How do you respond when your rights as a citizen or resident of the United States collides with the life that God has called you to live as a follower of Christ? Can there be a conflict?
This week, one of the the guys who came through for training was a man named Stephen. Story:
malfunctioning washing machine
-hundreds of gallons of water
-damage - to the carpet and pads, to the crawl space
-company enlisted to remedy water damage - carpet pads, crawl space, etc.
-several weeks later - Stephen smelled mold
-mold is dangerous to his wife
-the company that remedied the initial problem was not certified to fix the mold issue, but was liable
-multiple quotes - resulting in about $11k of work
-communication with initial company
-low-ball settlement offer
-Stephen had determined not to sue - he didn’t feel like this was something he should do as a Christian - and yet as an American - suing was perfectly acceptable.
-multiple letters regarding mediation
-Stephen was willing to work with them over timeline.
-Eventually - correspondence or responses stopped
-In his heart, while he was out over $11k, he was excited about what God was going to do with that scenario.
-After two months of waiting, Stephen thought he would give it one more week and then he would put it out of his mind.
-later that week a letter came - with a check - the full amount paid.
-His faith was tested - he faced a trial.
God knew that this setback, impacted their financial stability, his wife’s health
Stephen trusted God through it all. While he was willing to be out the $11k and willing to let it go, God rewarded his faithfulness and perseverance.
When I heard that, I was convicted, because I have been in lesser situations and have not responded with such grace and faith.
He had every right as a citizen to sue, but felt that the exhortation from Jesus to “love your enemies” took precedent and sought another solution. In the end, God was glorified, Stephen was upright in his dealings, and the company was able to avoid a nasty legal battle - win, win, win.
But, frankly, the trials we face may not end that way. The question is - will we respond to trials biblically or some other way?
If you have your bibles, open them to the book of James. We’re going to look at the first 8 verses today. Unfortunately, we don’t have any slides this week, so having your bibles open will be helpful. If you’re not familiar with the bible or are using a pew bible - if you start with the last book - revelation - and start flipping forward, you’ll find it about 8 books from the back - nestled between the big book of Hebrews and the smaller book of 1 Peter.
James 1:1–8 ESV
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
As we go through this today, our title will essentially be our outline - we will begin with “Tribes” as we consider the opening verse, then we’ll move to consider “Trials” in verses 2-4, and finally conclude with “Trust” as we get to verses 5-8.
As we begin by looking at the opening verse, I think it’s important for us to note that as believers, our identity is in Christ.
Tribes: As believers our identity is in Christ
Often times, when reading books of the bible, especially NT letters, we may be tempted to skip over the first verse. Most of the opening verses of letters contain some identifying information about the author and the audience and then it includes some sort of blessing or greeting. But as we come to the book of James, considering the author is important. Understanding a bit about the audience will be very helpful as we look at how this book relates to us.
James 1:1 ESV
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
Let’s begin by reflecting on the…
Author-
The author here simply identifies himself as James - though there are several James’ identified in the NT. Three tend to make the list of probably candidates as the author of this book.
One option is the Apostle James - son of Zebedee - one of Jesus’ inner circle of disciples. This is the one that Martin Luther preferred. Many shy away from this because of how early in the life of the young church that James was martyred. That would mean that this book would have been written very early - within a decade of Jesus crucifixion/resurrection/ascension. The content suggests that this author was both very familiar with Jewish tradition and with Jesus’ teaching. While the book was one of the earliest written, most don’t think that this James was the author.
A second option is another disciple, James the son of Alpheus. He is also known as James the lesser or “little James” if you’re familiar with the Chosen series. This was John Calvin’s choice in his studies. Many scholars shy away from Little James because very little is known about him. He doesn’t say much in the gospels and isn’t clearly referenced outside of the gospels or in extra-biblical sources. He certainly would fit the time with Jesus and Hebrew knowledge, but tradition has not favored Little James as the author.
