A Gift For Fiery Growth

Initial Preview of James

Well this morning, we’re going to begin a new break-off sermon series…and this will be in the New Testament book of James. It will be a little bit before we jump into today’s text, but you’re welcome to go ahead and make your way there if you’d like. Specifically, we’ll be taking a close look at James 1:1-8.

If you’ve consistently been a part of our Lord’s Day gatherings, then you should have a good idea of where we’ve been in the Scriptures as of late. But just as a bit of a refresher: under Keith’s preaching, we’ve been continuing to gradually walk through the book of Genesis. And then just a couple weeks ago, we wrapped up a break-off series in 1 Peter that Kevin and I led us through.

We hope & pray that this “simultaneous approach” to our Lord’s Day Sermons has been edifying for you on the other side of the pulpit. Speaking personally, I’ve enjoyed diving into two different places in Scripture that speak from two different standpoints in redemptive history. And, yes, while Genesis and 1 Peter have their share of distinct characteristics, the amazing reality is that God’s Word is one beautiful tapestry…one that is supernaturally woven together to ultimately point us to the Divine Person & the Redeeming Work of Jesus Christ.

And with Christ in view from both Genesis and 1 Peter, one of the themes that is showcased from both of these places in redemptive history is the importance of “living faith” in Christ…the importance of ”faith in action” from God’s covenant people.

Just last Sunday in Genesis 21, amid Abraham’s challenging circumstances, we saw his faith in action. He continued trusting in the Lord’s promises…and this was evidenced by his obedience to the Lord’s command to listen to his wife Sarah. Listen to Sarah about what? About the sending away of Hagar, Sarah’s slave woman…along with the sending away of Ishmael, the son whom Hagar had bore to Abraham. Talk about a time where Abraham’s faith was put to the test. And yet we saw his faith in action.

And then in regards to 1 Peter…amid the fiery trials that his fellow believers were facing, we saw Peter continually exhort them to put their faith into action…to live holy lives that were in accord with their “born-again, holy” calling in Christ.

You see, not only in Genesis and 1 Peter…but all throughout Scripture, we see that “faith in action”—in all circumstances—is an essential mark of God’s People. And as it pertains to the New Testament specifically, there may be no other place where this is highlighted with more fervor and focus than in the book of James. Out of the 108 total verses of this book, there are 59 commands that are given. And contained within James, there is a higher frequency of imperative verbs than in any other New Testament book.

So needless to say, James is a highly practical book for Christians to glean from. And aside from its many commands…when you also factor in that many of these commands are bolstered by colorful illustrations…and when you also factor in the concise nature of this book…you can understand why this has proven to be one of the most popular books of the Bible among so many.

And yet, though James has proven to be a very popular book among many, it’s also proven to be a book that has been subject to neglect, to disagreement, and even to negative criticism, at times. Somewhat surprisingly, take the Reformer Martin Luther for instance. Though Luther never went so far as to exclude James from the canon of Scripture, it seems very clear that he unfortunately gave it more of a secondary status within the canon of Scripture. He said these words regarding the book of James: “I cannot include him among the chief books, though I would not prevent anyone from including or extolling him as he pleases, for there are otherwise many good sayings in him.”

You know, to be fair, there are some challenges related to certain aspects of this book, which we’ll get to along the way in this series. But at the end of the day, these challenges can be resolved when we deeply consider the whole counsel of Scripture. And part of deeply considering the Scriptures means that we must deeply consider important contextual aspects of the Scriptures.

When it comes to the book of James from a contextual standpoint, we’ll have a great opportunity to better-orient ourselves from the text itself today—more specifically from verse 1. From this opening verse, we’ll be able to consider the author & recipients of this book, as well as the general occasion for this writing. But before we hit on those aspects, let’s spend a little time orienting ourselves to this book in a few other ways first. Lord-willing, this will better prepare us to receive this book just as any other book from the Bible: one that is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the [people] of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

So let’s go ahead and do this. Let’s spend time answering a couple important contextual questions before reading & examining today’s text.

Initial Orientation to James

What Kind of Book is James?

First of all, a good question for us to ask is this: what kind of book is James? And by this, I’m more specifically referring to the nature and the genre of this book.

When we turn in our Bibles to the book of James, it doesn’t take long for us to see that technically this isn’t a book. The very 1st verse shows us that it’s a letter. But what kind of letter exactly?

