Living a Faith that can be Seen: James 1:1-11

A PROFOUND RESPONSE TO TRIALS

 

The TV show, Dragnet, was an old black-and-white cop show from the golden age. I never really watched it, but I do remember the catchphrase of the main character, Joe Friday. Friday was a detective with the Los Angeles Police and was a real straight shooter. When a witness to a crime would prattle on about irrelevant details, Friday would cut to the quick with his famous line, “Just the facts ma’am.” 

            Some would call James the “Joe Friday” of the NT. He cuts to the chase without fluff. He’s not really interested in hearing your profession of faith. He wants to see you practice your faith. You could say that James is the least theological letter of the NT, but you could also say that it is the most practical. James wanted his readers to have a faith that could be seen in their actions.

            Who was James? There were three men named James in the NT. The James of “Peter, James, and John” fame, James the son of Alphaeus (a lesser-known apostle), and this James – the half-brother of Jesus. But James does not introduce himself in any way as the “other son” of Mary. He calls himself “a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,”thereby committing himself to Jesus as God and absolute master.

            This James also becomes the lead pastor of the Jerusalem church and was a prominent influencer in critical matters (Acts 15). When persecution hit the Jerusalem church, many Jewish Christians fled to other countries, so they were scattered to many locations. This is why James calls them “the twelve tribes in the Dispersion.” Word must have gotten back to James about the troubles these believers were encountering: troubles within in the church and troubles from unbelievers. Some were strong on their profession of faith, but practiced selfish, ungodly lifestyles. To these folks, pastor James writes a no-nonsense letter with a strong message: True faith shows itself in practical, godly living. This is the overall theme of the letter.

            There are three main themes in this letter: dealing with trials, finding true wisdom, and the conflict between the rich and the poor. In our passage today, 1:1-11, James combines all three themes to address how believers ought to respond to the challenges of practicing your faith in a world of troubles.

 

Christians Respond to Trials with Joy (1:2-4)

 

How do followers of Jesus respond to intense suffering? Our human response to pain and trouble is not unlike anyone else: we feel the hurt, we wonder why we suffer, we find someone to hear our pain. 

            But James offers a counterintuitive response to trials. “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…” (2). Joy? Are you kidding? Smile through the pain? What does James mean by greeting your trial with joy?

            First, James does not intend for us to wear an artificial happy face and deny our true emotions. That does not help anyone. You cannot will yourself to feel glad when you are in a pit of depression. But we can choose how we think. That’s why James tells us to “count it all joy” when its plainly not. 

            The joy that James has in mind is not an emotion, it is a way of perceiving life (trials) from God’s vantage point. This joy considers that our trials will eventually be overcome by a God who promises a new day. 

            What kind of trials are we talking about? All kinds. James calls them trials of “various kinds.” This is the same Greek word that is used for “temptation” in v. 13 (strange huh?). These trials do include the hurt suffered from a loved one, the death of someone close, a financial setback, or abuse. But it also includes the diabolical – demonic oppression – temptation or spiritual attacks. 

            Whatever trial you are facing now, James counsels you to face it with joy. But why? Because, he says, “…you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness,” (3). Steadfastness is also called endurance, or more fully, the capacity to hold out or bear up in the face of difficulty. It can mean to “stand your ground” or “survive.” Every trial you face, big or small, is a test of your faith. As you face each trial something happens in you. Even if you fail the test, you learn from it. Even as you succumb again to your spiritual or fleshly trial, you learn from it. This strengthening of faith is greater when you do overcome it. (see Rom. 5:3-5 Paul agrees). 

            I must offer caution in understanding this teaching. There is no automatic promise in these words. Trials do not guarantee blessings or maturity. You can easily be driven away from God by your unhappy circumstances. An effort is required when you face trials. Therefore, James implores us to “count it all joy” – it has to be said; it has to be done; it’s not a simple flick of the switch. Joy must be worked on.

