As most of you know I love to read—and these days my reading is divided into two basic categories. CATEGORY ONE are books I read on my kindle. My kindle books are books that are for pure fun—mostly works of fiction written by authors like Bernard Cornwell and Stephen Lawhead and John Grisham. My kindle is great for “fun reading” because it lets me buy e-books which are cheaper—about half the price of a paper book. Plus e-books take up no real space so the overcrowded bookshelves in our home are not affected.
The other category of books I read are those volumes that help me do my job as a pastor—books I study to equip you—the saints for ministry. I’m talking about books to help with sermons and deacon training and Wednesday night studies and SOWER articles, etc. Don’t get me wrong these books are fun to read too but nevertheless they are “work” books books I have to read to do my job and when it comes to these books I always buy the real thing—no kindle stuff here—because I need to be able to underline and take notes quickly in the margin, etc.
But be it e-book or real as you’ve heard me say numerous times, I LOVE books! One of my greatest pleasures is simply walking in Barnes and Noble to breathe some book air. It literally has a calming effect on me. In fact, I’m a little afraid that one day “book air” will be a thing of the past because it looks like in the not too distant future all books will be “e-books.”
In any case, like all book lovers I have friends and family members who share my love of reading and every so often one of them will come up to me and say, “Mark, I just read a great book!” My response is always something like, “Great! Tell me all about it. Who is the author? What is this great book of yours all about? Is it available in a kindle version?” Then, in the discussion that follows, I ask other questions to help me find out whether or not this book they are recommending is something I would want to read myself. I mean, I don’t want to spend time and money on a book that’s not really worth it even at e-book prices.
I bring all this up because today I want to recommend an amazing book to you. And, one thing that MAKES it an amazing book is the fact that, even though it was written over 2,000 years ago, it is still relevant to our lives today in the 21st century. This book is very short—no more than 100 verses. You could easily memorize it. In fact, you can read it in under a half hour—but, those 100 verses of this amazing little book are literally packed with practical wisdom for dealing with several important life issues.
- For example, this book includes guidance that will help you endure hard times.
- It talks about how we can overcome our often destructive desires.
- This book tells how to gain confidence in living this life as well as certainty about where we will spend eternity.
- It has sections that “hit the nail on the head” when it comes to describing the incredible damage our words can cause.
- And, speaking of words, it contains instructions that tell how to communicate with God Himself.
- One of the main things it talks is the importance of developing our “second nature” of service, which can be very helpful to us as a church in fulfilling this year’s vision.
Now, does that sound like an appealing book or what?! As you can see from the Powerpoint, the book I’m talking about is the epistle of James…the ultimate “how-to” manual and before we go any further I want you to understand that the REASON the book of James so wonderful is because it’s not just a book—it is the written Word of God. And I for one am excited because we are about to spend a total of 13 weeks studying this book. Now, don’t feel bad if your Bible is on your Kindle or your Nook or your I-pad because most of us still have literal paper Bibles which means there will be plenty of “book air” to go around in our study. Today I want us to begin by taking a close look at the first 12 verses so take your Bibles and let’s read them together: James 1:1-12:
1 – James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes scattered among the nations: Greetings.
2 – Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 – because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
4 – Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete not lacking anything.
5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, Who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
6 – But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
7 – That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 – he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
9 – The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.
10 – But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he 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 man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
12 – Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.
