01. A Biblical Perspective on Trials

Sermons on James 2009

James 1:2-18 (part 1)

Introduction

Having spoken from the epistle of James last week, I was reminded of how useful this book is in dealing with various common aspects of the Christian life. As I thought back over the years, I realized that we, as a congregation, have spent very little time in this book. Therefore, I’m beginning a series of sermons today from the book of James.

Before we consider our first passage, however, I would like to provide some background information about the writer and the content of this book. The author identifies himself in the opening verse: “1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.” Most agree that this “James” is the brother of Jesus. Although he expressed doubts about the Lord’s claims while Jesus was still alive, James appears to have been converted after becoming an eyewitness to the Savior’s resurrection (cf. John 7:5; 1 Cor. 15:7). As indicated in Acts 15, James was a prominent leader in the early Church. Paul refers to the same “James” as “the Lord’s brother” in Gal. 1:19.

The dating of this epistle can be fixed between AD 44 and 49. In AD 44, a persecution involving those Jews who were scattered throughout the Empire began; they are the ones to whom this letter is addressed. The fact that James does not mention the Jerusalem Council, which occurred in AD 49, lends credibility to the view that the epistle was written before that date. If this chronology is correct, it means that this letter is one of the earliest in the New Testament.

In terms of content, this book has a Jewish character and reference is frequently made to the Old Testament. Distinguishing elements include James’ stress upon faith as it relates to trials and temptations, and as it relates to works in the Christian life, which serve as evidences of genuine conversion.

As just noted, this letter is addressed to Jewish believers who were scattered throughout the Roman Empire and who were, in some cases, facing severe trials. James’ use of the phrase “to the twelve tribes” indicates his audience. He is writing to Jews who had believed in Jesus as their Messiah. It appears that these people were formerly associated with the Church in Jerusalem but were forced to flee following the death of Stephen.

This first sermon has to do with gaining a Biblical perspective on our trials in this life. In vv. 2-18, James talks about trials. First, he helps us understand the proper perspective on our trials by explaining their design. Second, James writes of discerning the purpose behind particular trials. Third, James distinguishes between trials that God ordains for us and the temptations to sin that arise from within us.

01. Gaining the Proper Perspective on Our Trials (vv. 2-4)

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

How many times have you heard someone question God, even God’s existence, when passing through some difficult circumstance? People routinely cry out, “Why me, God?”, when they face the unpleasant. They speak as if God owes them an explanation or, better yet, an apology. But when those same people experience some enjoyable development or some unexpected and beneficial situation, do they just as eagerly turn to God and give thanks? You know the answer. In this world, God frequently gets blamed, but He rarely gets thanked. People are always ready to fault Him for sickness, disease, disaster, but unwilling to give thanks to God when sickness or disease are eliminated, or when some potential disaster is averted. Then, rather than “Thank God,” you here: “We were really lucky.”

Here is the whole truth: God is responsible for both. This is not a sermon on God’s sovereign rule over His creation, but we need to be reminded once in a while just what sovereignty means. If God is sovereign over all things, then He is, of course, sovereign over the little things. James is addressing one of those relatively “little things.” He’s not speaking of how God raises up or puts down world leaders and entire nations; James is concerned with something much smaller in scope—and that is the days of your life.

While unbelievers, as I said a moment ago, curse God when things don’t please them and thank “luck” or “mother nature” when circumstances make them happy, God’s people—those who know He is alive and powerful and loving—must find a better reaction. We must conclude that God oversees everything, including the events of our daily lives; and if oversees all things, then all things must be serving His perfect purposes. And if all things are serving His perfect purposes, then trials must also be interpreted in that light.

Most Christians, nevertheless, when preparing to write about the trials of this life, would not begin by saying: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials”! James does. By definition, trials are not pleasant experiences. Trials are… trials; they are times when we are pressed, times when we are strained and forced to endure extraordinary circumstances, times when we have no direct control, times when the next few hours or days frighten us. Trials can cause us to fear, doubt, cry, worry, and lose sleep. Trials interrupt the normal routine of life and disrupt families; trials can shatter our confidence and disturb our comfort. Trials hurt; they can be emotionally costly; they can cause everything else in life to come to a grinding halt. Yet this man declares: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials!”

