Last week I gave you an outline of the book of James. Lesson 5 will complete verses 2-12 and will finish the first section of the outline.
In week 4, I said that God removed trials from us when we become spiritually mature.
That sentence needs clarification. Some trials are never taken away from us even to our death. But as we mature spiritually, we grow to handle trials through the "glory" (counting it all Joy) of the Lord. So no, God may never remove a trial that you are going through, but somehow the trial seems "to go away" when you have learned to let God carry you through it.
1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory (JOY) by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered (trials) a while...perfect, establish, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
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A. “True faith is purified by trials”. (1:2-12)
True faith – (genuine belief in God for everything) is purified by trials (during the trials that God chooses to put us through, we are purified and perfected).
Remember which beatitude from (Matthew 5:1) lined up with verses 2-12?
It is the eighth one: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
As you will see at the completion of this lesson, we will also receive the crown of life! So unworthy are we.
Let’s begin!
Look back at
Verses 9 – 11 – they give us two examples of the equality that God shows to all men when it comes to divvying out trials. The first example is about a lowly or poor brother; the other example is about a rich man. God doesn’t discriminate against poor or rich. Both will receive trials.
Important: The poor believer and the rich believer are to “glory” (count it all joy) in the fact that God has exalted them by allowing them to experience difficult circumstances!
Why do we experience trials again? To perfect our character and faith.
We will see that James is teaching us that regardless of our economic level, (which the world puts a lot of emphasis on) believers are to glory (count it all joy) regardless of where we are financially and we are to focus on spiritual blessings and eternal rewards.
This is not advocating that we are to frivolously blow money and not try to biblically handle our money, what it means is that if we are constantly dissatisfied with where God has us financially, if our life revolves around getting richer and acquiring more wealth, or if we simply do not honor God with our money…James is about to teach us what God thinks.
Begin outline:
Let (neither forbid nor prevent) (to allow to suffer or permit).
What is your first thought when you read that…I thought “let” just meant to permit or allow.
But I am seeing by that definition that it means that God is giving us a choice here…we can choose to “count it all joy” or we can choose to become angry, bitter, etc. God will not forbid us nor prevent us as to how we are to react towards trials. He is going to allow them to come and we are going to suffer, but the key is … How will we suffer…with joy or with our fleshly responses.
I think the point we are going to arrive at is that regardless of being poor or being rich, you have nothing without Jesus Christ. If He is not the Lord of your life, you have nothing in materialistic things. All your wealth will mean nothing to you once you are dead.
If you are a child of the King, you have all the wealth you will ever need.
You have treasures for Heaven.
Three of the gospels (Matthew 19:21, Mark 10:21, and Luke 18:22) say to sell it all, give it to the poor, and COME follow me.
Journal Entry: Am I content with my current financial situation or do I complain about it? Do I give generously to the less fortunate or do I judge the lowly man. Am I dishonest with my tithe to God?
Honestly, I don’t seem to get excited about materialistic things anymore. I guess I have seen shiny showroom cars wrecked, clothes shrunk by the dryer, renovated houses sold for under the market prices, and jewelry lay in a jewelry box. Let’s see what James says:
the lowly - poor (lacking high status) interesting it also means lowliness of mind, humble
brethren – brothers having a common bond
glory – means to REJOICE which meant to (count it all JOY)
in his exaltation, (in his high estate) honorable position…to raise high, to glorify.
but (yet)
the rich (man) wealthy or could also mean rich in faith – spiritually rich
in his humiliation, (he is made low through these trials) the rich believer’s being brought low by trials. Such experiences help him rejoice and realize that genuine happiness and contentment depend on the true riches of God’s grace, not earthly wealth.
because (for that Reason)(fact)
as a flower of the field, he will pass away.
Death ends all earthly possessions. So regardless of wealth or being poor, trials should make all believers equally dependent on God.
Have you ever been to an estate sale? That is the saddest thing ever, but it also is the perfect illustration of verses 9-11. All the “junk” that you had to have is tagged and up for sale. Your children do not want your “junk”. They have enough “junk” of their own. So here it is two weeks after you “pass away” total strangers are rummaging through your “junk” so that they can take it home and make it their “junk”.
Isaiah 40:6-8
The voice said, “Cry out!”
And he said, “What shall I cry?”
“All flesh is grass,
And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
Because the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
Surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
But the word of our God stands forever.”
People are grass. We will die. Wealthy or poor. No one has greater clout with God because of their earthly possessions.
What about you? How do you feel about the poor and the wealthy?
We grew up very poor. I didn’t really know we were poor because it wasn’t discussed. We were fed and we never went hungry. We walked to the grocery every day for our meals. I remember my mother counting cents in her purse to pay for the food and that I was very embarrassed by that.
