Tested and True - The Letter of James - James 1:1-4,12

Mar 19, 2023 • Andrey Bulanov

Text: James 1:1-4, 12

Outline:

1. James - a call to spiritually whole Christianity.

2. Expect trials and consider them pure joy.

3. The testing of our faith produces endurance.

4. Trails have the power to perfect us into maturity.

5. The trials of life are leading up to an eternal reward.

Scripture passages:

• James 1:1-4, 12

• 1 Peter 2:20-23

• Hebrews 12:1-2

• Revelation 2:10

Application:

• Do you know Jesus today, not just as someone who gives forgiveness of sins, but as the one who has conquered your heart and your supreme loyalty?

• What are the inconsistencies in your spiritual life today? Don't shy away as the Holy Spirit shines the light of truth on them.

◦ anger, materialism, unhealthy entertainment, rotten or perverse speech, uncontrolled fear, etc..

• How do you think about trials in your life? Do you expect them? Do you receive them as God's intentional ways of shaping you?

• Is there endurance in your faith? Or do you crack and crumble at the first sight of pressure?

• Are you growing in maturity in your trials?

• Is your life driven/animated by devotion to the Lord and reward of his kingdom? Or are you moved by rewards promised here and now?

Discussion Questions:

• What are some of the ways we downplay or avoid our inconsistencies in our spiritual lives?

• Based on this text, why is it that some people grow through trails while others are constantly brought down?

• What are some ways God has worked through trails to make you stronger, more enduring and more mature?

• How do we battle discouragement in our trials? How do we cultivate a practice of authentic hope and strength in hard times?

• What prevents us from having a deeper sense of passion and loyalty to Jesus in all our lives? What are some of the false rewards we often get caught up chasing?

• How do we cultivate a mindset that is truly excited about the reward of eternity and God's kingdom?

READ TEXT - James 1:1-4, 12

It is no secret that the last 10 years have been hard for the name of christianity.

Church corruption, leadership failures, abuse - have filled the news of secular media.

In one sense it is natural for the world to enjoy stories that make christians sound false and dishonest. Those who lived through seasons in the soviet system know that that is not new.

Examples?

But there is a legitimate concern that has emerged in our time about the genuineness and goodness of christianity - both for people strugging with their faith in the church and those criticizing it from the outside.

This is a shift from the kind of critique that christains recieved 20-30 years ago.

Back then there was more questions about science, logic and reason. Does christianity make sense? Is it silly and unscientific? Is it histoically accurate?

Today, these questions are still important, but even more importantly, poeple are asking - Is it genuinely good?

How can it be true, if so many people who claim the title christian live such lives of moral decay?

Is there genuine goodness? Is there genuine power to transform human hearts to love and good works? or is this whole thing a big fake show?

We are starting our series in the book of James today. And it is the topic of spiritual genuineness and integrity that James deals with throughout this letter.

Although this short letter in the back of the NT has some complexities that raise some serious questions, James is also easily one of the most loved and quoted books for the average christian.

His style is so direct and punchy - hitting us right in the practical struggles that we face.

At first glance it is very tough to see any clear outline in the book. Some have criticized is as just being a random collection of sayings with nothing in common.

But as we look closely it becomes clear that the author has a very clear focus and direction.

James doesn't focus as much on how we think but on how we ARE. He comes to shine the magnifying glass on our daily lives and habits and ask some questions.

He comes to ask the question that many are asking today - what does it mean that we are called christians? What does that look and feel like in the midst of our daily struggles?

In doing this, he does not come to break apart or deconstruct our faith. As a good pastor, he knows we are often inconsistent. Because of that, the call of James is to embrace the challenges in our lives so that, as we weaknesses are exposed, we could see them as opportunities to bring our lives together to one, consistent and unified way.

So sorry - this sermon will have five points. I know this may cause an existential crisis for some. I did my best here.

1. James - a call to a spiritually whole christianity.

James is written by James, the half brother of Jesus - who was also a very key leader in the Jerusalem church.

Its most likely written pretty early in the life of the church - somewhere between 45-50 AD.

A lot of the controversies and questions that emerge later in the church are not mentioned here - so its most likely a very early letter, coming earlier than the letters of Paul.

James is most likely written to scattered groups of Jewish christians as they have been driven from their homes in Jerusalem.

