. Wisdom from God (James 1:5-8):

- The importance of asking God for wisdom.

- Faith and doubt in prayer.

Imagine someone standing at the beginning of a shaky, narrow bridge that stretches across a deep canyon. The bridge sways with every gust of wind, and below, the waves crash violently against the rocks. If the person hesitates or doubts whether the bridge will hold, they begin to lose their balance. Every step becomes more unstable, and they’re tossed back and forth by the wind, struggling to maintain their footing. But if they trust in the strength of the bridge and focus on their destination, they can move forward steadily, despite the storm around them.

In the mid-1800s, Blondin became renowned for walking across a tightrope stretched over the Niagara Gorge, just below the falls. He performed this dangerous feat multiple times, often adding dramatic elements like walking on stilts, blindfolded, or pushing a wheelbarrow across.

One day, Blondin asked the crowd if they believed he could push a person across the tightrope in a wheelbarrow. The crowd enthusiastically shouted their belief that he could do it. However, when Blondin asked for a volunteer to get into the wheelbarrow, no one was willing.

The crowd’s initial confidence wavered when they were asked to put their trust into action. They were like the person James describes—wavering, double-minded, unstable in their belief. They claimed to have faith, but when it came to taking a step based on that faith, they doubted and hesitated.

3. Rich and Poor (James 1:9-11):

It seems odd that James would at this point bring up the rich and the poor.

Trials as a Great Equalizer: Both the rich and the poor face trials, but the way they experience and respond to these trials may differ. For the poor, trials may come in the form of material hardship, while for the rich, trials might come in the challenge of maintaining faith amid abundance and self-sufficiency. By addressing both groups, James emphasizes that trials affect everyone, regardless of their economic status, and all believers are called to grow in faith and perseverance through these trials.

-The High position of the Poor

Understanding true Exaltation

New Identity

-The Humbling of the Rich

Danger of Pride

Temporary nature of Wealth

-Eternal Perspective

Leveling ground of the gospel

Humility

4. Temptation and God's Goodness (James 1:12-18):

- The difference between trials and temptations.

Trials are tests for growth

Temptations are Invitation to sin

-Source of Temptation

Unchecked desire

Progression of Sin (vs.15)

Personal Responsibility to temptation

- God as the source of all good gifts. (vs. 16-17)

Good things from God

Unchanging Goodness

We can live in the Light of God’s Goodness (Trust God, Resist Temptation)

Application:

- Encouragement to embrace trials as opportunities for growth.

- Practical steps for seeking God's wisdom.

After Invitation

Read James 1:19-27

James 1:19–27 NIV

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do. Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.