James 1:1-18
Greeting to the Twelve Tribes
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad:
Greetings.
Profiting from Trials
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
The Perspective of Rich and Poor
9 Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, 10 but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. 11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
Loving God Under Trials
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.
James began his letter with his authority as one who is God’s willing servant to address the believers in the Lord Jesus Christ of the twelve tribes of Israel dispersed abroad with a greeting. He then jumps right into the call to find joy in trials instead of defeat or despair as if they should experience the health and wealth falsely offered in modern times with a prosperity-only gospel. He made it clear that such trials are meant to build our patient reliance upon our Lord in all circumstances to mature our faith and conform us to the image of Christ in this often painful process of our sanctification. We are after all called to work out our salvation (Philippians 2:12-13) in this manner with reverence and fear of the holy Lord who has called us and who has suffered to purchase us at the highest price of His own death on the cross of sin’s curse (Deuteronomy 21:22, Galatians 3:13) to save us from God’s wrath on our sin (Romans 6:23). Our patient endurance in trials is to have a perfect work in us so we have no further needs but Christ alone and His grace to sustain and grow us. If we need further wisdom to go through the trials of life, we have the confidence to ask for such understanding to receive it liberally in that grace in which we have been called and stand firm (Hebrews 3:6) in our position in Christ to the end. However, if we begin to doubt such grace and goodwill to us (Luke 2:14), then we will falter in the stormy waves of doubt and fear like Peter on the lake (Matthew 14:30-31) and miss all God has for us. We are to be fully convinced by the sovereignty of faith in God’s promises and not ruled by doubt with unstable double-mindedness. This means we learn humility in our calling and circumstances as we pursue what lasts beyond the grave and does not wither away like the race for riches and fame and power all do. Instead, we are called to adopt the mindset of endurance in temptation to gain all in this world in the circumstances we encounter and not expect a false prosperity gospel to give us temporal satisfaction. Only those who pursue the Lord by faith wear the crown of victory (1 Corinthians 15:57) because we truly love Him more than ourselves. When we are tempted for personal gain or pleasure we can turn in faith to trust and willingly obey God’s word and reject our own desires in opposition to that word. If we give in to our own desires after facing these temptations, then we are drawn away, enticed by the empty gain, and end up sinning against our Lord which only brings the consequence of death in the end. We are to choose life in Christ through obedience to His word and rejection of our own contrary desires which keep us from our journey of sanctification in grace that trusts and obeys all He had told us as His disciples (Matthew 28:20). Trials and temptations are part of our life as His followers, but our response to these determines our growth in conformity to Christ as we gaze into His word to see His face (2 Corinthians 3:18) and please Him by our willingness to humbly trust and obey.
No comments:
Post a Comment