Background Information
Written by James, the half-brother of Jesus (Mark 6:3a Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon.”)
Considered a General Letter meaning it is one of a collection of seven letters (James, Jude, 1-3 John, and 1-2 Peter), they were named this because they did not address any specific church. For circulation these letters were all written on one scroll or bound in the same codex. These letters are written by the three “pillar apostles,” James, Peter, and John (Gal. 2:9 “In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church…”)
A “diaspora letter,” a letter sent out to Jews scattered outside Palestine.
Believed to have been written from Jerusalem just prior to its destruction in the first century A.D.
Focuses on the social-political climate of the early church especially how the rich believers were treating the poor believers. This letter emphasizes wise, practical living personally, communally, and spiritually.
Chapter 1
1:1-4 “This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the ‘twelve tribes’-Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
James begins by identifying himself as a slave of Christ. He is showing here his willingness to be used by the Lord and to live by God’s standards. In Biblical writing “slave of Christ or God or the Lord” is used to refer to someone especially dedicated to the service of God. He is writing to the Jewish believers who are not living in Israel but are scattered for whatever reason.
The term “greeting” literally means “rejoice.” In his greeting he is encouraging the believers to rejoice, which he then follows up in verse 2 with an exhortation about joy in trials.
James says “when troubles of any kind come your way,” then he hits us with a hard statement “consider it an opportunity for great joy.” How often when we face struggles, persecution, illness, financial issues, stress, etc. do we rejoice?
The Greek word πειρασμός translated here as troubles can signify either “external hardship”, “trial” or “inner impulse to evil” or “temptation.” (The Interpreter’s Bible) Our troubles can be hardships or trials we must face that have their origin from outside of us, or they can be desires to do evil or temptations to sin which originate from inside of us.
The Greek word chara means gladness or happiness (although joy is a state of being not an emotion). James is saying that we are to be joyful when we are faced with difficulty. We might not be joyful about the struggle, but we can be joyful through the struggle. We can rejoice knowing that it is not our strength that sees us through but the power of Christ. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.”
He goes on to say that the testing of our faith produces endurance (other translations say patience here). Endurance “Expresses a growing determination in the face of adversity based on hope. Those who suffer can express joy (v. 2) during times of trial because of their confidence in the day in which Christ will vindicate them (1 Pet 4:13 “But to the degree that you share in the sufferings of Christ, rejoice, so that also at the revelation of his glory you may rejoice and be glad.”) (Faith Life Study Bible)
Testing is designed to build our endurance. Webster defines endurance as: the ability to withstand hardship or adversity. As believers we will undoubtedly face difficulties. As we learn how to face hardships we will have faith for the next ones that will come. As we face those we will be prepared for the next set. It is a building process. Our faith and endurance continue to grow as we put them into practice with each new trial. We will continue to face trials until we reach heaven for two reasons.
First, because we live in a fallen world and the enemy of our souls is out to destroy us. John 10:10 “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
Second, because sometimes the Lord has to allow us to face difficulties in order to teach us lessons we might not learn any other way.
Our Biblical example here is Moses. He wanted to free his people from slavery and tried it in his own strength.
Exodus 2:11-12 “Many years later, when Moses had grown up, he went out to visit his own people, the Hebrews, and he saw how hard they were forced to work.
During his visit, he saw an Egyptian beating one of his fellow Hebrews. After looking in all directions to make sure no one was watching, Moses killed the Egyptian and hid the body in the sand.”
When it was obvious that everyone knew about his sin he fled to the wilderness and there he spent the next 40 years learning to shepherd.
God allowed a death warrant to be issued so Moses would flee to Midian. In Midian he was taught by Jethro (the priest of Midian, his father-in-law.) Moses needed to learn God’s ways as well as what it takes to be a leader. Herding sheep doesn't sound glamorous but it taught Moses how to care for those totally dependent on him. Living in the palace in Egypt couldn't teach him those skills.
In verse 4 James tells us to let our endurance grow. I believe he is telling us not to fight the struggles and challenges but to “roll with the punches” so to speak. If we fight against the storms of life we will go down with the ship. If we embrace them we will be able to sail through them with the help of the Lord.
James further says that when our endurance is fully developed we will be perfect and complete lacking nothing.
Other translations say mature and complete: Complete and mature individuals show integrity and single-minded devotion to God; they are characterized by Godliness. (Faith Life Study Bible)
In review:
1. We will have troubles in this life originating either from without or within.
2. When we face those trials we are to consider it an opportunity for joy. (Joy in knowing our strength comes from Christ.)
3. When our faith is tested it will give our endurance a chance to grow.
4. We need to embrace troubles and not fight against them.
5. When our endurance has fully developed we will show integrity and single-minded devotion to God; our lives will be characterized by Godliness.
All Scripture is NLT unless otherwise stated.
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