Alright, James chapter 1. James, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting. And we remember that he's writing
to brethren. James is writing to the true
Israel of God, the true Jew. And in particular, he's writing
to Those who were Jewish after the flesh, they are brethren,
believers, saved by the grace of God, who are suffering these
trials, these various trials of being freed from the law of
Moses, finding that they have brethren that are chosen of God,
elect among the Gentiles, that God's grace is free with no respect
to persons. They're being persecuted. from
their own kinsmen after the flesh, from within and without. And
so these things bring about many trials that only the Word of
God's grace can cure. Now the Lord says here, James
says here in verse 2, My brethren, count it all joy. That's the
title of the lesson this morning, count it all joy. Count it all
joy when you fall into different temptations, different trials.
And we saw last week, the first reason is that God grows us in
patience through trials. Patience to trust Him. These
are brethren, they trust God. And He says through these trials
God grows you in patience to wait on Him. And knowing this,
verse 3, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. And then
the second thing is that God draws us to Christ, our wisdom,
through trials. Verse 5, he says, 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. The opposite of
wavering and double-mindedness is steadfastness, to be steadfastly
minded, to be single-minded, profoundly simplistic in your
view and vision and heart toward Christ. And He promises here
to give in abundance to those who ask Him. That's a reason
to count it all joy. He promises to never upbraid,
to never revile, to never lash those who come depending upon
Him. We'll see through this book,
through this letter how that James is continually talking
about the fleshly man, the old nature of man, and that upbraiding,
that unbridled tongue, and that condemning tongue, and that judging
tongue. But here he sets forth that God
doesn't upbraid those that come to Him. Truly needy. Come to
Him needing grace and mercy to help in time of need. Our Lord
Jesus Christ suffered everything that the believer suffers. He
suffered infinitely more than what we suffer. He was tempted
of the devil and shown the kingdoms of the earth all at once. And
Satan promised he would give Him all those kingdoms at once
if He would just worship Him. He was tempted to make bread
because he was hungry. He'd been there 40 days and he
was tempted by the devil. If you're God, make bread of
these stones. He was tempted by his own brethren
as he walked about this earth. We've heard him say, have I been
so long with you and you don't know who I am? He was tempted
in the Garden of Gethsemane. He said, now is the hour come
and my soul is exceedingly troubled, even unto death. And he said,
what should I ask? Father, deliver me from this hour, but for this
hour came I unto this hour. That's why I came into this earth
was for this hour. And he prayed with great supplication,
with crying and tears to Him that he believed was able to
save. Hebrews 7 tells us, and he was
heard in that he feared. He trusted as the servant of
God, the righteous man. He trusted God. His fidelity
toward God never wavered and he trusted God. And God sent
forth an angel strengthening him. That's what James is teaching
us here. He's been tempted. as we are. He's been touched with the feeling
of our infirmities. Yet without sin, He was tempted
in all points as we are, with no sin. And so He's able to comfort
all them that come to the Father by Him. And He says, Hebrews
7 says, He cried. He cried out with supplication
and tears and He was heard. And he said, and he became, he
perfected obedience. He experienced obedience and
is the perfection of obedience. And he became the author of eternal
salvation to all them that obey him. Come to Him, come to Christ
with a need, with your need of salvation, of the word of His
grace. And he says, and he won't upbraid,
he will give in abundance. That's a reason to count it all
joy. Now James gives a third reason for rejoicing in trial
in verse 9. Let the brother of low degree
rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich Let him rejoice
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
the rich man shall fade away in his ways." All brethren, all
of the Lord's children, those that he has everlastingly loved,
those that he's redeemed with his own blood, those that he's
called by the Holy Spirit, by his grace, are all kept right
where we need to be. We were kept right where we need
to be. The brother who has little of
this world's temporal things, temporal possessions. He has
great reason to rejoice because Christ Jesus, the Lord, is his
inheritance. He's joint heirs with Christ.
The Lord's given us an incorruptible crown. He's given us treasure
that will not fade away, that can't be defiled. And he possesses
true riches beyond any measure. And very often it takes us coming
into a trial for the Lord to teach us that. It's not what
we have or what we don't have. In temporal possessions, it's
having Christ that matters. That's all that matters. And then the brother who's rich
in temporal things has reason to rejoice. because God is gracious
to bring him low to rejoice in the fact that his true treasure
is the Lord Jesus Christ, our righteousness, in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. He's the true treasure.
