James: Testing and Hope (Part 2)

The Most Important Book We Forgot

May 03, 2015
By John Partridge

Scripture: James 1
How many of you have lived a perfect life? Before you laugh, what I mean is this, how many of us have lived a
life that has had no trouble, no pain, no suffering, no temptation, and no trials? Certainly, there are none of us.
One of the grand themes that we will see today in our study is how James understands this part of our lives, the
part when things are not going well and when trials and temptations seem to almost constantly dog our
footsteps.
Today we continue in our study of the book of James, a book that, as we learned last week, was, most likely, a
letter from James, the brother of Jesus, to all of the believers that had scattered across the Roman world but
particularly to those in an around Palestine and Syria. As we walk through James, we will gather important
pieces of information from things that, at first, might seem to be unimportant but we will also see pieces of
James great themes and big ideas that he was trying to share with his dispersed congregations.
1:1

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

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.
Thats a simple enough place to start but already there are a few things that we can pick up. First, although we
talked about this at length last week, we know that the book was written by someone named James but someone
who does not claim to be an apostle. We also note that if this person is writing under a pen name and is using
the name of James to get attention, it seems odd that they did not claim to be an apostle nor did they claim to be
the brother of Jesus. The second thing worth noticing is that the title that James uses, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, is unusual and rarely, if ever, used by anyone else. It does not seem to be a standard
formula like we use Dear mom at the beginning of a letter, neither does it seem to be an official title, but
simply that James considers himself to be serving both God and the risen Messiah, Jesus.
The letter is then addressed to the twelve tribes of Israel, which we know immediately is a literary device. After
Israel was taken into captivity in Babylon, only two tribes were known to have returned and the other ten were,
for the most part, lost to history. In addition, since James doesnt spend any time trying to teach lost Jews about
Jesus, we understand that he is simply addressing this letter to everyone who is a follower of God. This is
reinforced by the word scattered that he uses next. The Greek word that we translate as scattered is
diaspora which was often used to describe the people who were left behind in Babylon or who had been
driven out of Israel during the reign of Alexander the Great. In this case, James might be using this politically
loaded language to address all of those who had more recently left Jerusalem because of the rising levels of
persecution.
See what I mean? Thats a lot from just two sentences. But it is also interesting to note what isnt there. In this
formula of a literary letter, most other writers would then have a paragraph or two greeting the recipients of the
letter, sharing prayers or reciting blessing over them, but James skips that part of the formula altogether and
launches straight into a lesson about trials.
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
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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 humiliationsince 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.
13

When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he
tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
15
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
16

Dont be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down
from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth
through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
First off, James uses the address, brothers and sisters and will do so throughout this letter 15 times. Although
some of the things that James has to say can be difficult, it is clear that he is preaching his message not to beat
people up, but is doing his best to preach and correct in a spirit of love. But more than that, James teaches that
whenever we go through tough times, tests or trials, we should consider it as joy. James obviously knows that
when we are facing the trials of our lives, joy is often the last thing on our minds. But James wants to get us to
think in a new way by teaching that trials produce perseverance, and perseverance produces maturity and
wholeness. James says that we should allow perseverance to finish its work, and in doing so is perhaps telling
us that if God were to rescue us too early, before its work was finished, we would not develop the maturity,
grace, patience, and wholeness that God intends for us.
We know that temptation is a desire for sin and since God cannot sin, he cannot desire sin. For that reason, God
cannot tempt us to sin. We do that all by ourselves. Desire and temptation are not sin, but if we give in to the
pull of desire, if we give in to temptation, then we sin.
It is also important to note that the word that we translate as testing is a little unusual in that it is used only
one other place in the New Testament. This word for testing is the Greek word that refers to the process of
refining gold and silver. In that process, gold and silver are put into the fire, not to test them or to destroy them,
but to bring the impurities to the surface and make the gold and silver more pure and more valuable. In this
sense, James is telling us that our trials are not a test to see whether or not we have faith, but instead are
intended to strengthen and purify the faith that we already have.
Next, James encourages us to pray for those things that we need. If you need wisdom, just ask God for wisdom.
God is not allowing us to face trials because he desires to find fault in us, instead, James wants us to understand
that God wants for us to lack nothing. James wants us to know that prayer is important as our access to help in
our times of need. God wants us to have good things. But when we ask God for what we want, we cannot be
double-minded, we cannot pray, as they say, with a forked tongue. If we pray, we must pray in faith,
believing that God will give us what we have asked for and not praying to God assuming that he will not
answer, but trying to cover our bases. For James, being double minded is the opposite of wholeness,
perfection and purity.
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James next section is of particular encouragement to those who are poor, but has an important lesson for all of
us. James says that those who are poor, those very people who are normally looked down upon, should take
pride in their high position as believers. In Gods eyes, both rich and poor are alike and equal to one another
because we are in Pauls words, brothers and sisters of Jesus, co-heirs of the Son of God. But that means that
those who are wealthy must see this same message as a warning to remain humble. The same wealth that makes
people look up to you in this world is completely meaningless in the next. We cannot define ourselves as rich
or poor but only as children of God. Wealth, like life itself, is often like a shadow that passes quickly. In this
world, life has a way of changing unexpectedly and wealth can disappear in an instant, but God calls for us to
be content with what we have and to define our lives, not in how much stuff we have, but by our relationship to
him. Ultimately, God is the source of everything that is good.
The next section is probably the most well-known of James entire letter and talks about the difference between
listening and doing.
19

