Introduction
• Kalk Bay - The ‘coolest neighbourhood on the planet’! Paradise for BISA faculty or students?
• BW: 30+ years of service at BISA - one year when there wasn’t a crisis.
• Trials come with the turf (cf. Hebrews; 1 Peter). Sometimes suffering is self-induced; other times it due to the realities of living in a fallen world.
• James seeks to help us navigate through these trials in our text, James 1:1-12, so that we can all finish well.
• Always sad when some fall away. Sometimes the reason is the trials they face.
God’s Purposes
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds” (Jam.1:2).
• James says "whenever," not "if", you face trials. Trials are inevitable!
• When these trials come, James challenges you to a radical mental shift: ‘Count it all joy! James does not mean you must wear a "happy face" or pretend that trials are not painful. Instead, he uses the word "count". This is a command for the mind, not the emotions.
• ‘Count it pure joy’ = think about trials in this positive way, irrespective of how you might feel. (SA).
• Joy is generated because you know what trials can accomplish: James 1:3–4 “3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”
Lloyd Jones: ‘There is no more important, and no more subtle, test of our profession of the Christian faith than the way we react to the trials... in this world.’ MLJ is simply echoing the teaching of Jesus here:
Matthew 13:20–21: “20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” They fail the test!
• Those who persevere pass the test of faith, and through their perseverance, they become spiritually ‘mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ CHS knew this, so he could speak positively about the many trials he experienced, even as the so-called ‘Prince of Preachers.’
• ‘Trials of many kinds’ are the only sure path to Christian growth and maturity, surely the intense desire of every true believer, therefore, a response of ‘pure joy’ to these trials is entirely appropriate. (JB) John Blanchard: ‘The trials of life are meant to make us better, not bitter.’
• Clearly, God is more interested in your character than your comfort. If you pursue only comfort, you will remain a spiritual infant.
God’s Provision
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God...” (v. 5)
• Trials can bring disorientation. We don't know "which way is up." In the process, you can forget God’s good purposes for your trials, and even doubt His presence. Charles Spurgeon: “Your God has forsaken you,” says tribulation.
• But James assures his readers not only of God’s presence but also of His provision to enable them to mature through these trials:
James 1:5: ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you’
• Notice the what (wisdom = how best to honour God in the circumstances’ it begins with the fear of God); the who (any in need); the how (generously; without reproach). What a wonderful provision directly from the hand of God!
• God does not intend for you to handle trials on your own. Let trials drive you to God, not away from Him. (JB) But you must ask God, and when you ask, ‘you must believe and not doubt’ (Jam.1:6).
• If God ‘gives (wisdom) generously to all without finding fault,’ the ‘doubt’ in view here cannot be doubt regarding God’s willingness to give. Rather, James defines doubt here as double-mindedness (Jam.4:8).
• This double-mindedness refers to the person who checks the Bible but also checks the "wisdom of the world" to see which is better. He values this world as much as the next. This mentality leads to instability, the very opposite of steadfastness:
James 1:6–7: 6 ‘… 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.’
• True wisdom is only given to those who have decided that God’s way is the only way, regardless of the cost. God’s wisdom will guide and grow them, enabling them to see the good in their trials, and to see beyond the present.
God’s Promise
• James then applies this God-given wisdom to their historical context. James calls both the poor and the rich to "boast"—but in a way that challenges conventional measures of status and worth:
James 1:9–11: “9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since 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.” ”
• James reminds the materially poor that they have an exalted status before God. This is what matters most, their value in the eyes of God rather than men!
• But the rich, irrespective of the size of their bank balance, are here today, but gone tomorrow. Notice, it’s the rich, and not their riches, that ‘pass away’ (cf. Matt.6:19)!
• In the early church, poverty and exploitation by the wealthy were massive trials (cf Jam.2; 5). James is here encouraging believers under financial strain not to envy the rich or be discouraged by their own poverty, because the rich have a shelf life—and it's incredibly short, ‘like a wild flower’ (cf. sirocco blistering desert winds; seasonal wild flowers)! This imagery shifts the focus from temporary earthly status to eternal spiritual realities.
• Consider Jam.1:12. James pronounces ‘the one who perseveres under trial’, who has ‘stood the test (of faith)’ as blessed i.e. as most fortunate, because to such, God promises ‘the crown of life’ to those who love him, rather than the world.
• Unlike an athletic crown which is only rewarded to the winner, all those who finish the race of faith will receive the unfading crown of eternal life (cf. 1 Pet.5:4). [NIC].
• So, the Q: Will you live for yourself in the here and now, or for the Lord and eternity?
Conclusion
• ‘Trials of many kinds’ are unavoidable for believers, but if you are to finish well, this requires a particular perspective, patient perseverance and prayer.
• Sinclair Ferguson: ‘Trials … are not threats to God’s purposes, but a (a faithful means to achieve) that purpose’.
• In these trials, God reveals His mercy (testing), His holiness (perfecting) and goodness (wisdom and life)! So, don’t doubt God’s character in any way when troubles strike.
• Doubt is caused by being double-minded in your devotion, a mindset that wants to serve both God and money, something that cannot be done, according to Jesus (cf. Matt.6:24).
We remember that the first detour from the pathway to heaven encountered by Christian in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress came when Christian was seduced by the counsel of Mr. Worldly Wiseman. (RCS)
• The double-minded don’t want their comfortable lifestyle challenged, so they are complacent about spiritual growth and maturity. Going to heaven when they die is all that matters in their walk with God. According to James, ‘That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord’ both now and in eternity (Jam.1:7).
• This mindset is deceptive. Consider the church in Laodicea: Revelation 3:17: You’ say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.’
• The antidote is a single-mindedness that prioritises God, His purposes and promises for the believer - God desires your sanctification, not your material success; He promises heavenly, not earthly, blessing.
• James presents you with a choice: You can be like ‘unstable waves,’ tossed back and forth by every trial, or you can ‘stand the test’ and receive ‘the crown of life’ in due course. As they say, ‘It’s a no brainer’ if you want to finish this life well.
