Genuine Faith (Testing of Faith Part 1)

Scripture Reading Psalm 24

Good morning. As we gather today we sit under the King of Glory. The one who created the universe. Who created you and me and who knows the beginning and the end. Let us start today remembering who is in control all of the time. Let us look at our Catechism question for the morning.

Q. 27. What offices does Christ execute as our Redeemer?

A. Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the offices of a prophet, of a priest, and of a king, both in His estate of humiliation and exaltation.

Christ is our Redeemer and King. This is his church and we are his people and with that reminder, I would like to announce that Pastor Chris resigned from the Lead Pastor Role on Monday. Most of you know this already because of the eline announcement but for those who did not get that message there are copies on the back table if you would like to read one. This comes as a sudden surprise and we are working on the next steps for Dishman and will communicate those to you as soon as possible.

I would ask that if anyone has not signed up for the eline please do so on a connection card and that way you will be getting information throughout the week. Just put the card in the box at the back of the room. I will be around after church in the senior room if anyone would like to come and ask questions.

Pastoral Prayer

God’s Direction for the Church

Let us Pray

We just spent 10 weeks in the last book of the Old Testament before the 400 years of silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament. We saw God’s final warnings to Isreal to wake up and come back to God. Malachi predicted that a messenger would come and prepare the way for the Lord Jesus and he would be called John the Baptist. We see this come to pass in the Gospels (the 1st four books of the NT). We see the birth of John and Jesus. We see John’s ministry and Jesus ministry. We see the descendants of the people warned in Malachi fail to recognize Jesus and the Messiah and they crucify him. Jesus is buried, sealed in a tomb and on the third day he is resurrected, overcoming death and paying the penalty owed to sinful men and women.

After the resurrection Jesus appears to different people. Paul recorded some of this in:

1 Corinthians 15:3–8 (CSB)

3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. 6 Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers and sisters at one time; most of them are still alive, but some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one born at the wrong time, he also appeared to me.

One of the people listed by Paul was James, the half brother to Jesus. Today we are going to start the book of James. It is fitting that Malachi was believed to be written at the very end of the OT and James is believed to be the earliest writings of the NT between 44 and 49 A.D. Let us open our bibles today and stand with me as we read James 1:1-11

James 1:1–11 (CSB)

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:

To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.

Greetings.

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, 10 but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field. 11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.

Greeting

The book very clearly lists the author as James with a simple identifier of “a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ”.

It is commonly understood that the author of this book is James, the half brother to Jesus. James was most likely the brother closet in age to Jesus and therefore the oldest after Jesus. This is based on the fact that scripture lists him first and it was practice to have lists like this in age order from oldest to youngest. We see this in:

Mark 6:3 (CSB)

3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” So they were offended by him.

Even though James lived with Jesus and saw his sinless childhood, James would not believe that Jesus was actually the Christ until after his resurrection.

John 7:2–5 (CSB)

2 The Jewish Festival of Shelters was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples can see your works that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he’s seeking public recognition. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)

And it can be noted that while Jesus was being crucified. That he handed his mother over to John and not to James.

John 19:25–26 (CSB)

25 Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there, he said to his mother, “Woman, here is your son.”

It is believed that James did not believe until Jesus revealed himself after the resurrection to James personally. The bible does not record James’ moment of belief but after that time James was with the other disciples when the Holy Spirit is poured onto the disciples at Pentecost. After Pentecost as the church began to grow and the disciples traveled around on their missionary journeys James would stay in Jerusalem and would end up being a very prominent leader in the church there even though he was not one of the apostles. He would become known as one of the pillars of the church, would lead the church and Jewish council in Jerusalem.

Galatians 2:9–10

9 When James, Cephas, and John—those recognized as pillars—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

Throughout scripture it is shown that James would be part of major decisions and would be gone to for council and wisdom.

So why does he describe himself with such a simple title? Typically you announce a person with the highest titles possible to gain the attention of the audience and to validate what is about to be presented. a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ is all he writes.