Now as any book lover knows the best way to BEGIN reading a book is to focus on the AUTHOR—and in this case that would be the person God used in the writing of this book. I think of the first verse as sort of a “cover page” for this book because the author identifies himself there as: “JAMES, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…” There are several Jameses mentioned in the New Testament but this particular JAMES is the half-brother of our Lord. I say HALF-brother, because James’ father was Joseph and Jesus was of course the Son of God. It may surprise some of you but the gospels of Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus had several half-siblings—brothers as well as sisters—and the author of this book is one of them. (Matthew 13:55-56, Mark 6:3)
The gospels also tell us that in the beginning James and his siblings did not believe their elder brother was the Messiah (John 7:1-5, Mark 3:31-35) but at some point they changed their minds because Acts 1:14 states that they were in the Upper Room praying with the rest of the disciples following Jesus’ ascension into Heaven. I for one believe it was Jesus’ resurrection that convinced them that He was the Christ—because that seems to be what helped James to come to this faith-filled conclusion. And, I infer this from the fact that as 1st Corinthians 15:7 says, Jesus made a point of appearing to James following His resurrection.
In her study on the book of James Beth Moore says that in His time on earth following His resurrection Jesus appeared to the people who MOST NEEDED to see Him. For example, Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene to affirm the fact that His power was such that she could be permanently delivered from the demons that had plagued her. Jesus appeared to Saul on the Road to Damascus to help turn him from a persecutor of Christians into the church’s greatest missionary. He appeared to Peter so that the big fisherman could know he had been forgiven for denying our Lord the night of His arrest. And Jesus appeared to James so that he could go from mocking his half-sibling to the realization that Jesus was indeed the Messiah—the Son of God.
Most scholars believe James was the second child born to Mary and as Charles Swindoll points out, it must have been hard for James to have Jesus as a big brother. Swindoll writes, “No second-born son or daughter can possibly fathom what it must have been like to suffer second-child syndrome with an older brother who never sinned. But James did. Can you imagine? Jesus ALWAYS came when His mother called Him the first time. Jesus ALWAYS washed His hands properly before supper. He ALWAYS did his chores quickly and with delight. He always obeyed. And then there was James, born with a sinful nature like the rest of us, living in the shadow of a big brother who was God in the flesh. Being far from perfect, younger brother James had a built-in problem right from the start.”
Perhaps James was happy when Jesus left home because there would be no more competition with a brother Who was literally PERFECT. He would no longer hear Mary or Joseph say, “James I wish you could be more like Jesus!” Of course we don’t know about all that but according to Mark’s Gospel we DO know that James and the other children thought their elder brother was a little crazy when He began to claim to be the Messiah. So, James definitely needed a post-resurrection visit in order for him to come to faith—and of course Jesus would have known that. This encourages me because I can look back across my own life and see that Jesus has met my needs when my faith needed strengthening. I believe He does that for all of us. Jesus helps our “unbelief.” He strengthens our faith. He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.
Well, even before James became a believer, he must have paid attention to Jesus’ teaching, because in his book there are numerous allusions to our Lord’s parables and sermons, particularly the Sermon on the Mount. In fact this little book of James is more like the teachings of Jesus than any other book in the New Testament.
Okay—what else do we know about James?
Well, the book of Acts tells us that, following Jesus’ resurrection and ascension, James became the leader of the church in Jerusalem—the first Christian church ever founded! In fact, in Galatians 2:9 Paul refers to James as “a pillar” of that pivotal church. Acts 12 says that when Peter was delivered from prison by the angel, he made a point of sending a message to James to let him know all that had happened. It was James who moderated the church conference described in Acts 15 which dealt with the potentially divisive issue of what to do with Gentile converts to Christianity. James allowed all the factions present to express themselves and then he was able to bring peace and unity to that church by drawing a conclusion based on the Word of God. When Paul visited Jerusalem it was James to whom he brought the special love offering from the Gentile churches (Acts 21:18-19)—money to help the persecuted Christians of Jerusalem.
It is said that James received the nickname “James, the Just” because of his holy life. Tradition also tells us that he was a man of prayer—which explains his emphasis on this particular spiritual discipline in his book. In fact James’ nickname was “camel-knees” because he prayed so much that his knees were as hard as a camel’s.