A final and most prominent option is “James of Jerusalem.” He became a central figure in the leadership of the church. Incidentally, this James is also the brother of Jesus. During Jesus’ ministry, none of Jesus’ brothers believed he was the Messiah. I can imagine it was difficult for them to grow up with this brother, half-brother, and see him as God’s anointed. I don’t think that was because Jesus was a bad brother, you know how sibling rivalries happen - I can imagine that Jesus would cast a HUGE shadow as a big brother. But after Jesus rose from the grave - James in particular was one of the ones that Jesus intentionally visited. The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians -
1 Corinthians 15:3–8 “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas (Peter), then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.”
So as we march forward in our study, I’m going to be looking at this assuming that James, the brother of Jesus is the author.
But secondly, let’s reflect briefly on his stated…
Authority-
James did not use his kinship with Jesus as his authority - but rather his identity in God - trusting in Jesus as Messiah. The title of “Christ” is the Greek form of the Hebrew word - “Messiah”. James acknowledges his identity and authority as a slave or servant of God and of the Messiah - Jesus.
As we look throughout the book, it’s important to recognize that James doesn’t take time to discuss theology - he seems to assume several things and is responding to things that he has heard from these believers. (expound)
Finally, let’s get to the real tribes of this part of the sermon and the greeting the audience.
Audience - “tribes in the dispersion”
James addresses this to the “twelve tribes in the dispersion.” Most likely, these were Jewish background believers - Hebrews who trusted in Jesus Christ as the messiah - which of course made up most of the early church. But there are some scholars who suggest that this title would also refer to the entirety of the people of God - even gentiles who believed in Jesus as the messiah - grafting them into the family of God.
But what about the dispersion? Right after Stephen was martyred, the book of Acts notes that a great persecution broke out against the church.
Acts 8:1 “And Saul (later known as Paul) approved of his (Stephen’s) execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they (the believers) were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
This likely happened in the first few years following the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. So here, James is writing to people who have been displaced from their homes - exiled for their faith.
Unlike most letters, James doesn’t write to a specific church, but to a general group of people. Some have called his a “catholic” or universal letter. It seems as though this letter was meant to be circulated among the believers. Some scholars have noted that it reads more like a sermon or a teaching than a letter, that it may have been sent with a messenger from James to these churches. The messenger would show up to a gathering of believers in one town, read the message from James, probably spend some time in fellowship and ministry and then move on to the next town.
So, as we move forward in this study - I think it’s important for us to think about this letter as being written to us. While we may not be exiles in a foreign land, as followers of Jesus, we are people who follow a different set of standards, we follow a master different than the master of our age. While we may not yet face the extreme persecution that some of these brothers and sisters faced, we are still a Jesus-believing minority living in a secular age.
Which naturally leads into the next part of the verses that we’re considering today. The Trials.
Trials: Christians can find joy in trials because God uses those for our perfecting
?
James writes…
James 1:2–4 ESV
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
The original recipients of this letter were in an extreme minority.
The Roman empire ruled the region
Jews were tolerated residents of an occupied territory. In other words, the Romans knew how to live alongside the Jews.
Christians - or “the way” - was initially considered a sect of Judaism - but even Jews didn’t know what to do with Christians. What ever protections the Jews enjoyed did not necessarily extend to the Christians. Being a Christian in the first and second century AD or CE was essentially outlawed - but people who believed couldn’t help but believe. They were drawn into the love of God and the fellowship of the saints by the compelling message of the Gospel and the wooing ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Because of this - being outlaws and now exiles, they faced persecution or trials.
James urges them and us to count it all or pure or complete joy when we face trials. It’s not that we shouldn’t feel sad or frustrated in the face of trials, but those trials are doing a work in us, and that is our reason for joy - this is something they should have already known.
Have you ever been to a gym? Obviously, it’s been a while for me. But as I understand it, whenever you do strength building exercises the work that you’re doing is producing small tears in the muscle so that the muscle can be built up and made stronger. If you only go to the gym once, then you really only experience an hour of exercise followed by a day or two of pain, but really receive little long-lasting results. But if you exercise those same muscles every other day for several weeks, you can find joy in the pain because you know it’s producing strength-building results.
