The epistle of James chapter
1 opens as follows. James, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeted. My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect
work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James, a servant of God and of
the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered
abroad, greeting. This letter, this epistle of
James, this book, like all the books in the scriptures, The
entire word of God has one clear and central message. That is
Christ and his salvation by grace through faith. In particular,
James sets forth faith as that which is tried and as that which
waits through the trial patiently upon the Lord and finds its fulfillment
entirely of God through the work of Jesus Christ. That is the
evidence, the work of faith, which believes, which loves,
and which waits. James speaks of faith as that
which is evidenced. That faith without works is dead. He says that if you have faith,
then show me your faith by your works. Faith is not presumption. Faith is not mere claim or a
mental assent to the truth. If you say you believe on Christ,
that belief, that faith will result in a love for Christ,
a love for his truth and his gospel, a love for the people
of God. It will result in waiting upon
Christ, in trusting Christ, in enduring through fiery trials. But that faith, which men speak
of, that which is mere mental assent and presumption, that
which is a mere joining with others, going to a place of worship,
going to a church, associating with others and saying you believe
in Jesus, that faith which is mere mental assent, as soon as
a trial comes, scatters. There were many who followed
Jesus, who heard his word, who saw his miracles, who professed
his name, who when trials came upon them, or when the offense
of the truth of the cross was presented unto them, said, this
is a hard saying, we cannot bear it, and they went away, they
turned away. They claimed to believe, but
their belief was nothing. It didn't stand. It was not a
reality. It did not truly believe. It
did not truly love. And it would not wait. James knew the reality of faith.
He knew the reality of the gospel. He knew the reality of knowing
the power of the gospel, of knowing Christ and his life and his righteousness
within. He knew his Lord. James knew
what it was to be put through fiery trials and he knew the
blessing that those trials brought because they threw him entirely
upon Christ who kept him. My brethren count it all joy
when you fall into diverse temptations knowing this that the trying
of your faith work if patience but let patience have a perfect
work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing. He knew the reality of the outworking
of grace and of faith which loves, trusts, believes and waits upon
the Lord. Now there are those who would
set James and his message against Paul because James emphasizes
that faith has an outworking and speaks of the works of faith,
there are those who erroneously set his message against Paul,
but James could not be more one with Paul. In fact, Paul, in
his epistles, often refers to James. And there's a bond and
a union between these two men. In fact, there's a shared experience,
as we shall see in a moment. James believed the very same
gospel that Paul did. He preached the very same gospel.
He knew the reality of a living faith in a living Savior who
shed his blood for him. Do you know this Savior? Do you
know this faith? Who is James? He introduces his
epistle, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ
to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greeted. But who is he? If we read through the epistles
and the gospels, we read of more than one man named James. The James that wrote this epistle
is actually a brother or a half-brother of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
of Christ's physical household. He's not only a countryman, a
Jew to whom Christ came, as Saul was, but he was one of Christ's own
household. He grew up in the same house. He grew up a carpenter like Christ
was. He saw Christ grow from a child
to a man. He heard him, he observed him. And yet, he did not believe him. As many siblings He was filled
with enmity against his brother. He opposed the Christ who was
in his own house. Not until the end, not until
Christ died and rose again and appeared unto James, did James
know, this my brother, this son, is the Son of God and my Saviour. James was made to wait to know Christ. But when he came
to see Him in all His glory, risen from the dead, having washed
James' sins away, then he knew the power of the Gospel. the wonder of faith, the reality
of everlasting righteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ. Read in Matthew 17 of how people saw Christ and despised him. His countrymen said, is not this
the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary?
And his brethren James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Isn't he
just one of ours? Who does he think he is? Preaching
and teaching of the kingdom of God. Declaring that he is the
son of God. Speaking of his father in heaven.