But in spite of being renowned for his spiritual maturity and for the fact that he was Jesus’ half-brother—I want to point out that James was obviously a very humble man. We see that in the way he begins his book—for he doesn’t identify himself as, “James, Half-brother of the Messiah” or “James, leader of THE church at Jerusalem.” He didn’t even refer to himself as an apostle like Peter and Paul did when they began their own books. No, James simply says that he is “…a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” This reminds us that a good indicator of Christian maturity is humility.
The Biblical record is fairly silent about James’ DEATH but TRADITION tells us that he was MARTYRED in 62A.D. Apparently the Pharisees in Jerusalem hated James so much they had him thrown off the temple walls and then beaten to death with clubs. It is said that James died like his Savior, praying for his murderers by saying, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Okay—that’s enough about the AUTHOR, let’s focus a bit on the PEOPLE James had in mind when he wrote his book. In the first verse he says his book is written to: “…the twelve tribes scattered among the nations” AKA “God’s chosen people—the Jews.” You may remember from our study of The Story that the Jews were first “scattered among the nations” when the Assyrians deported the ten northern tribes in 722B.C. And then 136 years later the two southern tribes were deported by the Babylonians. Because of this Jews were spread all over the world. Then in the first century when Jewish Christians were persecuted after the death of Stephen they fled so the twelve tribes were indeed SCATTERED. And, at first read it may sound like this book doesn’t apply to Gentiles like us—but it does. You see believers like you and me are the TRUE Israel—we are part of the “twelve tribes scattered among the nations.”
Now, as a Hebrew, James knew that the nation of Israel had been specially chosen by God but he also knew they had refused to accept their God-given task to share His love with the world. And no one was more aware than James of the fact that when Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah of God came, the Jewish nation as a whole rejected Him. Because they did, all the privileges which had once belonged to them passed over to the church and the church (made up of both Jewish and Gentile believers) became the chosen people of God. Listen to Romans 9:6-8. Paul—himself a Jew of Jews—writes, “…not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abrahams’ children. On the contrary, [according to Genesis 21:12] ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abrahams’ offspring.” Paul is telling us here that the true descendants of Abraham—the TRUE ISRAEL—is not made up of those who can trace their PHYSICAL descent from Abraham, but rather those who have made the same venture of faith that he did. The true Israel is not composed of any nation or race but of all people down through the centuries who have accepted Christ in faith. So this letter WAS written with you and me in mind for, as Christians, we are part of the twelve tribes scattered among the nations—the true nation of Israel.
Another thing we need to understand about this book is that it was in all likelihood the FIRST book of the New Testament to be written. As John A. T. Robinson says, “James was written in the second decade of the Christian mission as the first surviving document of the early church.” This helps us understand why the book of James sounds so Jewish. I mean, James was written when all Christians were Jews—before Paul took the Gospel to the Gentiles. Ironically even though it was the first New Testament book written, it was the last to be accepted into the canon. Gentile believers like Martin Luther felt it was too Jewish—too legalistic. He felt it didn’t have the grace of the Gospel message. Luther called it, “…a right strawy epistle…” and said, “Away with James! I almost feel like throwing ‘Jimmy’ into the stove.” It seemed to Luther and others that James was saying to be a Christian you had to do good works but eventually they realized that a grace-less legalism was not James’ message. They understood that James was not saying you had to do good works to earn your salvation but rather that if you were saved you would do good works or that others have put it, “…a faith that saves is a faith that works.” Or, “If you don’t live it you don’t really believe it.” Or “If you know Christ personally, you will develop a second nature of Christlikeness.” In any case, this is why there are so many “do’s” and “don’ts” in this little book—54 of them in fact. James is saying that one indicator of a genuine growing faith is that we DO certain things and we DON’T do other things. We DO what Jesus would do and we DON’T DO what Jesus wouldn’t do. This is why James is a book that is very PRACTICAL. It is indeed the ultimate how-to manual. For this reason, James has been called “the epistle of practice.” Anyone who has read it can see that from beginning to end this little book is an urgent demand for “reality in religion.” I think that James would surely have agreed with John Bunyan who said that, “the soul of religion is the practical part—the relevant part.” And the FIRST relevant topic that James deals with is the issue of TRIALS—the tough times of life. This morning I want to talk about three practical things that James says about this issue.