            This is also why James continues to say, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing,” (4). Let this attitude be in you. The words “and let” implies submission to God in the trial. Now, submitting does not mean passively enduring pain without praying for relief. At the end of the letter, James tells his readers to pray for healing, so we don’t just throw up our hands and say “whatever.” But we must understand that God does allow us to face trials – he doesn’t abandon us to them – but we do come perilously close to the edge at times. God does not push us over the edge, yet he allows us to mature through these times of challenge and suffering. 

            

Christians Respond to Trials by Asking God for Wisdom (5-8)

 

James has told us to count it all joy when we meet trials because the testing of our faith leads to maturity, and we will be “lacking in nothing.” But you will agree that we have not reached the point of maturity whereby our faith is so solid that can say we lack nothing. You will also agree that when facing a new trial, we lack wisdom for the new challenge. “Lacking” and “lack” connects the previous verse with this one…

            “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him,” (5). What are we to do when our backs are against the wall and our sins and weaknesses are exposed? Ask God for wisdom.         

            When we ask other people for advice, we sometimes receive judgment (or reproach). We may hear “I told you so” or “You should have come to me sooner” before receiving any help. But not with God; God gives to all without reproach. Three weeks before I ended my time pastoring at a previous church, my office lights went on the blink. While he stood upon a ladder changing fluorescent bulbs, a fellow chided me saying, “Next time, call me.” God does not chide us when we don’t know what to do or how to do it. 

            There is a condition to asking God for wisdom, however. That condition is faith. “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways,” (6-8). 

            The question could be asked: What is the object of faith? We have doubts. Is this allowed? Especially when trials cause us to question the goodness of God. If we have these questions, does that negate the request for wisdom? Are we supposed to have unshakable faith prior to asking God for wisdom to face our trials? I believe the object of faith is not “how much faith do I need?” but “Do I believe that God gives generously without finding fault?” 

            You see, I believe the focus is God. It is precisely because I am having trouble figuring out this trial or test or suffering that I need God’s wisdom. I need wisdom to live by faith in the midst of a trouble that threatens my trust in God. 

            Now, James elaborates on the condition of faith for asking. He says that we must believe and not doubt. He is telling us that we need, not just a profession of faith, but a clear commitment to Christ. That means seeking wisdom while repenting of our sins. If we do not repent of our sins, we cannot hear the wisdom of God for our situation. It is not logical to seek the wisdom of God but continuing to live in sin. That is the doublemindedness that James speaks of. Faith blossoms when we come to a place of single-mindedness about the things of God. Then we will receive wisdom – not an increase in intelligence or practical expertise or life experience – but wisdom from a biblical perspective that begins with following God now revealed in Jesus Christ. This leads to godly living.

 

Christians Respond to Trials with a Kingdom Perspective

 

A casual glance at these next verses may make you wonder how this is connected to facing trials. James introduces what has often been called “the great reversal.” It refers to theme of the unjust rich and the pious poor trading places when God judges the world. (post slide of 9-11). 

            How is this an encouragement to you and me when we face a testing of our faith? First, we must understand the view of rich people from an ANE perspective. The wealthy in the 1^st century were often found exploiting the poor, and their trust in God was often suspect because they relied on their own resources instead of trusting God. 

            Second, we need to understand the Kingdom perspective as taught by Jesus. Consider the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this life, the rich man had no needs and ignored the plight of the poor man, Lazarus, who sat at his very doorstep. When they both die, the positions are reversed. The rich man goes to a place of suffering while Lazarus is now the one being comforted in the presence of Abraham. This is just a parable and should not be taken in a literal sense (Luke 16:19-31). However, the principle is similar in James’ letter. 

            Down is up in the kingdom of God. Up is down. We sometimes call this “the Upside-Down Kingdom” because things are not what we expect from a worldly perspective. Just as in the parable, we all die – the rich people and the poor people. James tells the lowly brother (a Christian) to boast in his exaltation (high standing) and the rich brother in his humiliation. What’s going on here?          

            Many of our trials center around money – not all, but many. James exalts the poor person because that person is more likely to trust in God more fully than the rich person. A wealthy person will depend less on God. It is surely not that a rich person cannot be a Christian, but it is a question of how we view our possessions. Unless we recognize the utter frailty of this life and how suddenly it can end for each of us (the grass, the flower, etc.), and unless we live each moment for Christ with a sense of urgency and care for the time we are given, we risk loving this world too much. 

