James has been continuously referring to two dominant themes in his epistle.  Pretty much everything he has said up to this point stems from one or both of these themes.  And I would say that both themes are closely related.  Those themes are wisdom and what he calls our tongue, or to put it in our common vernacular, our speech.

Wisdom and speech are related in that our speech is the evidence of wisdom.  Now he has taught us early on in this epistle that wisdom is from God.  Wisdom is the  knowledge and application of spiritual life which comes from God.  And our speech is one of the primary means of applying that knowledge.  Jesus said, “What is in the heart, comes out of the mouth.” And  Paul said, with the mouth a man confesses what he believes in his heart. Romans 10:9-10 “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus [as] Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”  

So it’s not enough to just believe, but you must say what you believe and your speech gives evidence of what you believe.  But James tells us repeatedly that it’s possible to say one thing, but do another which shows that you actually don’t believe what you claim.  James says in chapter  2:14 “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?”  And you will see that theme discussed again and again in all aspects of our life – this speech that belies our faith.

Now the context for what James is discussing in this section we’re studying today, is found in chapter 3, where James spoke of the tongue being a restless evil which cannot be tamed, and said that from the same fountain cannot come fresh and salt water at the same time, or good speech and evil speech should not coexist in the same mouth.

And of course, the source for that fountain is wisdom.  According to James in chapter 3, there are two types of wisdom – the wisdom which is from God, and the wisdom which is of the world. And so your speech indicates which wisdom you have, and by which wisdom you are living.  

The wisdom which is from the world is our default wisdom.  That is the natural wisdom by which we operate under most circumstances.  That wisdom is what we call science, or education, or human intuition,  or being smart, or just good old common sense.  But James says that the wisdom of the world is demonic in origin.  It does not submit to God, but thinks itself smart enough and able to be independent from God. And according to chapter 3 vs 16, this earthly, demonic wisdom is characterized by jealousy and selfish ambition.

James 3:15-16 “This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic.  For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.”

Now to those evil characteristics of earthly wisdom, James speaks in the passage before us. He speaks of jealousy as characterized by slanderous and judgmental speech in vs 11 and 12.  And then he speaks to selfish ambition in vs 13-16 which is marked by pride and arrogance, and then finishes this section with a summary statement about earthly wisdom as being sinful in vs 17 as he closes this chapter.

Let’s look at the first evidence of earthly wisdom then that is jealousy, which is marked by slanderous speech or judgmental speech.  James says in vs 11, “Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge [of it.]  There is [only] one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?”

There is in this verse an echo of Jesus’s teaching in His sermon on the mount in which Jesus said, “Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.”

Now the way James speaks of judging is to say it is speaking against another person.  But what he is really talking about there is slander.  Slander is making a false statement about someone else to their detriment.  It’s called character assassination. Jesus’s statement seems to be more broad than that, but I think that it’s more than likely that James gives us the correct interpretation of what Jesus meant by his statement.  It means to judge with evil intent, to condemn, to damn. 

It’s the same kind of attitude which James spoke of in chapter 2, when he said that when you give preferential treatment to the rich man you have become judges with evil motives.  And then he says concerning that quickness to judge others, in vs 13, “For judgment [will be] merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

It’s important that we understand correctly what James is teaching here concerning judgment.  You often hear people rebuke a pastor or concerned Christian who raises questions about a person’s behavior, by saying, “Do not judge, lest you be judged.”  However, right after Jesus spoke about not judging, He then went on to say beware of false prophets, and that you shall know them by their fruits.  So in that sense, we are to judge others with righteous judgement, basing our judgement by their fruit, by their behavior.  

James is also not telling us that we shouldn’t rebuke others who are sinning. That is a necessary part of evangelism, to tell sinners that they have fallen short of the kingdom of God, that their sin has condemned them to eternal punishment, and that there is a way of salvation for those who repent of their evil deeds.  James speaks to that in the last verse of chapter five, saying, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,  let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.”

But the slanderer is not interested in saving the sinner, but in maligning someone. People tend to think that the way to exalt themselves is to put down others.  So the idea that James is getting at here is the one who condemns with his speech another person, attacking him, speaking ill of him, maligning him, by that which is not necessarily the truth. When you slander someone, you’re not talking about them for their good, but to hurt them, to condemn them. James says this is devilish. 

 It’s interesting to note that in vs 7, when James references the devil,  he uses the Greek word diabolos.  Diabolos is interpreted as the devil, but literally it means the slanderer.  And in vs 11, to speak against someone means to slander them.

In Rev 12:10 we see that description of the slanderer applied to the devil, saying, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”  Slander is the modus operandi of the devil.  He accuses the Christian before God. And he uses other people to slander one another and accomplish that same purpose.

In addition to doing the work of the devil, James says that the one who judges with evil intentions puts himself above the law, and in effect, puts himself on par with God as a judge. Blind to his own sin, the slanderer is not aware of the seriousness of his error.  Jesus said by what measure you judge, you will be judged.  And so we need to leave judgement to God, and focus on removing the mote out of our own eye, before we focus on the speck in another’s eye.

James says there is only one lawgiver and judge, who, of course, is God.  We all are going to be judged by God for every careless word that we speak.  So if we understood the law properly, then we would all cry out for mercy.  And our salvation is based on mercy, for by the keeping of the law is no one made righteous.  If we depend upon mercy, then how much more should we be merciful to others, rather than to condemn them. 

James says, “but who are you, to judge your neighbor?”  By that question, he reminds us of the royal law, which is to love our neighbor as ourselves.  If we loved our neighbor as we love ourselves, then we would not slander them, we would not condemn them, but we would show mercy towards them, because that’s what we desire for ourselves.

The next example of earthly wisdom that James discusses is what he called in chapter 3, selfish ambition. Selfish ambition is simply pride, and pride is marked by arrogant speech, which is boasting.  James says  starting in vs 13, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are [just] a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.  Instead, [you ought] to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”  But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.”

Now again, it’s important to understand what James is saying, and what James is not saying.  He is not saying that it’s wrong to make a business plan.  He is not saying that it’s wrong to have goals.  There are plenty of admonitions in the Bible about preparing for the future.  Or how about the godly example of Joseph whose plan called for saving during the years of plenty for the years to come of famine?  So the problem is not having a plan.