(1) First he says, EXPECT them.
James’ first readers needed to hear this because they were enduring very difficult times. Remember, they had fled their homes because of the persecution of the Jews in Jerusalem, Jewish zealots like Saul who made it their goal in life to stamp out the new faith. Jews who weren’t believers rejected these believers like Saul did but these first “scattered” Christians were also hassled by the Gentiles. R. Kent Hughes writes, “Homeless and disenfranchised, they were robbed of what possessions they had, hauled into court, and subjected to the Gentile elite. They had less standing than slaves. They became religious, social and economic pariahs.” James tells these Christians they should not be surprised at what they were going through—that this is part and parcel of being a follower of the Christ, Who Himself, “…was despised and rejected…Who came to His own and His own did not receive Him.” Well, James’ message is for us as well because trials, problems, crises—the tribulations of life—are inevitable even in our day and age. They are going to happen. This is why James doesn’t say, “Count it all joy IF you fall into various trials…” but “When.” Few things are certain in this world but troubles, hardship, challenges to our faith—James says to believers then and now, COUNT ON IT. THEY WILL COME. James also says these inevitable trials will be “various” and it may seem like a waste of time to dwell on this word but think about it for a moment. This means that while we can expect trials, we have no idea what form they will take. The Greek word for “various” is “poikilos” and it can mean, “diverse, variegated or many–colored.” In other words, the trials that come to all of us come in all shapes and sizes. I’m reminded of the wife who explained her wrecked car to her husband by saying, “By the time I backed out to see what was coming, it already had.” Like this poor woman we all have troubles run into us and this is one reason every Christian should read and study this book. As Brian Harbour puts it: “Everyone either IS a problem or HAS a problem or LIVES with one.” Hard times are inevitable and not just because we follow Jesus—but also as a result of our own sinful choices and because we live in a fallen world where bad things like tornadoes happen every day—even to good people.
And, by the way, James isn’t the only Biblical author who teaches this principle. Job 5:7 says, “Man is born for trouble, as sparks fly upward.” In Psalm 22:11 David cried out to the Lord and said, “Be not far from me, for trouble is near.” In Ecclesiastes 2 Solomon wrote, “Man’s task is painful and grievous; even at night his mind does not rest.”
Now, don’t get me wrong, the Christian life can be full and satisfying but it has never been easy and the Bible says it never will be—on this side of eternity. So first bit of practical information is to inform us that we can expect tough times. And if that leaves you a little bit flat keep reading with me because James has more to say.
(2) He says when trials come we should ASK God about them.
In other words, we need to learn to RESPOND to trials with prayers in which we ask God not only for the strength to endure our hard times but also for His wisdom about them—his perspective on our trials. In fact James says that if we ask God for this kind of wisdom it will be given to us generously, without fault. In other words when it comes to prayer, there is no such thing as a stupid question. God WANTS to help us understand so He WELCOMES our asking.
As R. Kent Hughes writes, “God is like a pitcher tilted toward His children, just waiting to pour wisdom over the trial-parched landscape of their lives if they will but ask.” So, trials COULD be looked at as opportunities for us to grow to be more wise—but James gives us a very important word of guidance here. He says that when we pray, we must do so in faith. We must draw near to God confident of both His willingness and His ABILITY to answer our questions. We must TRUST His answers, His perspective, more than our own. As Proverbs 3:5-6 says, we must “…trust in the Lord with all our hearts and lean not on our own understanding.”
