A LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES
JAMES 1:12 18
READ James 1:12 18
James brings us back to the beginning of things again, reminding us of our basic position...that we move forward through trials and tests to maturity. And he goes back to the same truth as an introduction to a new perspective on things. He writes of a means of blessing.
Now, the word blessed contains two strands of meaning. It means happy, in a fairly general sense.. I get blessed when I hear the choir sing my favorite song...it makes me "happy"... But the word blessed also means to have "a sense of fulfillment" and this is what James speaks of.
And in most cases where this word blessed is used in the New Testament, it clearly indicates that God is the One who gives the blessing. James is saying that persistence through trials will bring personal fulfillment and enrichment.
He highlights the fact that God is at work in all this business of trial and persistent endurance...and His work is that of bringing about a blessing while at the same time He's guiding us towards the ultimate blessing...His total approval of our lives.
This brings in a whole new range of motivations on the call to endure. First he tells us to endure so we can become mature...to be all that we can be for Christ but now he expands that to say that we endure to please the One who holds the crown of Life...and to live in a way that will gain His approval.
But the blessing is not found in the trial itself...but it's something we find as we patiently go through the trial. That tells me that if I am so caught up in the difficulty...if I'm so focused on the problem, I may miss the hand of God working in my life during the trial...and in effect miss the blessing He has for me.
But what are these blessings? They are summed up in the gift of the crown of life. In the Bible, the wearing of the crown speaks of the dignity of a high position. It speaks of gladness and rejoicing (Song of Songs 3:11). It is something given to the victor..the prize at the end of the race. And in Revelation 2:10 is the reward of faithful endurance.
But what brings the reward is not just simple endurance. I remember one time having a toothache...one of them that makes your whole head throb. And I had to wait for a day and a half until my dentist returned from vacation...and I endured.
But during that whole time I wasn't fit to be around. I hated everyone and everything even my dog. I cursed that dentist for having the nerve to go on vacation when my tooth needed pulled...I wanted everyone else I came in contact with to be as miserable as I was. But I endured.
I think its obvious that there's more involved here than just making it through. James is saying that it is our love for God that prompts us to joyfully endure whatever trials came your way. Our progress to receiving this crown is not gained by our powers of endurance...but by the depth and reality of our love for God.
Between verses 12 & 13 James makes another quick change of direction. In v. 12 he pronounces a blessing on the one who bears up under trials. But in v.13 it no longer refers to the outside circumstances that come upon us...but to the inner enticement to sin...what we call temptation.
We all know many people who stopped walking with God when some trouble or tragedy hit. And what happened was simply that the call to endure...to keep on serving God...to go on to maturity...all that was abandoned in favor of the suggestion to give up. Every trial we face is also a temptation...we're tempted to give up or maybe to give in.
James has been teaching us that trials are blessings because they lead us toward maturity and the crown of life...but only if our response is correct and we make proper use of these circumstances.
So every trial, every trouble, every circumstance we face requires a decision... "Do we go on with God, do we persevere...or do we listen to the voice that suggests the easier way of disobedience and disloyalty? This is a perfect picture of that illustration of a little angel on one shoulder and the little devil on the other.
And we must ask the question, "Where does that voice come from?" James finds it necessary to address, and I think it's important for us to get a clear understanding of this...because this is a frequent occurrence those conflicting "voices" telling us how to respond to temptation or trial.
Now, it's a fact that God uses our circumstances for His purposes...but suppose that in the midst of a severe difficulty I just give up trying...I give in to that tempting voice that says, "What's the use...you might as well just give up...or give in" Can't we then say that it was really God's fault that we quit because He's the one who brought such a temptation to us.
James responds with two statements. First, "God cannot be tempted by evil." This simply means that God's divine nature is one of complete holiness...so much so that it would be impossible for Him to be tempted to plan anything that would cause us harm.
Secondly, because of that fact, He doesn't tempt anyone else to do what is wrong either. There is nothing in His motives, His will, or any of His deeds that would bring disaster, great or small, on any of His people. God will punish disobedience...but He never sets us up for disaster.
