THE LETTER OF ST. JAMES

James 1:1-8
Greetings and Theme

James 1:1-8

THEME: FAITHFULLY APPLYING GOD'S WISDOM DURING TRIALS AND TEMPTATIONS (1:2-8)

Joy in Suffering (1:2-4)

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

Right after James salutes us with “Joy,” he goes on to command us to have joy in the midst of our trials: “Consider it all joy, my brethren, whenever you encounter various trials.” In the Greek the emphasis falls on joy: "All joy consider it, my brothers!" The major purpose of this letter (v. 1) is the joy for the Christian, hopefully in this life, but definitely in the life to come. This letter will show us how to have real joy in this life.

Now we shouldn’t be surprised that James introduces the topic of suffering right at the beginning of his letter. Hadn’t he just said that we are exiles in this world, that we are pilgrims, that we just don’t fit in? We are going to suffer because the world is not going to put up with us acting like we belong to another world. Despite all its bravado and blustering about diversity, this world wants, actually demands complete uniformity, and when it sees something or someone not conforming, it responds by trying to crush it.

Although we can see the reason we suffer in this world, how could James command us to have joy whenever we are undergoing severe trials? The reason we can be joyful is that if we respond properly to trials, then we can be sure that the testing of our faith will produce endurance, and that endurance will make us perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. The person who responds positively to trials will be transformed into the image of Christ. Ultimate joy can be experienced only after we’ve been transformed into the image of Christ, the whole goal and purpose of Christianity.

C.S. Lewis has more profoundly understood the purpose of suffering than any other writer I’ve ever read. In harmony with James’ teaching here, Lewis in Mere Christianity claims that we are all little cottages with broken plumbing and corrupt wires. Here’s what we are expecting from Him, but here is what He is actually going to do:


Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of— throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself (Mere Christianity, chapter 9).


The pain comes from the fact that He is molding us into His image, into a suitable dwelling place for God.

Before leaving the topic of suffering, note that James uses a general word to describe our sufferings: “trials.” The Greek word (peirasmos, pron. pie-RAZZ-mahs), can mean either trials in a good sense or temptation in a bad sense. Context normally dictates which sense is meant. When James says that these are various trials, he means trials/temptations in all the various forms which come to us. Unfortunately, some Christians reduce these trials only to those trials suffered specifically for the cause of Christ, for example, Christians who suffer martyrdom because they are Christians. The truth is that Christians suffer for Christ sometimes even in ways they least expect it. Some suffer because of emotional, verbal, sexual or physical abuse experienced as a child. Some suffer because of spousal abuse. Some suffer because of low self-esteem. Some are suffering financial hardships. James claims that if we respond properly to these sufferings, Christ will use those sufferings to transform us into mansions, even better, into sons and daughters of God who are just like the Son.

In the movie Shadowlands, C.S. Lewis claims that most of us are like 2-year olds. Now most 2-year olds are understandably some of the most selfish creatures in the world. They feel that everything should be about them, their wants, their needs, their desires. Even as adults, many of us live in a nursery world spiritually in which everything is about us. Such an attitude destroys the possibility of any real relationship. Now this condition may be OK for us right after we became Christians; however, Christ did not die and rise to leave us in this condition. He wants us to get out of that nursery and become adults so that we can truly enjoy the life He died and rose to give us. Suffering and pain are the means Christ uses to jolt us out of that nursery, to become adults. Why become adults? Adults, mature adults know how to enjoy relationships, especially a relationship with God. Staying in that nursery hinders that growth, especially growth in relationships.

How do pain and suffering transform us into the image of Christ? They test and develop our faith. Whatever else is true about Christ, He is the Son. The key ingredient of any perfect Father/Son relationship is faith. If there is no faith, then the Father/Son relationship is flawed. True sons trust their fathers. Real faith exists when it exists during times of trials and testing. It’s easy to trust God when everything is wonderful. Yet, are we really even then trusting Him when everything is going well? It takes testing and trials to develop and strengthen that faith. Maturing in that faith is that which will develop us into the image of Christ, make us real sons and daughters of God.