Who does he think he is? He's just a carpenter's son. We know him, we know his family,
we know his brethren, we know James and Joses and Simon and
Judas. They're just men. The Judas mentioned here is he who
writes the epistle of Jude, who in the introduction to his epistle
mentions that he's the brother of James, another of Christ's
household. But despised. James's name is often mentioned
with Peter and John and Paul indeed refers to James, Peter
and John as pillars. In Galatians 2 verse 9 Paul says,
And when James, Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, But the James, Peter and John,
we often read throughout the Gospels as being with Christ,
including other James. James and John, the sons of Zebedee. And yet, later, when Paul refers
to them, he's not referring to James, the son of Zebedee. He's
referring to this James, the brother of Christ. This James who took his place
when James the son of Zebedee was slain by Herod. Yes, Paul saw James as a pillar. He saw James as one who was greatly
used of God in the church. James, following Christ's death
and resurrection when Christ appeared under him, when Christ
saved him, rose to prominence in the early church in Jerusalem.
We read of him in Acts and elsewhere of how he was a main leader of
the church in Jerusalem. We read of him at the Council
of Jerusalem in Acts 15 and how he stood up and spoke to the
people. And we read of Paul going to James and consulting with
James. He was lifted up to prominence,
but not until Christ died and was risen again. Throughout Christ's
lifetime, he takes, as it were, a back seat. He's one of his
brethren when he's mentioned he's mentioned as John does in
John 7 5 as not believing. John 7 verse 5 we read that his
brethren even his brethren didn't believe Christ couldn't stay
in Jerusalem he couldn't preach in those areas round about he
couldn't preach in Jewry he had to leave and go off to the desert
land because he was rejected in the area he was rejected by
the people he was rejected by his countrymen he was rejected
even by his own household his own brothers and sisters didn't
want him around them he had to depart James didn't believe,
and yet James was always there. He heard, he observed. And at
the end, at the cross, when Christ was taken and by wicked hands
was crucified, the mother of Christ, Mary, saw her son hanging
upon the tree. And James was there to see also. We read in Matthew 27, Now when
the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw
the earthquake and those things that were done, they feared greatly,
saying, Truly this was the Son of God. And many women were there
beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee ministering
unto him, among which was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother
of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's children. James
beheld this brother he despised, this brother he did not believe,
hung upon the tree. Betrayed by all men. Betrayed
by James. Dying because of the sins of
man. Crucified because of James' unbelief
and enmity. Paul writes, following the cross, that Christ, when he rose, appeared
unto James. He says in 1 Corinthians 15,
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures, and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the
twelve. After that, he was seen of above
five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
unto this present, but some have fallen asleep. After that, he
was seen of James, then of all the apostles. And last of all,
He was seen of me also as of one born out of due time. For
I am the least of the apostles that am not meet to be called
an apostle because I persecuted the church of God. But by the
grace of God, I am what I am. Paul singles out James. He singles
him out as having seen the risen Lord, not just because he did,
But because there is a sense in which Paul and James shared
a similar journey. They both rejected Christ in
his lifetime. Paul persecuted the church. He sought to put the followers
of Christ to death. And only when Christ met him
did he believe. James, Christ's half-brother,
would not believe, though he had every advantage, until Christ
rose and appeared unto him and said, James, it is I. Then he knew, then he saw, then
he believed. James saw Christ through his
lifetime. He saw the gospel preached and
go forth into all the world. He preached the gospel. And he
himself, in due course, was martyred. He was stoned to death for preaching
Christ. Like Paul, like Peter, like others,
he suffered for his belief in the Son of God. He suffered. James was saved by grace. He knew what it was to live by
faith, to wait on the Lord by faith. And he knew what it was
to die in faith, as his Lord did. He knew what it was to die,
looking up unto God, crying out, save me Lord. This is the James who writes
this epistle. But as I've mentioned we read
of another James throughout the scriptures. A fisherman with
Peter and John. A James who was called by Jesus
to follow him and at one point was told that henceforth I shall
make you fishers of men. Read in Matthew 4. And going
on from thence, Jesus saw two other brethren, James the son
of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their
father, mending their nets. And he called them. James and
John, the sons of Zebedee. These fishermen, like Peter a
fisherman, called of Jesus who followed him. Christ called them,
James and John, the sons of thunder. We read later, and James the
son of Zebedee and John the brother of James. And he surnamed them
Boaneges, which is the sons of thunder. There is a point in
the scriptures where James and John ask Christ if they could
call down fire in judgment upon the enemies of Christ and Christ
rebukes them. But hence this name, sons of
thunder, they were hot-blooded, they wanted to see justice brought
down. And they were taught that they
must wait, that vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. That God
would bring about justice through the death of his son, through
grace, not through the sword. This James, the son of Zebedee,
was one of the original twelve apostles. We read now, the names
of the twelve apostles are these, the first, Simon, who is called
Peter, and Andrew, his brother, James, the son of Zebedee, and
John, his brother. With John and Peter, this James
was also singled out. as one of three disciples whom
the Lord took and showed many special things. When Jairus'
