What Does God Desire For Us? (James 1:12-27) Series

Let's start today by simply rereading last week's verses. James 1:1-12:

(1) James, of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, a slave.

To the twelve tribes-- to the ones in the dispersion:

Greetings.

(2) All joy consider it, my brothers, whenever various testings/trials you encounter,

(3) knowing that the process of the testing of your faith produces steadfastness/fortitude/endurance.

(4) Now, steadfastness/fortitude/endurance, its perfect/fully developed work/effect, must have,

in order that you may be perfect/fully developed and complete/whole, in nothing lacking.

(5) Now, if anyone of you lacks wisdom, he must ask from The God Giving To All Simply/Straightforwardly/Generously and Not Demeaning/Criticizing,

and it will be given to him.

(6) Now, he must ask in faith, without any wavering.

For the wavering one is like waves of the sea, being moved by the wind and blown away.

(7) For that man must not think that he will receive anything from the Lord--

(8) a double-minded/souled man, unstable/restless in all his ways.

(9) Now, the brother of humble circumstances must boast in his greatness/high position.

(10) Now, the rich one in his humiliation,

because like a flower of the grass/field he will disappear.

For the sun rises with its heat,

and it dries out the grass/field,

and its flower falls off,

and its lovely appearance perishes.

Thus also the rich one in his course/trajectory will gradually disappear/fade/die out.

(12) Blessed is the man who endures testing,

because, tested/approved being, he will receive the crown of life

that He promised to the ones loving him.

Verse 12 functions as a hinge of sorts. So James has been talking about "testings," right? It's through testings that your faith(fulness) is tested. It's through testings that steadfastness is produced. And God gives the crown of life to those who steadfastly endure the testing by living rightly toward God, and toward people.

So we know what "testings" are. We know what they accomplish. And we know we should consider them with "only joy." It's through testings that we level up spiritually.

But James was very careful, throughout this section, to avoid talking about God, and God's role in testings. This week, in this section, that sort of changes.

(13) No one being tested should say that "By God, I am being tested."

For (the) God, not tested by evil, He is.

Now, He himself tests no one.

Let's pause here. Every English translation, as far as I know, will translate this differently than I did. They will all say, "No one being tempted should say that, "By God, I am being tempted." And then, from this point on in chapter 1, you will find yourself reading about temptations, instead of testings. And you will find yourself thinking that James is talking about a different topic.

The awkward thing here, is that it's the same Greek word James has been using to talk about testings.

So why does every Bible start translating it as "tempt," rather than "test"?

Our problem here, I think, is that we know from our (Greek) OT that God does test people. God "tests" Abraham, by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac (Genesis 22:1). God "tests" Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 15:25; 16:4; 20:20; Deuteronomy 13:3; etc.). And in the Lord's prayer (Matthew 6:13), Jesus tells us that we should pray, "Don't lead us into testings, but deliver us from the evil one."

So if we know our Greek Old Testaments-- the Bible translation that (almost?) every Christian in the first century used-- we find ourselves wrestling hard with James here. Does God really not "test" people? Or is something else going on here-- the idea of temptation? And the translators, who also wrestle hard with this, translate it as "tempt" to try to help you.

But when they do this, I think something is lost. Let's read verses 12-13 together:

(12) Blessed is the man who endures testing,

because, tested/approved being, he will receive the crown of life

that He promised to the ones loving him.

(13) No one being tested should say that "By God, I am being tested."

For (the) God, not tested by evil, He is.

Now, He tests no one.

My translation is the natural reading of the Greek. In verse 12, James says the one who endures testings is blessed eternally. In verse 13, James says that God is not the source of testings. [And verse 13 has no indicator that James is advancing his argument-- no "de."].

In fact, James says, God can't be the source of testings. God isn't tested by evil, and God tests no one.

How can this be? Let's add verses 14-15, and see if James doesn't help us:

(14) Now, each one is tested by his own desires,

being dragged away,

and being lured.

(15) Then the desire, having conceived, gives birth to sin.