Was there something wrong with this man’s brain? Had he lived such an easy life that he simply didn’t understand what trials are or what they are like? Was James so insensitive and so out of touch with his fellow-believers that he completely missed an opportunity to encourage those who were suffering?

As it turns out, James was very well acquainted with trials. As a leader in the early Church, he faced much opposition and was eventually executed, perhaps by stoning, according to various sources. Therefore, whatever we conclude about James, we cannot assume he was out of touch with reality. We must conclude, I believe, that James had a different perspective on trials, not a denial of the reality of trials and difficulties, but a viewpoint informed by a source other than his own powers of analysis.

As a pastor writing to people who are presently dispersed in strange places, presently suffering far from their homes, how do you tell them to rejoice even though you know they are in miserable, dangerous and frightening circumstances? How could he expect these believers to maintain a joyful countenance when they were being persecuted and when they were seeing friends and loved ones abused, and when they knew that returning home was an impossibility? What is joyful about that? What, in that description, is cause for gladness? How can such counsel be given to people whose entire existence has been turned upside down?

Not long after becoming pastor of a church in Newland, NC, I had to make a visit to a hospital in Asheville, about 40 miles away. I was in an odd situation. I had not been in town long enough to get to know anyone. I had never met the family of the woman who was in the hospital. I wasn’t even sure of her condition, but had been asked to check on her. I arrived at the hospital, finally found the right room and walked in. The woman had just died that very minute and the nurses were pulling out tubes and cleaning up. I turned to go back out into the hall and immediately came face to face with her grown children. They had just been told that their mom was gone; the grandchildren had just been told that their grandmother was dead. That was an awkward moment, I assure you. Here is what I did not do; I did not say “Consider it all joy, family, when your dearly beloved dies!”

Our tendency is to be troubled by trials, not made joyful. But then we have to deal with the example of James. Think again of his audience—people scattered about, many of them suffering, some suffering very harsh treatment. What kind of counsel would you give? What advice would you offer? James says “count it all joy, my brethren.”

There might be a difference between the counsel we give and that which James gives. The difference is that James had an understanding of the nature of trials. He knew the purpose of trials, for example. Notice what follows that first exhortation: “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” (v. 3) Here, then, is one of the vital keys to maintaining an appropriate perspective on our trials: knowledge or understanding of the nature of trials permits us to face them and remain joyful. That means that perspective is the key, as it is in so many areas of our Christian experience. Trials “test” our faith. That is, they serve to demonstrate the quality of our faith.

The word translated “endurance” (hupomone) refers to a basic attitude or frame of mind, one which could be described as “patience” or “steadfastness.” In this case, James means having patience through or during a trial; the translation “endurance,” therefore, is good. Remember that James is writing to people in seriously threatening situations; yet, he tells them to be joyful and he tells them how they can be joyful: “know that your trial—the testing of your faith—has a design and the design is your endurance or perseverance in the faith.”

Let’s think about what James has just said for a moment. When you find yourself in the midst of some trial and it is causing you anxiety or uneasiness or maybe even fear, would it not bring you at least a measure of relief to know that the trial, whatever it happens to be, is intended for your growth in holiness and for the refinement of your understanding of God’s ways and purposes? Who would choose a trial with ignorance over a trial with the knowledge James provides? Clearly, the insight James gives in this passage is invaluable. If you will think about how many trials you face in your life and think about how serious some of them are and what concern they cause in your heart, then you should be most grateful to hear what James says.