But what James is talking about here is the pride of man that makes plans and boasts as if he were the captain of his destiny and the master of his life.  As if he has all the time in the world at his disposal.  James is speaking of the ludicrousness of taking for granted the fragility of life, and that what you have in life is from God, even to the very next breath that you breathe.  

James says the problem is that you make plans apart from the wisdom of God. You make plans according to the wisdom of the world which is sourced in pride.  But James says, you don’t know what your life will be like tomorrow. As an example of that, I can’t help but think of what life was like before the virus.  We took so many things for granted.  No one could have imagined three years ago what life would be like today.  No one could have imagined the freedoms that would be lost, the businesses that would be closed down, the lives that were lost, the effects on life and liberty that have come as a result of this virus.

I will confess that lately I have felt the effects of it more than ever.  One thing that I’ve become more aware of is my own vulnerability.  I used to think I was bullet proof to a certain extent. I don’t know if it’s my age or my health or a combination of both, but lately I feel vulnerable. I realize more than ever the fragility of life.  We take good health for granted when we are healthy.  And I will say we take our liberties for granted until we lose them.  We take peace for granted in this country.  I pray that we don’t wake up one day to the harsh realities that it seems we are headed for.

James says that it is arrogant to make plans as if God does not control the outcome of the world, as if we can make ourselves rich, we can make ourselves successful, we can do what we want without considering the Lord. Whether the world realizes it or not, everyone is totally dependent upon the mercy of God for their next breath.  Paul said in Acts 17:28, “for in Him we live and move and exist.”

James says that your life is but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. I’m sure you have all seen the early morning mist that hovers just above the ground on some chilly mornings.  But when the sun comes up it disappears.  It was just vapor.  That’s a picture of the temporary nature of our life.  By the time we start to figure it out, it’s over.

Moses wrote about that in Psalm 90, saying, ‘’ we end our days with a sigh.”  He went on to say “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, Or if due to strength, eighty years, Yet their pride is [but] labor and sorrow; For soon it is gone and we fly away.”

So instead of making plans in our arrogance, irrespective of God, instead we ought to say, “if it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”  God is sovereign in our lives.  He has numbered our days. He directs our steps.  Proverbs 16:9 “The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.”

To say that “If it’s the Lord’s will…” is not a mantra that we tack on to our plans, like when we pray “in Jesus’s name, Amen.”   It’s not a way to sanctify our own plans.  But it means to submit to the sovereignty of God in every thing we do.  The Scottish hymn writer Horatius Bonar put it this way; “no part of day or night from sacredness be free.”   Everything we do we do for the Lord.  Even things as mundane as your day to day work are to be done as unto the Lord.  Even our submission to civil authorities is for the Lord’s sake.  Even the love that spouses are to have for one another is to be as unto the Lord.  

To say “If it’s the Lord’s will…” means simply to put the Lord first in your life.  For the Christian, there is no separation between the secular and the sacred.  There must be no distinction between my will and God’s will.  Our will is to do God’s will.  Whatever we do we need to do for the glory of God. Therefore, the Christian should accept the lordship of Jesus Christ in every aspect of our lives, living in obedience to the will of God as revealed in the word of God.

As Solomon’s wisdom tells us in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”

Finally, we come to a summary of this section on earthly wisdom in vs 17. The wisdom of the world produces sin.  James says, “Therefore, to one who knows [the] right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.”  There is a wisdom that produces sin.  It’s the earthly wisdom that is demonic, and produces every evil thing.  There are sins of commission which we have looked at, such as pride and slander and boasting.  But there is also a sin of omission, of neglect.  

We have been given wisdom in the word of God.  God speaks to us about what we should do, and what we should not do.  Sometimes it’s easier to focus on what we should not do. Far too often we think we’re ok because we haven’t committed any of the gross sins of the flesh like adultery or murder or so forth. But there are also some things which we should do, and if we neglect to do them, after having been shown the truth, then James says that’s a sin.  To neglect the commandments to love one another, to forgive one another, to edify one another, to pray for one another and other commandments like those, is just as grievous a sin as the sins of commission.

In our study on Wednesday nights we are looking at Revelation, and particularly the second coming of the Lord.  The first coming of the Lord He came to show mercy, but in the second coming the Lord comes in judgment.  And this is what the Lord Himself had to say about that coming, and the judgment which He will render; particularly the judgment He will give to those who knew His will, and did not do it.  

Luke 12:42-48 “And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and sensible steward, whom his master will put in charge of his servants, to give them their rations at the proper time?  “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes.  “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions.  “But if that slave says in his heart, ‘My master will be a long time in coming,’ and begins to beat the slaves, [both] men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk;  the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect [him] and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers.  “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes,  but the one who did not know [it,] and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

You have been given much this morning.  You have been given the knowledge of God’s will.  I urge you to show wisdom now and do it  – to not just be hearers of the word, but doers of it.  I urge you to submit to the will of God in your life, that the Lord will be sovereign over your plans, over your work, and over your life.  Don’t resist the Lord in pride, thinking that you have plenty of time to serve the Lord later, but for now you want to live like you want.  Don’t believe the false lies of the devil, and give place to pride and selfish ambition.  But rather “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.”

The theme of chapter three is that of faith.  James began by speaking about being rich in faith, as opposed to being poor in faith.  Ironically, he says the poor man is rich in faith, and the rich are poor in faith.  But it was evident that James was speaking of a kind of faith that produces love.  Love being the evidence of faith.  And love that is partial to certain people or shows favoritism is not the love which we are to have as Christians.  But we are to love like Christ loved us, which means that our faith has changed our natural inclinations to become like Christ.

James then indicated that faith in Christ changes us so that we desire to keep the royal law, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. So we understand that when James speaks of faith, he is not speaking of just a theological principle, but he speaks of a practical outcome of our faith. Rich faith, which is true faith, is life changing, in that it produces a new nature that produces works that are like Christ – such as by showing mercy.

In this second half of this chapter, James goes on to further develop the principle of faith, by saying that real faith doesn’t stop at just an intellectual assent, but real faith is living, that is active, and working.  If faith doesn’t produce love, then James says that it is not living faith at all, but dead faith.  Perhaps it can be illustrated in the analogy of a tree, that faith is the root and the trunk of the tree, and love is the branches.  The life of the tree requires both root and branches, they cannot be separated.  For it to be living, fruitful,  it requires both.