But then secondly, and the way I want to look at this this morning,
is look at this passage as describing one believer. Because whether
you're poor in temporal possessions or you're rich in temporal possessions,
what has to happen through the trial is that the inner man,
the man of the spirit, has to be exalted, has to be grown. the earthly man and the old man
of the flesh, the sinful old man, has to be made low. That's
how, whether it's temporal things or whatever it is in the trial
that the Lord's teaching, that's how we're going to be taught.
I want you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. The
Scripture describes the believer as two men. 2 Corinthians 4 verse
16. Up in verse 11, Paul says, we
which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake. And
here's why, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest
in our mortal flesh. Here's what he's talking about.
We're weak in our flesh, we're weak outwardly in our flesh,
and yet we persevere in faith As a testimony, God proving that
it's by His grace, working in the inner man, that we're kept
and renewed and exalted to go forward. And sometimes, as Paul
is saying here, this comes through many trials, the direct result of the word of truth,
the word of grace. Men don't like it. The natural
man hates it. But Paul says we're delivered
through all these various persecutions and distresses and necessities
so that it's proven that our life and that which keeps us
going and looking straight ahead on the path, on the race that
he set before us is Christ Jesus our Lord. Now look down at verse
16. And he says, for which cause we faint not, but though our
outward man perish, that mortal flesh. This flesh is dying, it's
returning to the grave. Though our outward man perish,
yet the inward man is renewed day by day, daily. The outward
man is, we're not talking about the old sinful man of the flesh
here, we're talking about earthly life. We're talking about those
things we have to have. We live in this world, so we
have spiritual blessings and we have earthly blessings. consisting
of temporal things, riches of the world, honors, friendships.
But sometimes and far too often, we become very fond of those
things easily. And so if need be, the Lord is
faithful through trials to take those things from us. He'll just
take them from us. So that nothing come between
His children and His Son, between His children and Him. And though
our outward man perishes, though our earthly man, though that
rich man, is brought low, James says, rejoice that the inward
man, the man of low degree, is renewed day by day. Now look
here in verse 17. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
internal weight of glory. Better to have those earthly
things taken away, a far more exceeding weight an eternal weight
of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen, those are
eternal. The things we see are perishing
things of clay, born but for one brief day. The things we
can't see. Our true life is eternal life,
spiritual life. And then look over with me now
at Ephesians chapter 4. I'm sorry, look with me at John
chapter 3. John chapter 3. Now, also within the believer,
there is that old sinful man of the first birth. And we know
what our Lord taught. Our Lord told this to Nicodemus.
John chapter 3 verse 5. Jesus answered, Verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the Spirit,
he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh. And that which is born of the
Spirit is spirit. And so this old, carnal, rich
man of the flesh that's with us always, he doesn't reign anymore. He doesn't reign anymore because
Christ reigns now. There can't be two masters. Satan
can't reign and Christ reign in the same house. No man can
serve two masters. There's going to be one master.