daughter was sick and Jesus healed her and brought her to life,
Peter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, were called by Christ
to come with him and were there at the time they saw that miracle. Likewise, at the transfiguration,
Christ called Peter, James, and John to come up into a high mountain
with him, and behold his glory. After six days, Jesus taketh
Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into a high
mountain apart, and was transfigured before them. And his face did
shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. They
beheld his glory in a manner that none had seen. Likewise,
this James was at the Last Supper with the other disciples. He
was at Gethsemane with Christ, with Peter and John, who were
singled out on that occasion to come and wait with him as
he prayed. He was in the upper room when
the risen Lord appeared unto the disciples. He was at Jerusalem
at Pentecost. And this James, the son of Zebedee,
was also martyred. We read in Acts 12 and verse
2 that Herod killed James, the brother of John, with the sword. But if you look at Acts 12, we
very soon afterwards read of another James, James, the brother
of the Lord. In Acts 12, we read that, Now
about that time Herod the king stretched forth his hands to
vex certain of the church, and he killed James the brother of
John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. Then were
the days of unleavened bread. And when he had apprehended him,
he put him in prison and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers
to keep him, intending after Easter to bring him forth to
the people. Peter therefore was kept in prison. But prayer was
made without ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod
would have brought him forth the same night, Peter was sleeping
between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and the keepers before
the door kept the prison. And behold, the angel of the
Lord came upon him, and a light shined in the prison, and he
smote Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from
his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and bind
on thy sandals, and so he did. And he saith unto him, Cast thy
garment about thee, and follow me. And he went out, and followed
him, and wist not that it was true which was done by the angel,
but thought he saw a vision. And when they were past the first
and the second ward, they came unto the iron gate that leadeth
unto the city, which opened to them of his own accord. And they went out and passed
on through one street, and forthwith the angel departed from him.
And when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I know of a surety
that the Lord hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of
the hand of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people
of the Jews. And when he had considered the
thing, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose
surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.
And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel came to
hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew Peter's voice,
she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran in and told how Peter
stood before the gate. And they said unto her, thou
art mad. But she constantly affirmed that
it was even so. Then said they, it is his angel. But Peter continued knocking,
and when they had opened the door and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckoning unto them with
the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them how the Lord
had brought him out of the prison. And he said, go show these things
unto James and to the brethren. And he departed and went into
another place. So we see in this account how
Herod slew James the brother of John the son of Zebedee with
the sword and then proceeded to take Peter and incarcerate
him in prison. But the Lord delivered Peter
from the prison and having been delivered Peter sent word to
James and to the Brethren. This James to whom he sent word
was the Lord's brother, he who was the leader of the church
at Jerusalem, the same James that Paul conferred with, the
same James who spoke at the council in Jerusalem in Acts 15, the
same James who wrote this epistle. Yet in being mentioned by Paul
as a pillar alongside Peter and John, in the same triplet of
names that was often referred to in the Gospels when James
and John the sons of Zebedee with Peter went with Christ to
the miracle with Jairus' daughter, went with Christ to his transfiguration,
went with Christ to Gethsemane. In taking this James and speaking
of him in the same way it is as it were as though this James
takes the place of the James that Herod martyred in this chapter. Herod slew James the son of Zebedee
with the sword and Christ in a picture with Peter shows Herod
that he cannot slay any of his own and keep them in the grave. Herod slew James, he then took
Peter and Christ came and delivered Peter from the bondage of the
tomb. Herod put one James in the grave
but Christ sent another in his place with the gospel. This James who had waited and
watched throughout Christ's lifetime until Christ appeared to him
and opened his eyes, then takes the place of James, the son of
Zebedee. Notice how powerless the enemies
of Christ are here, how powerless Herod was. Christ himself was despised by
the Jews. betrayed by Judas, given into
their hands, taken to Herod, taken to the Romans, put through
a mock trial and delivered up to be crucified. They thought
they'd put him to death, but on the third day he arose and
appeared unto many brethren and unto James, And the gospel went
forth in increased power. It spread like wildfire. This that Herod, this that the
Jews, this that the enemies of Christ had sought to silence
by putting Christ to death, spread even further. Here, this King
Herod takes James, the brother of John, and slays him with the
sword. And he tries to incarcerate Peter. but Christ delivers Peter. And
that James who was slain is, as it were, resurrected as another
with the same name in his place. And Paul refers to them as pillars
because they stand, they cannot be removed, they cannot be taken
away. Even though you may slay a child
of God, you cannot do him harm. Because all you're slaying is
the old man, all you're slaying is him in the flesh. You take
away one, but the risen man, the new man of grace in Christ
lives forever. Yes, we read of two Jameses.
