James part 2
Setting Our Minds to Receive Wisdom
Last time we looked at the overall message of James which is simply this:
James reminds us we must walk the walk if we are going to talk the talk.
It is not enough to say one loves Jesus and believes in Him, but one must actually act on that faith. Now, immediately, many Christians will become bothered by that statement, because they may come from a tradition (much like my own) that stands on the principle sola fide, or ‘faith alone’—meaning, a person is only saved by faith, not works. Then again, there are some from other traditions that focus so much on Christianity as a system of ethics that they find all the ‘faith’ talk unnerving. James reminds us that we simply can’t have one without the other.
If we base our Christian walk solely on works, then what do all those good things mean? What’s the point? If Heaven and Hell are just metaphors for psychological states in this life, then what hope is there for the next? And if there is no “next life,” then why not eat, drink, and be merry?
If we base our Christian walk solely on faith, then why can’t we just ask God to forgive whatever whimsy and desire we have for today? If this whole life is just waiting for the next one, then that pretty much puts me in the same state as the other guy. We can eat, drink, and be merry because God will forgive it all anyway.
If we follow the logic of either extreme—either overly focused on faith or works—then we find that ethics doesn’t really matter much at all. And that, my friends, is kind of why we are where we are in this country. The “godless heathen” has lost all sense of right and wrong, because their existence has been said to stem from a cosmic accident with no real meaning. And, some “good church folk” have spent loads of time singing about God’s grace, but they forgot God’s grace is transformational. Now, I do not have time to prove the existence of God to the first camp, and frankly, they probably aren’t reading this sermon anyway. But, James has much to say to the “good church folk” whose version of Christianity warms the pew but not the heart.
Salvation is a process and has a purpose.
We discussed this point in the series Goal of Faith, but the gist is this: God created us on purpose, and He saves us on purpose. The purpose of our salvation is tied to the purpose of our creation. He is making something out of us and this world that was meant to be before sin and the Fall. So, when we think about how sin makes us behave, and God is turning us away from sin, then it makes very little sense to say God saves us in order for us to keep sinning. In addition, if part of salvation is growing in the wisdom of God, then we should not be surprised that growing in wisdom is a process as well. It takes time to develop wisdom, and during that time, trials, hardships, and generally difficult circumstances are all part of growing in wisdom.
Now, with all that in mind, let’s begin reading in James 1 in which we find that the first rule for finding true faith is we must set our minds right. Remember, James does not teach about ethics using a list of rules or a well-organized essay. He uses what we call Wisdom Literature. He uses a collection of sayings that at first glance may seem unorganized or haphazard, but when we start to look at the teachings as a whole, the structure emerges. Chapter 1 is a kind of introduction to that structure. Last time we read verses 1-8, and we saw that James immediately confronts us with the reality of salvation, wisdom, and trials.
If we are to endure the salvation process, we must develop the grit that only comes through trials and tribulations.
If we want to become more like Christ, then we must be ready to respond properly to hard times—more on that in verses 12-18. But let’s begin reading in verse 9 in which James reminds us about the reversal of fortune awaiting this world.
The Great Reversal | James 1:9-11
Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
James 1:9-11
James is going to return to this topic in chapter 5, but for now, he reminds us of the truth:
Situations in life are temporary.
For the brother stricken with poverty, there is an end to your poverty. No, there is no government handout on its way that will suddenly make you rich, nor is God promising you’ll win the lottery some day. What he is saying is that for the person in Christ, though he may be completely destitute in this life, he will inherit the coming Kingdom when Christ returns. There is a place for you in Heaven and on the New Earth, and that is worth far more than anything this world can offer.
For the brother who has been blessed in this life with riches, they also can boast, but not in the same sense. They can boast because their economic status is on the way down. Just like the sun rises to wither the grass and cause the flowers to lose their petals, so will all the wealth of the rich brother fade away. Now, we may wonder why a wealthy man would be so happy for such a thing, but the reason is simple: Heaven is on its way!
If the glory and goodness of Heaven far surpasses anything this world has to offer, then the end of all my earthly wealth is not such a big deal. So, yes, there is an end to poverty and an end to wealth, but that end is the new beginning in which Christ makes all things new.
And this truth is what can help us understand the trials of this life. As the old saying goes, “This too shall pass.” The pain is temporary but the rewards are eternal. And that is why we can rejoice in trials and why James calls that man blessed. Let’s continue.
The Source of Good and Bad | James 1:12-18
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James 1:12-18
James continues his thought from verses 1-8, but phrases it a bit differently. Verse 12 is a beatitude, or “blessed” saying. It is reminiscent of the Beatitudes in Matthew 5, and though it relates to a few of them, it appears to be James’ own saying. Now, what’s really interesting is the phrase “crown of life” only appears in one other place in the Bible, Rev. 2:10. In both places, the crown is reserved for those who have stood the test of persecution.