Well for starters…the letter of James seems to be missing certain components that most other New Testament letters contain. Let’s take Paul’s letters for instance, since he wrote the majority of the New Testament. In Paul’s Spirit-inspired letters, we typically find him addressing specific individuals or churches about pretty specific situations that were taking place.

Not so much with James. In contrast to Paul, the address and situational content of this letter takes on more of a “generalized” flavor. Instead of addressing very specific people or churches, James seems to be addressing a broader audience likely consisting of numerous assemblies of believers. As we’ll see in the opening greeting, it reveals that this was addressed “to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion”. And rather than tackling very specific “boots on the ground” scenarios, throughout the letter James seems to go the more generic route by tackling issues that could have been taking place almost anywhere within a broad scope of assemblies. And so for these reasons, many theologians have referred to James as a “general” letter.

But more specifically, what kind of “general” letter is this? How are we to read it? What kind of genre are we working with? One of the most popular options in recent years has been to ascribe James as a “wisdom” letter. This makes a lot of sense if you just read through the letter. As we’ll see in today’s passage, the topic of wisdom is a recurring theme. And there are also a variety of concise, practical admonitions throughout this letter. This is why many have labeled James as “the Proverbs of the New Testament.”

And while I don’t necessarily disagree with this take, nor really take much issue with it…I do think that categorizing this as “wisdom literature” might be swinging a little too far. While there are many Proverbs-like admonitions throughout…and while the topic of wisdom is brought up on multiple occasions…I’m not sure that it’s totally accurate to say that wisdom is the central theme of this letter. There are times when the writing style breaks away from shorter Proverb-like admonitions and the author expounds more on the topic at hand. There are also times when the author comes across more like a prophet than he does a wisdom author.

And so I think that it might be more accurate to categorize this as a general letter that takes more of the form of a sermon or homily. Think of a church leader who is writing, from long distance, to a large group of brothers and sisters in Christ. He’s unable to address them in person, nor at length. And so he addresses them in a more condensed, sermon-like fashion—possibly even formulating one letter from multiple sermons. Yes, drawing from the wisdom books of old…and yet also very powerfully drawing from the wise teachings of the Incarnate Christ Himself in order to spur believers on toward wholehearted devotion to the Lord.

And so again, I think this might be more of an accurate representation of the nature and genre of this letter.

When Was James Written?

Well one other initial contextual question that I think merits our attention revolves around timing. When was the letter of James written? As is the case with so much in Scripture, there have been differing perspectives on this in church history.

Some have argued—wrongly I think—for a much later date, such as the late 1st or early 2nd century. Those who advocate for this very late date actually don’t think that James himself wrote this letter, but rather that someone else wrote it under his name decades after he was martyred.

But then as it pertains to the vast majority of theologians who do ascribe James as the Spirit-inspired human author of this letter, there seem to be 2 basic camps. One camp argues for a date that was very close to James’ death in 62AD. Part of this argument is based on certain similarities that they see between James’ letter and Peter’s 1st letter, which itself was written in the 60’s AD. These theologians think that, because of some of these similarities, both 1 Peter and James were written to more “settled” congregations, and that much more time had passed after the incarnate coming of Christ.

But personally, I fall into the other camp that actually vouches for a much earlier date. I believe that this letter was written by James sometime prior to the late 40’s, likely in the mid 40’s. Why before the late 40’s specifically? Because in either 48 or 49 AD, something very significant occurred in Jerusalem, which is where it’s widely accepted that James wrote this letter from. It was during this time in the late 40’s that the apostolic council occurred in Jerusalem, which Scripture bears witness to in Acts 15. At this council, the Apostle Paul shared all about God’s redeeming work that was taking place among the Gentiles. Simultaneously at this council, certain believers from the party of the Pharisees were also trying to say that circumcision was a morally binding law that Gentile believers had to obey. And in response to all of this, together at this council, the apostles and Jerusalem elders came to a consensus—helped by the leadership of James—on what actually should be (and should not be) imposed on these Gentile believers for their inclusion (in Christ) among God’s people.

And you see, it’s very important to note that both Paul and James were at this Jerusalem council. As I mentioned earlier, there have been certain historical criticisms of James’ writing…and the main criticism is the accusation that his teaching on justification contradicts that of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on justification in his own letters. Why bring all of this up in relation to the date of this letter from James? Because it seems very likely that had James indeed written his letter years after spending time with Paul at this apostolic council, he would have likely articulated his own teaching on justification with a much greater awareness of the heated debates surrounding God’s Law, and with much greater mindfulness of Paul’s very thorough teaching on justification.

