Upside Down Thinking During Trials

Now the believer of humble means should take pride in his high position. But the rich person’s pride should be in his humiliation, because he will pass away like a wildflower in the meadow. For the sun rises with its heat and dries up the meadow; the petal of the flower falls off and its beauty is lost forever. So also the rich person in the midst of his pursuits will wither away. Happy is the one who endures testing, because when he has proven to be genuine, he will receive the crown of life that God promised to those who love him.

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. Do not be led astray, my dear brothers and sisters. All generous giving and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or the slightest hint of change. By his sovereign plan he gave us birth through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created. (James 1:9-18)

As we previously established, James is writing as a pastor to a scattered flock of persecuted Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. Significantly, James is probably the earliest (or one of the earlier) New Testament texts ... so these believers lacked even rudimentary Christian teachings to carry with them into Gentile lands. What they did carry, however, was a strong background in the "Old" Testament and a fully Jewish worldview.

In this worldview, Deuteronomy 28-31 played a key role; blessings followed obedience to God, and curses followed disobedience. Prosperity, therefore, was expected to follow those in whom God was pleased. Suffering was considered a sign of God's judgment. Jesus' disciples expressed the Jewish worldview perfectly in their question to Jesus in John 9:1-2: Now as Jesus was passing by, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who committed the sin that caused him to be born blind, this man or his parents?”

James knew his flock was suffering, and he also knew what they were thinking. So he sent them a letter filled with some "upside down" thinking to help them better understand their trials. After telling them to rejoice for the growth the trials were facilitating, and reminding them of the wisdom God offers, he interjects what at first appears to our linear Western minds to be a new topic, but in James' eastern circular presentation serves to expand upon the original idea of trials. Specifically, James "evens the playing field" for both rich and poor believers. Rather than feeling they are on the wrong end of judgment, each has something to glory in: those of "humble" circumstances have a "high position"; while those well-off should glory in the transitory nature of their riches. Neither is condemned here for undergoing trials; instead, each is exhorted to view their earthly financial circumstances through a broader, eternal perspective. Both have the opportunity to see their trials turned into a crown of life.

James then explicitly addresses the human tendency to blame God for temptations that we give into. Again, this is closely related to the original subject, trials, because every trial affords either an opportunity for growth or the chance to yield to temptation. James reminds believers that God doesn't tempt man. Sin instead comes about when man is tempted by desires - the picture painted by "lured and enticed" signifies an entrapping and indeed, the original Greek references a fish drawn out of the safety of its retreat. After yielding, it conceives and gives birth to sin, whose progeny is death. James is brutally straightforward here. We may parse Paul and come down on different sides of the interpretive coin, but here James is not so nuanced. Enticement - lust - sin - death. We might not like it, but we get it - without any further cross-referencing or word studies necessary.

James then cuts to the heart of how we can avoid temptation during trial - or any other time. "Don't be led astray - God gives good gifts" is the heart of his message. Ultimately, sin is the result of desiring something more than God, of thinking that what temptation offers is better than what God offers. James lifts up the promise of God's good and perfect gifts. Against the lure of temptation, God has something better - always. Whatever the trial they were facing, they could know that what He offers is wonderful. And He doesn't change. James here is reminisicent of Hebrews 13:5: Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.” In other words: Be content with what you have, because what you have - is HIM!

James concludes this portion of his exhortation with a reminder: God gave birth to us through the message of truth so we can be firstfruits of all His creation. Interestingly, the phrase "gave birth" is the same as in verse 15, where desire "gives birth" to sin. Because God gave birth to us as His firstfruits, we no longer have to give birth to sin. Instead, He works within us to produce the fruits that reflect our Father. Here is the reminder that indeed, faith is at the heart of James' message.

Wisdom in Trials

But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed around by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord, since he is a double-minded individual, unstable in all his ways. (James 1:5-8)

We often look at this passage as wisdom in life - and indeed that is a Biblically consistent interpretation. This is the New Testament equivalent of Proverbs 3:5-6:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

James covers the same points as Solomon: Faith, consistency, acknowledging God. We do well to look to God for wisdom in all areas of life.

But a look at the context of James 1:5-8 affords a special blessing, because we see that he broaches the subject of wisdom in the context of trials. As we considered previously, James presents trials as inevitable, and calls us to joy in them as God works them in our lives to complete us. The "But" of James 1:5 connects the two thoughts: James is essentially saying, "Trials are going to come - hang in there, have joy, let God work out in you what He intends. But if you need wisdom ...".