Now, it's plain from Scripture that God does place tests in our lives. In fact, we could safely say that He never gives any gift without providing some test regarding our use of that gift. When He gave Solomon wisdom, He also gave him wealth and reputation...the very things that would put his wisdom to the test and show if he would use that wisdom for God or for himself.
But there is never an ulterior motive in this. His holiness would allow for absolutely no evil in all of His nature. When God tests us...it is so that we may pass the test and inherit the blessing.
It's almost like God was saying, "Here is a way to prove your love for me and your faith in my goodness. And it's not a negative thing at all..it's positive. You say you trust me...that you'll follow me no matter what...well this trial will be a good test to see if what you say is really true in your life.
And if we fail, the blame has to lie somewhere else besides the God of all grace. According to verses 14 15 the blame lies in us. Here is the source of that little devil that sits on our shoulder....it's that of our own sinful nature.
This road to maturity is a demanding road...it's one of testing...of persistence...of enduring. But it's also one that ends in fullness and life. But the other way, the downward road, is much easier. Desires rise up within us...and its real easy to give in to them...but they give birth to sin...and sin then produces death.
You see, our human nature is, at the heart, sinful...and what emerges as a desire proves to be an easy road that leads to sin and death. Read v. 14.....
The word James uses here for desire does not necessarily have a bad meaning. The KJV and other older versions use the word "lust" which is really not warranted. The word desire suggests that, because of the pollution in our hearts, that at any moment something harmful may present itself to us.
The desire is definitely there, which becomes evident when the temptation comes our way. But lust is such that it seeks out, it is a stronger, more powerful force, rather than simply taking advantage of what comes by.
And yet, in that simple desire is both the power and reality of death, so both are equally deadly. What it says here is that we are lured...enticed. It's like floating a big, fat, juicy nightcrawler past a hungry bass or trout. That fish says to himself...Hey, I'm hungry and that's a fine looking worm, so "Chow time!"
That fish loves big, juicy nightcrawlers...and given the opportunity it'll swallow that thing "right now." But it isn't necessarily out searching and straining for that worm...consumed with a desire that places everything else at the bottom of the list of priorities. But that desire will end up the same when it takes that baited hook into its mouth.
Let me illustrate the difference between these two aspects of our nature. Many years ago I faced a subtle, almost gentle impulse to experiment with drugs. I knew what happened to some who got deep into that lifestyle, that got hooked on drugs, but the temptation I had was almost a hypnotic attraction for something that looked fairly harmless. It was just a simple little joint...just a few puffs on a marijuana cigarette.
But the difference was only one of appearance...not substance. And giving in to that subtle, gentle temptation began a downward journey that almost cost me my life. I would never have been tempted by some spaced out junkie with needle tracks all over his arms...but the sinful nature within me had the desire for the same experience that junkie sought after each time he put a needle in his arm..
But we don't need to be so dramatic. Far more Christians are likely to be deceived, and give in to the evil forces of their sinful nature, by staying in bed in the morning when they should be up reading their Bibles. And this is a subtle thing..one easy to justify....
"I need my eight hours...I've got a long, busy day ahead...It's my only time to get a few extra winks..." But the truth is...there's no way we can trust our own nature. Inside every one of us is a deep well of desires...and with them are the fatal weaknesses that guarantee that we will fall short of God's great intentions for our lives. And it ends in death!
Twice, in this first chapter of James, he gives us a sequence: first testing, endurance, perseverance and maturity (2 4) and then, in verse 12, testing endurance, perseverance and life. Now he gives us the opposite...desire, sin and death.
James is telling us that there is a way that leads to life, and that way is found in making the right choices when the moment of trial and temptation comes. And the right choice is to keep alive that love for God we have in our hearts. It means making our decisions out of love for Him...holding on through thick and thin because of that love.
Now, that sounds good, but according to verse 14, it's impossible because we have a nature that too easily gives in to those insistent, tempting desires that lead to sin and death. So how are we to love, and keep loving God when our hearts are full of these deadly desires? V. 17 tells us: Every good we need is in and from God!
Once again James reinforces the fact that God is a giving God. He gives everything that could possibly be needed...He gives everything and holds nothing back. And everything He gives is good...it's exactly what is required...His gifts are perfect.