So James begins this teaching by asking a question, using a style of teaching similar to Jesus which helps to engage the hearer in his reasoning.  He says in vs14, “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him?” The way the question is posed gives us a clue to it’s answer.  The answer is no, faith without works is not saving faith, it’s not living faith, any more than a tree that doesn’t produce fruit is a good tree.

Notice something though in the way James frames this question.  He says the one who says, or claims to have faith.  James doesn’t say that he has faith but no works.  He says the man claims to have faith but no works.  That is a huge distinction. The man claims to have faith, but there is no evidence of it in his life. Now if a man actually had real faith, James indicates that he would have works.  Real faith, saving faith produces works as certainly as a good tree, a living tree, produces fruit.  

But notice what James is not saying. He is not saying that good works produce faith, but that real faith produces works. Again, there is a big difference.  James is indicating in his question that this man does not have saving faith, because there are no works to prove it.  So what good is his confession, or his intellectual assent? Can that type of faith which is only an intellectual assent to the truth, can that faith save him.  And the answer is no, he isn’t actually saved, even though he believes, or claims to believe.

To lay elaborate on that possibility, James gives a hypothetical situation, similar to what he began with in vs 1, a hypothetical situation which is set in the church, where we should be known for our Christian love.  He says in vs 15, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food,  and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for [their] body, what use is that?”

The illustration is set in the context of the church.  Presumably the church is made up of those who are of the faith. In the previous illustration at the beginning of the chapter, we see the possibility in the church of showing favoritism and not true Christian love, depending on the social standing or wealth of someone.  Now in this illustration, we see the example of not necessarily favoritism, but rather neglect, or uncaring disregard for another brother or sister in the church.

The picture James presents is of a desperate person who is without proper clothing or food, basic necessities for life.  And the person who sees them offers them nothing but words, but does not provide anything of substance to supply their need.  Again, James asks the question, “what good is that?”  What use are empty words without providing any help? 

Perhaps in the response of the church member to the needy person there is a hint of the old adage, “God helps those who help themselves.”  Have you ever heard that expression? I think we often use such logic to get off the hook in feeling some obligation to help someone. But is that the way God responds to our needs? No, God doesn’t tell us we need to pull ourselves up by the bootstraps.   But rather, God is merciful, and helps those who cannot help themselves.  Paul says in Romans 5:6 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”  God shows mercy on those who cannot help themselves, and as those who have received mercy, we should also show mercy on those in need. 

So the question is, what use is it to say you have faith, but ignore the need of a brother?  The answer James gives in vs 17, “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, [being] by itself.”  Dead faith is no help at all.  And James says that faith without works is dead.  James contrasts living, working, active faith, with faith that is dead, lifeless, and fruitless.  Notice, he says if faith is by itself, it’s useless, it’s dead. Faith and action must go together. Even more to the point, faith that is void of works is not real faith at all.  It is dead. Our faith in Christ made that which was dead come to life, and life produces action, it produces works. 

James is really somewhat like a good lawyer, that has built his case, has asked various questions to illustrate his case, and now he calls someone as a witness for cross examination. Vs.18, “But someone may [well] say, “You have faith and I have works.” “Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Now there is some interpretative confusion about this verse, because the translators can’t seem to figure out when the quotation begins or ends. There is no punctuation in the original Greek.  But I think the best interpretation is to see that this witness is claiming “You have faith and I have works.”  And then the response of James is “Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

The point is that both faith and works are necessary.  This imaginary witness wants to make an either or situation out of faith or works. Heb 11:1 says about faith, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And  James says you cannot see faith but you can see the evidence of it.  We can’t “see” someone’s faith, but we can see their works. You can’t see faith without works, but  the evidence of their faith is visible in their works.

We hear in this teaching of James the echo of Christ’s statement concerning the fig tree that had no fruit. He said a tree that doesn’t bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. It is good for nothing. So those who claim to have faith but no works will hear Jesus say, “Depart from me I never knew you.”

James then adds an illustration of faith without works as an example of dead faith by pointing to the belief of the demons.  He says, “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”  When James refers to believing that God is one, it’s a reference to the “shema” the Jewish prayer based on Deut. 6:4 which says, “Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is one.”  It would have been well known by all Jews, and was in a sense their profession of faith. 

But James shows that such a confession without transformation is useless, it’s dead.  And he shows that by the demon’s belief in God.  The demons believe in the reality of God, and at least they are fearful of Him.  And yet they are not saved by that belief.  Therefore, there must be more to faith than just an intellectual assent to the truth. A lot of people claim to believe in God, but they are unsaved. But to believe in faith means there will be a life changing response to the truth which is shown by one’s deeds.

And so James gives a stinging rebuke to the foolishness of that kind of false faith in vs 20 “But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?” If you think that you can believe in God but it doesn’t require a change in your heart, a change in your life, then you are a fool.  If demons are not saved by belief in God, then it should be evident that faith that is only intellectual is not saving faith either.

Now as James develops his case, he goes on to supply evidence for this principle. And the first evidence comes from the life of Abraham.  James says, “Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.”

Abraham was considered the father of the Jews, and the father of faith.  The Jews claimed salvation on the basis of being a child of Abraham. But James doesn’t emphasize physical descent, but the concept of righteousness as the result of faith. Abraham was considered righteous in the sight of God because he trusted Him to the point of sacrificing Isaac, who was the son of promise.

But notice that James says Abraham’s faith was working with his works.  It was not one or the other with Abraham.  If he had faith in God, then he had to trust God enough to obey God, even when it seemed contrary to human reasoning.  This idea of trust is essential to faith.  Trust is believing in the truth, but then acting on that faith, putting your weight of action upon it.

I remember an illustration my Mom made years ago when I was a kid in Sunday School.  She showed us a chair, and said “Do you believe that this is a good chair, that it will support your weight if you sit on it?  And we said “yes, we believe it’s a good chair.”  Then she said, “Then sit on it, and let it support your weight.”  When you believe in the chair, that’s faith, when you sit on the chair, that’s trust.  That’s the elementary explanation of faith and trust.