But with an earlier date much prior to that of the apostolic council, it makes a lot more sense as to why James articulates justification the way that he does. As we’ll see later on in this letter, it seems as if there may have been some among James’ broad recipients who were using “justification by faith alone” as a license to neglect their wholehearted commitment toward godly Christian living. From this letter, it seems like at least on some level James was aware of Paul’s teaching on “justification by faith alone.” But up to this point—from an earlier date standpoint—James wouldn’t have had any direct contact with Paul himself…none of Paul’s canonized letters would have likely been written and dispersed yet…and any news of Paul’s “boots on the ground” teaching of justification would have come indirectly to James—and maybe even in perverted form! Not only this, but it’s also very possible that James may not have even specifically known that “a perversion of Paul’s teaching” was at the heart of what he was opposing in this letter. In a sense, I believe that it was besides the point for James. James’ main point—Paul or no Paul—was to address a perversion of the Christian faith that was taking place. The perversion of thinking that within the Christian faith, wholehearted devotion to the Lord via faith AND works isn’t necessary.

And so again, primarily because of these reasons, I’m personally approaching this letter through the lens of James writing at an earlier date in the mid-40’s. And a more secondary reason for this conviction is due to what seems like a bit of still undeveloped Christian theology from James in this letter, particularly as it revolves around the Torah. I don’t mean that he contradicts Paul or that he’s heretical regarding God’s Law in any way. But what I mean by this is that he seems to very concisely & somewhat casually reference the Torah in a few places throughout this letter. And again, I think if he had indeed written this later on—after all of the heated debates surrounding the Torah, and after the important council in Jerusalem—he would’ve likely nuanced his articulation of God’s Law a little more. But with an earlier date—as I have argued for—it’s completely understandable as to why he wouldn’t have felt a need to do this earlier on.

Read Today’s Text

Well I know this has been an abnormally long introduction to the text. I apologize for that…hopefully you’re still with me :) But with this being a brand new series, and with James being a somewhat unique book in certain ways, I felt that it was necessary to at least provide some initial contextual insight. Lord-willing, I hope that this has oriented us well to now examine our text for today.

So with this being said, if you’re able, I invite you to please stand for the reading of God’s Word.

James 1:1–8 “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

PRAY. Thank you. You can be seated at this time.

Explain & Apply Today’s Text

Heading 1 (v1)

Well this morning, we’re going to consider our passage under 3 basic headings. Our 1st Heading will focus on the 1st verse of this letter, and it is this: Insert Heading 1.

As I’ve already alluded to, rather than taking a contrarian view, I side with the vast majority of theologians who affirm that James indeed wrote this letter. Verse 1 bluntly reveals this to us, and there’s no legitimate reason to doubt this. But which James are we talking about? The New Testament presents us with several men who went by this name. We’ve got James the father of Judas, who’s only mentioned a couple times—likely to ensure that his son was not confused with Judas Iscariot. We’ve also got James the son of Alphaeus, who is only mentioned a few times on apostle lists. We’ve also got the much more well-known James the son of Zebedee. If we were trying to the determine the author of this letter with a quick first guess, this James would be a great candidate. He, along with Peter and John, were a part of Jesus’ inner circle. As a part of this inner circle, one of the unique privileges that James the son of Zebedee had was witnessing the glory of Jesus’ transfiguration on the mountain. But in regards to authoring this letter, it seems highly unlikely that this James was the author…in part, because his martyrdom came at a pretty early date, right around 44AD.

So this leaves us with one other well-known James from the New Testament: James, the brother (or half brother) of Jesus. It is this James who is widely believed to have authored this Spirit-inspired letter. And yet, if you would have visited Nazareth during Jesus’ day and told these small-town folks that James would go on to write a letter like this, they would have thought you were crazy. Why? Well, because they themselves rejected their hometown Jesus as the Christ. And they likely knew the same thing that John 7 tells us: that “not even [Jesus’] own brothers believed in Him.” As Jesus himself says in Matthew 13: “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

And so the notion that James—the unbelieving brother of Jesus—went on to write this Jesus-exalting letter is surprising to say the least. So what happened? Well, he was confronted with the power of the Gospel and the power of the Resurrected Christ Himself…and he was enlivened to faith. The Apostle Paul, in his 1st letter to the Corinthian Church, wrote this: “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”

You see, once opposed to Jesus, now James was an apostle of Jesus (as Paul tells us elsewhere in Galatians 1). Once a scoffer of Jesus, he was now a servant of Jesus. In this opening greeting, he identifies himself as such. “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This “servant” of God identification is common among apostolic writers of New Testament letters. Not only does it signify their blessed bondage & submission to Christ, but it also signifies that they are bound to authoritatively speak on His behalf. In the Old Testament, the Lord Himself also gave this “servant” label to Prophets that He commissioned to authoritatively speak on His behalf. One all-encompassing example of this comes in Jeremiah 7 while the Lord is rebuking His stiff-necked Israelites. The Lord declared this: “From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day.”

