Sermon Text: James 1:2-4
Below is a sermon manuscript from January 12, 2024. Watch the sermon here.
Introduction
“God help me to feel what I know is true.” Those were the words of a teenage student in our youth ministry several years ago. She was fighting for faith. She knew that God was in control. She knew that she could trust Him even when life was hard. But that’s not what she felt. This heart cry was evidence of maturity beyond her years. She had tragically lost her father to cancer and yet clung to the Lord through all of it. Her faith and perseverance were a challenge to everyone around her.
We don’t desire horrible events and difficulties to happen. But they are a part of life in a fallen world. But God is able to use even hard things for our good. Because of that, we can face them with faith. That is what we see in James 1:2-4.
Real Faith has a mindset of joy
This phrase from James can be a little strange, right? Remember that he is writing to dispersed Jewish Christians. These Christians are experiencing difficulty. In the early church they are being attacked on both sides. They are not part of the pagan worship of the greater culture around them. But they are also not with those who reject Jesus as messiah. So how are they to respond in the midst of this? James instructs them, and all Christians, to consider it all joy.
Scripture gives us the interpretive lens for our circumstances
There are several approaches that a person can take when trials and difficulties happen in life. Some respond by pretending the situation isn’t happening. This can occur through denial or distraction. Perhaps you have gone through this yourself. You have faced difficulty, and you have chosen to ignore it or pretend it doesn’t exist. Maybe a picture of this is the college student who has to study and has academic pressures building up around them but knows that they can push it aside through that afternoon nap. Or by pretending like it isn’t as big of a deal as what it is. Perhaps it’s even accompanied by downplaying their studies or comparing themselves with others in class. This response isn’t limited to studies but can apply to a wide range of situations and circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Another response in distraction. We acknowledge the situation but seek to alleviate ourselves from it through distraction. Doom scrolling on our phones can alleviate the need to face the difficulty. It’s not only an entertainment type of distraction, but it can also be an otherwise honorable pursuit. Our work can become a distraction from dealing with difficulties at home. Solving an issue or problem that we are good at can be easier than facing the not-so-neat relationship dynamics.
James offers a different way in this passage. He tells us to consider it all joy. That means turning our eyes upon the problem but not looking at it through the eyes of our own human ability but through the eyes of faith. He calls them brothers, or brothers and sisters, this is a direct reference to those who are part of the family of God, fellow Christians. Christians have the ability to view situations in a new way. James directs them to consider in this way.
Think of that word “consider” he doesn’t tell them how to feel, but how to think about their situation. He doesn’t say “be happy” but “consider it all joy.” Joy is not a mere feeling, but it a state of trust and dependence. It is a mindset that is fueled by the content of what we believe. Blomberg and Kamell continue, “Joy may be defined as a settled contentment in every situation or “an unnatural reaction of deep, steady and unadulterated thankful trust in God.”[1]
We view our situation not by pretending it doesn’t exist, not by distraction, but by viewing it through the lens of faith. When this happens, we are strengthened; the shortcuts distract and disrupt spiritual growth. Like pressing through a tough lift through pure will, we end up injured and sidelined instead of growing stronger. Trials open the door to assess our lives, to grow in our weaknesses, and to see where we are lacking.
Viewing circumstances with joy doesn’t mean the circumstances themselves are good
There is an important distinction that we need to make. There are some views of the world that see any suffering or difficulty as an illusion. Others that say ignore it and power through. That is not the case here. Scripture does not turn a blind eye to suffering and eye. It doesn’t instruct us to pretend it doesn’t exist.
There is a danger in Christianity, and I think especially in American Christianity, to think that the Christian life is one with a pasted-on smile all the time. We can fall into this trap when something terrible happens. But we are not called to label trials themselves as good but instead to have joy because of how the trial can be used in our lives. Again, this idea of joy is a mindset more than a feeling. It is a state of being, not a reaction.
