Let us turn this morning to the
letter of James, chapter one. James chapter one. I'm going
to read the first 11 verses, but we will only be looking this
morning at the first four verses. James, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trying of your
faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect
work, that you may be perfect, that is mature, and entire, wanting
nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let
him ask of God that giveth to all liberally and upbraideth
not, and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith nothing
wavering, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven
with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that
he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man
is unstable in all his ways. Let the brother of low degree
rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made
low, because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth
the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the
fashion of it perisheth, so also shall the rich man fade away
in his ways. This morning we will consider
only the first four verses in this chapter. First, the human
author, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.
You notice I said the human author because we know that it also
has a divine author, that this letter is part of the all scripture,
the 66 books in our Bible, all scripture, which is given by
inspiration of God. The apostle Peter spoke of this
inspiration when he said, For the prophecy, that is the preaching,
the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man. In other
words, Micah, or Moses, or David, or any of those who wrote the
books in our Old Testament, Malachi, Zechariah, any of those men,
they didn't just decide one day that they would write a book.
No, as the Apostle Peter tells us, The prophecy came not in
old time by the will of man, but holy men, that is, men set
apart by God the Holy Spirit, holy men of God, spake as they
were moved by the Holy Spirit. And that word moved, the picture
is of the wind moving a sailing ship. If you look at the lake
sometime up on Lake Conroe or some other lake and you see the
ship is just sailing along because the wind is moving it, that's
the way, that's the picture here of the inspiration of the scriptures. Holy men, men set apart by God
to write. the Word of God. And we have
no question that God the Holy Spirit is God. If you keep your
places here but look with me to Acts chapter 5. You know it's interesting that
most of the cults deny the person of the Holy Spirit. They deny
the Trinity to begin with because man cannot understand And no,
we can't understand how God is one. There's only one God, but
there's three persons in the Godhead. We can't explain that. And so man rationalizes and says,
well, that can't be, that there's only one God, the Father. I'm
talking about the cults. Just about every one of them
deny the Trinity. They deny the person of the Holy
Spirit, and of course they deny the eternal deity of the Son
of God. They would tell us that He is
a creature, that God the Son was created by the Father, His
only begotten Son. No, He is one with the Father
and one with the Holy Spirit. And the scripture, the point
I'm making is, This letter that we're looking at today is part
of the scripture that is given by inspiration of God, the Holy
Spirit. This is His work. Usually the
inspiration of the scripture is ascribed to the person of
the Holy Spirit. For instance, Election, when
we think about the doctrine of election, God choosing his people
from before the foundation of the world, we usually think of
that as the work of the Father, because that's the way it is
presented to us in the Word of God. When we think about the
blood redemption, we think of that, of course, as the work
of the Son of God who was made manifest in the flesh and gave
his life a ransom, shed his blood for the remission of the sins
of his people. And when we think about the work
of inspiration, It's usually ascribed to God, the Holy Spirit. And as I said, no one should
doubt the deity of the Holy Spirit. Look here in Acts chapter five,
if you will, the first four verses. But a certain man named Ananias
and Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and kept back part
of the price. his wife also being privy to
it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles'
feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why
hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Who did he lie to? He lied to
the Holy Ghost, Peter said. and to keep back part of the
price of the land, whilst it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this
thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men,
but unto God. Who did he lie to? He lied to
the Holy Spirit. Who did he lie to? He lied to
God. We know that He is one of the
persons in the baptismal formula, baptizing them, those who are
made disciples, those who believe this message. The world doesn't
believe the gospel, never has and never will. But God has his
chosen people in this world. When they hear the gospel, they
believe the gospel. And that's the work of God, the
Holy Spirit. Many people here and they just,
it's just like water off a duck's back. It doesn't mean anything
to them. But as our Lord said, no man
can come to me except the Father which has sent me draw him. And
when along with the gospel goes the power of God the Holy Spirit
quickening and giving life Then men believe the gospel. They
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are saved. That's you today. That's me. I believe the gospel. Do you? I believe that Jesus
Christ is the son of God. I believe that he is the Christ.