The theological explanation is a bit more involved. There are three elements of faith in classical theology.  The first is the Latin term notitia:  which means believing in the information. It’s an intellectual awareness. The second aspect of faith is what they call assensus, or intellectual assent. I must be persuaded of the truthfulness of the content.The crucial, most vital element of saving faith is that of personal trust. That final term is fiducia, referring to a fiduciary commitment by which I entrust my life to Christ. Like when we put our money in a bank.  That’s a fiduciary institution.  That’s why a lot of banks are called So and So Bank and Trust.  They take care of your money, and put your money to work so that it makes interest.   

So trusting my life to Christ who will work in my life and give me new life is an essential component of faith.  But a lot of Christians stop at the intellectual part.  They never make it to the trusting part. They don’t put their life in Christ’s hands to use as He sees fit, and so consequently there is no life, no growth, no works. 

Abraham, however, not only  believed but he obeyed, he acted in accordance with God’s word. He trusted God’s promises.  And James says the evidence of Abraham’s faith is  you can see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. Works are the evidence of faith.  Without evidence of faith, there is no faith.  Or another way of saying it, is faith works. Faith does not stand alone, but faith works.

But let’s make sure we understand an important distinction that may not be apparent in this translation.  And that is, that it is God who justifies.  Man does not justify himself on the basis of his works.  Man cannot justify himself.  Man cannot save himself by his own merit or his works of righteousness.  The Jews thought that if they could keep the law, particularly certain laws above others, then they could obtain righteousness.  

But Paul said in Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”  At first glance Paul seems to go against  what James is saying.  But not so fast.  Read the next verse.  Paul adds, in vs 10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  So actually Paul says what James says, that faith and works go together.  Faith produces works, and so faith without works is not really faith at all.

The next evidence that James gives from scripture is that of Rahab the harlot.  What a contrast.  First he showed us Abraham the friend of God, the righteous father of the Jews, the father of the faithful.  Now he goes to the other end of the spectrum, to a Gentile, a woman who was a prostitute.  Vs.25 “In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way?”

Rahab demonstrated her trust in the God of Israel by hiding the spies and seeking salvation from their God.  You can read about it in Joshua 2:8-13. Her faith was shown to be living faith because it did something. Her belief in the God of Israel would not have saved her if she had not done something with that faith.  Simply believing in the God of Israel was not enough faith, but faith required action.  She acted on that belief which saved the spies, and saved herself.

The lesson from Abraham is clear: if we believe in God, we will do what He tells us to do. The lesson from Rahab is also clear: if we believe in God, we will help His people, even when it costs us something.

So then having questioned various witnesses, and presented his evidence, James then presents his logical conclusion in vs 26. “For just as the body without [the] spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.”  Just as you can have a body with no life ( which is what we call a corpse), so you can have a faith with no life.  And that kind of faith without works is a dead faith, unable to save.

With Christmas around the corner, I can’t help but remember Christmas’s past when I bought one of the kids a toy that was supposed to make some kind of noise, or you turn it on and it would go around in circles on the floor, or something like that.  And inevitably, the wrapping paper comes off and my son or daughter turned on the switch and set the toy on the floor and nothing happened.  And after a minute or two I would feel a tug on my sleeve and look down at this little face that was puckered up about to burst into tears, and hear them say, “Not working.”  The toy didn’t work.  It was not designed just to look at, it was designed to do something, and it didn’t do it.  So the question is, if it doesn’t work, then what use is it?

And that’s what James says here.  Faith without works is dead.  We were designed to work in response to our faith.  Remember what Paul said in Ephesians 2 which we read earlier? “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”  We are Christ’s special work of art, that was designed for good works.  And we can only assume that when we don’t work, then we are not really Christ’s.  We haven’t really been remade into a new creation.

We need a faith that works.  A faith that transforms this dead natural man into a living spiritual man.  And that transformation begins when you recognize that you are dead in your trespasses and sins, and you ask for forgiveness and to have the Lord give you new life in Him.  But you have to really mean that; you must want to receive new life, recognizing your old way of life was the way of death.  And because of your faith in what Jesus did to procure your righteousness, God will credit His righteousness to your account, and that righteousness which God gives you results in a regeneration of your spirit, so that you are a new creation, with new desires, and a new capacity for righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit working in you. That’s a faith that works.  It works out our salvation as we live in the power of the Spirit.  I pray that you have a faith that works. A living faith that will be evidenced by your works.

Last time we finished up with verse 18 in which James said we were brought forth by the word of truth that we might be the first fruits among His creatures. He is speaking there in the phrase “brought forth” about our new birth, our spiritual birth. We are saved by grace, through faith, given new life in Christ, a new heart, new desires, a new way of living.

Then he says that we might be the first fruits among His creatures. That refers to our new life now that we are saved. He uses the analogy of a plant, which springs up in life, and then bears fruit in kind. And as we are now sons and daughters of God, our lives are to bear fruit which is like God. If we are born of God, then we are to bear the likeness of God, we are to live godly lives.

Godly lives is the produce of our new life in Christ. That’s what theologians call sanctification. We are conformed to the image of Jesus Christ. And as we walk by the Spirit, we produce the fruit of the Spirit. And Galatians 5:22 tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Now that fruit of our spiritual life is what James now turns to. He gives us several instructions for how we are to live and act, which are the fruit of a godly life. He moves from principles to practices. And I must say that sanctification is something that comes through practice. Sanctification is another way of expressing spiritual maturity. And Hebrew 5:14 tells us that maturity comes through practice. It says, “But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.”

So James begins these practical instructions for daily life with instructions concerning our speech. He says in vs 19, “[This] you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak [and] slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”

There is some debate among Bible scholars as to whether that opening phrase belongs to the previous verse, or this verse. I think it’s best translated this way, “My dear brothers, take note of this; everyone should be quick to listen…” In other words, James wants to emphasize that this is something important. Listen up, take note of this.

James thinks that the tongue, or our speech, is important. He will go on to say in chapter 3:8-10 “But no one can tame the tongue; [it is] a restless evil [and] full of deadly poison. With it we bless [our] Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come [both] blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.”

James says the tongue is full of poison. And we know that is true. Who among us have not been severely wounded by something that was said. You know, I still remember a few teachers from when I was in high school that said something that left a scar for decades afterwards. I remember in my junior year of high school, I was the junior class president. This one teacher was one of two advisors for our class. I worked with these teachers on class meetings and activities throughout the year. But this one teacher was a piece of work. She was just a mean woman, and she liked being mean. She waited to the last day of the school year, when I came to get something signed by her, to tell me that I was the worst President that they had ever had. She may have been right, I don’t know. I didn’t do a whole lot other than make a few remarks once a month at our class meetings. But why not tell me something when I could have made improvements? She did it obviously to hurt me. And 40 years later it still stings.