There is, of course, a very discouraging side to trials in the life of believers and that is manifested when a Christian decides to complain rather than accept what God has ordained. Not all Christians have the perspective of James. Some withdraw from fellowship, from church, from praying, and from most spiritual pursuits because they conclude that whatever it is they are going through is unfair and should not be happening to them. Don’t tell me that you’ve never had that thought in your head, at least for a few moments! This information from James is given to us so that we can banish those kinds of destructive notions and respond to what God has appointed with courage and honor. Trials will come if we belong to the Lord; the question, then, is: How will I react?

Those of you who were hear a few years ago might remember the church being asked to pray for a very dear friend of mine back in Virginia. His name is Larry and he was one of the men who was instrumental in my conversion and I have a great amount of love and respect for him. One day, he wrote and told me that his wife, Betty, had been diagnosed with cancer; and that began a trial of incredible proportions for that family.

From day one, however, my friend addressed this situation from a strictly Biblical point of view. He began sending out frequent updates and always spoke of God’s goodness and the hope God gave and the faithfulness they were experiencing from God. Even as her conditioned became more life-threatening, Larry’s perspective remained the same: We are in God’s hands at this dark moment just as surely as we were in His hands before this trial began. Larry and Betty remained steadfast in the faith until the day of her departure. That trial resulted in the glory of God and the magnification of His grace. Many, many people were affected by Larry’s response to that trial. They were encouraged and made more confident.

I know how hard it was for Larry to watch his wife waste away. I know how discouraging it was for him each time the latest report from the doctor spoke of further complications and further spread of the cancer. But he honored God by reacting to that circumstance in faith and by truly believing that what God had ordained was righteous.

You could not convince me that the perspective James gives is not essential to my reaction to trials. You could not make me believe that there is a better way to analyze what God appoints for us. What James provides helps us have peace of mind during our testing. James teaches us that trials are not designed to destroy us, but to strengthen us; they are not given by God to see if He can make us fall, but are sent by God to train us to stand tall and firm. The trials God ordains for us are training so that we become more like our Savior and leave more and more behind of our old self.

Knowing what trials are designed to do makes us eager to let them accomplish their work in us. Knowing that trials actually purify faith, James adds: “Let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (v. 4) If trials do have the result described by James, then, by all means, the believer is going to want the full benefit of such testing. Trials will, in time, James teaches, make us “perfect and complete” so that we are “lacking in nothing.”

The idea behind those two words, “perfect and complete,” is that of a process coming to an end after it has accomplished what it was designed to accomplish. Trials come to us periodically to advance our maturity with the goal of a whole and fully developed faith at some point in the future. Considered in this light, trials are more than helpful, they are necessary. It is only through trials that this maturing process can take place.

I know that many of you would agree with this: The most severe trials that I have faced as a Christian have consistently left me with a greater apprehension of the faith, a greater appreciation for God, and an improved ability to live before Him honorably. Think of one of those severe times of testing you’ve endured. Would you not say that, in the end, it was a positive influence in your faith? Would you not say that, as a result of that trial, you are more mature in Christ and better able to discern God’s leading? I think most people would say such things about trials. We could testify that they accomplish just what James says: the refinement of our faith.

This is the perspective that James is teaching. If we put together all the information that James supplies, then we can return to that first statement and understand how and why he says: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” The testing of our faith is necessary, beneficial and completely desirable—if we truly want to advance in Christ. We are imperfect people living in this world. If we are to grow, then we must face that which causes maturity and, knowing the outcome, we can experience a sense of security and purpose even as we pass through a challenging episode.

Conclusion

I’ll close with a few words of application based upon what James has said thus far. The first point had to do with gaining a proper perspective on our trials. With such a proper perspective and only with such a proper perspective, we can do what James says; we can “consider it all joy” when we encounter various trials. It’s worth noting that the joy we can experience covers “various trials,” that is, whatever kind of trial we happen to face can be met with joy if we have the proper perspective. The perspective on your trials that will allow you to endure and grow in the faith has to do with knowing what trials are designed to do. Trials mature you, trials increase your comprehension of God and His ways, trials lead you to a more reliable understanding of life.