In times of trial, wisdom is often at a premium. So James lets us know that it's okay to ask for wisdom during those times. In fact, God will give it to us generously and without reprimand.

What exactly is "wisdom"? James himself defines it for us later in this letter. James 3:17-18 lays out the elements of godly wisdom, contrasted from the demonic "wisdom" of the earlier verses:

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.

During times of trial (as other times) we can expect God's course of action for us to include these characteristics-purity, peace, gentleness, accommodation of others, mercy, good fruit, impartiality, authenticity. We can also know that the fruit produced will consist of righteousness, and the soil is peace.

Faith characterizes our receipt of this wisdom. Ronald Dunn, in his classic work Don't Just Stand There, Pray Something, recalls learning this through the experience of his son's illness. While he prayed desperately for wisdom, he never experienced a flash of brilliance or a burning bush. Instead, he made the decision that seemed right to him after prayer, and upon reflection saw that at every point he had made the correct choice. That's when he realized that this passage doesn't say, "and he will feel wise". It says, "and it will be given to him." We have to believe that God has answered our prayer for wisdom!

Faith is a major theme in James, as is authenticity. In many ways this passage is the first example of the works that James expects to accompany a believer. James doesn't want his flock to be easily tossed, to be double-minded, or to be unstable. He contrasts doubt with the faith that God has granted prayers. This foundation of faith will be crucial as we progress in our study, for only in faith can a believer fulfill the works that God intends for him or her to pursue.

In this context we can see that even the seemingly "harsh" words for those who do pursue wisdom without faith, with instability, with wavering - that they should not expect to receive an answer - is still within the overall context of maturing their faith, making them complete. God challenges them to truly believe that He will give them wisdom in their trial - and the result, as James 3 states, will be righteousness.

The book of James consistently moves believers toward authenticity in their faith. The way we pursue wisdom needed during trials is just one example of the maturity God desires to bring into each believer's life.

Consider it Joy: James 1:1-4

(Biblical text and some background information from www.nextbible.org)

From James, a slave of God and the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes dispersed abroad. Greetings!

My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.

James doesn't waste any time with his dispersed audience. He immediately addresses the situation they find themselves in: trials. James' audience was the "12 tribes" in the Dispersion - the Jewish Christian community spread throughout the region. Jews were scattered throughout the Roman empire prior to the time of Christ, but two specific persecutions led to a diaspora of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem: the persecution of the church by Saul (approx. 34 AD, Act 7-8), and Herod’s persecution (approx. 44 AD, Acts 12). Whichever context led to the need for James to reach his flock by letter, the fact is that they were being persecuted before they left Jerusalem.

As James makes clear in both chapter 2 and chapter 5, their oppression was not merely because of their faith. To "fall into" trials literally means to be encompassed by them, surrounded. These people were poor, and rich landowners took advantage of the poor regardless of religious status. In Palestine before the fall of the temple in AD 70, most of the population were peasants with small land plots. Some family members worked the land, but most brothers were either traders or laborers. Wealthy landowners took advantage of the situation, robbing people of their lands, discriminating in hiring labor, and at times suppressing the church. This was a time in church history where most persecution was by Jews, as the church was still considered a sect of Judaism by the Jewish leadership. So, these Jewish Christians had the additional trial of their so-called brothers of the flesh persecuting them for their faith. A further trial was the prophesied worldwide famine (Acts 11:27-30) which happened around the time of Agrippa's persecution. Thus, the "trials" James addresses cover a broad range of challenging circumstances.

James' writing style typically involves a summary statement, followed by explanations, examples, and other supporting details. This passage is no different. James outlines to his audience the broad command: "Consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials". Obedience to James' admonition does not rely upon mere emotion or mindset. The word James uses for "consider" carries a connotation of judging, or making a determination, as a ruler would do. James is essentially teaching his scattered, persecuted, impoverished, hungry flock: "Weigh the evidence, and make a decision to view this as nothing but joy." James calls his readers to involve their will in the process. The difference this makes is significant: Rather than following our feelings, or trying to convince ourselves and others that it's really going to be okay, we can look at all the evidence and choose the side of joy.

