The Purpose of Trials; James 1:1-4

Brothers and sisters in Christ, greetings from the Panhandle. I pray all is well with you today. As much as we try to avoid them, trials do come our way, it is just the nature of being a Christian in a fallen world. Now I don't even pretend to understand what trials some of you face. I know that some of you brothers and sisters are facing jail time, beatings, and some even threat of your very lives. So far here in the U.S. all we have had to face is verbal abuse and some infringements on our religious freedoms.

At the time James was writing this letter of encouragement to fellow believers they too were facing very hard times. And yes they were literally putting their lives on the line for Christ Jesus. But why would they and why do Christians still subject themselves to such harsh treatment? And do trials in our lives have a purpose? Let's look at James, Chapter 1:1-4 to answer these questions.

Christianity is much more than mere philosophy, theology, or religious teaching. It is a lifestyle based upon a vital relationship with God. He has invited us to love Him with all of our hearts, with all our souls, with all our minds, and with all our strength (Mark 12:30). He desires for us to not only know about Him, but to know Him personally (1 John 4:7). Christ Jesus asks that we not only receive Him but that we walk in Him and be rooted and built up in Him (Colossians 2:6–7).

Our relationship with Christ Jesus is to be one of great intimacy and utter dependence. We are asked to no longer live for ourselves but rather for Him. We are to be in Christ, and He is to be in us (2 Corinthians 5:14–17). In fact John 11:5 tells us that without Him we can do nothing. However Philippians 4:13 reminds us through Him we can do anything He calls us to do.

Love is at the very center of this relationship. It was God’s love for us which caused Christ Jesus to become flesh, live, die and rise from the dead. He was and is love personified. Love and all of the other fruits of the Spirit, must be lived out in daily in our lives. Possession is more than mere profession; authentic Christianity is practical. That is what the Book of James is all about. James helps us understand “how to” live the Christian life.

James helps us to move from the place of merely possessing intellectual belief in Christ Jesus to the joy of knowing Him personally and following Him daily. Too often the church has merely told people that they “should” live for God or that they “must” do what is right. James moves beyond mere moralizing to teach us “how to” follow Christ Jesus as the Lord of our lives. His teaching is both practical and workable; his style is “show and tell.” He tells us and showed us with his life “how to” do it.

James is concerned with the matter of faith. For him, faith is not merely something which is believed; faith is something we do. It must be lived—in active obedience. The focus of his direct teaching regarding faith is found in the second chapter of his letter. However, the emphasis is found throughout the book beginning with the first chapter which focuses upon how to live with faith and trials.

James addressed his letter “To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (James 1:1). You see many of these believers were young in their faith. They needed practical instruction on how to live the Christian life. They also had to make some sense of their suffering and pain. They were in need of counsel and encouragement, and James responded with love and practical help.

A hypothetical question which has been posed to most of us is, “If you were stranded on an island, what would be the one thing you would like most to have with you?” The scattered, tattered, faithful Christians who received this marvelous letter from James would no doubt have answered that letter.

This letter was the lifeline used by God to rescue and encourage many of them. And it can be that same kind of lifesaving and practical help for you and me. As contemporary Christians we live in a society that is becoming more openly hostile and in opposition to a vital Christian faith. In James’ letter we can learn “how to” live more effectively for Christ Jesus our Lord.

James 1:1-4

1:1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes scattered among the nations:

Greetings.

2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

1. A Word of Greeting (v. 1)

A servant not a half-brother, not even the head of First Church, Jerusalem. There are several James mentioned in the New Testament including James the brother of John (one of the original 12 apostles and James the son of Alpheus or James the lesser and a cousin to Christ Jesus. I agree with most Bible scholars that this James is Christ Jesus’ half-brother, the son of Joseph and Mary – one of only three men who can make that claim

Twelve Tribes - The term “twelve tribes” is familiar to anyone who has studied the Old Testament. This is the twelve tribes of Israel who were descendants of Abraham. Those twelve tribes were led by Moses in the Exodus to the Promised Land of Canaan where they occupied the land under the leadership of Joshua. However, it is most likely that James was not referring to the twelve tribes of the old Israel but rather to the Jewish Christians who were part of the new Israel—the church of Christ Jesus.

The death of James the brother of John, the son of Zebedee, and the death of Stephen not to mention the persecution of Saul scattered the believers. James wrote to these who were scattered within the Jewish context and uses vocabulary and illustrations which could best be understood by Jewish Christians. And while James wrote to the “twelve tribes” he was probably writing his letter to the entire church at large—both Jewish and Gentile—who are recipients of the New Covenant through Christ Jesus.

Although James wrote to the first century Christians, he was also writing to you and me. If you know Christ Jesus as your Lord and Savior you also are a recipient of the New Covenant through Him. If not you can share in the New Covenant of Christ Jesus today.