And this is what helps us out of the dilemma we find ourselves in. We need a heart of love if we're to receive that crown of life. All we have will never be enough...but every need we have is underwritten by the endless and perfect gifts of God.
Verse 17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above...coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights." And that speaks of creation. He is the God who created the whole universe. And do you remember what He said when He looked back on His creative work each day...It is good! And everything he's ever done is good.
That verse goes on to say, "Who does not change like shifting shadows." God never changes His position...He never alters either the fact or the intensity of His goodness. And that brings us to the heart of the matter in verse 18.
Now, James' argument runs like this...A steady persistence is necessary if we're ever to progress towards maturity and life. One of the ways we show evidence of maturity and life is by maintaining a heart of love for God....no matter what comes our way.
And yet this heart we have is really the main enemy of righteousness because of our sinful nature. But there is a solution to this problem...right from heaven itself we can expect every single good thing we need...all coming to us by divine gift.
And there is one thing in particular that God has freely chosen to do for us: He has brought us to new birth by His word, with the sole intention that we become His holy possession. He's talking about a new start.
Here James looks back to the teaching of Jesus, who spoke to a baffled Nicodemus about being born again...or born from above. This is a birth of the Spirit...and with this new birth comes new life...new energies...new prospects...and above all, a new relationship with God. It is a supernatural birth.
And it's not something of our own choosing. In John 15:16, Jesus said it this way, "You didn't choose me, but I chose you..." In John 6 we read that "No one comes to Jesus unless the Father who sent Jesus draws that person. Even the faith we exercise when we believe in Jesus is the Father's gift to us (Eph. 2:8).
And this is one of the most glorious truths in the whole Bible. It teaches us that salvation is truly all from God. Until new life is given, we are dead in trespasses and sin (Eph. 2:1)...and we're totally unable to respond to God in repentance and faith. If anything is to be done...God must do it...it must come from outside ourselves.
And that's exactly what He did for us. He came down to us, in our deadly sinfulness, and raised us up to new life...all because of His great mercy which is prompted by His great love. But James moves on. Just as the natural birth looks forward to life...so the new birth looks forward to the fulfillment of God's purpose...that we should be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.
Here James draws on an Old Testament regulation that required the presentation of the first crop to the Lord. And there are 3 ideas found in this offering.
1. Out of all that belonged to the Lord...this was specially His...the rest was left to be used for the ordinary purposes of life.
2. The first fruits had to be the best....and were set apart as holy to the Lord.
3. This offering was a yearly reminder that the Lord keeps His promises to His people....bringing them from slavery, giving them a homeland, and providing for them in their new land.
And that is why James speaks of the church as being the Lord's first fruits.
Now, as we stand back and look at this absolutely key section in James...we find that there are 2 things that are true of every Christian. In verses 14 15 James sees each person as being subject to a process of sin and death...which has its headquarters inside that individual.
But in verse 18, James sees something else that is true of the same individual...a new life from God specifically designed to bring fulfillment through a life of holiness. He drives home the teaching about our sinful natures that lead us on a journey to death with the cry in verse 16, "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers."
But we are to be equally aware of what God has done for us, as revealed in verse 18...the new birth...which comes only through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. And James is calling us to walk in the way of knowledge...knowledge about ourselves...knowledge about the work of God in us...knowledge of our old nature and of our new nature.
We find ourselves constantly pressed in on both sides. At the same time the old nature lures us to follow its desires and to walk in the path of sin and death...while at the same time we are called to live out the new, true nature that came with salvation.
This is a battle of the wills...the old nature against the new. This is the heart of the conflict James has been teaching about. So many Christians today are losing battles left and right because they don't understand who they're fighting.
Now, the devil does, without a doubt, attack the saints of God. But I think we flatter ourselves a little too much, thinking that we're so great in the kingdom that old Satan himself has to come and deal with us.
I believe that much of the time our own sinful nature is the source of our difficulties rather than a direct attack from the Prince of Darkness. And James is saying that we have no need to fear...that we have the power and authority to be victorious over those subtle, yet deadly desires that come from within us.
God has given us every good and perfect gift...everything we could ever have need of to endure...to face trials and temptations...and to come through to victory...maturity...and one day to receive the crown of life.
Where do you stand in the fight for righteousness?