 

We respond to trials with joy. I am certain that your friends would find it utterly ludicrous to hear you reply with joy at the diagnosis of cancer. To say, “I can’t wait to see how I will grow and mature through this financial setback,” would seem ridiculous. Yet this is what Pastor James is telling us. We are to find joy in the setbacks of life for therein is the opportunity to grow in faith. 

A question to ask ourselves: How can I demonstrate my faith in God during this trial?

We respond to trials with a request for wisdom. And God gives that wisdom freely. It comes through the trial itself in most cases. It may come through the Holy Spirit himself. What we find in this wisdom is the ability to see beyond the trouble before us and to understand that God is doing something greater than we can imagine. That is why asking for wisdom requires faith. “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” (Heb. 11:1). 

We respond to trials with a kingdom view. Things are not what they seem. Those who have life all figured out, don’t. Those who wrestle with the challenges of life are richer in faith if they put their trust in God. 

            The question for you and me amid tough times is this: Will you allow trials to make you a person of faith, or will you allow trials to break you to pieces? That’s a hard question, but I challenge you to face the crisis in your life with joy knowing that God is shaping you through adversity.

            “Someone once said that the difference between American Christianity and Christianity as it is practiced in the rest of the world has to do with how each views suffering. In America, Christians pray for the burden of suffering to be lifted from their backs. In the rest of the world, Christians pray for stronger backs so they can bear their suffering.” (Dave Dravecky) 

 

                                                            AMEN

 

 

 

Benediction

 

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

 

So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. 

            

Rethinking the Church

RETHINKING THE CHURCH

The Question Series

 

Jesus has given us the church as a gift. When he died and rose again, a community of people who followed his life and teaching emerged as a result. Since Jesus ascended to heaven, his people have gathered together regularly to encourage each other and to proclaim Christ to the world. It is through the church that the Holy Spirit works to accomplish God’s mission to save people from sin.

            However, throughout history, the church has stumbled and failed to be the church time and time again. But God did not abandon the church; instead he raised up people to rethink how church ought to be, how it should look, how it should act. The Anabaptist movement was one such event in history where a group of twenty-somethings, young adults, filled with the Spirit, chose to rethink the church. Their obedience was radical. 

            In light of this, I believe it is fitting to address our last question in this series: Why are young adults leaving the church? Young adults have often been at the forefront of change in the church. So, it is a critical question for our times because the church in North America is suffering this loss of young adults. We need to ask this question. We need to rethink the church with respect to the answers. I present to you seven reasons young adults are not in church and ask that you prayerfully consider them. 

            These findings are based on a five-year study by the Barna Group and research by the Malphurs Group. The research uncovered several themes as to why 3 out of 5 young Christians disconnect from the church after age 15. (see https://biologos.org/articles/six-reasons-young-christians-leave-church/ 

and  https://malphursgroup.com/?s=15+reasons)

1. The Church is out of touch with the real world

 

Today’s teens and young adults have unprecedented access to information, ideas, and worldviews, as well as a huge consumption of pop culture. They are informed about the social issues of the day and can cite facts and figures to debate a variety of ethical topics. My son has often “schooled” me on matters that I once thought I was proficient in including racial equality and human rights. It’s a humbling experience to discover I’m more racist than I believed. 

            In connection with this knowledge, young adults see the church as stifling. One-quarter of 18–29-year-olds said that Christians demonize everything outside the church (Dungeons & Dragons; Harry Potter, etc.), or they ignore the problems of the real world (LGBTQ issues and racial conflicts). Instead of engaging with culture, the church is seen as opposing everything before trying to understand it. I remember as a young adult how the church protested the movie, “The Last Temptation of Christ.” It was decried as a gross abomination of the life of Christ. The louder the church protested the more people wanted to see it. 

            I wondered if Jesus was out of touch with his world. When you consider the way he taught and the images he used to convey truth, I think not. In Luke 13:1-4, Jesus referred to a current event where Pilate had killed some Galileans and to a tower that collapsed on 18 Jews to teach about repentance. Paul too quoted the “rock stars” of the ancient world in Acts 17 when speaking to a think-tank in Athens. Jesus was not out of touch, nor should the church be today.