Joy, of course, is part of the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), so this decision will have to be a Spirit-empowered one. Yet James does not leave us without a tangible motivation as well. The very trials we are choosing to count as joy, James tells us, are the things that lead to our endurance, our perserverance. Endurance, Strong's lexicon tells us, is "characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings." Essentially, James is telling us that if we choose to consider THIS trial as joy, we will be strengthened and the next one will be less likely to sway us. Since the trials are presenting as coming "when" rather than "if", we can know that they will happen. We can be equipped for them by weighing our options and coming down on the side of joy.

Furthermore, James observes, perserverance isn't the end of the road for believers. We don't merely muddle through trials. As we learn to perservere in them, we are "perfected" or made mature ... lacking nothing or as this translation states, "not deficient in anything." Not lacking, not deficient ... calls to mind the literal translation of Ps. 23:1: "The Lord is my Shepherd; I lack nothing." Mankind tends by nature to focus on what we don't have ... but by the Spirit-empowered decision to consider a trial as JOY we can instead grow in perserverance and eventually feel that we lack nothing.

One Powerful Message

If you were a church leader and had an opportunity to write a letter to your scattered flock undergoing persecution, what would you deem important to communicate? Would your purpose be logical, philosophical arguments for significant doctrinal truths - or would you be more intent on focusing on the practical application of the elements of the Christian faith?

That's somewhat the situation faced by James - not the apostle, most likely, but the brother of Jesus. James became a follower of Jesus after the resurrection and went on to be a leader in the Jerusalem church. These Jewish Christians were scattered following the stoning of Stephen (Acts. 8:1-4; 11:19) and endured persecution in other locales as well. At a very early date - likely in the mid-40s, even before the Jerusalem Council - James wrote a "circular letter" that was passed along the Jewish Christian networking lines. It is preserved in our Bibles as the book of James, possibly the earliest written text of the New Testament, and one that is not without controversy. Viewed in the context of its writing, however, many of the questions raised about James can be answered.

James' main purpose is to encourage scattered Christians to live out their faith in practical ways. In fact, the theme of the book could be simply, "A Working Faith." James is not concerned as much with orthodoxy - though he is fully orthodox in his theology - as with orthopraxy, or right living. His famous section in 2:17-26 includes a challenge that would have hit at the heart of his Jewish audience: "You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder." (v. 19). In the straightforward way of a man with no time to lose, he observes that the basic Jewish confession, the Shema, the heart of theology for Jews which was still recited by Jewish Christians, was incomplete by itself. Even the demons believe in one God, he writes ... but he goes on to challenge that confession apart from works of faith.

It was this section of the book, which goes on to extol the necessity of works for justification, that led Martin Luther (among others) to reject this book as non-canonical. However, a thorough study of the book will show that James is not inconsistent with the fundamental theology of the New Testament and its emphasis on justification by faith; he simply has a different emphasis or priority in his theology. Again, the fact that he is writing to a scattered audience undergoing persecution is critical to understanding his theology. James is teaching them as a pastor, trying to cover as much ground as possible in one letter, knowing that their need for teaching is probably urgent (remember, there likely were no other New Testament scriptures at this point). His pleading with them comes through as we read and re-read his letter. He repeatedly calls them "brethren", and carries a pleading, corrective tone along with exhortation and encouragement.

James is an epistle of wisdom. While it has an internal structure, its form is not obvious like Paul's doctrinal/practical divisions in his epistles. Instead, James blends the doctrinal with the practical. One possible way of viewing the internal structure is around the theme of faith: Faith and trials, faith and works, faith and prayer.

In the epistle, James touches on the themes of faith, perseverance, favoritism, works, the law of liberty, the tongue, sinful attitudes, wisdom, relationship with believers, judgment, and prayer. Some of his key points include:

• The testing of faith is a joy because it produces endurance.
• Become a doer of the word, not merely a hearer. Endure to do!
• Faith without works is dead - the works perfect or complete the faith.
• A truly mature person will bridle the tongue and practice wisdom from above.
• A mature person will maintain an attitude of humble submission to God.
• Believers should be patient during suffering - praying in faith.
  

That James does not contradict Paul's teaching on justification by faith will bear out over future lessons. However, one verse will show that while James is emphasizing the work of faith, he has a complete grasp of the Godward aspect of salvation:

In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures. (James 1:18)

Here James is very specific - God brought us forth by His will, by the word of truth, for a specific purpose: that we would be "first fruits" among His creatures. This is the basic teaching of Jesus - we are to be fruitful. We are chosen to bear fruit for God's glory, Jesus said, and here James wholeheartedly concurs. James' epistle focuses on what that fruit looks like in real life.