James 1

This chapter of James is about how to go through trials by seeking wisdom and establishing perseverance and our faith and reliance on God. James also discusses the importance of receiving the Word and then acting upon it.

Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Trials are inevitable

• It's when you fall, not if you fall, but the good news is that trials are opportunities for joy and not for discouragement. They are used to help us develop patience, endurance, steadfastness

  • Patience (Greek word: hupomone) = active endurance to remain under heavy load (this patience is more the type that helps you finish a marathon vs sitting waiting, it's more of an active kind)

• Trials don't always develop this kind of patience though. If we receive our trials with grumbling and lack of faith then it can lead to bitterness and discouragement in us, which is why James tells us to receive them with joy. Obviously this takes time to develop, and is why I feel like trials typically aren't a quick thing, a lot of times they feel like seasons.

• Our faith is tested during trials; it reveals how much we have and how much we are lacking. It is evidence not only to ourselves but also shows how much we faith we have to those around us.

• Trials can lead to sin

  • A lot of times it can lead to unbelief, which is a sin

  • It can also cause us to curse or want to curse God, which is also a sin

Receiving wisdom from God:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will recieve anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (James 1:5-8)

• When trials come, we need to seek wisdom from God. We tend to seek it from books or friends/family, people, mentors, etc and sometimes that is helpful to gain counsel from people we trust but James clearly tells us "Let him ask of God"--> go to the Bible. God loves when we come to Him and ask Him for wisdom and help. "He is the God of the open hand, not the God of the clenched fist". Ask in faith, without doubting God's ability or desire to give us His wisdom, He loves when we do this! If we lack faith and trust in God then we lack a strong foundation; we are double-minded. Someone who is double-minded is literally two-souled: "The man of two souls, who has one for the earth, and another for heaven: who wishes to secure both worlds; he will not give up earth, and he is loath to let heaven go".

Encouragement during trials:

• Trials serve as a reminder that our comfort in this life is truly only for this life on earth. Just like flowers of the field pass away, these trials will pass and similarly earthly comfort with come and go. A lot of times, trials not only reveal the posture of our heart but also where we tend to place our trust--is it money, earthly security, fame, success/career, family, etc? But trials when handled with God will leave you feeling the strength of Him, increase your faith, make you feel empowered, and excited to share your testimony with others. That is why and how we can find joy amidst trials.

Living for the Lord in times of temptation:

• We can be blessed as we endure temptation. God may allow temptation in our lives, and we will be rewarded as we resist temptation; our steadfastness shows our strength in our faith and our love for Jesus. Being able to overcome temptation shows our honor, glory, and reliance on God, therefore strengthening our relationship with Him--that is our motive for resisting temptation: to love Him more than our love for the sin. James is very clear: temptation does NOT come from God, he may allow it and test our faith BUT He does not entice us with evil. God is UNABLE to be tempted by evil and He doesn't tempt anyone. Instead, temptation comes when we are drawn by our fleshy desires and enticed by worldly things. Satan does tempt us but it is by our own desires that we are drawn away and corrupted from our God-given desires (because of our fallen nature). God does not corrupt our heart but because we were born into a sinful world with sin in us, we are already subjected to temptation.

  • Desire --> Sin --> Death

  • Satan's mission is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning (James 1:17)

• This "goodness" refers to goodness on an eternal/heavenly scale. We might not think (with our earthly mind) that something is good, and some things that we perceive as good, may in turn lead to destruction (money is a great example of this). God is never changing and out of His own will (without any incentive or prompting) and of His great mercy, He brought us into light via salvation through taking our sins upon us.

  • Sin --> death

  • Will of God --> salvation

Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce righteousness of God (James 1:19-20)

• If we just slow down, we will be better listeners, more patient, and less likely to use our tongue for destruction

  • Hurry and hustle culture has caused us to speed up and rush in everything; we have become impatient people, quick to put blame on others, get annoyed easily, and terrible listeners (this is not everyone, and I know I am at fault for doing this too).

  • Before we respond to a person, a situation, etc. we need to ask the question, "Does this accomplish the righteousness of God?".

We are to lay aside our filthiness and impurity and receive the word of God.

• Receiving is the opposite of doing; Spurgeon explains that when we receive, it is the door through which God's grace enters to us. We are saved by receiving not doing. We are to receive with a teachable heart, ready to be molded more and more into the image of God. As we receive the word of God, we also receive the power of God

James tells us that we are also to be doers of the word.

• As mentioned above, receiving does not require work but once we receive, then we must act upon it and become a doer of the word. Like the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that hearing the word and doing nothing is like building a house on the sand but hearing God's word and doing it is like a man whose house was built on a rock and can withstand life's storms and the judgment of eternity (Matthew 7:24-27). "A healthy person looks in the mirror to do something, not just to admire the image. Even so, a healthy Christian looks into God's Word to do something about it, not just to store up facts that he will not put to use by being a doer of the word". Amen! The enemy works to make us believe that attending church and hearing a sermon is enough, but the doing and putting it into action is a pillar of living out our Christian life and duty. If we study and examine the word (perfect law of liberty), and do it, then we will be blessed.

  Real religion is being doers of the Word. If your walk with God does not translate/is not evident in how you live and treat others, it is useless. This is why so many people classify Christians as hypocrites. We are to retreat from earthly/worldly things and to be charitable and pure.

Big takeaway from James 1:

Trials/temptation--> testing of faith --> lay aside filthiness and receive the word -->faith comes by hearing the word --> we are to be hearers and then doers --> transform our heart and lifestyle --> increase in faith and hupomone