Biblical Living

Introduction

Last week we discussed how to endure through trials: ask for God’s help, trust in His promise/power, and be humbly thankful for your circumstances. As we endure we can have joy, not because of the trial itself, but because of what it produces: a stronger, more mature, and complete faith. As we endure we will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love Him.

If you thought we were moving on from trials then you were wrong. James spends the entire first chapter of his book helping Christians through their trials in life. We quickly move from how we endure trials to why we endure trials. Our perspective can make a huge difference in how we approach our difficulties. We are switching from the method of trials to the motivation in trials.

Is our focus on self or on God? It is tempting to look at our hardships and feel self-pity and blame God. Don’t look at your troubles look through them to what they will produce as you endure. Don’t blame God for your hardships, trust Him to help you through them. Always remember who God is, good, and who we are, sinners.

I. God is Good, We are Sinners (v. 13-20)

A. Always keep in perspective who God is, good, and who we are, sinners (v. 13)

1. Note: “tempted” is the verb form of “trials” used in the previous 12 verses. It is a present passive verb

a. In other words, this is referring to the action you take when the trial hits you in this moment. So, James is not discussing temptation as we think of it, but how we respond when trials hit us

b. We might give ourselves an opportunity for the flesh during the trial, therefore, causing ourselves to sin instead of grow in faith. It has to do with our approach.

2. If we ask for God’s wisdom, focus on His ways, trust in His power/promises, and learn humility and thankfulness in all circumstances then we will grow and faith and can be joyful

a. But if we refuse to have joy and choose to trust ourselves, we reject God’s help, we go down a path of sin

b. Instead of trusting God we then blame God and our trial is no longer about maturing, becoming complete in our faith, it is about our pleasures and comfort.

3. James is telling us not to blame God for the bad outcomes and for our choice to do evil. God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He tempt anyone to do evil

a. He is giving you the opportunity to choose Him, trust in Him, and grow in your faith. He then rewards the faithful seeker. God does not force evil upon you for your harm

b. You can imagine fighting our trials like a tag team wrestling match

1. One person is in the ring fighting until he has had enough and then tags in his teammate to take over

2. As life happens God stands at the edge of the ring, waiting for you to tag Him in to help you in the fight

B. Things get worse and you fall into sin because of your own desires and choices (v. 14-16)

1. The trial turns into sin when you allow yourself to be lured away and deceived by your fleshly desires. You choose yourself over God and those desires result in committing sin

2. The end of the road of your sin is death, not the crown of life when you persevere while trusting God

a. Don’t be deceived. Things grow worse and you commit sins, not because of God, but because of you giving into your own desires

b. You chose the easy wrong instead of the hard right.

3. God is not looking to deceive you (v. 17)

a. There is no shifting shadow in Him, He is not being sneaky and conniving to plan your downfall. Every good and perfect gift is from Him. We need to fix our perspective.

b. Craig Groeschel is a preacher and author. In his book Winning the War in Your Mind, ch. 11 he writes this, “Your circumstances may be bad, but God is still good. He’s near, His promises are still true, His love still unconditional, His grace still amazing, His timing still perfect. You may not like what is going on but you can still praise God for the who, who He is.”

C. God’s will (desire) is to bring you forth in life (v. 18-20)

1. “Bring forth” means “give you a new birth”. Not a birth of sin resulting in death, but of a birth from the Word of Truth resulting in life.

2. God caused us to be the firstfruits of His creatures. We were bought out of sin and death into forgiveness and eternal life

a. Therefore, be quick to hear the truth of God, be slow to speak ill about your circumstances, and slow to anger in regard to how God is handling them

b. Why? Your anger does not result in the righteousness of God, rather, it results in the sin of Satan.

