Painful But Profitable Series

Today, we’re starting a new series through the New Testament book of James called Faith & Works. I truly believe that you won’t find a more practical book in the entire Bible than James. Some of you may remember the For Dummies series of books that became popular 20-30 years ago and are still popular today. DOS for Dummies, Investing for Dummies, Home Repair for Dummies, Golf for Dummies, and the best seller in the series, Spanish for Dummies. Well, you could think of James as Christianity for Dummies.

James recognized the growing pains that the newly established, first-century church was facing, and so he wrote this epistle as a practical guide to these young believers. That’s why the book of James deals with topics like, trials, temptations, humility, pride, taming the tongue, prayer, patience, judging others, wisdom, wealth, and being doers of the Word. It’s going to feel at times like James is jumping around quite a bit and that he’s moving at a rapid pace. But the good news is that he’s addressing very practical, street-level topics as he teaches us HOW to put our faith in action and what it means to be obedient to the call of Christ in our lives.

Anytime we use the word obedience in church, there’s sure to be a Christian that stands up and yells, “legalism.” They want to shout that the Christian life is NOT about commands, and laws, and works. But James says, “No, actually it is.” You can’t just listen to the Word, you have to do it. If not, your faith is dead (or counterfeit).

So turn with me to James 1 this morning as we begin to explore the relationship between faith and works in our lives. James is the half-brother of Jesus and is the leader of the church in Jerusalem. He’s writing predominantly to Jewish Christians who were scattered after Stephen’s death. If you were with us during our Acts series, you’ll remember that Saul was ravaging the church and many of the Christians fled to safety. And so James, who was once a skeptic of his brother’s Messiah-ship, is now leading the Church that his brother is building. And in this epistle, James lays out a series of benchmarks for the testing of our faith…and he begins with something all of us can relate to – TRIALS.

James 1:1-12

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion Greetings 2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 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. 12 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.

I heard a pastor wisely once say that if you are a Christian, you are either IN a trial, coming OUT of a trial, or headed back INTO a trial. Can I get an Amen? In fact, I know some of your stories, and some of you seem to have trials stacked on top of trials…I think the appropriate term for that is a double-doozie.

Now I can honestly say that I have never prayed for God to send another trial into my life. God, it’s been a hot minute since I’ve had a trial, so I think you should bless me and send one my way…and make it a big one this time. I’ve never prayed that prayer. In fact, much of my life is spent working on trial AVOIDANCE...I like to think of this as preventative maintenance. But sometimes, trials can come with such force that they blow our preventative measures out of the water. And when that happens, it’s really easy to view trials in an incorrect manner…where instead of seeing them as something to be embraced for our spiritual profit, we can become very bitter, very quickly. So before we jump into the text, let’s make sure we are clear on what a trial IS NOT.