Prayer For Wisdom (1:5-8)

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. Let not that man expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

James follows up the discussion on suffering with the prayer for wisdom. If I am going to be able to process suffering properly, if I am going to be able to respond properly to trials and sufferings so that I can be transformed into the image of Christ the Son, then I am going to need wisdom. If I am going to be able to live like a pilgrim in this world, then I am going to need wisdom. Now I don’t need human wisdom. That leads to disaster. Getting human wisdom is no better than getting wisdom from myself. Why do I want wisdom from creatures who are as messed up as I am? I need divine wisdom from the One who not only has perfect knowledge but also from the One who loves me perfectly if I am truly going to live like I belong to another world. How do I get that wisdom? James says that all we have to do is ask for that wisdom.

At this point I hear all these wise Christian teachers and preachers saying that you can’t really know God’s will. They will present one of 2 reasons why we can’t really know God’s will: (1) God is so far above us that we can’t understand Him, or (2) we are so human that we can’t really understand God’s will. Both reasons insult God and contradict one of the purposes Christ became man—to reveal God to us perfectly.

In response to the first reason, Isaiah 55:8 does claim that God is as high above us as the heavens are above us. That’s true. When I look at the universe, I see a highly brilliant universe that could have only come from a super intelligent being. Now if this intelligent being created a universe that is this brilliant, don’t you think He is quite brilliant enough of being able to communicate to you and me? Second, I don’t care how human we are; don’t you think God is smart enough to know how to communicate to you and to me?

In response to the second reason, if we look closely at life, we will see how God is able to communicate to you and me. My wife used to work with the 1 ½ and 2-year olds at church. She would come home many weeks and tell me about the children, how sweet they were. Two children were a little older and more advanced verbally than the rest. They would come in and speak about adventures they had during the week: going to the lake, riding in a boat. She would look around and see some of the other children who were not quite as verbal get really excited because although they couldn’t express themselves verbally, they nevertheless were connecting with what the other 2 children were saying. She would get down to the other children and ask them if they rode in a boat recently. They would get all excited and say: “Boat!” or “Lake!” This is elementary communication; however, it is real communication. My wife was able to do this because she is pretty smart. Now if my wife who is human can communicate down to that level, don’t you think the great God of the universe can communicate down to our level?

Moreover, you need to appreciate the fact that God has gone to great lengths to communicate His will to you and me. First, because man can understand man, He became man so that we might be able to understand Him better. Second, Christ has placed His Spirit within us, the Spirit who not only knows Jesus and the Father perfectly, but who also knows us perfectly because He lives within us. He is the perfect communicator of God to us (see 1 Cor. 2:12-14).

But does God want to communicate to us? James responds with a resounding “Yes!” God gives wisdom to all men generously who are willing to ask for it and to receive it in faith. Jesus is such a communicator that He is actually called “the Word” in John 1:1-2. If we haven’t heard from God, God is not the problem. We are the problem. We have either not asked for His wisdom or we have asked in unbelief. We may have asked for it conditionally. “God, give us Your wisdom, and if we like it, we will obey it!” That person can forget hearing from God. God is God, not a Negotiator.

What gives me confidence that God will give to me generously? Well, that is what dads do for their children: they give to them generously. I live to give to my two children. This past weekend they came up to Corsicana with their spouses to spend time with their parents. It was a great weekend. We had a good time eating, playing games, talking, and laughing (a lot). Sunday we were supposed to have lunch together after church; however, because the church was closer to where my daughter lived, she felt like she and her husband needed to go on back to Denton and miss lunch. We were going to have a great lunch back in Corsicana, and I hated that she was going to miss out on the celebration. So I gave her some money so that she and her husband could have a neat meal and not fully miss out on the celebration. I am by no means a perfect father. BUT if I am going to do things like that for my children, how much much I can be sure that my heavenly Father is going to do even more wonderful things for me. Christ claims just this very thing: "If you being evil know how to give good gift to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him" (Matt. 7:11). In case you have any doubts, just look at the crucifix in the back of the church next time you enter the sanctuary. If He gave us the gift of His Son, He will spare nothing for you and me.