James wrote as a humble servant of Christ Jesus and His church to fellow believers who were scattered throughout the Roman world by persecution for their faith. These were people who had a deep faith in Christ Jesus. James wrote to give them and you practical counsel regarding how to follow Christ Jesus as the Lord of our lives even more effectively.

2. Profit from Trials – (v. 2-4)

Various Trials (v. 2). Normal people do not enjoy trials. In fact, most of us do everything possible to avoid the trials of life. But, James was writing to people who were well acquainted with the pain and the challenge of trials. Most of these Christians had faced severe trials even to the point of losing their homes, their jobs, and their security within a community. They had to flee literally for their lives to a strange place. Many of them faced not mere inconvenience, but their very survival. They were separated from family members and friends, not only geographically, but also spiritually. They were members of a new family—the body of Christ Jesus. In the world they were aliens and foreigners and strangers, but they had become fellow citizens of the household of God: So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, (Ephesians 2:19).

All Joy - This does not suggest that you should seek out trials. You should not to consider trials as a punishment, a curse, or a calamity. It does not mean that we are to pretend that enduring trials are pleasant – they cause pain and difficulties. Their joy and ours – is the potential for producing something good in us because of the trials. Yet for this to happen you must consciously develop a positive attitude toward trials, something that is contrary to our normal response

There was a “good Christian” woman who died from a painful disease. She suffered an incredible amount of physical pain during the last year of her life.

She and her loved ones asked the logical question, “Why should she face such suffering and trial?” It was certainly not a matter of cause-and-effect or a spiritual trial.

As is true of many of the trials which we face in our lives, her suffering fell into the third and most difficult category of trials—the spiritually mysterious trial. Her solution was the same as Job’s. She trusted herself to the Lord with all of her heart.

What blessing resulted from her trust and commitment to Christ Jesus! Her pure joy in the midst of her trials was unmistakable. And, as you might suspect, her joy and faith touched the lives of many people. She pointed them to Christ Jesus as the One who gave her pure joy and Who could make sense out of senselessness.

My friends, as hard as it is; as Christ followers we should be those who consider it pure joy whenever we face the trials of life. And, whether the trials make sense or not, the solution is always the same. We need to turn to Christ Jesus and trust Him for strength and wisdom and pure joy. He is to be trusted!

Endurance/Perseverance (v. 3) - God is not the author of evil, suffering, or trials, but He has a wonderful capacity to use them for our good. The apostle Paul wrote, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). In the Greek text, we find the word dokı́mion (dok-im'-ee-on), which literally means proving or trying. It is the word used by Peter when he writes about the “genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:7).

This testing produces endurance or perseverance. This is not merely the ability to hold back discouraging results. It is the quality of unswerving constancy or endurance. It is not “passive” patience which might be confused with laziness but, rather, “active” patience which denotes steadfastness and “staying power.” Tested faith becomes spiritually tough and rugged – it gains staying power. “Keep on keeping on!” God invites you to trust Him with all that you are and to realize that even the testing of your faith is for your good—it develops perseverance in your lives.

Perfect and Complete (v. 4) – We see three benefits from our trials

1^st - A believer with perseverance strives to be perfect. This does not mean that you are sinless or morally flawless. This perfection describes maturity, that is the state of being fully developed. It is a process that goes on in the life of a Christian, its goal being perfection. As Christians we are to be growing and maturing to become more and more like Christ Jesus Himself—measured by nothing less than His full stature, which is true perfection. This is to be your goal and this is to be your purpose.

2^nd – We can be complete. The Greek word used here is holóklēros (hol'-ok'-lay-ros), which means entire or perfect in every part. This word is found in only one other place in all of the New Testament. In the closing blessing of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, Paul states, “… may your whole (holóklēros) spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23).

3^rd – Verse 4 promises that we will be lacking nothing. The word for lacking, leipō (li'-po). It cannot be translated any more graphically than “lacking nothing.” It means just that. God desires for you to be deficient in nothing or to want for nothing. What a powerful statement! When you allow patience to have its perfect work in your lives, you will be growing to become more and more like Christ Jesus—perfect, mature, full-grown, complete, entire, perfect in every part, lacking in nothing, deficient in nothing, wanting nothing!

Conclusion: We, you and I are going to face trails and we are going to be tested, that is a fact of life in a fallen world. However you do not have to let them keep you down. If you like James are a humble servant “of God and the Lord Jesus Christ,” you can persevere, you can endure.

And while there are immediate benefits from perseverance, there is the ultimate benefit which supersedes all. It is life eternal, which no one can take from you. Life is not always fair, and the victories for the Christian are not always obvious, but of one thing you can be sure: ultimate victory is yours in Christ Jesus. As you are faithful and as you persevere, the “crown of life” awaits you in the victory circle of the kingdom of God!

1. What three James are mentioned in section 1?
2. Who are the 12 tribes?
3. What were some of the trials the early Christians faced?
4. Are we suppose to pretend that enduring trials are pleasant?
5. What is the difference between passive and active patience?
6. What are three benefits from our trials?