James the son of Zebedee is often referred to as James the Great. And James the brother of the
Lord is sometimes referred to as James the lesser or James
the younger. But here we read that James the
great is taken out of sight. And word of these things is sent
to James the Younger, whom Christ elevates to a position of authority
in his church in Jerusalem, whom Christ uses to write this epistle,
whom Christ puts through fiery trials to refine his faith that
he may teach and exhort all the brethren of all the 12 tribes
of Israel, all the church throughout all time. that trials are for
your good to bring forth your faith as gold. Yes, the greater
James is taken away and the younger James is put in his place. What do we see in this? We see
the same things that Paul knew, the same things that all the
saints of God were taught. regarding the old man and the
new. That which was taught through
Jacob and Esau. The elder shall serve the younger. Jacob have I loved, but Esau
have I hated. Though Esau was born first, a
picture of the flesh And Jacob followed a picture of the new
man of grace, the spirit. The elder served the younger. The flesh must be crucified,
the flesh must be put to death, and the spirit, the new man of
grace in Christ, will live forever. So we see this pictured with
these Jameses. The one is taken out of sight,
but the younger is elevated. to a position of authority. Now this is emphasized and is
the fulfillment indeed of what Christ spoke to the mother of
James and John, to the mother of Zebedee's children in Matthew
and chapter 20. Significantly there we read that
then came to Jesus the mother of Zebedee's children with her
sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he
said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that
these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the
other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said,
Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup
that I shall drink of, and to be baptised with the baptism
that I am baptised with? They say unto him, We are able.
And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be
baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with. But the sit
on my right hand and on my left is not mine to give, but it shall
be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And
when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against
the two brethren. She came unto him, seeking great
things for her sons. But as Christ taught earlier
in this chapter, those who would seek to be great shall be brought
down low, and those who are nothing shall be raised up to a great
height. and her two sons, James, the son of Zebedee, her son,
for whom she sought great things. He saw great things. He was there
at the transfiguration. He was there at Gethsemane. But
Herod took him and slew him with the sword. He was indeed baptized
with a death like the death of Christ. He was slain. But in
his place, Christ took James the younger and lifted him up,
lifted him up. Oh, that we should not seek great
things, for Christ will bring us down. Oh, that we should seek
to be nothing. As Christ rebuked her, and another
James took her son's place. the old man, the flesh, must
be slain, that the new man might be lifted up. This underpins
James' whole message in his book. Indeed, as you read further on
in James chapter 1, these things were in his head,
He reads later, chapter 1 verse 9, Let the brother of low degree
rejoice in that he is exalted, but the rich in that he is made
low. "'cause 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 faileth, "'and
the grace of the fashion of it perisheth. "'So also shall the
rich man fade away in his ways. "'Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation, "'for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown
of life "'which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.'"
James knew what it was to be of low degree, to have hated
his brother Christ through his lifetime, to have despised him,
but in the end to be lifted up. He knew these things in reality.