3. Keep the right perspective. Don’t blame God, trust Him and His process.

II. Follow the Word (v. 21-26)

A. How can we learn to shift our perspective from blame to trust? Follow God’s Word (vs. 21-22)

1. This is a 3 step process: 1) Reject evil (lay aside or stop sinning), 2) Receive (believe or accept) God’s Word, 3) Resolve to do what the Word says

a. Humility or meekness is a reliance on God to do the work, because we know we cannot do it ourselves

b. So, we trust in Him to empower us to stop sinning and we rely on Him to save us, v. 21.

2. Steps 1 and 2 make sense. I need to stop sinning and I must believe God’s Word. Easy, right?

a. Doing away with evil is not enough, we must replace the evil with the good God wants us to do

b. We do that by obeying the commands He has written in His Word. Notice, if we merely hear (believe) the Word only then we have deceived ourselves.

B. It might be hard to grasp the intensity of this truth, so, James gives an example of just how important this is (v. 23-26)

1. Have you ever looked in the mirror, walked away, and forgotten what you looked like?

a. Maybe some small details, but you generally know what you look like

b. Well, listening to God’s Word only is like the person who forgets what he looks like even though he just saw himself in the mirror.

2. On the other hand, when you gaze intently into the perfect law of liberty (God’s Word) and follow what it says then you become an effective doer and are blessed in all you do

a. God’s truth does not become real to you until you act on it. 1 John 2:4–5 “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:”

b. The Bible is just theoretical if all you do is hear it or read it

1. What good does the Bible do if you hear it and do nothing?

2. Do you really believe it is God’s Word that has the power to save your soul and transform your life? If you really believed that then you would act on it’s commands.

3. Remember the Israelites under Moses? They were led out by God and heard the Law that Moses presented to them, but what happened to them?

a. Notice the truth revealed in Hebrews 3:14-19.

b. What was the reason the Israelites did not enter God’s rest: disobedience or unbelief? The answer is both

1. If you do not obey its because you did not genuinely believe

2. The appropriate response to hearing God’s Word is to believe/trust in the power and promise of God then demonstrate that belief by doing what He says.

4. You might think yourself religious but keep your words in check

a. You may claim to believe in God. Do you follow what He says or are you blaming Him for the trouble in your life? Tread carefully

b. James warns us not to be deceived, when we have that kind of double talk and unbelief then our religion is worthless.

C. Are you starting to see the pivotal role God’s Word plays in our trials?

1. Shift your perspective from blame to trust by living biblically. Why? When you reject sin, believe God’s Word, and obey it then you become more like God:

2. God is the Father of Light (v. 17), Righteous (v. 20), Good (v. 13), Pure and undefiled (v. 27)

a. We follow the Word to be transformed by it, for the power of God is revealed through the Scriptures

b. When it is implanted in our souls we are saved and we continue to grow in Godly character when we follow it’s teachings and principles

Conclusion/Application (v. 27)

When we are busy doing the good God has for us then we don’t have time to blame Him or fulfill our sinful desires. Not only that, but the truth of God’s Word becomes more real to us when we do what it says. Our perspective will change when we live Biblical Lives. So, we resolve to do what it says.

While we wait for God’s wisdom in dealing with trials, seek to trust Him by doing good. What kind of good should you do? Do you want your religion to be valuable? Do you want your faith to mean something? Do you want God to believe you when you say “I trust you”? Then here is where you can start (v. 27): visit orphans and widows in their distress and keep yourself unstained (pure) by the world.

Are you feeling down about your circumstances? Go find someone in need and help them in the name of the Lord. Widows and orphans should not be overlooked, there are intense struggles of loneliness, depression, feeling unloved, and more. Visit with them and share God’s encouragement and love with them.

When you don’t know what to do during your trials then focus on cleansing yourself from sin. Don’t let the world influence you for evil, instead, seek to lay aside your sin and do what pleases God.

Want to be more like God? Are you looking forward to the crown of life? Choose to rejoice in the midst of your trials because you know that as you endure you will strengthen your faith. Ask for God’s help, trust in His wisdom and power, reject sin, receive His Word, and resolve to do what He says. Biblical Living can make all the difference when you face hardships. “This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” Let’s follow God’s Word so that we will be like Him.