I have no doubt in my mind. I don't believe this simply because
I was raised in Houston, Texas and went to a Baptist church
and that's what I was told. No, I believe this because God
has told this to me from his word, by the power of God, the
Holy Spirit. James, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Now that's the spiritual author
of this book, this letter, the Holy Spirit, but the human author
was James. And the Apostle Paul in the letter
of Galatians refers to this James, this James who was the author
of this letter, as the Lord's brother. You find that in Galatians
chapter 1 and verse 9. Paul refers to this James as
the Lord's brother. Now, what does that mean? Well,
I think most of the writers are agreed that Alphaeus was the
father of James, that he was the brother of Mary, the mother
of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was typical among the Jews
to call what we would call a cousin, a cousin germane or German, that
is a brother, James, a brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. But
notice that James doesn't mention that relationship in his letter
here. James a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He doesn't mention that physical
relationship to the Lord Jesus Christ. He calls himself a servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now listen, the first
meaning, if you look in a Greek lexicon, The first meaning of
this word, which is here translated servant, is slave. Slave. James, a slave of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Look with me in the book of Romans. Turn with me, if you will, to
Romans chapter six. In Romans chapter 6, beginning
with verse 17, the apostle says, but God be thanked that you were
the servants, that is, the slaves of sin, but you have obeyed from
the heart. Now notice that form of doctrine
into which you were delivered or which was delivered unto you.
Now that form of doctrine, of course, is the gospel. You were
the slaves of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart, or with
the heart, from the heart. You see, man believeth with the
heart unto righteousness. Now the heart in the scripture
refers to these three things, the intellect, the emotions,
and the will. From the heart, You believe this
form of doctrine, this gospel. And first you heard the message,
and then your affections went out to the message, to Christ,
who loved you so much that he gave himself for you, and your
will is involved. You received him as your Lord
and as your Savior. You believe on him. But notice,
being then made free from sin, you were the slave of sin, but
through the gospel, believing in your heart the gospel, you
became the slaves of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men
because of the infirmity of your flesh. For as you have yielded
your members servants, that is slaves to uncleanness and to
iniquity unto iniquity, even so now, this is to believers,
yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when you were the slaves
of sin, you were free from righteousness, What fruit had you then in those
things whereof you are now ashamed? Can you identify with that? Oh,
I tell you, I can. I certainly can. When I look
back in my life before the Lord saved me, I have a lot to be ashamed of.
A lot to be ashamed of. I had no fruit. What fruit had
you then in those things where of you are now ashamed? Ashamed
that I lived as I lived at that time, did what I did at that
time, talked like I talked at that time, thought like I thought
at that time. It didn't produce any fruit unto
God, for the end of those things is death. But now, But now, being
made free from sin, how does a person get free? God makes
you free. God delivers you. That's what
salvation is, deliverance. Deliverance from the bondage
of sin. Deliverance from the servitude
to Satan. But now, being made free from
sin and become slaves to God, You have your fruit unto holiness
and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord. Now I said the first meaning
of this word that is translated servants is slaves. Slaves have
owners. Slaves have owners, don't they?
Who owns every child of God? God does. God does. Slaves are purchased. Years ago,
I preached in North Carolina, and the pastor took me down to,
I believe it was Raleigh, North Carolina. And he said, I want
you to see this place here. And it's where men were were
sold there. At one time, men and women sold
their other people, they were bought Every child of God has
been bought. We are not our own. We are bought. We're slaves. We're bought with
the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Look in 1 Corinthians chapter
6. 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Last two verses. What? What? What? Write to professed believers. What? What? Know you not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have
of God, and you are not your own, for you are bought with
a price. Therefore, because you're no
longer your own, because you've been bought with a price, therefore,
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Now, back in James, the letter
of James, This James, who wrote this letter,
along with Peter and John, according to the Apostle Paul in Galatians
2, when he visited Jerusalem, he said they seemed to be pillars.