Some believe the simple title he gave was because he was well known to the readers and would not need the extra titles. This could be part of it but it is more likely that James was setting up the framework for the letter he was writing. He was showing great humility by point to Christ and God and not himself.

The word for servant here is doulos and means a bond-servant. A type of slave of the time. This is someone who is born into slavery and would have every aspect of their lives dependent on the will and pleasure of the master. James is saying that his entire life is under the authority of Christ. This is a title of humility and a description of the character of James.

This type of servanthood was seen as an honor in the Jewish culture. People like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, David, Isaiah, Daniel, Timothy, Paul, Peter, Jude, and John were given this title per the MacAurther New Testament Commentary. These people were honored not for what they did but who they served.

James was associating himself with these men, not by his own authority, but based on the authority of Christ.

His audience is described

James 1:1 (CSB)

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:

To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.

Greetings.

The twelve tribes dispersed abroad is not distinct enough to definitively define the audience without questions but this title was used other places in the bible and references all the way back to the OT exile of the Israelite. From that time the Jewish people were spread far and wide. The letter has so many connections to Jesus teaching specifically the sermon on the mount that it is well established that his readers would have been Jewish Christians even though the teachings of James will apply also to the Gentile believers as well. James writes to encourage dispersed brothers who were experiencing different trials in their lives and were struggling with confidence in their faith.

James starts this encouragement with a single word Greetings. The Greek word used here means to hail or to greet but it also means to rejoice. To greet with a wish of health and happiness. This is actually a play on words with joy in the next verse.

This is like coming up to someone and saying “Good Day to you“ vs “Hey You”

As James jumps into the next verse we will see a very direct approach to his writing. His writing will be very short and precise. Because his audience is Jewish Christians there are many doctrines that James assumes to be true already and focuses on building off of those. He will speak very little on the life of a person before they are a believer and very little on becoming a believer. His focus is on the attitudes and actions of the believer. To say that he just gets to the point sums up James very well.

Trials

James starts with a test of a believer’s faith.

James 1:2–3 (CSB)

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

This is one of my favorite verses in the bible. It challenges the way we think about life, it applies to every single believer who will ever live and gives a direct effect on the believer.

It starts with consider it a great joy. It may also be translated pure joy or complete joy. Complete joy is a closer translation. The believer is to consider or regard it a complete joy when they experience various trials. James breaks the sentence up with the subject to re emphasize what is coming next. Usually the sentence would start with brothers and sisters and not throw that in the middle. James wants the focus of the sentence to be on the trials. These trials are a test of the genuineness of a person’s faith or belief in Christ as their savior.

How do you respond when challenges come your way? People respond in a unlimited number of ways when they are faces with a trial of life. Some get angry, some run away, some turn to chemical methods to cope, some turn to physical methods to cope, some dig in deeper, some despair and some just give up. but for the true believer there is another outcome. One that is counter to the way we think. That is to consider it Joy.

The bible is clear that as Christians trials will still come.

1 Peter 4:12 (CSB)

12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised when the fiery ordeal comes among you to test you, as if something unusual were happening to you.

2 Timothy 3:12 (CSB)

12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The question “Why do bad things happen to good people?” is an example of a very revealing question. Somewhere along the line Christians have come to believe that they are good without God and second that life as a christian is easy. It is easy to claim a faith in God. Many false religions claim a belief in God but do not believe in the God of the bible. there are many who sit in church worship services every week who will blame God when trials come and will renounce their faith. Others sit blindly confident in the out come of life but will never know that all they have done is claimed a faith but do not have faith.

God uses trials in different ways in a believers life and the testing of the faith is what confirms to the believer the genuineness of the believers faith. True faith gets stronger under trials were a false faith gets weaker as blame, bitterness, and selfishness take center stage.

Some of the trials that we see in scripture are trials that test the strength of a persons faith or lack there of. We see Paul given a trial as he puts it

2 Corinthians 12:7 (CSB)

7 ... Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so that I would not exalt myself.