 

2. Church is boring

 

Young adults say that something is missing in their experience of church. God is missing! People go to church looking for God and have difficulty finding him. The statistics are sobering: 31% said church is boring; 25% said faith is not relevant to their career or interests; 23% said the Bible is not taught clearly enough; and 20% said God is missing from their experience. 

            As a pastor of thirty-plus years of experience who took four years off to sit and listen to other pastors, I would have to agree. I was often bored; I fell asleep watching online sermons from our church; only our life group kept me engaged. Church can be boring. 

            I realized two things about this revelation: 1) I had a bad attitude and needed to adjust how I came to worship. I began praying more earnestly about meeting with God. 2) When I engaged the church in service, I was more invested in the life of the church. 

            Boring is nothing new. The Corinthians thought Paul was a boring speaker. They liked the flashy Apollos better. One night in Troas, Paul was speaking late into the night. He must have been droning a bit; the lamps in the upper room were burning steadily; and young Eutychus was falling asleep. It might be presumptuous to say he was bored, but he fell out of the windowsill he was sleeping in and died (Acts 20:7-9). While Paul was able to raise Eutychus from the dead, most pastors cannot resurrect listless listeners in the pews.

 

3. Faith and science are too often in conflict

 

Young adults, especially those who attend university, feel disconnected from church and from faith because of the tension between Christianity and science. The most common response from young adults is that Christians are too confident they know all the answers and do not respect scientific evidence. Nearly one-out-of-four are turned off by the creation-evolution debate. 

            One well-known creationist has said that the reason young adults are leaving the church is because we don’t teach a literal 6-days creation. But the statistics tell a different story. When geologists and scientists examine the evidence, they see an old earth. That’s what the universities teach. 

            I am not saying the Bible is wrong. In fact, I have been reading about Genesis 1 and Genesis 6-9, Creation and the Flood, from renowned biblical scholar John Walton – he does not deny a Creator or the fact of the flood – who says that the Bible is not wrong, but we might be. Our assumptions about what the Bible teaches need to be overhauled. In other words, we need to come humbly to the text and let it speak, rather than come with preconceived notions about God.

 

4. The Church’s standard on sexuality is pretty tough

 

I don’t have to tell you that we live in an over-sexualized culture. The access to digital porn and explicit material, every TV show and movie has sexual themes, and advertising that appeals to sexuality, is overwhelming. The church reacts to this pressure by creating a different tension: abstinence. One of the significant tensions for young believers is how to live up to the church’s expectations of chastity and sexual purity in this setting, especially when marriage is delayed till their late 20s. Those who make mistakes, succumb to temptation, or hold different values, feel shamed by the church, judged, deemed unclean.

            I cannot help but think of Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman in John 4. What a contrast. Jesus’ simple request for water turns into a conversation about faith. Jesus offers living water that quenches all thirst; she wants it; Jesus says, “Go call your husband.” She says, “I have no husband.” He says, “I know…you’ve had five, and the one you are with now is not your husband.” This woman has made sexual and relational mistakes, yet Jesus continues to invite her to know him, to discover him. Again, I am not saying we abandon our values of purity, but can we show love as Jesus showed love?

 

5. The Church is a fortress

 

When the psalmist says God is fortress, that’s a good thing. When the church is a fortress, that’s a bad thing. Young adults have been shaped by a culture that teaches open-mindedness, tolerance, and acceptance of others. Those who attend university discover other races, religions, sexual preferences, ideologies and so on…and most young adults want to find common ground with each other. When they look at the church, they see walls go up to protect against these differences, where the world is trying to pull down walls. The church appears to be too exclusive in this way: you have to think a certain way, look a certain way, be a certain way – like a country club. Young adults often feel that they have to choose between faith and friends. 