I began working when I was 13. My husband is a very hard worker and whatever we have today, we have worked to pay for. Nothing was ever given to us.
But I confess that I often judge the poor because I think they should work harder and I find myself jealous of wealth sometimes even though I really don’t want what they have. Strange, I know.
I just want to have this JOY that James is talking about.
Journal entry: Where is your emphasis? Am I impressed by wealth? Even if it is my own wealth. Do I yearn to have wealth? If I am wealthy, what am I doing with that wealth? Making myself happy trying to spend it all on things that will fade away like the flowers?
11 For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flowers falls, and its beautiful appearance perished. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
I watched a little bit of “Grease, You’re the One that I Want”. This is a TV show where they audition throughout the US looking for local talent to star in the Broadway production of Grease.
As you remember Olivia Newton John starred in the original Grease. I remember her as such a delicate and beautiful girl…Everyone wanted to look like her. But I was really saddened when I saw her on the show. She looked like another person. I don’t know this for a fact, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that she isn’t allowing herself to age naturally, but chose plastic surgery to stop the aging process.
Her youthful beauty that had brought her fame, was now fading just as a flower falls and its beautiful appearance perishes.
Someone commented in our study that she also has survived breast cancer. Trials come to even the famous.
God says that the rich man shall “fade away in his way (pursuits)".
Every temporal (noneternal) thing is going to die. This includes our beauty. It is all going to die. So why do we get so attached to our earthly possessions, (including our looks)? If we lack earthly possessions, why do we yearn to possess them?
This is a beautiful conclusion that brings us right back to verse 2! I love this book!
Vs 12 Blessed (REJOICE, count it all permanent JOY)
is the man who endures (hupomeno) long suffering (fruit!) receives patients from – suffers – waits through –never turns his back on God!
temptation – (peirasmos) trials with a beneficial purpose – divinely permitted or sent.
Interesting – it also means (that this same temptation could lead to wrongdoing)
For when (not if) he has approved (dokimas) when he has completed the trial or passed the test, the believer has successfully and victoriously gone through his trial, indicating (proving his genuineness) because his faith has endured (longsuffering…suffered through)
he will receive (be rewarded)
the crown of life – an emblem of life, JOY!, reward and glory! A symbol of victory or triumph
In the Roman games, a wreath of flowers was placed around the head of the victor. In the Olympic games, an emblem is placed around the head of the top competitors.
I thought of the crown of thorns that was put on Christ’s head by the Roman soldiers and I rejoiced in knowing that Jesus was the victory for us…that crown may have symbolized JOY…Jesus was counting it all joy that He was suffering through this trial and being obedient to the Father…
all for you and me…
OH, my…I am so unworthy…
and to think that I received the reward of eternal life (crown of life) because of His death and obedience to His Father.
verse 12 cont.
Which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
This is so exciting to know that God loves us this much! Praise Him now for blessing you.
The Lord Jesus Christ rewards those who will endure trials on earth…that is His promise to us who love Him.
That’s the key…to those who love Him.
You see, when the trials hit, we have two choices:
- to draw closer to God or
- to move farther away from God.
Personally, these first twelve verses of James have awakened, revived, excited, stirred up, stimulated, and given me a new kick start to my spiritual life.
I pray that they have done the same for you.
Thank you for being diligent to studying and “doing” the Word of God.
Praying God’s Word:
Our Lord and Savior –
I pray that You will equip each of us with the strength that only comes from knowing You as our Personal Savior. You teach us to Count it all Joy when we fall into various trials, and for us to recognize that it is you that has brought this trial upon us to teach us patience. I pray that we will not fail these testings but that we will come through them victoriously and that we will be made perfect and complete lacking nothing. I pray that we will come boldly to Your Great White Throne and ask for anything in faith, without doubting. We know that we are but a flower that quickly dies, and we desire not to place any value on earthly possessions. As we endure our trials, grant us victory over the enemy who is walking about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. We pray instead to receive the crown of life which you have promised to those who love you. Thank you Jesus, for that promise.
In thy name we pray. AMEN!
After thought.
My heart was telling me that there was still more to these verses than I received from studying. I don’t know why I am always amazed by this but God always sends me the answer to my many quandaries when ever I ask.
This morning as I listened to music through the night, the answer came.
Even if all the poor became wealthy, they would still be in need of a Savior. If all the sick became well, they would still be in need of a Savior. If all the wrongs became rights in our world, the bottom line is everyone would still be in need of Jesus Christ as their Savior because everything in this world will die. Jesus is the only person that will ever make things right. It doesn’t matter what economic level you are, what you have, what you want, what you are wish you had, those things are perishable. Jesus is the way.
Eternity is forever.
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