And so here we have James writing as a servant apostle under the authority of Jesus Christ. At this point in time, James was a key leader of the early Jerusalem Church. As I mentioned earlier, he played a pivotal role at the apostolic council in Jerusalem. In Galatians 2, the Apostle Paul even refers to him as being one of the early Church “pillars” alongside Peter and John.

James here is almost certainly writing from Jerusalem, and as the back-half of verse 1 tells us, he is addressing “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” Who exactly are these recipients? Who is James referring to when he says “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion”? Well first, it’s important to note that the term “Dispersion” can basically be translated “scattered among the nations”. This had become a technical name attributed to the scattering of Jewish people among the nations outside of their own promised land of inheritance.

In Acts 8, On the heels of Stephen being martyred, Luke writes about the great “scattering” that took place due to great persecution that had broken out. And then later in Acts 11, Luke gives us more details when he writes that “those who were scattered because of the persecution traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews.” We don’t know this for certain, but if I had to guess, these were likely the primary locations that James was writing to.

But back to this term “Dispersion.” We actually saw the Apostle Peter use this same word (and other similar language) in his own opening greeting of his 1st letter. He writes this in 1 Peter 1:1: “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who are elect exiles of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.” Now it’s especially interesting that Peter chose to use this language, because he was likely predominantly writing to believing Gentiles …Gentiles who had been “alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise”, which included being strangers to the promised physical land of God’s Covenant People. And so it seems as if Peter was referring to his recipients as being exiles of the “Dispersion” more in a figurative sense, meaning that they were Christians living in this world away from their heavenly promised land.

But in regard to James here, based off the entirety of this letter, it seems very likely that he was writing predominantly to Jewish Christians who had been scattered outside of Palestine, quite possibly in Phoenicia & Cyprus & Antioch. And within this opening greeting, at least in principle, his reference to them as “the twelve tribes” gives evidence to this. You see, during the exile years of the 2nd temple period, this language of “the twelve tribes” was often used to express hope that the Lord would one day regather these tribes of Israel.

But specifically for James here, rather than using “twelve tribes” in its most literal & physical sense, I believe that he’s using it in a more theological & eschatological sense. In a more fulfilled sense. Yes, I believe he predominantly has in view physical descendants of the 12 Israelite tribes, but more specifically those who simultaneously are spiritual descendents of Abraham…those from the 12 tribes who have been spiritually & vitally united to Jesus Christ by faith…those who were the true remnant of Israel and who formed the nucleus of a restored & renewed Israel…which includes both Jews & Gentiles united in Jesus Christ, the True Israel Himself.

On that note, it’s possible that James may have very well had Gentile believers in mind as well here in this greeting. But I believe that the thrust of his focus was addressing this true remnant of Jewish Christians. And again, throughout this series I think we’ll see more specific evidence of this.

Heading 2 (v2-4)

But for now, let’s move forward in our passage and onto our 2nd Heading for today, which is this: Insert 2nd Heading. Here we’re zooming in on verses 2-4.

As we just spent time on, James is likely writing to many Jewish Christians who had been uprooted from their homeland because of their faith in Jesus as the promised Messiah. Dispersed in this New Covenant Era. Fleeing from persecution that was being carried out, in part, by their own Jewish brethren according to the flesh. Driven into foreign lands of exile, where there’s no doubt that they were also now facing other forms of persecution at the hands of pagan Gentiles. On top of this, you throw in the more normative difficulties of life under the sun, and these believers were suffering in various ways.

And so James is writing into this difficult context in order to equip and encourage these suffering believers. How so in these three verses specifically? By reminding them that their suffering is not without a good purpose. If you remember, this was such an emphasis throughout Peter’s 1st letter, so we won’t camp out on these verses too long. But listen to James’ words in verses 2-4: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Beloved: difficult circumstances for believers are not random or meaningless occurrences that we just simply need to ride out. No, we need to remember that we are God’s beloved New Covenant People in Christ….we are His beloved children. And He is in the lifelong process—however long he ordains in this life—of training us up as His holy & set-apart children. And a major part of this training & maturing process takes place in the refining fire of trials that He sovereignly ordains for us. Various trials that test, refine, and purify our faith. Fiery trials that bring our sinful imperfections to the surface. Trials that God ordains for our good, for the good of others around us, and for His glory.