Some people try to critique the book of James for not being "christian enough" or not speaking directly of Jesus enough - Jesus is mentioned twice in the book.

But this is a huge mistake. Yes Jesus is NAMED only twice in the book. However, when we look at the ideas and words that James uses - we quickly see that, perhaps more than any book in the NT, James depends on, quotes and alludes to the teachings of Jesus.

There are MANY MANY verbal parrallels to the book of Matthew and the way Matthew summarizes Jesus' teachings.

Examples - blessed is the one who endures trials, sayings on poverty and wealth, the importance of our words, being doers of the Word rather than hearers, etc..

Main idea: James calls us to live a christian life that is spiritually whole, not divided and inconsistent.

It is our inconsistencies that get us more than anything else. It is our inconsistencies that we most often DON'T want to think about.

Key themes:

• Enduring trails

• Pursuing wisdom in our daily lives

• Orienting our hearts correctly about poverty and wealth

2. Expect trials and consider them as pure joy.

v.2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials,

James writes to people in harsh situations.

Many of them obviously in difficult work situations - barely surviving under unjust and harsh bosses.

The church dispersed under the early christian persecutions.

This meant many were financially vulnerable and in very tough situations.

As he calls us to a spiritually whole christianity - he understands that one of the most obvious and challenging areas that exposes our immaturity is our trials and difficulties.

Notice the first thing we see here is that he says "WHEN you experience trials..."

James begins with the assumption that trails WILL come to all of us.

When you EXPECT trials in life, you will respond differently.

EXAMPLE - video of fight.

Notice here he is taking a very broad approach - "when you experience various trials..."

He is talking about trails in general - to consider them a great joy.

So many ways this very is misunderstood.

What are you talking about James? I am supposed to just smile and and laugh when terrible things are happening in my life?

This is so out of touch.

No, notice that James is not talking about how we are to feel but more specificaly how we are to THINK about our situation.

How you feel about your situation stems from how we think about it.

"Consider it pure joy..."

Often we try to battle our negative emotions without digging deeper and asking WHY we feel what we feel.

Our emotions are the product of our interpretation of our situation - not the direct cause of the situation.

Two people can be in the SAME EXACT situation and have OPPOSITE emotional states.

EXAMPLE - working hard for nothing vs working hard for a million dollars.

The most important question is WHAT DO YOU THINK your trial means?

• My illness means I am being punished for past mistakes and I will never escape it.

• My financial situations and difficulties mean that I will never be successful like others around me.

• I am just a loser,

• God has left me

• I should not expect anything in life because so many difficult things happened to me.

We assume we know WHAT our situations mean - and we struggle with that - we batttle with those situations.

We go between two extremes

• giving up and feeling hopeless

• fighting and battling to take control

James says - don't be hopeless. And don't be rebellious and angry.

Learn to receive your trials as intentional purposeful events in your life that lead to a purpose that makes it all TOTALLY worth it.

"consider it great joy" "all joy" "pure joy" "total joy"

The point here is that your trials are completely for your good. None of it is a random accident. None of it is as a result of cure or condemnation or abandonment by God.

You have to know that your trials have a definite goal. If you understand that then you can start to attain that goal. If you don’t understand that, then your trails will knock you out constantly.

3. The testing of our faith produces endurance.

What is that goal? Why is all this happening to me? There are THREE LAYERS to that question.

3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

The very first thing is that trails cultivate and change the quality of our faith. Your faith can have different qualities.

Just because we have faith, that’s not the end of the conversation a lot of Christians trust in Jesus, and yet they are fickle and unstable and struggling and not growing. If someone is not growing on the one hand, we want to ask the question do they even have true saving faith??

But also sometimes people do you have genuine faith and they’re just consistently unstable and immature.

James says the first reason why trails are important is because they produce endurance in our faith.

We live in a time when there is a "manly man" reaction to feminism - its more and more popular to be a man who takes responsibility over his life, who hunts, shoots guns and lifts weights.

A man can have a very confident assessment of his strength - but when the pressures of life hit, when the kids are screaming and the wife is sick and work is stressful and he can't time to watch his game and sit on the couch - he gets angry, fearful, defensive.

When our inner person is untested it has no real endurance and it crumbles and falls to sin under every pressure.