And he knew the worth and the benefit of the trials that God
would put him through. Trials, adversaries like Herod. Fiery trials, they ultimately
can't harm you. They can put the old man, the
flesh to death. Herod could slay James, the son
of Zebedee. But the new man will always rise. Another James came in his place. He could put Peter in jail and
try to entrap him and try to take the gospel and bind it down. But Christ came and delivered
him and led him out and sent forth the gospel in power. The enemies of Christ cannot
harm those for whom Christ died. Yes, James This servant of God
and of the Lord Jesus Christ knew what it was to wait. He
was made to wait. He was a fleshly relation to
Jesus. He knew him all his life. Yet
James, through that time, never knew him for who he is until
Christ, having died and then risen again, appeared unto him
personally. James himself is an example of
how the flesh profits nothing. He speaks of this trial of faith,
he speaks of the flesh, he speaks of it being tried, because he
himself and his whole life is a living example of this. He had all the advantages of
being one in Jesus's household. He lived with him. He was a brother. He watched him. He heard him.
Naturally speaking, he had every advantage. And yet, as John tells
us in chapter 7, even his brethren didn't believe on him. All these
advantages naturally. He was there. He saw. He saw
the miracles. He saw what manner of man Jesus
was. And yet he didn't believe. It
got him nowhere. Nowhere. But in time, after the
Lord had made him wait, Christ appeared unto him in resurrected
glory. And then James saw him, then
James knew, and then God gave James faith to believe. It's
this experience which underpins what James writes throughout
his whole epistle. He knew the reality of faith
and the reality of waiting. And it's this experience which
weds James to Paul, which is why Paul refers to him in several
places. Which is why when Paul was converted,
in his account in Acts of when he was converted, that he consulted
with very few people, but he mentions James in particular.
And then he mentions James elsewhere. He had a union with James. Now
what's the connection between Paul and James in this sense? Well, they both, naturally speaking,
rejected Christ in the flesh. Christ said that he came unto
his own, and his own rejected him. He came into this world,
he came to the Jews, he came to his own, and his own rejected
him. They put him to death. The Jews
despised him, they rejected him. And his own household, his own
brothers and sisters rejected him. Just like Joseph of old. Jacob's son Joseph was blessed
by his father. This dreamer of dreams, this
one that Jacob loved, and his brothers were filled with enmity. They hated him. They hated that
he was favoured. They hated that he was different.
They hated what they saw of him. They hated what he spake. They
tried to put him to death. They threw him into a pit and
they sold him off into slavery in Egypt. They tried to kill
him and murder him. They hated him. So Christ's brethren
would have been similar. Who does he think he is? What
is he saying? What do mother and father see
in him that they don't see in us? Naturally speaking, they
could not believe, they hated him, they were stirred up against
him. James could not see anything good in his brother, Jesus. Christ
speaks elsewhere of this, that a prophet is not without honor
except in his own country and of his own household. A prophet receives honor elsewhere,
but so often, his own people, and even his own house, reject. Christ knew that personally.
The Jews rejected him, his own brethren rejected him, and this
is where Paul and James are one. Saul, with every advantage of
being a Pharisee of the Pharisees, of the tribe of Benjamin, with
growing up in the scriptures living under the law with every
advantage he should have known who Christ was and yet he despised
him he hated him and he tried to put all the followers of Christ
to death he stood by as Stephen was stoned he went about causing
havoc he persecuted the church He despised Christ and his gospel,
and it's only when he was heading for Damascus to cause more trouble
that Christ appeared in the way and cried out unto him, Saul,
Saul, why persecutest thou me? And the risen Christ met with
him, and he believed. And believing, he met soon after. with James, who would have told
him his own account, that he was Jesus' brother. He lived
with him, he heard him, he saw him all those days, and all he
did was hate him and despise him. He could not believe. He was there all the time, but
then when Christ died, he saw his brother dying upon the cross. And then when he rose again he
came under him and spake under him and life flooded in. He met
with the risen Lord just like Paul did. And they found themselves
to be one. They knew the same Lord, the
same grace, the same mercy, the same blood washed away all their
sins. But they also knew that all the
advantages they had in the flesh simply set them against him.