They seemed to be pillars. James, Peter, and John. John Gill said they were called
pillars for these reasons. They are called so for their
constancy and stability in preaching the gospel and suffering for
the sake of Christ. They were steadfast and immovable
in his work, nor could they be shaken or deterred from it by
the menaces, reproaches, and persecutions of men. And they
were the means of supporting others that were feeble-minded,
and of defending and maintaining the truths of the gospel. And
they were set, as the scripture says of Jeremiah, as a defense
city, an iron pillar, and brazen walls against all the enemies
of Christ and his gospel, and were, as the church is said to
be, the pillar and ground of the truth. This man, James, a
servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now when he connects,
you notice that word and. A servant of God and of the Lord
Jesus Christ. That shows us the deity of the
Lord Jesus Christ. There's no way that any Jew would
have ever connected anyone with God Almighty who was not. one with God Almighty. Now, notice the second thing.
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus, to the twelve
tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting my brethren. Those to whom this letter was
first directed, while he was writing to Jews, but they were
Jews who believed the gospel, but they were scattered abroad. Now, we know that the Jews were
scattered abroad by Nebuchadnezzar in the Old Testament. He scattered
them. They were scattered abroad by
the Assyrians before Nebuchadnezzar took the two tribes into captivity. The Jews were scattered abroad
over the known world at that time. On the day of Pentecost,
and you can read about this in Acts chapter two, there were
Jews, the scripture says, who were gathered to Jerusalem. Remember, they were required,
according to the law, to attend the feast, the three feasts each
year. One of those feasts was the Feast
of Pentecost. They were at Pentecost, but they
were Jews from all over the world. the known world at that time.
They heard the gospel. We know that 3,000 were saved
on the day of Pentecost, and I believe just a few days later
there were 5,000 saved. And these Jews, they were scattered
abroad, and they carried the gospel with them to the places
where they lived. The apostle Peter wrote both
his letters, 1 and 2 Peter, also to the dispersion That is to
the Jews that were scattered throughout various countries.
And that's why this is one of the New Testament letters which
is called a general or Catholic letter. It's not directed to
any church, any local church, or to any individual. It is a
general epistle. In other words, it's to you and
it's to me as all the Word of God is. James. And it was written to those that
James called my brethren. This is a wonderful truth, isn't
it, concerning the family of God, the household of faith.
James was an apostle. That has to be the highest office
in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you read in Ephesians
4 of the gifts that God gave to the church, the apostles,
they're listed first. The highest office in the church
would be that of the apostles, and yet he addresses these believers
as brethren. And all the people of God, we
are the family of God. We're the family of God. We have
the same Father, We believe the same gospel, the same spirit
indwells us, and we all are begotten to the same hope, that is, of
the blessed hope of one day being with the Lord Jesus Christ forever
and ever. Now, here's the third, the last
thing I wanted to mention. What are believers to do when
we fall into temptation? Verses two through four. My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into divers or different temptations,
knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing. Here's three things. Number one,
what kind of temptations does James mean? When he says we are
to count it all joy when we fall into divers temptations, what
kind of temptations does he mean? We know that when the Lord Jesus
Christ gave his apostles what we call the model prayer, part
of that prayer is lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from the evil. Now it's the same Greek word
in both places. The same word that's translated
temptation in the model prayer, lead us not into temptation,
is the very same word that's translated temptation here that
James says, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations. You and I should know that James
does not mean temptation to sin. Count it all joy when you fall
into temptations. And he's not talking about temptations
to sin. You know, there are temptations
which come from Satan, the evil one. Temptations or solicitations
to sin. Joseph, that Old Testament patriarch,
Joseph. You remember when he was sold
by his brothers and he ended up in the house of Potiphar.