James says the first thing we need is endurance - we need to get tougher and stronger in our faith, in our character, in our ability to lean on God and his grace in the midst of hard times.

This will never happen when everything is peachy and smooth and easy.

Endurance does not mean hard and insensitive. It means we cultivate an ability to suffer the way Jesus suffered - enduring graciously, without giving way to sin.

1 Peter 2:20-23

20 For what credit is there if when you do wrong and are beaten, you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

21 For you were called to this, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. 22 He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth; 23 when he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.

But notice that endurance is not the end goal.

4. Trials have the power to perfect us into maturity.

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

James has a big picture view of what God is doing in us.

When we put our trust in Jesus and his Spirit comes to dwell in us making us HIS OWN - we are put on a journey of change and growth.

This journey has its end goal in our total perfection.

That total perfection is only attained in the life to come - but there is a LOT of overlap between this age and the one to come and our lives of change and growth here produce lasting results in us that will be with us for eternity.

James says that endurance in trails becomes a gateway to maturity and wisdom in ways we would never have reached otherwise.

As we learn to hang on through difficult situations, we find in the midst of those challenges, we can start to cultivate new qualities new expressions of wisdom, fruitfulness ability to live for God‘s kingdom to love others in hard situation to equip and empower others, to be sources of God’s grace.

When we learn to endure, we start to find in the midst of our trials opportunities to sharpen our spiritual skills and instinct.

Think of all the heros of faith in your life - think of all the qualities that make them such amazing saints - did they get those qualities because everything in their life was always easy and smooth?

Examples:

• Ruth

• David

Fast forward on your life 10 15 20 years. What kind of person will you be? There’s one big thing that determines that it is how we orient ourselves.

In many ways, our whole, spiritual journey is simply our ability to learn to respond to suffering well.

We look around and we compare ourselves to others, and we have a lot of ideas about where our life could be, or should be.

But there’s a lot of freedom and understanding that I am right where I am because God has me here because he is working a specific unique work here to make me better, stronger more fruitful.

5. The trials of life are leading up to an eternal reward.

12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

James has the vision here of the greek competitors who run the race and receive the laurel weath that champions wore on their heads. All of life is a challenge, a race to be run hard with endurance - because God has set before us amazing promises in the life to come.

Christians are often uncomfortable with the idea of reward for our ministry and faithfulness to God because we don't want to communicate the fact that we somehow EARN our salvation or that we deserve God's favor based on what we do.

But Jesus used the concept of reward all the time.

Its important to distinguish here the idea of EARNING God's love and favor - which we can never do on our own and pursuing a greater degree of reward IN God's kingdom because we already received God's love and favor.

Paul tells us we are saved by grace alone, through faith - NOT of works.

Without God's grace and miraculous work in our lives we are DEAD in our sins and hopeless without God.

Our very ability to be parttakers of God's kingdom and his work in the world is a result of GRACE.

As believers, we run the race only because God himself has entered our world and paved the way.

Hebrews 12:1-2

Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The motivation we feel is not a PRESSURE to earn a seat at the table.

It is a passion and loyalty to our Master who has won our hearts and given us a place in his kingdom.

I've been reading about the life of David lately, and its so amazing to read about the loyalty and courage of the men that surrounded him. They were powerful warriors. Their motivation was not because they were trying to make a name for themselves or to earn some money - their passion came from their devotion to their commander. With him they would ride into death if needed.

There is a very real way that our lives here and now feed into the life we will have for eternity.

Is it possible to be a disciple of Jesus who is saved from eternal punishment and yet not won over deeply in your heart to faithfulness and service to him?

"for those who love him..."

We are not motivated to earn his aproval, we are motivated by our love for him!

He has called us into his kingdom by his grace, not so that we would sit and weight for heaven to come - but so that we would live powerfully in the midst of our fears, anxiety, health struggles, relationship struggles, persecution - and all forms of difficulty - with a goal of being source of grace and light to others around.

This is how we make war on evil and darkness - by courageously leaning on Jesus in the midst of our challenges and seeking to represent him well every day everywhere we go.

Rev. 2:10

10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

The example of Polycarp, a leader in the early church - who welcomed the soldiers into his house and fed them a feast before they took him back to be killed. As he prayed in the room next door they were convicted themselves and asked him not to go.

"Eighty six years have i served him and he never did me any harm - shall I blaspheme my King and my Savior?"