In much the same way, James says that we should find joy in our trials - because we ALREADY KNOW “for you know” that the testing of our faith produces perseverance or steadfastness - in other words - the testing produces a spiritual strength or staying power. It’s one thing to say that I can benchpress 200 pounds - but how will I or anyone one know unless that statement is tested. In much this same way, we can say we believe in and follow Jesus - but how will we know unless that’s tested.
At the beginning, I shared a story about Stephen, one of the guys on the mission team.
Was that persecution? not intentionally.
Was it a trial? Certainly.
Was his faith tested? Absolutely. If Jesus called us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us, it was a testing of his faith.
Did this trial produce steadfastness or perseverance? Definitely.
Which brings us to the next part of James’ exhortation - we should count it all joy because the testing of our faith produces perseverance - which must finish it’s work so that we may be mature and complete - not lacking anything.
James uses a word here “testing” that is very rare in Greek. The Septuagint - which is the Greek translation of the OT uses this word on a couple of occasions to refer to something like purifying gold or another precious medal. In other words, whatever is happening to us, God is using to purify us - THAT’S WHY WE SHOULD RESPOND WITH JOY.
So what? I think that for us, when our rights as citizens/residents of this nation faces off with our responsibility as citizens of Heaven - we should rejoice - because when we respond as God would call us to, it purifies us for His glory and our good.
Maybe it’s a setback at work, a frustrating circumstance with a neighbor, a conflict with a classmate - stay the course, follow Jesus’ teaching. It won’t be easy, but God is doing something wonderful in you.
(consider sharing the story of Aaron Jefferson - friend in public middle school and neighborhood. in college he came to faith and called me to let me know that I was a part of that. I never clearly shared the gospel but tried to live a faithful christian life in middle school- I didn’t join in some of the antics that he and others did, but I did remain his friend. When he called, I didn’t know how to respond, but I am grateful that I could be a small instrument in God’s hand to bring him to faith.
Applications
students -
employees
bosses
retirees
Getting back to James, he does something interesting. He seems to acknowledge that things will not be easy and may require some wisdom. Did you notice the connecting words? In fact, this is something that he does throughout the book - he connects one thought with another using similar or related word. In verse 4 - he says that the testing of our faith produces perseverance - which must finish it’s work so that we will be mature and complete lacking nothing - BUT if any of you LACKS wisdom… He urges us to ask God - in other words to Trust that God will supply the wisdom we seek.
Trust: When asking for wisdom, trust that God will supply
I can certainly imagine being in the situation that Stephen was in - I would definitely need wisdom to know how to handle that situation.
James’ response is that we should ask for wisdom from God. He says…
James 1:5–8 ESV
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 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. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Have you ever been in that place where you’ve asked something from God and thought - “I’m asking because I know this is something I should do, but I don’t really think that this is a request that God will answer”?
James seems to be urging us to ask and not doubt. Stephen was ready to be out $11k and be okay with that - he trusted that God was going to do something marvelous with his trial.
How often do we ask things of God and then work hard at doing things on our own?
James says that responding with doubt produces a double-mindedness (literally “double soul-ness”) -an instability - are we trusting God or are we trusting the world’s ways?
There is a phrase I’ve heard that says “Pray as if everything depends on God, work as if everything depends on you.” While at face value, there is a part of this statement that makes perfect sense, we should lift our requests to God, we should walk in faithful obedience to him, but it seems there is a point in which our working can undermine our trusting - especially if our working is runs contrary to God’s ways.
Closing thoughts
we can go through life in one of the most prosperous, right-rich nations on the earth and be okay - or
we can go through life and follow Jesus’ way - it may not make sense to us or to the people around us, but it will make a difference for eternity - what will you choose?
Jesus:
humbled himself
lived a holy life
faced extreme persecution that cost his life
did this for you and me - so that we might be able to not only follow his example - to a lesser extreme, but so that we might have eternal life
Have you trusted in him?
Benediction
1 Cor. 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
Sources:
Moo, Douglas J. The Letter of James. The Pillar New Testament Commentary. Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000.
Moyter, J.A. The Message of James. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grover, IL; Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985.
Nystrom, David P. The NIV Application Commentary: James. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1997.