Next, James says no one should blame God when they are being tempted. At first this may seem like a brand new thought, but it points us to a reality about trials and tribulations. Sometimes bad stuff happens because we are being tested. Outside persecution or some other unavoidable circumstance comes upon us, and it’s just part of living in this world. Another example would be a sickness. But sometimes bad stuff happens because we succumbed to temptation. And we should not blame God for own sin.
So, if temptation does not come from God, then where does it begin? James answers with, “within ourselves.” One of the deep truths of wisdom is also one of the first steps towards growing up as an adult. It’s the realization that we are our own worst enemy. That childish inclination to grab anything the toddler wants despite its true owner, or inherent danger, never really escapes us. It just evolves as we grow up, and the “shiny thing” that caught our attention as a crawling toddler becomes a different “shiny thing” as adults. Now, notice the desire itself is not inherently wrong. It is when the desire “conceives,” or in other words, when the desire overcomes our rational thinking that it leads to sin.
Consider the contrast of desires between James 1:15 and Psalm 37:4.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.Psalm 37:4
When our desires come from our selfish thoughts, then it will inevitably lead to sin. But, when the desires come while delighting ourselves in the Lord, then they can become a blessing. This point could become its own sermon if we had time to compare James 1 with Psalm 37, but for the sake of brevity, let me summarize thusly. Psalm 37 is a psalm of David that comes later in his life. He is passing on the wisdom of a man who has faced enemies outside Israel and enemies within his own household. He has succumbed to the desires of the world and seen their consequences. He has seen great riches and faced great poverty. For all that he has learned, he sums it up with this psalm that essentially states the same truth James teaches in chapter 1:
The temptations that come from selfish desires will only end in misery, but the gifts that come from a pursuit of God will end in joy.
Look again at verses 16-18. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. No one accidentally happens upon joy and goodness. They came down from the Father. Again, every good and perfect gift comes from the Father—not “most of them, but some come from within us”…every good gift.
Since every good and perfect gift comes from the Father, it makes sense for David to tell us to “Delight ourselves in the Lord” first. If we want good, we have to go to good’s source.
Now, just for fun, I’d like to take a quick detour and discuss this word “delight” in Psalm 37. The Hebrew is hit’anág which is not only fun to say, but it also has a range of meanings that center around enjoyment. Typically, it has to do with spoiling yourself with luxuries. I had a Hebrew professor who said it was akin to a woman spoiling herself with spa treatments. It always stuck in my head because there was something humorously ironic about an otherwise gruff, older gentleman professor smiling as he talked about spoiling yourself with the Lord like spoiling yourself at a spa. I felt there was a back story to that smile, but I let it go.
The reason for this detour is because I’d like to speak against the common misperception that the world offers really fun things, and God only offers really hard things. This misperception occurs frequently in youth ministry, but I think adults can be just as guilty. It stems from our inherently impatient nature concerning the word ‘good’. It is difficult to see how the troublesome and difficult can actually be ‘good,’ because we associate good with easy. Easy must be good because it’s easy, and difficult must be bad because it isn’t easy.
What psalm 37 and James 1 reminds us is this:
In order to reach the best, we must skip the easy and grit through the difficult.
Remember, salvation is a process that involves overcoming this world in order to reach the eternally good home of heaven. Jesus told us to take heart when troubles come because He has already overcome this world. Jesus is the ideal human, and Jesus demonstrated what it looks like to overcome this world. If we want to reach the ideal good, to rid ourselves of all that drags us down into sin and death, then we must become more like Jesus. That is why we ‘delight ourselves in the Lord.’
Now, before you have the grave realization that living exactly like Jesus is impossible, take heart! Jesus has overcome this world, and He promised to transform us. That is why it is absolutely imperative to not skip 1:18. Let me read it again.
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
James 1:18
It is not by our will that we have been brought forth. We do not overcome this world, nor could we if we tried. But rather the word of truth has brought us out of the mire of this world, so that we can be a kind of firstfruits. The ‘word of truth’ is a phrase that pops up many times in Paul’s writings and it is the proclamation of the Gospel. The truth of Christ calls us forth to be transformed and made into the firstfruits of God’s creatures. There is also a connection with John 1 in which Jesus is called the Word, but in either case, the point James is making is this:
God sent His Son to bring us transformation from selfish sin that brings death into life-giving goodness.
There is a way out of the endless cycle of selfishness and sin that only brings death. That way is Jesus Christ. James presents a stark contrast between the work of sin and the work of God. There is no part of sin that is good, and there is no part of God that is less than good. That is why he uses the phrase ‘no variation or shadow of change.’ You can search the goodness of God for all eternity, and you will not find anything less than perfectly good.
If that is the desire of your heart, to seek and find the only source of true goodness, then I invite you today to listen and respond the word of truth. Respond to the call of Jesus to turn away from your sin and selfishness and turn toward the only source of goodness, our Heavenly Father. But the call is very clear, we must go through Jesus. It is only by the saving work of Jesus that we can approach the Father. Turn to Him today.