What they needed was God-given faith. And only God-given faith
could make them see. Only God-given faith could make
them believe. Only God-given faith could give
them life and righteousness. It had to come from God. It had
to be of faith. It had to be by grace. Paul knew it. He knew the reality. He knew the life. James knew
it. And that's the James, who comes
and writes, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy
when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience. Worketh patience. Oh, what an experience he had. How the Lord prepares his servants. These epistles aren't written
by nobodies. They're nobodies that God has
taken and revealed his truth to that they should speak out
of the experience and teaching of the Lord. Yes, they're nobodies,
but they're nobodies taught of God. They come with His message. They're stripped of all that
is of man. They're brought down to nothing. And God lifts them up to a great
height, such that James is mentioned by Paul with Peter and John as
pillars. He took the place of James, the
son of Zebedee. as it were, and comes with the
same gospel. Though he wasn't there at the
transfiguration, he saw the risen Lord, he saw what James the son
of Zebedee saw, he saw his glory. He saw all those things that
were hid from him when he was in the flesh. He saw them in
the flesh, but he could not see, he was blind. But when Christ
opened his eyes, when he appeared unto him in resurrected glory,
then he saw all that his brethren saw, all that the other disciples
saw, all that John and James, the sons of Zebedee saw, all
these things were shown unto him. And he comes forth with
the same truth as Paul does, declaring the work of God in
grace and the reality of living faith. And he comes and writes
to all the church, to you and me throughout all the generations
if we're one of his. He writes to all the church and
says to us, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations
and trials. What sort of trials? What sort
of temptations? Essentially, that trial. and that temptation to turn away
from Christ alone and grace alone unto any other thing. That's
the temptation which we as believers are most tempted with. That's
the temptation which will prove whether our faith is true or
false. Will we turn from Christ alone
to the works of the flesh? Will we turn to adding something
to Christ's saving grace? Will we try to add to the blood
of Christ to make ourselves righteous before a holy God? Will our patience
run short Will we as Abraham believe in that God will bring
about a certain purpose for us? Believe in that he will further
his work? Will our patience run short and
will our wisdom come to play? That we say, oh well the Lord
must mean for me to do this and for us to do that. Will we come
to bring our own works to bear in the work of God? Will our
patience run short? Oh what a temptation it is. Abraham
believed God. God had promised that he would
make of him a great nation, that he would have a son. And yet
he and Sarah reasoned and said, well, maybe it's through Hagar. Maybe she will bring forth the
son. Because Sarah was way past the
age of childbearing. They brought their wisdom to
bear. And they put their hand to the ark. They put their hand
to the work of God. They were tempted and drawn aside. And yet God's work would come
about in the end through Sarah as promised. Patience. These are the temptations of
which James speaks. And he knew the reality. of being
made to wait and see that God must save. He was there throughout
Christ's lifetime and he could never see, and nothing he did
or nothing he thought, none of his wisdom brought about any
salvation. It left him in the darkness.
But Christ came unto him in risen power and called out unto him
by name, James, and then he believed. and throughout the rest of his
life that faith which God gave him was tried and tested and
proved. Nothing can be added to it, nothing
can be added to the work of God in Jesus Christ. What of you? Has God come unto you in the
Gospel? Has Christ come unto you and
stood in the way? When you're full of enmity, when
you're full of hatred towards Him, when you cast doubt upon
the Gospel, when you shut your eyes to it and shut your ears
to it, when you wonder whether God will bring this to pass or
that to pass, when you're going through trials and they go on
for months and years and you wonder is there ever an escape,
do you cast doubt upon His Word? Or does he keep your faith waiting?
Waiting, waiting. For he will work. He will bring
it to pass. James looked and beheld his brother
slain. Was all that his brother spake
of brought to nothing? Was it all fancy in the head? Was it all fiction? Was it all
a cunningly devised fable? And then the Lord rose and appeared
unto him, and he saw and knew, no, this is my Lord and my Saviour. He was my brother in the flesh,
now he's my brother. Now he's my Lord, now he's my
God in reality. He came for me though I hated
him. He died for me and now he lives
and reigns for me. Did he come for you when you
hated him? Did he die for you when you were
in your sins? Did he wash you in his blood?
As He come unto you and spoken your name, live. Follow me. I have loved you with an everlasting
love. I am your Lord and your Saviour. Is Christ your all in all? Amen.