James 1:1-18

Responding to trials

Intro:

James 1:1 “James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.”

James - Jesus’ half-brother. Pastor of the church in Jerusalem, bondservant. Grew up with Jesus. Did Mary or Joseph tell them? why then did they doubt.

The Twelve tribes - scattered διασπορά diaspora from martyrdom of Stephen

Acts 8:1 “Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” after a few months they had peace in their new location. It was a tumultuous time for these early Christians as a minority.

Acts 9:31 “Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”

Now they are uprooted, in a new place, and surrounded by unbelievers.

How to Respond to trials

By Welcoming Them (James 1:2-11) Our Attitude towards Trials

James 1:2-3 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,” “3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

My brethren - fellow believers (James 1:9, 16, 19; 2:1, 5, 14, 15; 3:1, 10, 12; 4:11; 5:7, 9, 10, 12, 19) 19 x’s

Joy - χαρά chara - rejoicing, gladness

all - total, every. count it every or total joy.

1 Peter 1:6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,”

ποικίλος poikilos - multi-colored, varied, various kinds or modes, diversified.

1 Peter 4:10 “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”

Trials πειρασμός peirasmos - trials, tests, temptations

Why? - because these trials have a positive and beneficial purpose in the work of God in our lives. They test our faith. Our response should not be complaint or searching for a way to avoid the test. Rather God is training us to build us up and make us strong. So He allows these various trials in order to produce patience.

Patience ὑπομονή hupomone - endurance, perseverance. God wants us to walk without fainting. (Proverbs 24:10 “If you faint in the day of adversity, Your strength is small.” ) Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

James 1:3 “knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

testing δοκίμιον dokimion testing or making genuine. Refine or purify without alloy by fire. God uses our trials to accomplish this in our lives.

James 1:4 “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

Don’t run or hide from trials, get every spiritual blessing and strength from them. Don’t audit life take the tests.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” Let god teach you the lesson of the trial.

Wisdom σοφία sophia the capacity to understand and function accordingly, wisdom. BDAG either natural or transcendent. practical knowledge perfected

Liberally - God will not hold back, He is an abundant Giver

Without reproach - He doesn’t rebuke us for our ignorance, but desires us to supply us with endless bounty of treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

It will be given - Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” (Luke 11:9)

James 1:6 “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.” sinking into the sea of despair like Peter.

Faith and doubting are opposites. (Matthew 14:31 “And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”” ; Mt 21:21; 28:17; Mk 11:23; Ro 14:23) When Peter got in the boat the wind stopped.

James 1:7–8 “For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

We begin our salvation by a belief in the promise - assurance of eternal life.

We must walk by faith with the same assurance in receiving wisdom for the journey.

What does God want you to have from this trial - wisdom to thrive.

Double-minded - δίψυχος dipsychos - two-souled, split personality. The inner battle to trust God for the answer vs the soul’s power to handle this myself. A contradiction that leaves us confused, frustrated, and defeated. Zigzag man.

James 1:9–10 “Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.”

What is our attitude in trials? JOY irregardless of our fortune in this life.

Let God fill you for your needs.

James 1:11 “For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.”

Trials should remind us of our dependance on the grace of God.

Luke 12:16–21 “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.””

No matter your station, trials should send you to the throne of grace with a thankful heart.

Not by Accusing God (James 1:12-18) Our Attitude toward God

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”

Temptations πειρασμός peirasmos - same word as in :2 trials.

approved δόκιμος dokimos - see :3 tested and approved authentic.

Crown of Life blessed or happy because of being rewarded for enduring and overcoming trials. In this life or the next? James 5:11 “Indeed we count them blessed who endure. You have heard of the perseverance of Job and seen the end intended by the Lord—that the Lord is very compassionate and merciful.” The Lord crowned Job’s life with exponential blessings after his trials. Proverbs 4:18 “But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” We are awarded for every victory. A multiplication of grace.

James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”

What is going to be our attitude toward God? to those who “love God” - endure with patience. Those who do not - accuse God of evil. (God can use Satan) Trials work to entice our inner evil to curse God.

Christ was tempted - Satan threw a lot at Jesus outwardly tempting Him, but Jesus was not affected inwardly because He is holy and without sin. So He was tempted, but without sin.

James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

He who is tempted is tempted in the flesh or old man. 1 John 3 sin and the child of God

James 1:15 “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”

Sin unto physical death is a possibility for Christians. 1 John 5:16-17 James 5:20 “let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”

James 1:16 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”

Death is not life it is the opposite. Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Death here are the wages we earn, God is a giver - of eternal life.

James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

God is a giver. A giver of good and perfect gifts. God doesn’t change, He is constant. He is Above, the Father of lights. The Creator which His creation cannot eclipse.

James 1:18 “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”

He brought us forth ἀποκυέω apokueo gives birth to - same word as in :15 “sin brings forth death”. We are born again from above. God’s gift to us is a new life, an everlasting life that is a gift not of works. James is stating here most emphatically that salvation is from above, a gift. By the will of God, not the will of man. Works has no place in the will of God.

The revelation of the Gospel originates from God’s illumination.

2 Corinthians 4:6 “For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

Paul says of Abraham,

Romans 4:21–22 “and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. 22 And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.””

Jesus said to Peter after his statement of truth of Jesus the Messiah,

Matthew 16:17 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.”

We don’t decide to believe, we were blind and now we see. Our will is not involved in salvation to the extent that once we receive truth, we believe and our will is not involved. the Gospel is true, it just is - I don’t decide it is.

Since good works are a product of the will they have no place in salvation otherwise it would not be a gift.

First fruits - the first of the regeneration of the world. A representation of the quality of the rest of the harvest.

This is how we are to live in the face of trials.