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to
become angry, 20 because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. 21 Therefore, get
rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save
you.
22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word
but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself,
goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that
gives freedom, and continues in itnot forgetting what they have heard, but doing itthey will be blessed in
what they do.
26

Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves,
and their religion is worthless. 27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after
orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
James warns his readers that we should be quick to listen, but slow to speak and slow to become angry. This is
exactly the sort of thing we see in the protests in Baltimore. Everyone seems to be taking sides, posting lots of
opinions, and getting angry long before that take the time to actually listen to what everyone has to say. James
says that uncontrolled anger will lead us into trouble. Uncontrolled anger does not make us the people that God
wants us to be and so, although anger itself is not evil, allowing our anger to take control of us will cause us to
speak too quickly and say more than we should. In the same way, James calls on believers to do whatever they
can to purify themselves. The world, both then and now, is filled with impurity, filth, decay, sin and evil. We
are surrounded by it every day and our culture often accepts it as normal and natural. Instead of simply
accepting it and participating in it, God calls us to live differently, to accept the gospel message that has been
planted in us because that message is the only thing that can save us.
James says that listening to the word of God is not enough; we have to do what it says. Paul, in Romans 2:13,
says almost the same thing saying, 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in Gods sight, but
it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. Jesus also said something just like this in the
Sermon on the Mount where he said, Blessed are those who hear the word of God and obey it. (Luke 11:28)
What James is trying to tell us, is that on the day of judgement, saying that you went to church and listened to
the pastor is not going to carry any weight if you left the church and didnt do any of the things that you heard.
What would we call someone who looks in the mirror and forgets what he saw? A fool perhaps? Scripture is
intended to be a mirror for us in which to see our faults and then correct them, not for us to see and then forget
that we ever had any faults to begin with.
Finally, James gives us more examples of doing instead of just listening. We cannot describe ourselves as
followers of Jesus, or Christians and speak as if we are not. How we speak, not only with profanity, but with
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unkindness, and hurtful words, reveals that our hearts are not where they should be. Religion that leaves us
unchanged and just like everybody else, is of no use at all. But religion that does the work of God, faith that
motivates us to care for those in distress, people without resources, people without a voice in our society; this is
true faith and not fake religiosity.
In the end, we all know that life will test us. We will all pass through times of trial and temptation but trials are
meant to make us grow and mature and not to destroy us. We worship the risen Christ in this world and in our
culture, sometimes our association with him can be embarrassing or humiliating but in the next world we will
be lifted up with him. Although God will not, and cannot, tempt us, he will not always rescue us from our
temptations and trials until we have learned the perseverance and the maturity that grows out of them.
God wants what is best for us. His desire is that we would be mature in our faith and that we would become
people who do not simply listen to the word of God, but people who do what it says and live as if believe.
And, in the end, that is a message of hope.

 You have been reading a message presented at Trinity United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first
page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Trinity of Perry heights in Massillon, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part
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