And Christ reigns in the believer. When he enters in, when he's
formed in you through the Holy Spirit, Christ reigns. That new
man It reigns now. Not the old man, but the old
man is still there. And the old man of the flesh
is constantly wanting to rear his head. That's why in Ephesians,
James said, put off concerning the former conversation the old
man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts. And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new man,
which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Now back in James, The old man of the flesh is rich in self-conceit. Rich in self-conceit. James says down in verse 14,
this is what the old flesh of the man is trying to do. Every
man is tempted or he fails in the trial when he's drawn away
of his own lust and enticed. That's what the old man wants
to do, that draw us away from Christ, entice us away from Christ. It's that fleshly spirit that
desires to be exalted. That fleshly tongue wants to
be unbridled. This is the tongue that Christ
alone can bridle. That old flesh wants to be unbridled. To show respect of persons. Wants
to rejoice in judgment rather than in mercy. Wants to be master
over men. It's where bitter envying and
strife comes from. It's the old flesh. Look over
at James 4. We'll look at this later in the
study. James 4.1. He says, From whence
come wars and fighting among you? Come they not hence even
of your lusts that war in your members? Can that really be said
of a believer? Can that really be said of a
believer? Paul said, I delight in the law of God after the inward
man. But I see another law in my members
warring against the law of my mind, bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members. He said, O wretched
man that I once was. He said, O wretched man that
I am. He's a believer right now. O wretched man that I am. There's
a war going on. It wasn't there before. It didn't
bother me. I was full of self-conceit and
self-righteousness and self-pride and self-exaltation, unbridled
in all my passions and lusts before, religious as I could
be in it. And nothing was wrong. But now,
there's a new man born, and I'll have a war in my members. Who's
going to deliver me from it? He said, I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Well, that's what, that's what. we're getting here from James
is he's teaching us whether it's our temporal things that God
removes through trial, those earthly things, those outward
things of the earthly man that we need, that we have to have
to get along in this world. Whether it's those things he's
removing or it's that rich man of the old sinful flesh that
he bridles and that he subdues through trials, let's rejoice
that he's brought low. Why? Look at verse 10. because as the flower of the
grass he shall pass away. For the sun is no sooner risen
with the burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the
flower thereof falleth, falleth, and the grace of the
fashion of it perisheth. So also shall the rich man fade
away in his ways. Isaiah said, the voice said,
cry, and he said, what shall I cry? All flesh is grass. All flesh is grass. All the goodliness
thereof is as the flower of the field. The grass withers, the
flower fades, because the Spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it.
Surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth, but the Word of God. shall stand forever. That's what
we're being taught today. Though our old man, earthly man,
dies day by day, the inner man's renewed day by day. Though that
old carnal fleshly man would like to reign and reign supreme,
he's brought down and the inner man is renewed, exalted day by
day. And let's rejoice in that. God
teaches us through this gospel. He teaches us in every trial
to trust Him, to wait on the Lord, to draw near in faith asking
Him for wisdom, to rejoice that the man of low degree is exalted
and the rich brought low. And this is where James is headed
with this exhortation. Look down at verse 19. You know how Paul said to the
Ephesians, put off the old man and be renewed in the spirit
of your mind, put on the new man? This is what James is saying
that is happening through these trials. Wherefore, my beloved
brethren, let every man be swift to hear. The Word of the Lord
endures forever. That's what we need to hear.
Be swift to hear, slow to speak. slow to anger, slow to wrath.
For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Wherefore, lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness,
overflowing of that old man is what it is, and receive with
meekness, put off that old man, and receive with meekness the
engrafted word. which is able to save your souls.
But be ye doers of the Word, not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves. The doer of the Word, we're going
to see in this letter, the doer of the Word is to do what? Trust God. Wait on the Lord. Ask Him to be our wisdom. Rejoice
in these trials that our old man is being brought low and
the new man is being renewed. Put off the old man, therefore,
and walk after the Spirit of the Lord. Walk in that new man.
That's being a doer of the Word and not a hearer only. This is
how Christ will subdue us, bridle that tongue so we can speak a
word of grace and season to our brethren. How that old self-righteousness
is put out so that we can help each other, be a helper of each
other's joy no matter what the trial is that we face. Now, the
last word, verse 12. Blessed, happy, is the man that
endureth temptation, that endureth the trial. For when he has tried,
when it's come to the end, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Now,
that's a sure word. Happy is the man that endures
the trial. When God has tried our hearts, when He's purged
away the dross and the tin, when He's refined and purified us
as gold and silver, refined and purified in the furnace, when
He's done this work, the one who endures shall receive the
crown of life. The crown is life. The crown
is life. The peaceable fruit of righteousness
is what the Hebrew writer called it. After every trial, it yields
the peaceable fruit of righteousness in them that are exercised thereby. And after this life, to be with
our Redeemer in glory. The Lord hath promised this to
them that love Him. He's promised this to them that
love Him. It's the free gift of God. It's the reward of free grace
and not of debt. So that's three good reasons,
four good reasons that the Lord gives us. It's working patience.
It's drawing us to Christ. It's causing this old man to
be put down. and the new man to be exalted,
and it's going to result in the crown of life. To behold our
life, our all, our complete acceptance with God and our complete sufficiency
in this earth as we walk toward that day when we will be with
our Lord forever is all of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through the Holy Spirit, by the word of His grace. And that's
a good reason to count it all joy. Alright.