Abide

James 1:2–12 NIV

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. 9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. 11 For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business. 12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

Last week we looked at the words of the apostle Paul to the Christian church in Rome. We read from Paul that suffering produced perseverance. Today we see something similar from James. But James does not call it suffering; he has a more particular angle. James tells us that the testing of your faith is what produces perseverance.

Is this a test?

Testing can bring to mind several different pictures. For some—perhaps all of our students—the idea of a test reminds you of a school classroom. A test is something that is given by the teacher in order to measure what the student has learned. And in that setting, a test is something which receives a grade. It is something that helps the teacher and the student know how well the class information is understood and applied. And I would also guess that for most every student, taking a test is not necessarily an enjoyable thing.

what does it mean that our faith is tested?

something that is graded to see if we pass or fail

Is that what James is talking about here? Do we face trials in life so that our faith can receive some kind of grade? Is a time of hardship something used by God in order to evaluate how much we have learned and are able to apply our faith? That seems a bit lacking and incomplete. It doesn’t make sense that faith only serves the main purpose of passing a test and getting a grade.

In other settings, a test is something that is run in order to try something out. When my son was in high school, he took an engineering class that designed and built an electric go cart. Before the cart was able to enter a competition for racing, it all had to be tested. Every part needed to be test out as it was put together. There had to be test runs to carefully look over all the features and make tiny adjustments for improvement. In this kind of setting, a test is not the end product which is seen as the outcome. No, here the testing along the way is something that helps adjust and tweak and improve whatever it is we are working on so that it can perform better.

something that gives us a place to adjust and improve the way we apply faith in how we live

Is that closer to what James is talking about here? Do trials and hardships present us with opportunities to adjust and tweak and improve the walk of faith—the journey of discipleship—we all take with God? This is helpful. Now we can begin to see better that the testing of faith is not so much the end product or the result for which God gives you some kind of grade. Rather, the testing of faith is our opportunity to adjust and improve how the faith which we have been given applies and works in our hearts to lead us on this path of discipleship.

Listen to how our statements of doctrine talk about the role which faith plays in our journey of discipleship. This comes from a 500-year-old writing called the Heidelberg Catechism. (Q21)

Heidelberg Catechism Q21: True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.

True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in Scripture; it is also a wholehearted trust, which the Holy Spirit creates in me by the gospel, that God has freely granted, not only to others but to me also, forgiveness of sins, eternal righteousness, and salvation. These are gifts of sheer grace, granted solely by Christ’s merit.

Two qualities of faith that jump out of this 500-year-old statement that are just as relevant and meaningful today as they were back when it was written: truth and trust. Truth in what God reveals in scripture, and trust in the gifts of God’s grace. See the way in which James points us to these two essentials features of faith especially when trials are testing us.

Truth

In verse five James says that anyone who lacks wisdom should ask God for it. Wisdom—according to James—is the path to seeing and knowing and understanding truth. And where is it that Gods reveals his truth? Of course, our answer is that God reveals his truth in scripture. Hebrews one says this:

Hebrews 1:1–3 NIV

1 In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

The gospel of Jesus revealed in scripture is God’s word of truth. In our time where the whole idea of any one claim of a single objective truth is so lost, we are reminded that there is such a thing as one truth. We live in a time where people seem to believe anything they make up, or desperately want to believe whatever they desire to be true. Academic research has shown that more than half of what is shared on Facebook is false. More than half; of all the links you see shared on Facebook, the majority of them are either completely made up, wildly off-base, or tainted in inaccuracies. I am saddened by the number of people who honestly think they hold onto opinions with an airtight argument when the preamble to their body of research begins with, “I saw on Facebook that…” It’s sad that there are so many people in our culture who have no grasp at all on truth.

Duane Sjaardema served on Council at the church I pastored in Denver. Duane consistently demonstrated for all of us what the wisdom of truth looks like. Whenever there was discussion about opinions and perspectives and points of view, it was always Duane who began his statements with phrases like, “the Bible says…” or “scripture tells us that…” Duane never began his comment with, “I just think that…” or “in my opinion…” No, for Duane truth always began in the wisdom of scripture. Truth comes from the word of God.

HC Q21: God reveals truth in scripture

verse 5: wisdom from God helps us clearly understand the truth of scripture

James tells us today, anyone who lacks wisdom should ask God for it. And where do we look for God to answer that prayer for wisdom? We look to the Bible. We dedicate ourselves to be guided by the word of God as our authoritative source of truth.

Trust

The catechism goes on to tell us that faith is a wholehearted trust in the gifts of God’s grace. Trust is one of those things in life which becomes so easily damaged. When children are young, trust comes easy. In fact, we sometimes have to teach children not to trust every stranger. The older we get, the more times we have felt betrayed by misplaced trust. People have let us down and hurt us. And trust becomes something that must be earned and built. Trust can take so very long to be gained, but it can be completely destroyed in a single instant. We become people who struggle with trust.

trust that is placed in the gifts of God's grace

James compels his audience to be people who believe and do not doubt. Trust in the gifts of grace which God has given; do not doubt that this is a gift which is freely given by God for you—yes, you. James goes on, the one who doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown and tossed about. To lose trust in what God has provided for you by grace is to forget the solid foundation of new life in Christ which has been given to each one of us. When our trust in the everlasting love of God wavers, then we are left flailing about looking for some other place which can hold us up. We end up looking for security apart from God, in our own wealth, or power, or abilities. We end up placing trust in broken and temporary institutions of this world to protect us.