Look at verse 6. The Greek word for “doubting” refers to a person who wants to rely on God AND on himself or someone else or something else. It refers to an individual who seeks God’s will but wants to do his will as well or someone who prays but also checks on popular opinion for guidance. Doubting God’s guidance and power indicates an impurity of our inner person. Where there should be one thought, goal, attitude, or devotion, we find two competing thoughts. James says that kind of person is double-minded and because they are, they are unstable in everything they do. I remember reading once that the cheapest and easiest way to catch a monkey is to cut off the end of a hollow, dried-out, long-necked gourd, fill it with rice, and tie it to a tree. The hungry monkey will push his scrawny little hand into the thin neck of the gourd to grab the rice. Then he’ll clutch it with his hand and try to pull it out, but the monkey’s fist is bigger than the gourd’s neck so he’ll become trapped because that hungry, shortsighted money won’t release the rice to remove his fist. He lacks the wisdom to decide that freedom without the rice is better than captivity with a meal. That’s a picture of the double-minded Christian. Inside the gourd is my will. Yes, part of me wants to live in God’s will; but the other part wants it on my own terms—trial-free. So when a trial comes, I refuse to release my grip and trust that the purpose and plan of God will bring true freedom.
In the next verses James cites two KINDS of trials: the trial of POVERTY and the trial of PROSPERITY. And if this seems odd to you then write this down: Any trial that you face will either be caused by PAIN or by PLEASURE.
Now, all of us know the pain of not having enough prosperity—enough money. Without a high enough balance in our bank account our physical needs go unmet. As someone once said, “When our outgo exceeds our income, our upkeep is our downfall!” But there are other problems associated with not having enough money. It can cause us to ENVY others who DO have enough. We can even become embittered toward our peers who are financially blessed—or we can give-in to SELF-PITY. Poverty can be a trial. But the pleasure of PROSPERITY can also be a problem. Many times having an abundance of CASH can lead to an abundance of CONCERNS.
For example wealth can lead us to have a false sense of self-security. It can make us forget our need for God. And this is foolish because as James says, material possessions are transitory. A person who depends on his riches will be like a colorful flower in the desert. His life may be spectacular but it will also be short-lived. So, the trial of poverty teaches us to rely on God alone to meet our needs. And the trial of prosperity can help us to see that material things are transitory.
When we face the trials that come with POVERTY or PROSPERITY and ask God, He will help us to see and understand these important life principles. All this leads to the third bit of practical wisdom James gives us when it comes to the trials of life.
(3) He says we should…THANK God for them.
James agrees with Paul who writes in 1st Thessalonians 5:18 and says that we are to, “give thanks in ALL circumstances…” which includes even the painful, frustrating ones. Now, this concept is alien to most people—even Christians. I mean, when trials come many of us embrace an attitude of resentment and grow angry at God. Others become apathetic and withdraw from life—but James gives another alternative. He says that the secret to dealing with the trials of life is found in having an attitude of faith-filled gratitude. In fact he says that we should consider the arrival of tough times as a joyful thing. Now he’s not talking about a “pasted-on fake smile” kind of joy nor is James advocating some form of masochism in which we SEEK painful things. No, James is writing about an attitude of joy that comes from having the faith-fueled wisdom to understand pain’s purpose. It’s the conviction that God works in all things—even our trials—for our good. Over the years God had helped “camel-knees” to see that He often uses pain to reach us and teach us. And James is not the only one in the Bible who advocates this attitude toward tough times. Acts 5:41 says that the Apostles rejoiced that they were considered worthy to suffer for their faith. In 2nd Corinthians 7:4 Paul said, “In all my troubles my joy knows no bounds.”
James points out that one of the purposes of painful trials is that they can help us to develop PERSEVERANCE or ENDURANCE or what we might call “stick-to-it-iveness.”