But all of you I’m sure can think of things that have been said in the past to hurt you. I’m sure if you’re like me, you remember three hurtful things for every one good thing that was said about you. So I’m sure we can agree that the tongue is a restless evil and full of poison. But maybe what we haven’t thought of too much is that what we say is important to God.

Notice then what James says. First he says, be quick to listen. I think he actually is talking about listening to the word of God. That’s who we are to take our cues from. I’m constantly being approached by people who want to teach. Who want to speak. But God is saying it’s more important to listen than it is to speak.

But also in practical social situations, we should be quick to listen. Many of our conversations with other people end up being contests in oneupmanship. As you are telling something that is on your heart, the one listening is nodding his head, but actually is thinking of what he wants to say in response. And many times, they end up interrupting you to tell you something that is even more exciting, or amazing, or terrible or whatever, than what you were saying.

If we really practice loving our neighbor, our brothers and sisters in the Lord, then we should be quick to hear, quick to listen, to lend a sympathetic ear. More good can be accomplished in counseling by listening, than by speaking. If you go see a good therapist or psychiatrist you will find that out. They are trained to listen, to prompt their client to speak. And in speaking, the client finds relief many times from his troubles. In the church, the same might be true. James says “confess your sins one to another that you might be healed.” There is great comfort in confession. But confession needs a listener. God wants us to be listeners.

Secondly James says we should be slow to speak. Slow to speak means that you hold your tongue. You don’t respond quickly, but you think about it first. Sometimes, it may mean it’s better not to speak at all. I remember hearing as a kid that you should count to three before responding. Then later I heard you should count to ten when you get angry. I don’t know how long you should wait to speak, but I will say that the longer the better.

And by the way, speaking includes comments on facebook and instagram and other social media platforms. There is a grave danger in those mediums in that what you have written ends up getting passed around to the wrong person. Or some deeper meaning you intended is lost in translation. Things you quickly respond to on social media have a tendency to blow up in your face later on. But what you have written you have written. You can’t take it back.

The same is true of hurtful things you say. You may apologize for it later, and they may say “that’s ok,” but I can assure you that 99 times out of a hundred it’s not ok. They will remember what you said for a long, long time. Be slow to speak. Let me also say this; if you don’t have much to say, people think you are smart. Proverbs 17:28 says, “it is wise for learned men to be silent, and much more for fools.” The quiet person in class always seemed to be the smartest person in class. Or at least we thought so. You seem smart when you’re silent, but when you open your mouth, you reveal your ignorance.

Third thing James says is be slow to anger. Let’s be honest. Anger feels good. We say we let some steam off. That means we had this boiling over in us, and it feels good to let it out and burn someone’s hair off. But James says man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires.

God is often spoken of in terms like the wrath of God. We sometimes hear about righteous anger. And maybe there is such a thing. I said last week that we must learn to hate what God hates. So there may be a place for righteous anger. But when James speaks of man’s anger, he is saying it’s not righteous anger. It’s anger that comes from impatience, or jealousy, or frustration, from hatred and other sinful desires. Anger is the opposite of the fruit of the Spirit. Rather than our actions, our words being guided by the Holy Spirit, we find ourselves guided by anger, which ends up hurting others. And people don’t respond well to anger. Our goal as Christians is to edify, to share the gospel, to bear testimony of God’s mercies. But if we share our anger instead, even if we think it is well deserved, it doesn’t achieve a good purpose in those people. They are turned off. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.”

Therefore since anger does not achieve righteousness, James says, “putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls.” Now understand that James isn’t introducing a new command here, but he is building on the previous commands. He is talking about speech, angry, abusive speech, filthy speech, ungodly speech, wicked speech. Put it away. Do away with it.

I know that foul language is a pretty common problem among Christians. I have often been shocked by what I thought were sound, mature Christians,, and yet under certain circumstances they cuss like a sailor. But James says, such things ought not to be. Look again at chapter 3, vs.10, he says, “from the same mouth come [both] blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way.” Christians cannot speak cursing and blessing at the same time. Even the unsaved people know that a Christian should not speak that way. They may curse along with you, but inwardly they take note of it, and as such they have an excuse why they think that the Christian life is fake, or for show, or hypocritical.

I will promise you this. If you sincerely pray and ask God to help you overcome that sort of speech, I believe the Lord will help you. I believe a Christian can have victory over his speech. And furthermore, God commands that we clean up our speech. And He will not command us to do something that He will not enable us to do.

Now I think as Christians we are to put away all kinds of filthiness, and wickedness, in all forms. But I think specifically James is still talking about speech here. Because he then gives the antidote, which is to receive God’s speech, God’s word, which He says is able to save your souls. Notice though he prefaces that implanting by saying that it must be received with humility. Humility is brokenness. The ground that is broken up is able to receive the word implanted.

Jesus talked about the different kinds of soils in the parable of the sower. He said the seed is the word of God. It’s cast by the preacher over the field, which is the world. Some seed fell on rocky soil, some fell on the by way. Some fell on thin soil and it sprung up but then the thorns choked the life from it so it did not bear fruit. But some fell on good soil. And it found root there, and grew up, and bore fruit. I suggest that the good soil is the soil that was broken up, that had been tilled. That is a picture of humility. Not a proud heart, that must be first, that must say what they think, that must stand up for their rights, that must be independent. But in humility, in brokenness, the word of God can find root, and then when it grows, it bears fruit.

Now we are not saved by our works. Eph. 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” But how do we have faith? Paul says in Romans 10:17 “So faith [comes] from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” So the word of Christ is heard, is believed, is received, and it washes us, it transforms us, it saves us. That’s yet another example of how hearing is better than speaking. We need to hear the word of God. We need to read it, we need to listen to it, and we need to heed it.

I heard about a couple that came to church and the woman had been in the nursery or something, and she asked her husband who was leaving the building, “‘What, is the sermon all done?’ ‘No,’ said the man, ‘it is all said, but it is not begun to be done yet.’” It starts with hearing, then receiving, and then applying what you have heard.