Verse eight tells us that the person whose trust in God wavers is double-minded. It is the Greek word dipsychos. It literally means two minds or two persons. It is James’ way of describing for us someone who—on the one hand—does not completely reject God and walk away, yet—on the other hand—has moments in which Christian faith is not at all recognizable in their life. Maybe we might refer to a person like this as being something like a “Sunday Christian”. A person who has all the right looks and behavior of a disciple of Jesus in church on Sunday. But the Monday-through-Saturday life has very little or no evidence of Christian discipleship at all.

when I trust the grace of God to hold me, it changes how I face the world, see other people

You see, James is talking about a trust in God that is so significant, it cannot help showing up and impacting every corner of your life. It is a trust in God that expands your faith into every part of who you are. It is such a powerful trust in the gift of God’s grace, that it changes how we face the world, how we see and treat other people, how we approach the way we use our time and our possessions and our abilities. Do you believe it? The grace of God has such an incredibly powerful hold on your life that you can always trust God to keep his covenant promises reveals to us in his word. That is a trust which builds and strengthens faith.

Or maybe part of the problem is that Christians have sometimes misplaced a trust in God—in other words, we sometimes trust God for the wrong things. Christian bookstores are filled with books written by authors trying to convince you that achieving your best life now is simply a matter of faith and trust. But James and the Catechism remind us today that trust in God is not about becoming rich or pursuing a life free from trial or hardship. The words of Catechism tell us that true faith leads us to trust in God’s grace. The point here is to embrace a trust in the grace and love of God which holds us no matter what else may happen in our lives.

All together

In the 1960s American singer-songwriter Chet Powers wrote the song Let’s Get Together. The song was made popular in its recording by artists like David Crosby and bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Youngbloods. Perhaps a song like Let’s Get Together carried well from one singer to the next because it plays so well to a commonly held sentiment. The chorus says, “Come on people now / smile on your brother / everybody get together / try to love one another / Right now.” There is a recognition that even in times of bitter division and great differences, there are still some common experiences that we all share. There are still some moments that can bring us all together.

either blessing or hardship is not an indicator that we get faith right, or wrong

That’s the idea that I think James is trying to pull through in the next section of verses nine through eleven. Trials and tests of faith put us all in the same place. And so, James is able to say that those who are in humble circumstances are brought to high position. And those who are rich and powerful are actually in a place of humility. You see, it is not that extended periods of success, and freedom from trials and hardships means that somehow we should see this as a passing grade on the scorecard of faith. And similarly, extended periods of hardships and trials should not be seen as a failing grade on the scorecard of faith. Sometimes Christians fall into that kind of thinking. If life is going well, then we think that it must be because we have somehow figured out how to do faith the right way. And if life is full of hardships and setbacks, then we think it must be because there is something wrong or incomplete in our faith.

James reminds us here in these verses that it doesn’t work like that. The opportunities to sharpen and strengthen our faith through testing is an experience we all share together. It brings the mighty down low; it lifts up those who are humble and shattered. It is the shared and common experience of trials and hardships which focus our attention. And this is the place in which our faith takes hold in order to look beyond the moment in which we find ourselves and see further ahead.

Seeing it through

Let me back up to a line that James dropped early on in this passage. He tells us in verse three that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. And then he says in verse four to let perseverance finish its work.

let perseverance finish its work

I guess I never really thought about perseverance as something that has stay in place until its work is completed. In last week’s message from Romans five we looked at the ways in which perseverance produces character. Now this week we see from James that this work of perseverance which produces character is—apparently—something we tend to bail on too soon. I think we all know that we can persevere for a while. But long perseverance is much harder.

We know a thing or two about this feeling right now. Here in Michigan we are looking at nearly two months now of stay-at-home orders. I could persevere through the first two or three weeks of this okay. Weeks four and five found the stride of an established routine. But now I’m just sick of it. We’re tired of persevering, aren’t we? More-and-more the desire grows to just call it good enough because the trials and hardships that go along with this continued persevering are taking a toll and we’re feeling like we’re ready to be done with it. We know what that feels like.

James reminds us today that often we may face that same situation in the testing of our faith to jump ship and bail too soon when the persevering becomes difficult. Let perseverance finish its work. Why? James goes on to explain to us, “so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” And further down in verse twelve James adds,

James 1:12 NIV

12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

So, don’t give up! God never gives up on you. God’s love continually guides and directs your path in ways that allow for a new step of faith in front of you. Even in times when we have wandered and strayed from the place in which Gods has been directing, even then God welcomes us back to him. He never shuts the door. He never leaves us. May we be able to declare along with James today that we consider it pure joy when trials come to test our faith. Because we know that these moments of testing are always opportunities for the faith we have to grow and stretch further. We know that times of perseverance always extend to us opportunities to take another step of faith ahead towards spiritual maturity. We know that anything which comes our way can be turned to a step of faith which brings us closer to abiding in truth, strengthened in abiding in trust, hopeful in abiding towards the crown of life which is promised. Consider it pure joy that God loves you enough to walk down that path of faith alongside of you every step of the way.