Today
we’re going to begin a series on the epistle of James. This series is going to last probably about
nine weeks, and it will cover the entirety of the book of James. The title that I’ve given to this series is
“True Faith Works.” So often the
discussion is had as to whether we are saved by what we believe (faith) or what
we do (works). We Reformed folks cling
to the notion that we are saved by faith and faith alone, but we don’t really
practice that statement accurately. We
fall into one of two corruptions of this phrase. The first corruption is that we say we’re
saved by faith but we act as if we’re saved by works. We claim that faith is all we need, but we attempt
to judge according to the outward actions and put more emphasis on what is seen
that what is believed. It’s very
possible to do good things without saving faith in Christ or even a belief in
him. The second corruption of the notion
of being saved by faith is that we pay no attention at all to the outward
actions because we don’t view them as valuable; sort of the complete opposite end
of the spectrum. After all, if we are
saved by faith alone, then what good are works?
In other words, we use the fact that we are saved by faith in Christ
alone as an excuse to sin and not do good works. Lately I’ve seen the phrase “Only God can
judge me” on numerous trucks and clothing around town. It has been embraced as a motto of sorts by
those who believe in God, but wish to live lives that don’t represent that
belief. Remember, even the Satan
believes in God, and so do demons. Quite
honestly, what kind of sense does it make to have such a system exist? Why would a system exist where our being
saved can be seen as a license to sin?
Well, such system doesn’t exist, as we’re going to see as we work
through James. What James is going to
teach us is that while it is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone
that we are saved, our good works ought to be the byproducts of that faith. In other words, true faith doesn’t exist
apart from good works. As we work our
way through James, I’m going to keep reminding you of this C.S. Lewis quote, “Christians
have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good
actions, or faith in Christ … it does seem to me like asking which blade in a
pair of scissors is most necessary.”
Well, we’re going to begin our study of true faith not existing apart
from good works today by looking at a section on how our faith is tested. We will see James warning that our faith is
tested by both external and internal trials, but that there is opportunity for
growth in either one.
In
this first section of James’ epistle, after James’ identifying of himself as
the author, he goes on to talk about external trials by saying, “Count
it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know
that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” Now, before you go find the closest person you
can who is in the midst of a crisis and tell them that they should count
themselves joyful because of their trials, let me make something very clear
about this text here. When James speaks
of trials of various kinds, he’s not just talking about difficulties or
hardships. Sure those things are part of
it, but there’s something more to it.
You see, James wrote this epistle “to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion”,
which is a reference to Christians who were formerly Jews but converted to
Christianity who dwelt outside of Palestine.
He wrote it to them so that he could teach them about what true faith was
to look like, i.e. a faith that produces good works. This was a needed description given the
Pharisaic mindset that many of them had grown up with and had lived much of
their lives adhering to. Now, not all of
these Jewish Christians were in dire situations. Some of them were in what would be considered
very comfortable situations. It wasn’t
as if physical persecutions, financial difficulties, or some other hardship
were the only stumbling blocks that many of them found to living lives that
adhered to Jesus’ teachings. Imagine
being a Jewish Christian with wealth and hearing that Jesus said that it would
be easier for the camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter into heaven. We all know that
it is possible to have a faith that doesn’t produce works no matter what we’re
going through in life. It’s not just
“bad” things that can keep us from a proper relationship with God. So, when James speaks of these various
trials, he isn’t just talking about something that is difficult. There are times when we want for absolutely
nothing worldly, yet we’re still under attack.
I have seen a lot of wealthy men allow their praise to be muted at the
expense of their faith. I have seen a
lot of people with large families (which is a blessing) allow themselves to be
so consumed by their loved ones that their faith and its out-workings are
almost non-existent. While many will
just assume that trials of our faith come during difficult times like
illnesses, loss, or struggles at home, make no mistake that your faith is
always being tested and tried. Trials
come during sunny days just as much as cloudy ones.
James says to “let
[this] steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and
complete, lacking in nothing.”
In other words, let this steadfastness (which in the Greek carries with
it a meaning of faithful endurance) that is produced from our trials do its
work and cause us to grow from these trials (both good and bad), not diminish
as a result of them. James then goes on
to say that when we lack wisdom during our trials that we are to ask God and he
will grant it to us. Notice that he
doesn’t say that what we want will be given, but that when we earnestly ask God
for wisdom and understanding that he will bestow it upon us. Now, that desire for wisdom has to be sought
on the premise that we seek to grow in our faith and not just make some earthly
sense as to what is happening. Part of
growing is going through the process.
You don’t simply pick up a guitar, golf club, or any type of tool and
just automatically become great at using them.
It takes time and practice to achieve even the most basic levels of mastery,
to achieve any type of growth, and our faith is the same way. You see, trials and tests are meant to cause
us to grow in our faith. The more
difficult the task, the more opportunity there is for growth. I know for me, that I have personally experienced
more growth in my faith during difficult times because I have had to rely upon
myself less and God more. Trials and
tests aren’t meant to prevent us from getting to some point in life or to throw
us off course, but to produce within us a faith that functions and works
properly. They are to work at helping us
have a faith that looks to God for all things good, as we will see
later on. However, don’t make the
mistake of assuming that every experience is beneficial to the growth of our
faiths. Some do little or nothing for such
growth, but we will address that later on in this series.