To that point, about applying what you have heard, James says in vs 22 “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.” James will go on to extrapolate from this principle that faith without works is dead. Faith is not just an intellectual exercise. Faith is trust, believing, to the point of doing. Believing doesn’t mean just intellectual assent. But it means acting on what you believe to be true.

The Bible speaks of Abraham as the father of faith. Again and again the Bible says, “Abraham believed God, and He counted it to him as righteousness.” But Abraham didn’t just believe intellectually. He didn’t just give intellectual assent to the idea of God. But Hebrews 11 says that “By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.”

If Abraham just gave intellectual assent to God but stayed in Ur of Chaldees, then he wouldn’t have had saving faith. Abraham had faith because he obeyed, he went out of Ur, he packed up and moved out to the place God told him to go. Faith is trusting God enough to act on His word. God does’t just give us His word to inform us, but to transform us.

James then turns to an analogy to help explain this principle. He says in vs 23-24 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for [once] he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.”

We’re all familiar with looking in the mirror, aren’t we? Some of us like looking in the mirror more than others. I personally don’t like to look in the mirror very much. And consequently, my kids are always pointing out that I missed a spot shaving, or I have hairs growing where hair shouldn’t be, or I am losing my hair. I always think of that country music song by Waylon Jennings, where he said, “I look in the mirror with total surprise, at the hair on my shoulders, and the age in my eyes.” I think he was talking about having long hair, but I tend to see the hair that’s fallen out and laying on my shoulders. So anyway, we look in the mirror and we see our face, our body, and usually we try to improve it, to put makeup on, or pluck our nose hairs, or make an attempt to do a comb over to hide our bald spot.

But when James speaks of the mirror, he is likening the word of God to a mirror in which we see not our physical bodies, but we see our soul in the mirror of God’s word. And when we see the imperfections of our soul, when we see our shortcomings, our sinfulness, we should immediately deal with it. But instead James says, too often we just turn and walk away, and forget what kind of person that we really are as revealed in the word.

The antidote for that, James says, is to look intently at the law of liberty and abide by that law. Vs 25 “But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the [law] of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.”

Don’t be confused by the phrase law of liberty, as if James is giving us the license to live as we please. The law of liberty is simply a synonym for the word of God. In Psalm 19 David says, “The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The statues of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. By them is your servant warned, in keeping them there is great reward.”

God’s law is perfect. His word is perfect. And God’s perfect law gives liberty from the bondage to sin. As we live within the boundaries of God’s law we are free, we enjoy the liberties which God provides in that environment. But when we cross His boundaries, we find ourselves once again a slave to sin. The analogy could be made with the freedom we have in living in America. We are a free people. We celebrate our liberty. But we live in an environment of laws. If we go outside those laws, then we lose our liberty.

James says that there is something even better for us though. He says that when we abide in God’s law, not just hearing it but doing it, then we will be blessed in what we do. God blesses those who obey Him. There is a reward for those who keep the statues of the Lord, David said. Sometimes that reward may come immediately as a consequence of doing right, other times it may be in the future, when God will reward those according to their deeds at the judgement. But God promises a reward for obedience.

Now in keeping the law of God, the perfect law of liberty, we can call that being religious. We are living godly, seeking to live for God, which is the definition of religion. But James says if you don’t control the tongue, control your speech, then your religion is worthless. Vs. 26 “If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his [own] heart, this man’s religion is worthless.”

It’s a terrible thing to be deceived. We talked about Eve’s deception last week. But what’s worse than that is to be self deceived. Because when you are self deceived, you don’t know that you are deceived. James says if you don’t bridle your tongue, or control your tongue, you have deceived yourself in thinking you are religious through what you think are religious duties, like going to church, or singing songs, or any number of other things you do which you think will please God. But according to God, if you don’t have control over your tongue, your temper, then everything else you do accomplishes nothing.

But James doesn’t want to end this section with a negative, so he concludes with the positive thing you can do, which is pure and undefiled religion. We should be religious, but to practice pure religion, and not defiled, not corrupted by personal pride or personal agenda, then James says we must do the following. Vs.27 “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of [our] God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, [and] to keep oneself unstained by the world.”

So there are actually two things we must do to have pure and undefiled religion. One is to visit orphans and widows in their distress. James is addressing here the social circumstances and conditions of his day which were epitomized by orphans and widows. These were people in that society that had no guardian or breadwinner in the family. They had no social services from the government that provided for them. In many cases they were destitute, unable to work, unable to provide for themselves. We don’t really have the same situation in our society, at least in America. But we do have the poor. Jesus said the poor you have always with you. There are many people who are destitute in our society. And there are even people in our church that have needs that they cannot meet, that are beyond their means. We may have to look a little harder, but we can find people that are in need of a person who will help them. It may not just be financial, it may be other ways.

My sister is a widow. She lost her husband about 5 years ago. They had been missionaries for about 30 years, and then he came down with a deadly respiratory disease. About three years later after he died, she lost her son to ALS. He was the son who lived closest to her. Now she is not destitute by any means. She has a job teaching piano. But there is a man in the church who has repeatedly given his service to her around her house to fix anything that she needs fixing. He does all the things a husband might have done. He takes her car to the shop when needed. He hangs pictures, fixes the toilet, changes out the washing machine. He tries to serve as a substitute husband for her. I don’t know that that is reproducible for everyone of us. But maybe if we thought about it, we could find someone who could use our help in some way. But in general, I think this command to visit widows and orphans is simply a specific example of the command to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving your neighbor is pure and undefiled religion.

The other part to pure and undefiled religion is to keep oneself unpolluted by the world. Our relationship with the Lord is likened in the Bible to a marriage. But when we gravitate back to the things of the world, the lusts of the world, the wickedness of the world, it’s as if we are cheating on our Lord to whom we owe our complete devotion to. When we are attracted by the world, and we give in to the lusts of the world, then we have in effect committed adultery against the Lord.

I don’t have time to give you a laundry list of all the ways you can sin against God, and follow after the world. I bet you could give me a pretty long list yourselves if you thought about it for a minute. But if I were to just pick the one area that James had in mind, I would bet you that he was thinking about our speech, talking like the world, speaking in anger, speaking rashly, speaking wickedness. That type of speech is a stain on our souls and a blemish on our testimony. And as James said at the beginning, we need to put that away from us, and practice slow speech, quick hearing, and be doers of the word, applying the perfect law of liberty to our lives in practical ways, every day. Let us be doers of the word, that we might receive blessing from the Lord.