And Potiphar's wife, tempted him, right, to commit adultery
with her. That's not the kind of temptation
that James is talking about, that we should count it all joy
when we fall into divers temptations. But there are also temptations
which come from God. There are temptations which come
from Satan, the evil one. We're not to count it all joy
when we fall into those temptations, but they're temptations which
come from God. We're all familiar, I believe,
with the verse in Genesis 22, which says, and it came to pass
after these things that God did tempt Abraham. God did tempt
Abraham. God commanded him, take thy son,
thy only son, thy son that thou lovest, Isaac, and offer him
up as a burnt offering." God tested Abraham's faith. He tested
Abraham's love. He tested Abraham's fear. Does he really fear, worship
God? And he tested Abraham's obedience. God did tempt Abraham. The temptations that James is
speaking of here in this verse are what we would call trials,
afflictions, and especially that come because of the gospel. But it also would include sickness,
sickness, poverty, bereavement, all kinds of persecution
for Christ's sake, temptations. Now remember that originally
James wrote this letter to Jewish believers. If you turn back to
Hebrews chapter 10, the apostle here reminds these Jewish believers
of what they experienced. In verse 32, the apostle wrote,
but call to remembrance the former days in which after you were
illuminated, that is, you were given light, salvation, you endured
a great fight of afflictions. Partly, whilst you were made
a gazing stock both by reproaches and afflictions, and partly whilst
you became companions of them that were so used. For you had
compassion of me in my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling
of your goods, knowing in yourselves that you have in heaven a better
and enduring substance." So these temptations that James is speaking
of are what we would call afflictions, trials, difficulties, especially
over the gospel, but also that are common to men. I think one
of the trials of sickness, remember when John the Baptist, we read,
was put in prison, and he sent two of his disciples to Jesus
to ask them, art thou he that should come? or should we look
for another? Now remember, John is in prison
and he knew that the Lord Jesus Christ was working miracles. He was feeding thousands of people,
raising the dead. Here I am stuck in prison. All
he has to do is give the command and I'll be set free. Our Lord told those two to go
back and tell John, and part of what he was to tell John,
blessed is he that is not offended in me. When one of God's children
is sick and sometimes, and we know some, sick in body for a
long time, suffering for years, the trial is knowing knowing
full well God could immediately, Jesus could immediately heal
you, deliver you, but it's not his will, and you continue to
suffer. That's a trial, isn't it? Now that's a trial, it sure is. And there are many more, I know
that. We've all known men that were poor. I mean, they worked
hard. Many of them worked harder than
men who had much more, but yet they just remained in poverty.
It's the Lord, the scripture says, it's God that maketh you
rich and God that maketh the poor. God's providence. When you fall into these divers
temptations, James said, what are we to do? What is our responsibility? We're to count it all joy. We're to judge, and that word
also means esteem. We are to esteem this joy. It says of Moses, esteeming the
reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures of
Egypt. Count it all joy. Reckon it to
be so. It doesn't feel like it. It sure
doesn't. When we're hurting, when we're
suffering, but count it all joy. Reckon it to be so. Why? Because
God says so. That's why. Count it all joy,
remembering that this is God's will for you. And remember this. God will never leave you. He
will never forsake you in the worst of trials and the worst
of temptations. And let me close with what James
says here. What will these temptations accomplish? Well, first of all, it will try
our faith. You know, there's such a thing
as temporary faith. We know that. And the parable
of the sower, that seed that fell among the rocks, the stony
ground, oh, it sprung up quickly, but it had no root. And when
our Lord explained that parable, he said, when persecution comes
because of the word, it falls away. Our faith is tried by trials
and afflictions and difficulties, and it showed to be real. It showed to be real faith. We
don't give up. We don't turn back. Should we
turn back, it will manifest that our faith was not real faith. It was temporary faith. It was
like the dross that's mixed in with the gold. You know, when
they put gold in the furnace, the dross is separated, right?
But it doesn't hurt the gold. It just reveals that gold is,
it is gold. It is gold. When God puts his
people in afflictions, tries our faith and just reveals the
faith is real. And number two, lastly, patience. Patience is produced. James says
that patience have a perfect work. In other words, don't be
murmuring. Don't be complaining in the midst
of tribulation. Guard against that. Just let
patience have its perfect work. Remember the chorus of one of
the hymns that we sing here? God leads us along. Some through
the waters, some through the flood. Some through the fire.