And more specifically, what good purpose does God have for us in our trial & suffering? Well in our passage, James starts by highlighting the reality that faith-testing trials “produce steadfastness.” In other translations, you might see “perseverance” or “endurance” instead. But what’s at the heart of this produced quality? I think the original Greek can help us here, which points us to the notion of “remaining under” something. Think of someone carrying a heavy load for a long time—remaining under that heavy load for an extended time. I think this captures well what James is getting at.

At times in this life, we will all be placed under the weight & burden of trials. Relatively speaking, sometimes these weighted trials will be a little lighter and seemingly “more bearable”…while other times these trials will be much heavier and seemingly more that we can bear. Maybe it’s the weight of persecution like the believers of James’ day were under. Maybe it’s the weight of financial hardship. The burden of a broken relationship. The burden of deep regret. Loneliness. Depression. Chronic pain or fatigue. The death of a loved one. Your own impending death.

The trials that we meet and come under in this life? They present varying degrees of burdens for us to bear…different kinds of weight for us to carry. And if we’re honest with ourselves, we don’t like this. We see these trials that come upon us as unwelcome visitors…maybe even as trespassers! We don’t like to all the sudden feel the weight of suffering. We like comfort & pleasure. We don’t like to suffer. I know I don’t!

But we must increasingly learn that as real & as unpleasant as these trials might be? They ultimately come from the Sovereign Hand of our loving Father. And that this heaviness we carry? This burden we bear? This weight of resistance that pressing down on us? Our Father places it there in order to produce steadfastness. In order to strengthen our staying power. In order for us to increasingly “remain”…in order to more faithfully run this race with endurance & perseverance. And as James tells us: in order that this steadfastness would “have its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” Not perfection and completion in the sense that we attain sinless perfection in this life—that will be our blessed reality in the Age to come. But in this sense that, throughout this life, we are more and more refined into Christian maturity…into Christian wholeness.

Beloved: are you under the weight of a certain trial right now? By all means…if there are wise & godly means for you to pursue that might bring relief to your suffering….then pursue it! This is a good thing, and it very well might be a faith-strengthening & maturing step that the Lord wants you to take.

But there’s also a chance that the trial you’re facing right now? Or the trial you will face? That it’s not going anywhere for the time-being. That this burden is the Lord’s will for you to carry right now….and that you are to “remain under” the weight of this trial for His good purposes. Sure, there might very well be means you could pursue that you think would bring relief to your suffering…means you could pursue that you think would completely remove yourself out from under this trial. But the reality is that these are fleshly means…means that would require you to forsake the Lord and His good commands…means that would require you to retaliate against others…or to slander others…or to be dishonest…or to take short cuts…or to seek relief by fleshly means such as drunkenness or sexual deviancy.

Beloved: let me tell you from experience unfortunately…and from God’s Word, more importantly: this will not go well for you. If the Lord has sovereignly placed you under a fiery trial of suffering, remain under this trial in the Lord. Trials are not an occasion for you to flee to your flesh for relief. Your suffering will only snowball if you do this. Abide in Christ. Trust that your Loving Father is working in and through the trials that He ordains for you, in order to produce steadfastness in you.

And saints, when we look at the various trials of our life through these redemptive lenses…we have legitimate reason to rejoice. We have legitimate reason, as James tells us, to “count it all joy…when we meet trials of various kinds.”

Heading 3 (v5-8)

Well as we’ve just considered, there is reason to rejoice in suffering. There is joy, knowing that the full effect of steadfast-producing trials is that we “may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” And yet, as we’ve also considered…while real growth into Christian maturity & wholeness takes place in this life…we know that, until Christ comes, we will never perfectly arrive at Christian maturity & wholeness in this life.

So as we await eschatological perfection & completion, this means that there is still much maturity & wholeness that we still lack…maturity & wholeness that we desperately need for this “already not yet” life, and for the trials that we will face along the way. This brings us to our 3rd and final Heading this morning, which is this: Insert 3rd Heading.

Reference 1 Kings 3 and King Solomon.

CLOSING PRAYER

Benediction Text

At this time, please stand to receive the closing benediction.

“May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward you who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.” (adapted from Ephesians 1:17-21)