James started off his letter speaking about the need for enduring faith in the midst of trials. Trials are an inescapable part of life.  And James says rather than seeking immediate relief from them, we need to endure them with persevering faith, knowing that God uses trials to refine our faith, so that our faith might be complete, lacking in nothing. Then he adds to that process the need for divine wisdom, so that we might understand God’s purposes and plan for our salvation, that we might have hope and confidence in God’s plan for our lives. 

Today then, as we take up this study in verse 9, we notice it  begins with a conjunction, which ties it to the preceding verse.  The conjunction “but” indicates a contrast to what has come directly before it.  And what came directly before was the statement about double mindedness, which is the description of the man who doesn’t have the wisdom of God, who doesn’t have unwavering faith.  We said last time, such a man is very likely unsaved.  He holds onto the world and tries to have Jesus at the same time, but really doesn’t believe the word of Jesus, or believe that God’s word is truly wisdom.  And so when trials come, he opts out of faith in God, and turns to human wisdom.  He most likely never had saving faith to begin with.

But in contrast to that person, James introduces another kind of trial that believers must endure, and he gives us the wisdom of God concerning this kind of trial, that we may be able to persevere through it.  And the trial that he introduces here is the lack of money, or the trial of being poor.

It’s very certain that the Christians who James is writing to are for the most part very poor in material goods.  It appears that James writes primarily to converted Jews that had been dispersed across Asia as a result of persecution, who were poor because they had to leave everything – their homes and jobs, and escaped with only what they could carry. But whether his immediate audience were Jews or Gentiles, they were predominately poor.  Being wealthy in those days was something that you had to inherit, or it came from a prominent political position.  But being a Christian was almost a certain guarantee that you were ostracized from society, whether Jewish or Gentile, and as a result you were poor.

The apostle Paul, speaking to the Corinthian church, said it was generally true that Chrisitians were poor in comparison to the world.  He said in 1Cor. 1:26-28 “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble;  but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong,  and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are.”  I suppose that was the general rule for all the churches in Asia.  Many Christians were even slaves or indentured servants. 

I believe that in James day, there were primarily only two classes of people.  The rich and the poor.  There was not so much of what we think of today as a middle class.  And I believe that we are seeing the elimination of the middle class in our society as well.  But in any event, I think that even the poor in our society would be considered rich in comparison to many other places in the world, and especially in comparison to the way most people lived in James day.  We take for granted many things that they would have considered the utmost luxury.

Nevertheless, for the purposes of this message, I think we can agree with James who divides society into two social divisions, rich or poor.  And in the context of his message about enduring trials with joy, he brings up the trial of being poor.  Notice also that he addresses those people who are poor as brothers.  So he’s speaking to Christians who are poor.  You don’t have to be poor to be a Christian, but I would have to say it helps.  Whereas, being rich is a hindrance to being saved.

You will remember that Jesus said in Luke 18:25 “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”  If you have ever seen and smelled a camel, then you know that is an impossibility, isn’t it?  I know some commentators and clever pastors have tried to say that the eye of the needle is the name of a very narrow pass through a canyon somewhere in Israel, and a camel had to get on it’s knees to crawl through it.  I happen to think that is not what Jesus is referring to.  He is looking at the rich young ruler who had just turned away from salvation because of his great riches, and he is probably riding away on a camel, which was like the Cadillac of that day. And this young man, who is very rich, probably had a fleet of them in his entourage.

The disciples certainly understood Jesus to not just be speaking of a difficulty, but an impossibility.  They asked, “then who can be saved?”  And Jesus answered, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”  So being rich does not absolutely exclude you from the kingdom of God, but Jesus did say it is practically impossible.  But thankfully, that which seems impossible to men is not impossible with God. 

But by and large, James indicates that the church is primarily made up of poor people.  And they consider being poor a trial.  He contrasts this Christian brother who is suffering the trial of being poor  to that of the double minded man who loves the world in the previous verse.  James says “But the brother of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position.”

James isn’t deliberately speaking in riddles.  But he’s speaking in a manner of teaching that was common to the Hebrews, which is often seen in the Psalms and Proverbs.  It’s a method where he uses contrast and parallelism to teach a subject.  

He says the brother is in humble circumstances.  That’s a nice way of saying that they were poor.  There is nothing more humbling than being poor.  I can tell you from experience many stories from my past when I experienced humbling circumstances.  God took me from a position of wealth, or at least thinking I was wealthy, to a position of extreme poverty.  And during that time I had to do some pretty humbling things in order to keep food on the table.  I put my wife and kids through many humbling circumstances.  It was a time that left scars which we still deal with even today to some extent.

It was kind of like the experiences that I heard my dad speak of having come through the Great Depression.  People that came through that had a different perspective on money for decades afterwards.  They were often afraid of spending money because they never wanted to go through such times again.

So being poor was a trial that a lot of the Christians were going through.  But James says the man in humble circumstances, or a low economic position,  should glory in his high position.  That phrase “high position” is a reference to his standing with God.  We that are saved have a high position with God.  Peter says we are a royal priesthood.  Paul says in Romans 8:17 that we are the children of God.  “And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him.]  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

So our suffering in poverty is producing for us a weight of glory beyond our comprehension.  Paul says in 2Cor. 4:17-18 “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,  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 are eternal.”  We that are poor in this world have our eyes fixed, our hope fixed, on the next world, on that which is eternal. We have a high position with God, though for the time being, we suffer a low position on earth. And in that sure hope we can glory, we can rejoice.

So Peter says in 1Peter 5:6 “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”  That’s what James is talking about when he says let the brother of humble circumstances glory in his high position.  We endure the humbling circumstances now, because we know that God will make all things new in the consummation of the kingdom.  We are like princes in exile, but one day the King is coming back in power and glory, and in that day He will set His sons and daughters on thrones to reign with Him in His kingdom.

James says in chapter 2 vs 5, “Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world [to be] rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?”  Then let us glory in our high position and endure with patience the suffering of being poor, in humbling circumstances.

But the rich man, he is now contrasted with the brother of humble circumstances.  His end is not the same, nor is it better than the poor man.  His faith has been in his possessions.  His dependence is not on God, but on his own resources.  James says in vs 10 “and the rich man [is to glory] in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.”