I’ve mentioned before an opportunity I had just days after my father passed away in 1985. I was able to sit down and take a long look at the Bible he had carried for all those years; I did this in preparation for the sermon I was to preach at his funeral. In the notes he had written in the front, back and margins of that Bible, I discovered that my father had a deep, strong and stable faith. I had known he was a believer during those years, but I had no idea just how closely he walked with the Lord and just how clearly he understood the trial God had ordained for him. My immediate reaction was one of regret that I had not spent more time learning from him what it meant to be a submissive Christian. It was so clear that he had a perspective on life that comes only with a prolonged testing.

The one recurring theme in his Bible notes was this idea that James explains—my father was convinced that his trial, which was a prolonged sickness that completely rearranged his life and our family, was for his own good and the good of others. At one point he wrote that he would not go back and avoid the trial even if he could because of all the good that had come out of it. In note after note, he praised the Lord for his suffering—and it was intense—because he believed that it was God’s will and that his growth in the faith would bring honor to the Lord.

I learned more about the proper perspective on trials by reading those notes in my father’s Bible than I had ever learned before on my own. I saw an acceptance of God’s will, not a reluctant acceptance, but a willing and grateful acceptance based on the design of God’s trials. This is what James is talking about. By keeping in mind that trials are designed for all of these good goals, and more, you can be joyful—not celebratory, but joyful. Joy in the Christian life is not the same thing as celebration. Joy in the Christian life is that inner satisfaction we have when we know that God is in control and when we realize that He truly does have our good in mind as He ordains our circumstances. So, we don’t celebrate and have a party in the midst of our trials, but we do have joy and contentment. Trials prove that God loves us and that He is preparing us for heaven.

I know that some here this morning are experiencing a trial. I know that the trial is intense at times. This word from God is your comfort; it is His instruction to you so that you can endure without being overwhelmed. Whatever it is, it comes from your loving heavenly Father and you have no need to doubt that He will accomplish good from it.

It may be difficult to do, but try your best to evaluate your trials in light of what James teaches here. If you don’t, you are going to compound your woe. And let me add that if you have not yet experienced a severe trial in your walk with the Lord, be assured that you will. Before you find yourself in that position, learn well the lesson James taught to those first century believers who were facing such harsh circumstances, namely, that the testing of our faith produces perseverance and perseverance leads to our maturity in Christ.

Let’s pray . . .

Communion hymn . . .

The Lord’s Supper

As the writer of Hebrews is exhorting his readers to exhibit faith, the faith seen in many characters from the Old Testament period, he tells them to fix their eyes on Jesus, “the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2) Here is an example for us from the Savior. The end of His trial was joy, as the writer says. To reach that end, Jesus had to “endure the cross”; He had to remain true during that prolonged period of testing. The end of that trial, however, was glorious—He redeemed His people and now sits in honor at the right hand of the throne of God.

When we participate in this sacrament, we are remembering and celebrating several truths, including the perseverance of our Savior so that we would be rescued. Let His example strengthen you; let His example inspire you to endure. Knowing that He endured, call upon Him for help; ask the Lord to sustain you and to enable you to persevere—for His glory.

As the bread comes to you, remember how Jesus gave His life without complaint, without doubt because that was part of what God had ordained. As the wine comes to you, remember that Jesus allowed His blood to be shed so that your sins might be paid for; that, too, He did without complaint because it was what God appointed and the end of that ordeal was wonderful.

Matthew 26:26While they were eating, Jesus took some bread, and after a blessing, He broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

We read these words each week to remind ourselves that Jesus appointed this sacrament for His people. It is an ongoing reminder of what He did and an ongoing assurance that He is alive even now. He calls us to partake of His body after a spiritual manner and be sustained in our spirit; He calls us to drink of His blood after a spiritual manner and be cleansed from our sin. And Jesus makes that wonderful promise of a coming day, one of a grand reunion when we all gather in His Father’s kingdom to rejoice in perfection forever more. Let that coming day encourage you.