The truth is that comfort can also be used by God to grow us. Prosperity can test and sift someone’s faith as well as adversity. James’ point is that they should view their circumstances through what they know about God, not change their view of God because of their circumstances. Over and over circumstances become the lens that we view God instead of God’s Word as the lens that we view our circumstances.
Real Faith is Refined in Real Life
Testing of our faith refines us, producing endurance
Real life is messy. James tells us that the testing of our faith produces something. When we think of testing, we might think of a school-type of test. Here, an instructor gives us an assessment to see if we know the content. If we pass, then we show we know the content, if we fail then we prove the opposite. Use this idea of testing for this passage, and then we are left to think about whether our faith is real or not. Do we have the right stuff? Or are we simply faking it? Like a student who merely takes up space in a classroom but is not actually gaining an understanding, are we taking up space in the church but don’t truly have saving faith? But is that what James is trying to teach? No, it’s not. It’s not a test to see if you pass or fail. Instead, it’s the idea of refinement and purification. It’s the word that Peter uses in 1 Peter 1:7, “In this, you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.[2]”
Do you see how it’s used? It’s a type of refining through difficulty. It’s a rare word that is only used in this passage in James and that passage in 1 Peter. It’s also used in two Old Testament passages when the Old Testament was translated into Greek, and in both instances, Psalm 12.6 and Proverbs 27.21 deal with refining precious metal through heat. In a similar way, “the difficulties of life are intended by God to refine our faith: heating it in the crucible of suffering so that impurities may be refined away and so that we might become pure and valuable before the Lord.” [3]
We can think of many practical examples in life where difficulty brings refinement. Now, for James, referring to them as brothers and sisters it appears that there is an expectation of passing through these fires and coming out stronger.
But we should note that trials can have a way of revealing false professions as well. In the parable of the sower, Jesus talks about those who hear the Word of God and start out strong, but when certain situations and difficulties come, they prove the quality of the soil. This can be a personal trial that makes you doubt the goodness of God; it can be an intellectual trial that causes you to doubt the trustworthiness of God’s Word. Often, people come through those trials with a deeper grasp of God’s love and trustworthiness. This strengthens the muscles of faith, gaining perseverance and making them healthier overall.
Refining happens in large and mundane trials
It is during the day to day that this kind of testing takes place. Motyer writes, “[James] is nothing if not realistic: life is a tale of various trials[4]” These trials spring to the surface in the midst of the ordinary. I mentioned before a few examples of trials, maybe you internally rolled your eyes at the make-believe scenarios – those only apply to people who never experience real difficulty you may think. But we need to be slow to evaluate the strength of a trial in another’s life. There are countless stories of missionaries returning from difficult situations only for relatively mundane situations to be a real test. Real faith is forged in real life. Often, our sin is revealed by relative discomfort more than by radically challenging situations. It can be hard to persevere when our preferences aren’t being met.
God knows how you respond to trials, and even that can strengthen our faith. Think about couples who start to get to know one another only to see how the other responds to difficulty. It can be revealing, can’t it? You might not have seen that part of them before. They might not have seen that part of you. Trials have a way of revealing our sin. It also has a way of revealing how quick we are to justify our sinful behavior. But it can also bring two people closer together as they face something together. It can reveal godly character as someone responds well to difficulty. We are not perfect, and so we are thankful and grateful to see honest faithful pursuits in the life of another. But God is perfect and completely set apart from sin. As we are refined in trials, we are reminded of his amazing grace toward us. God did not save us because we were sinless, but while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Trials strengthen our love for God by reminding us of what we are saved from and God’s love that while we were saved where we were, God is too gracious to leave us where we were.
Refining redirects us toward the good
Sometimes, we consider what God is doing in our lives with anger instead of Joy. God peels back our layers of paint that we have covered our sins with and says, “Look at that,” and our response is, “No! Nothing to see there!” It’s like buying a house, and the inspector says, “Yeah, there is foundation damage,” and we think, “Really, couldn’t you just give it a pass.” No. It’s a gracious thing to reveal this so it can be dealt with. Often, trials can unearth sin, but they can also help us see our lack of trust, our false understanding of God’s care, and many other things that are helpful for us to see. We will not endure in the faith with a foundation that needs repair.