In other words, trials teach us to hang in there and not quit! And we do quit so easily don’t we—mainly because it is so much easier than hanging in there. I mean it’s easier to walk out of the room during an argument than it is to stay and work through the conflict. It’s easier to gossip about someone who has hurt you than it is to go and seek reconciliation. It’s easier to stop praying for our enemies than it is to hang in there and ask God to help us know how to continually act in love toward the people who seem to make it their goal in life to hurt us. I think this is what Peter was getting at when he asked Jesus how many times he had to forgive his enemies. In essence he asked, “Can I quit after seven times?” The fact is, it’s always easier to do what you want with your life than it is to kneel before God, turn the reins over to Him, and wait patiently and expectantly and sometimes agonizingly for Him to lead you. ENDURANCE can be unpleasant but the best kinds of growth do not come as a result of easy times. This is why the Bible speaks so highly of ENDURANCE. In fact Titus 2:2 sets it alongside FAITH and LOVE as a basic and decisive Christian virtue. It says: “Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love, and in ENDURANCE!” You see, the truth is many Christians simply give up when they get tired or when the way gets rough or when God doesn’t answer their prayers quickly enough and we will never get anywhere in the Christian walk with this attitude. To grow spirituallY we must learn to embrace enough faith to practice ENDURANCE. As James says in verse 4 when we hang in there perseverance, “…finishes its work so that we become mature and complete, not lacking anything.” The perplexing truth is trials can indeed be good for us. Someone once put it this way, “A Christian is like a tea bag; he’s not worth much until he’s been through some hot water.”
Ephesians 1 reminds us that it is God’s will for us as believers is to become more like Jesus Who, as Hebrews 12 says, “…ENDURED the cross for the joy set before Him.” That means that God will take us through many of the same things He took Jesus through. There were times when Jesus was lonely, exhausted, tempted, discouraged, and depressed and there will be times then that we are lonely, exhausted, tempted, discouraged, and depressed. This is why in the 4th chapter of his first epistle Peter wrote and said that we can expect to experience the same kind of suffering that Christ did. In fact both Peter and James go so far as to say that suffering is necessary in order for us to become the person God wants us to be. These two learned that there are important lessons we cannot learn unless we go through adversity.
When I was in Kenya back in 2002 we saw lots of giraffe. We even went to a park where we could feed them right out of our hands. After my trip I remember reading a portion of Gary Richmond’s book, A View from a Zoo in which he tells about the birth of a giraffe: The first thing to emerge are the baby giraffe’s front hooves and head. A few minutes later the plucky newborn calf is hurled forth, falls ten feet, and lands on its back. Well then the mother giraffe lowers her head long enough to take a look and then after about 60 seconds or so, she does the most unreasonable thing. She swings her long pendulous leg outward and kicks her baby so that it is sent sprawling head over heels. When it doesn’t get up, the violent process is repeated over and over again. The little guy struggles to rise and when he grows tired, the mother kicks it again. Well, finally the calf stands for the first time on its wobbly legs. But then the mother giraffe kicks it off its feet again. Why? Well, according to Gary Richmond she wants him to REMEMBER how he got up. You see, in the wild, baby giraffes must be able to get up as quickly as possible in order to stay with the herd, where there is safety. Lions, hyenas, leopards, and wild hunting dogs all love to eat young giraffes, and they’d get to do so a lot more often if mother giraffe’s didn’t teach their babies to get up fast.
Now, has there ever been a time when you endured one trial, only to get knocked down again? It may be that God is allowing this series of hard knocks to help you remember how it was that you got up. Maybe He is permitting this to help you get it through your thick skull that to become like Jesus…to survive in this cruel world….we must stay close to God. we must learn to walk in His shadow, under His care. You see God is more interested in our character than He is our comfort—and character cannot be developed in times of ease. You can’t become a person of endurance and patience by reading a book or even listening to a sermon. These eternal, priceless, Christlike qualities can only be learned through tough times. And so when they come we should do as James says…we should rejoice and give thanks. Thomas Watson, 17th the century puritan pastor wrote, “Affliction works as our preacher and tutor. Sometimes a sickbed can teach us more than a sermon. Affliction is often the medicine that God uses to carry off our spiritual diseases.”