We see trials to turn believers from worldly possessions, or to point to the eternal life. Paul said he longed for the next life. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac a test of who Abraham loved more. There are other trials as well but the point is that for the believer they will look at the trials of this world differently.

They will see them as deepening and growing their faith and endurance. They will stay focused on the bigger picture.

The best way I can describe this is child bearing. To be honest I am a horrible beside companion when our kids were being born. But I was there and I watched all of the pain and the closest thing I have see to torture happen 4 times. I did not have to go through it but I was always amazed at the look on my wife's face the moment she heard the first cry. It was as it the last 9 months and specifically the last 24 hours were the best things to happen to her. Consider it Joy. She was in pain and hurt and hungry and she rejoiced because of what was created at the end of it.

A believer is not going to skip around life with a smile on their face saying, I am glad I got laid off today, or man this is cool I have recieved a bad diagnosis from a doctor, or isn’t it amazing that that person ran a red light and totaled my car today. It is the understanding that we will be developed through each and every trail if we have faith in God’s hand in our lives.

We see this in Paul,

Romans 5:3–5 (CSB)

3 And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, 4 endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. 5 This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

James tells us why the trial and testing is important

James 1:4 (CSB)

4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Endurance is a level of strength in our lives.

When a believer endures these trials they built up in maturity and are made complete, lacking nothing. Complete not perfect. We will never be made perfect until we are in heaven but until then we may be made complete and mature. Do you get that? The bible says this is possible so it is true. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and the saving Grace of Jesus we maybe made mature and complete by God’s sovereign guidance of our lives. We shouldn’t run around looking for trials but God says that trial will happen for the believer.

John 16:33 (CSB)

33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”

John 15:20 (CSB)

20 Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

2 Timothy 3:12 (CSB)

12 In fact, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

The reality is we live in a broken world with broken people and trial are one of the ways God uses to mature a believer and give them confidence in their faith.

Conclusion

As we look to the church today. We have many trial in our midst. We have physical, spiritual, financial, emotional, and relational trials. We need to be in prayer and seeking God like we see David do in the Psalms:

Psalm 17:3 (CSB)

3 You have tested my heart;

you have examined me at night.

You have tried me and found nothing evil;

I have determined that my mouth will not sin.

Psalm 26:1–2 (CSB)

1 Vindicate me, Lord,

because I have lived with integrity

and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

2 Test me, Lord, and try me;

examine my heart and mind.

Matthew 5:11–12 (CSB)

11 “You are blessed when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of me. 12 Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Are you in a middle of a trial? Do you look out and say easier said than done. How do I see the world this way. The answer starts in scripture. Why do we stand at the beginning of church to read the main passage. It is to remind us of the importance and place in scripture in our lives.

Mature - Read Story

Let us pray.

Communion

Luke 22:19–20 (CSB)

19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Benediction

Jude 24–25 (CSB)

24 Now to him who is able to protect you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of his glory, without blemish and with great joy, 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority before all time, now and forever. Amen.

Romans 15:5–6 (CSB)

5 Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus, 6 so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ with one mind and one voice.

Foot Notes

Foot Note 1

James: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary His Character

To be a doulos of God was considered a great honor in Jewish culture. Such Old Testament luminaries as Abraham (Gen. 26:24), Isaac (Gen. 24:14), Jacob (Ezek. 28:25), Job (Job 1:8), Moses (Ex. 14:31), Joshua (Josh. 24:29), Caleb (Num. 14:24), David (2 Sam. 3:18), Isaiah (Isa. 20:3), and Daniel (Dan. 6:20) are described as God’s servants. In the New Testament, Epaphras (Col. 4:12), Timothy (Phil. 1:1), Paul (Rom. 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), Jude (Jude 1), John (Rev. 1:1), and our Lord Himself (Acts 3:13) all bore the title of doulos. By taking that title, James numbered himself with those honored not for who they were, but whom they served—the living God.

Foot Note 2

James: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 2: From Trouble to Triumph—Part 1 (James 1:2–3)

Scripture mentions at least eight purposes for the Lord’s allowing trials to come into the lives of His people