Real Faith Brings Maturity
James tells us not only what to do and when to do it but he also tells us what the end result will be. It is through this process that we will reach perfection. Trials can be used by God to bring about good.
Be persistent in perseverance
Moyter is helpful with verse 4, he writes,
James is bringing in a word of caution. A believer might endure for a while, and then tire of enduring. In this case the desired growth to maturity is halted mid-way. There has to be a persistency of enduring[5]
Paul likewise tells of what trials and suffering does in a Christian’s life but here James, as is characteristic of the letter, shows that a Christian is not altogether passive in this process. While God is at work, Christians are called to active trust in what God is doing. Several definitions and implications came up in my study: endurance is… “a steady clinging to truth within any situation.” “Militant patience,” “faith stretched out.”[6]
So often, our prayer and hope in the midst of a trial is merely “get me out of this, God” instead of “get me out of this, God.” Get more of me, rid me of my sin, make me who I am meant to be – fully complete in all the virtues that are there under the sin and mire. While some trials are a result of our sin, this is not necessarily the case here. And all trials are an opportunity to grow. This word for perfect or complete is the same word that Jesus uses when he tells the disciples to be perfect as the Father is perfect, and most scholars agree that it is being used here in James in the same sense.[7] Thetype of perfection is not random growth but a growth in godly characteristics.
Are you leaning into the work that God is doing in your life? Sometimes, we get uncomfortable with what is being revealed in the midst of trial and revert to denial, distraction, or mere effort to pull ourselves through. But this can short-circuit the work God is doing. It can result in more pain and frustration down the road. This can be what one scholar called militant patience. It is allowing the circumstance to do its work, it’s submitting to God’s work in the midst of the situation. How?
Your perseverance can encourage others
What is amazing is that as this process is taking place, we are also encouraged by others. This is part of the beauty of the local church. Right now, as we gather together, there are people who are experiencing all different kinds of things. Every time I see Nev making it to church and Bev’s love and care by his side, I am encouraged and strengthened in my faith. I read Annette’s Christmas letter and was reminded of how much she endured this year and what an example she was through all of it. I think of Tim, and Jolene, and Carol and her recovery. There are many more examples. Maybe you have specific examples in your own life. Examples of others who have persisted in the midst of trials, that you have seen God’s grace on display – they couldn’t have done this on their own, they are struggling, but there is a state of trust in God that is unmistakable. It might be quiet, it might be fighting to sustain, but it’s powerful.
God is at work in you, yes, and he is also at work in those around you, and through this, he is at work in us as a community of faith. The beauty is that the more we know one another, the closer we grow and the more we can grow collectively. What is amazing is that we are joined with the saints who have come before us, the universal church that stretches throughout the ages, and we can be encouraged by their witness as well.
I am reminded of the book of Hebrews…
Conclusion
Hebrews 12:2,
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Did you see that? Not only are we united to one another, but we are collectively looking in one direction. We are looking to the one who is the founder and perfecter of our faith. The one who endured the cross for our good. He did this for the joy set before him. He delighted in making our salvation possible. We can have the confidence to consider trials of many kinds as joy because we know that trials have an expiration date because of the finished work of Christ. Right now, he sits at the right hand of God, making intercession for us regardless of what we are going through.
[1] Craig L. Blomberg and Mariam J. Kamell, James, vol. 16, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), 48.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 1 Pe 1:6–7.
[3] Moo, James, 54.
[4] J. A. Motyer, The Message of James: The Tests of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), 29.
[5] J. A. Motyer, The Message of James: The Tests of Faith, The Bible Speaks Today (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1985), 32.
[6] Blomberg and Kamell, 49.
[7] Douglas J. Moo, The Letter of James, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2000), 56.
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