            A recent phenomenon growing out this fortress mentality within North American Evangelicalism is something called “deconstruction.” This is where Christians rethink their faith and jettison previously held beliefs. In some cases, they no longer identify as Christians. One writer compared this phenomenon to a cupboard. A person goes through the shelves, takes down a cup or saucer, looks at it, and wonders if the item still belongs. Sometimes it is put back; other times we decide it really isn't essential. Some want Jesus without the church; some don’t want Jesus at all. It is natural to fear deconstruction, especially if it leads to unbelief. But if we are afraid to ask questions of ourselves, how we do church, how we do faith, we retreat into our ever-shrinking fortresses.

            Churches cannot afford to be fortresses of doctrine without the essential elements. Jesus commended the church in Ephesus for its adherence to doctrine and values. However, Jesus lowered the boom on this fortress-church. He said, “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first,”(Rev. 2:4). Good teaching needs to be upheld, but if we forget that love is the greatest commandment, we cease to be the church.

 

6. The Church does not allow doubt

 

Young adults say the church is not a friendly place for people with doubts. They do not feel safe admitting that sometimes Christianity does not make sense. Their doubts are trivialized by the church in most instances. We need to allow people to ask questions, to grieve losses, to process life without pat answers or cliches.

 

7. The church is not a community for everyone

 

It should be, but it’s not. Single young adults are made to feel like singleness is an interim stage, a period of life you have to go through like standing in line for a ride at Disney World. Most churches give the impression that singleness is spiritually less-than. Much of this anti-singleness message if preached by our churches, sometimes with words, other times with actions. Sometimes it is conscious, other times unintended. But single people hear it loud and clear: “You are incomplete until you get married and have at least two to four kids.” (If you have more than four, then people think you are weird again). Single young adults have a hard time feeling like they belong to the church community. Putting them in singles groups only perpetuates the problem (Preston Sprinkle, 169, People to be Loved). 

            Paul, who happened to be single at the time (widowed?), taught in 1 Corinthians 12 that the body is one with many members. This is more profound than we know from a quick reading. Then he says, “and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ,” (12b). Paul doesn’t say “so it is with the church,” but “so it is with Christ,” (who, by the way, was also single). Saying it this way gives Christ pre-eminence as head of the body – as Paul told the Ephesians, he is the head we (the body) grow up into in every way (Eph 4:15). 

            Paul then says we were baptized into that one body – Jews or Greeks, slaves or free – indicating that the community of faith has no racial or class distinctions, and I daresay, no marital distinctions. Then why do we act like singles are second-class members of the church? Every part of the body is important; every person counts; every person matters. 

 

These are some heavy issues to think about as a local chapter of the global church. But we must. Young adults, and others as well, have been hurt by the institution of the church. The church has had to change over the centuries as cultures change and as people experience shifting models of doing life. As people have been hurt by the stiffness of the church as an institution, it is time for the church as a body to help heal those people. 

The church is a visible expression of the body of Christ, as if it were Christ himself. We need the church to be the church, to meet regularly to share Christ and be like Christ to the world. We need the church (period). But we need to adapt our unchanging values (Jesus Christ is the Son of God) to an ever-changing culture. The values do not change, but how we communicate them as the people of God, does.

Rebecca Pippert, an author and speaker, met Bill in Portland, Oregon. He was a student at a local university who came to know Jesus. He was always disheveled in his appearance, and he never wore shoes. Bill was always barefoot.

When Bill became a Christian, his appearance didn’t change. Near the campus was a mostly well-dressed, middle-class congregation. One Sunday, Bill decided to go and worship there. He walked into church with his messy hair, blue jeans, t-shirt, and barefoot. People were uncomfortable, but no one said anything. Bill began walking down the aisle looking for a seat. But the church was crowded that day, so he got all the down to the front without finding a seat. He decided to just sit down right on the carpet. You could feel the tension in the air. 

Suddenly an elderly man began walking down the aisle toward Bill. Was he going to scold him and lecture him about how one dresses for church? 

As the elderly man kept walking down the aisle, all eyes were on him. You could hear a pin drop. When the man reached Bill, with some difficulty he lowered himself and sat down next to Bill on the carpet. He and Bill worshiped together on the carpet that day. There was not a dry eye in the church. 

Young adults need us to get down on the carpet with them. In other words, we need to join them where they are and rethink church together. 

 

                                                AMEN