James concludes
this section about outward trials and tests by saying, “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.” Now, I don’t know if this is the way that
James intended for this to be read, but this is how I read this verse and the
following verses as he transitions from talking about outward trials to inward
ones. I look at it as if verse 12 is
James’ congratulations to anyone who remains steadfast, who shows that faithful
endurance in the face of trials that come upon them from the outside world. But then he goes on to say in effect, “If you
think that the outward trials are tough, you haven’t experienced anything until
you’ve been through those inward trials.”
I’ve got to tell y’all a funny story about our first hurricane season living
here in Louisiana. If you recall, Hurricane
Isaac happened the first year that we were down here; we had been here for about
nine months. Now, Amy and I were used to
winds and we were used to rains, so that didn’t bother us. I mean, we had lived in areas that got
hurricanes on the back end and also had been through numerous storms that
produced tornadoes. So, we never really
had any thought about evacuating and it was understood that I wasn’t going
anywhere. However, we had never lived in
a place where flooding could occur so easily.
In fact, we had never lived in a place where flooding was ever a concern. As the rains came, I got a few feet of water
in my front yard and I’m kind of freaking out because it’s only a few steps from
my door. I go ask my neighbor at the
time, one Robert Theriot, if I have anything to worry about. I don’t even need to tell y’all what his
response was. Needless to say it would
have taken much more water for him to think I had any reason to be concerned. However, his lack of concern didn’t cause me
to watch the water level in my front yard any less. It was as if Bob was saying, “Yeah, you’re
right, the rain is causing the water to rise a good bit, but it’s nothing
compared to a stronger storm, levees breaking, etc.”
So, James
acknowledges that indeed outward trials are tough, inward trials are probably
even more difficult. And don’t think for
one second that God is the one that is tempting us inwardly; that’s all on us. There is a great difference between testing
and tempting. God will allow us to be
tested from the outside, but he doesn’t tempt us from within, that’s where we
tempt ourselves. When we see something
on the outside and we forsake all we hold dear to attain that thing, we can’t
blame it on the external temptation. If
I’m struggling with true hunger and I go and steal a sandwich from some place,
I can’t blame the sandwich on looking so tasty, I have to blame myself for
stealing. If we think back to the story
of Job, we see that God indeed allowed Satan to test Job through outward means,
but never once did God do anything internal to Job or his thinking. Job was completely left alone as far as his
mental state was concerned; it was his talking to and taking advice from his
friends as to how he should feel about God (external temptation) that caused
problems. When he earnestly sought God,
God gave him the wisdom that we mentioned earlier. Ultimately, we know that Job’s being able to
truly praise God during the midst of his trials and suffering led to the
restoration (of sorts) of all the things that Job lost as a result of Satan’s
works, and also a strengthening of Job’s faith.
James
encourages his audience to “not be deceived…every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above.” This
is that notion that I referenced earlier where our faiths should be at. This is how we ought to view God. Instead of seeing him as this harsh judge and
constant tester or our wills and resolve, we ought to see him as the One who
gives us what we do have. It’s not just
our hard work or our abilities that give us all the things that we call
“ours”. God has allowed us to prosper
through our own earthly endeavors, but has helped us all along the way. This notion is going to be crucial for our
understanding that good works are the byproducts of our faith. When we view God as being responsible for all
of the good things in life that we enjoy, then the concept of our works being a
response of thanksgiving comes very naturally to us. However, if we view ourselves as having
earned all that we have and God simply having not gotten in the way, then the
notion of good works in response to God becomes a little more difficult.
We’re
going to take time over the next two months and look and see how James tries to
develop this notion of good works coming as a result of our faith. It’s something a little different than most
views of this epistle. So often it’s
faith vs. works, but again, I would remind of that C.S. Lewis quote that was
somewhat the inspiration for this study.
However, as for this opening section of James’ epistle, let’s remember
that these trials serve an important purpose.
They’re not there in our lives to trip us up or to cause us to fall
away. They’re there to help us grow in
our faiths. They’re there to strengthen
our relationships with God. They’re
there to help us understand that God is not the enemy, but that he is the
supplier of all good things. I’ll end by
making this comparison. We’re (Amy and
I) not at this point, but someday we might be.
In life, you go through stages.
When you’re a little kid and don’t understand much, your parents know
everything. We could make up something
and our kids would believe us. Then, as
they get older and gain a little bit of understanding about where they stand,
parents then become the enemy. “Mom and
dad just don’t understand. All they even
do is try and ruin my fun.” This is the
uninformed Christian or the immature Christian.
However, there comes that point, usually after someone has children of
their own, when they begin to see all the ways in which their parents truly
loved them and sought their well-being at every turn. This is the point where we can thank our
parents for disciplining us because it taught us character (and that’s why I have
so much of it). That’s the view that a
mature Christian has of God. It’s when
we can look upon the trials of life and thank God that he cares enough for us
to give us those opportunities for growth.
God isn’t some harsh overlord, but the giver and origin of all good
things. Let us rejoice and have faith in
him, and let our good works flow out of us as a proper response to all that he
has done for us, in us, to us, and through us.
Amen.w
No comments:
Post a Comment