The Letter of James. Part 3: Faith.Recap of part 2The letter of James addresses the subject of practical Christianity. The subject of practical Christianity answers the following question: After we have been justified forever by God, and given eternal life as well as other amazing permanent blessings, all by grace through faith….. HOW ARE WE TO LIVE? This is what the letter of James is all about. It has nothing to say about eternal salvation by grace through faith. James 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. We begin by recapping a few facts about the letter as a whole. First, of all the letters in the New Testament, the letter of James is the most saturated with the teachings of Jesus, particularly from the Gospel of Matthew. Second, the author of the letter of James was the half-brother of Jesus. He was called the Just, and he was a younger brother of Jesus. He became a well-known figure in the early Jewish church. The mere mention of his first name would have been sufficient for the saints to know who was writing to them. His name carried great authority. Third, when was this letter written? We can say with a great deal of confidence that the letter of James was written sometime between 44 AD and 48 AD. Fourth, who was the original audience for this letter and what were their circumstances? The original audience consisted of Jews from the 12 Tribes of Israel who were dispersed abroad (= outside of Jerusalem). James 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. The book of Galatians states that James was an apostle to the Jews (Gal 2:7-9) Jewish Christians were dispersed abroad after the stoning of Stephen in Act 7:59. This occurred in 34 AD, 10 -14 years before the letter of James was written. They fled Jerusalem and were dispersed to Judea and Samaria, then Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch (Act 11:19). James wrote the letter of James to these Jewish Christians who were dispersed abroad because of the persecution that occurred in connection with the death of Stephen. James wrote to encourage them in the midst of their suffering and difficulties, and to exhort them to speak and act in a righteous manner. He reminds them that God’s righteous judgment is coming (Jam 5:7-11). And he exhorts them to be obedient to the Lord in the midst of their trials (Jam 1:2-4, 12). The role that faith plays in the letter of JamesWe will now examine the role that faith plays in the letter of James. James 1:1-4 2 Consider [count in KJV] it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Here in verse 3, faith is mentioned for the first time. Here we first learn about the role that faith will play throughout the letter.
The context for faithIn order to identify the role that faith plays in this passage, we will next examine the context.. "Consider or count it all joy when you encounter various trials" The Greek verb for “consider” is hegeomai Literally, hegeomai means to lead the way or go first. Here it is used metaphorically to mean to lead out before the mind. In other words, to think to be such and such; to esteem or count as something.
TrialsHere in verse 2, hegeomai means to direct the mind to think of trials and adversities as joy. To see adversity not as the natural man sees it – something to be avoided - , but rather as God sees it. To see His hand behind it and to trust that He has a purpose for it , such that it will end up being a joyful thing. Or as Romans 8 puts it, to know that God is working all things together for our good. The Greek word for “trials” in verse 2 is peirasmos It means a putting to the test. When God is the agent, peirasmos is for the purpose of proving or validating someone, never for the purpose of causing him to fall. It means trials with a beneficial purpose and effect. God brings His people through adversity and affliction in order to validate their faith and strengthen their confidence in Him. This is the prelude to verse 3: 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
TestingIn verse 3 , testing is the Greek verb dokimion It means testing to prove the genuineness of something. This word dokimion is found in one other New Testament passage, and it appears alongside the word peirasmos: 1 Peter 1:3-9 , 7 so that the proof [dokimion] of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As an aside, verses 4- 9 deal with the assurance of salvation for believers. Your faith in the Lord is put under pressure by adversity. It is tested and found to be genuine. Jam 1:3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. The reason that this assembly can regard trials as joy in verse 2 is because they know something in verse 3! What do they know? The testing of their faith produces endurance. This is a statement of fact. The Greek verb for “produces” is in the indicative mood – the mood of reality or fact. In other words, the outcome is not in doubt. Their faith will get tried or tested and that trial will produce endurance. Endurance is the capacity to remain under pressure for a period of time. When your faith in God’s promises is tested and approved, you will be able to withstand adversity and sorrow with confidence that the Lord will deliver you through it. And when that happens, you will find that He has made you perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 1 Peter 5:6-11 James 1:2 Consider [count in KJV] it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
FaithWhat is faith? Faith is taking God at His word. So it is tightly bound up with God’s word, and in particular what God has promised. To believe is to be convinced. To be fully assured on the basis of the reliability of the one trusted. An excellent description of faith is found in Romans 4, which describes the faith of Abraham: Rom 4:18-21 Faith is being fully assured that what God has promised, He is also able to perform.
Faith in Christ for eternal lifeThis definition of faith holds when someone believes the gospel and receives eternal life. God promises eternal life, and He is able to provide it. John 3:16 Eph 2:8-10 Gal 2:16
Faith for our life nowThis definition of faith - being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform- also holds for a Christian who, after he is justified, continues to be fully assured that what God has promised, He is able also to perform. After we are saved, we walk by faith not by sight. Gal 2:20 Rom 1:16-17 So faith has a role in our salvation, And faith has a role in our lives after salvation. Same faith. Different role. Same faith. Different promises. Same Lord and Savior. Different things to be saved from. Same faith, but for a different purpose. The first purpose is eternal salvation. The second purpose, as James puts it, is to be made perfect and complete. Or as Paul puts it, to be transformed into the image and likeness of Christ.
Faith in JamesWhat is the role of faith in the letter of James? James deals with the second purpose – that the saints may be made perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Faith in James plays a role in the lives of the saints after they receive eternal salvation. The letter of James does not address faith in the gospel for eternal salvation. James never mentions faith in Christ for eternal salvation in this letter. In fact, he never mentions anything about eternal salvation or eternal life at all. He never mentions the gospel, or the cross, or the blood of Christ, or the resurrection.
James 1:1-4 To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings. 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. One more thing: James is addressing the group as a whole. “you” and “your” are plural in the Greek. This means that the people will encounter various trials together. The faith of the group will be tested. And the result will be that the group of believers will be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Contrast this with verses 5-12 which address individual men – singular in the Greek. James is not dealing with faith in Christ for eternal life. He is dealing with faith being tested in our lives now, here on earth. In the letter of James, the result of tested faith is not eternal life for a believer. Rather, it is the perfect and complete assembly of believers during this life.
In His grip, Pastor John If you found this helpful, please pass it on! Post it on Facebook, or tweet about it!
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