First let’s recognize who this person is who is rich.  Notice that James called the poor man “brother” but omits this term when he introduces the rich man.  It’s possible for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said, but only because God is able to make what is impossible for men, a possibility with God.  But I think in a general manner of speaking, James is likely presenting the rich man in a similar light as the double minded man of the previous passage.  It’s very likely that the rich man is not a true believer.  He has a double minded faith which considers the riches of this world too great to let go of for the sake of the kingdom.

Remember the rich, young ruler? He believed in God.  He was very religious, very moral.  But Jesus said one thing you still lack – sell all you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow Me.”  And he didn’t do it, because he was so rich.  Now was that man saved or unsaved?  I suggest he left unsaved. And so we might also assume that the rich man James speaks of here is not saved. He might be religious, he might be moral, he might believe in God, but his faith falls short because he depends on his wealth.

Notice also that James says about this rich man that he will pass away.  The poor glory in their future in eternity, but the rich man glories in the present.  But James says something here which is difficult for us to understand, perhaps because it’s somewhat confusing in it’s translation.  He says the rich man should glory in his humiliation.  What I think James is referring to is that he needs to recognize his low spiritual condition.  He needs to realize that his wealth is temporary, and instead lay up treasure in heaven.  

James, you remember is Jesus’s half brother.  And he is obviously familiar with what Jesus taught in Matt. 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The rich man needs to see that though he is rich in the world’s goods, he is poor in heaven. 

Jesus said in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  What that speaks of is recognizing your spiritual bankruptcy.  When you realize you are spiritually bankrupt, then you are able to receive the gift of God, which is the righteousness of Jesus Christ applied to your account. So if the rich man is to glory, then let him glory in his humiliation, in the fact of his spiritual bankruptcy. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and He will exalt you. And when  he has repented, he may receive mercy, that he may at the last day enter into glory.

I suppose another perspective on this is you can also think of riches as a trial.  I know we are conditioned to think of riches as a blessing.  We say things like “God blessed me with a  financial windfall,” or “God blessed me with a well paying job.”  Whatever the cause may be, we think financial well being is a sign of God’s blessing.  But maybe it’s not.  Maybe it’s a test.  It’s a trial.

So though it may be hard to believe, being rich can be a trial. So many Christians think having money is a blessing.  When in fact it can be a terrible temptation to live independently from God, to not love your neighbor, to be greedy, to be an unfaithful steward, and a host of other ways you can sin against God by putting your trust in this world’s goods. Jesus said, you cannot serve God and wealth. You cannot serve two masters.

1Tim. 6:7-10 tells us that if being rich is not directly a trial, it is at least a temptation.  “For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.  If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.  But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

There’s that idea of being a double minded man again, and not persevering in faith, but abandoning faith in God and instead trying to hold onto the wisdom of the world.  And the wisdom of the world is that he who dies with the most toys wins.  That money is the means of happiness and contentment and status.  But the Bible tells us the opposite.  Because real contentment comes from spiritual riches, and an eternal perspective. Real status comes from our position in heaven. And the riches of the world cannot obtain those things. 

James then gives an analogy of the way that those who pursue riches will end up destitute. He says in vs11, “For the sun rises with a scorching wind and withers the grass; and its flower falls off and the beauty of its appearance is destroyed; so too the rich man in the midst of his pursuits will fade away.”

James gives us a picture of the flowering grass, which springs up after a rain, but when the sun rises and the hot winds blow across the landscape, the grass quickly withers and the flower falls away.  It’s a picture of the rich man who in the midst of pursuing money will suddenly fade away.  

But notice that James doesn’t say that riches will fade away.  Sometimes that happens as a result of a crash in the stock market, or housing market, or any number of other possibilities. But he isn’t talking here about riches fading away.  He says the rich man will fade away.  Death comes without warning, without keeping schedule.  And death eventually comes to everyone, rich or poor.  And what you spent your life in pursuit of, is left to your descendants to fight over, while you go to meet your Maker. Jesus said, “what does it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?”

Jesus gave a parable about such a rich man.  In Luke 12:15-21 we read, “Then He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not [even] when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”  And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man was very productive.  “And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years [to come;] take your ease, eat, drink [and] be merry.”‘  “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This [very] night your soul is required of you; and [now] who will own what you have prepared?’  “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

So the poor man, though he is of humble circumstances, is rich towards God.  But the rich man, who is wealthy in the world’s goods, is poor towards God.  He is spiritually bankrupt. He needs to recognize that, to repent and have faith in God, that he may be rich in the kingdom of heaven.

And so James concludes this section about trials with the following pronouncement of blessing in vs 12, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him.”

Trials are a test of our faith, given to prove our faith, that we might exercise our faith by enduring, persevering in our faith towards God.  Our faith is not a wrench by which we manipulate God into giving us health, wealth and prosperity, but it’s a wrench by which God transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ as we share in His suffering. Suffering is a means by which God transforms us from trusting in the world, and in the world’s wisdom, the world’s goods, to trusting totally and completely in Him. 

And once our faith has been approved, we receive the crown of life which the Lord promised to those who love Him.  When James says, “our faith has been approved” he isn’t speaking of earning our salvation through works.  But he is saying that once God has ended the period of testing which He designed to refine our faith, then we will receive the crown of life.  The crown of life I think speaks of our glorification, when we shall be with the Lord at the consummation of the kingdom.  What James is urging us to do is to endure to the end of this life.  We don’t get the promise that somehow God is going to make everything work out here as we go through this trial, so that we can end this trial in a quick fashion and enjoy the rest of our life living in prosperity and good health.  But what he is saying is that we endure these trials to the end. Revelation 2:10 says, “Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

 God tests our faith as we persevere, looking forward to what He has promised, which is eternal life, the crown of life, that we receive in full once the trial of this life is over.  This whole life we live now is a trial. And our trials will be over when our physical life is over.  Then we will receive the promise of the crown of life, the abundant life, eternal life, that God has promised to those who love Him.  Who love Him more than we love this world, love Him more than wealth, more than fame, more than all the material possessions that this life appears to offer. 

If you love the Lord, then you will gladly give up this world in order to have Him. Jesus said in Luke 16:13 “No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

I trust that each of you have enduring faith, that will persevere through the trials of this life, whether rich or poor, in sickness or in health, until death one day separates you from this life and you receive the crown of life. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”