Maturity
James 1:2-4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
In my opinion many of our societal difficulties and even personal difficulties is due to the lack of maturity. I think if you were to peruse media and even social media you would see a lot of bluster and self promotion, a lot of talk and not a lot of action, a lot of pettiness and arguing and not much real discourse. I’ve seen it where 20 and even 30 year old men and women act like 14 year old boys and girls. If you are 14 then it’s perfectly okay to be that….but not if you are 40 years old. You’ve all seen it. Ever been to a little league ballgame? Parents cause more trouble than the kids right? How about watching the news? Seen the tik tok trend where people are filming themselves hitting people, or stealing their food, or stealing things? Or our government? See many statesmen? Why then would it surprise us that drug use continues to climb, gender confusion has become a thing at all, that suicide rates continue to climb and mental issues seem to be of the highest priority? Well…… are we maturing and handling the inevitable difficulties of life or are we just medicating them?
James is writing this letter to his brothers and sisters in Christ…saved people and is encouraging them to follow the Lord and not waiver…to mature in their faith.
So the book of James can be broken down this way. (Not original with me)
Think of the letter C
James 1 is Confidence – What a Christian has
James 2 is Compassion – What a Christian does
James 3 is Careful – What a Christian says
James 4 is Contrite – What a Christian feels
James 5 is Concerned – What a Christian gives
Let’s talk about Confidence and more specifically wisdom and maturity today.
James 1:1-12
[1] James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings.
[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, [3] for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. [4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. [6] 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. [7] For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; [8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
[9] Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, [10] and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. [11] For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
[12] Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
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What is this telling us?
Trials are inevitable
James is Jesus’ half brother (Mary is their momma). If you read this book and are reminded of Jesus’ wording then you understand why. James sounds like Jesus, James is using the sermon on the mount as part of his message. NOTE: James is a preacher and head of the Church along with Peter. James is at the top of the heap on who to listen to.
Jesus says
Matthew 5:10-12
[10] “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[11] “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. [12] Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
James says
James 1:2
[2] Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
Blessed and count it all joy even when facing the hard things.
Why count it as joy?
Because it grows you and perfects you.
“Trials are the means that God uses to make believers the kind of people that bring honor to His name, namely, mature (“perfect and complete,” v. 4) Christians. Testing (Gr. dokimion) implies demonstrating the true quality of something when it undergoes a trial. The true nature of gold becomes evident when the refiner heats gold ore over a fire. Similarly the character of God within a Christian, which is there because of the Holy Spirit’s presence, becomes apparent through trials if they are responded to properly.”
Jesus says
Matthew 5:48
[48] You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
James says
James 1:4
[4] And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Perfect?
The Greek word holokleros (“perfect”) refers to a person who fulfills the purpose for which God created him or her: “those who fully attain to their high calling.”
Perfect….Really? None of us are that. But God is saying that His word and Spirit and our circumstances are being used to perfect us. To grow us in maturity. Are you not more mature than last year? 5 years ago? 10 years ago?
If you aren’t, that’s a problem right? Back to the opening. Our society is failing due to lack of maturity and wisdom and morals and all the things that go with that.
1 Corinthians 13:11
[11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
1 Corinthians 3:1-3
[1] But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. [2] I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, [3] for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way?
Paul here is speaking about division in the church….listen to what Pastor Warren Wiersbe says. “After over a quarter century of ministry, I am convinced that spiritual immaturity is the number one problem in our churches.”
Maturity.
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But if we look at the rest of our passage closely we see we aren’t alone.
James 1:5-8
[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. [6] 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. [7] For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; [8] he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
It’s telling us that if we are lacking….. to go and ask. To pray.
There is a condition.
We have to ask in faith.
Really? Yes. Stop doubting.
Matthew 7:7-11
[7] “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. [9] Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? [10] Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? [11] If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
If you see James is again telling us what Jesus said. Ask!
But what’s the condition? Don’t doubt. Seems harsh, I mean I’m imperfect after all. Well….at some point you expect the kids to dress themselves don’t you? Potty trained? Feed themselves? Solid food? Read, write? Drive? Work? Move off? Get married?
Why are we any different? James tells us we’re double minded and unstable if we can’t. Double minded means we believe the world more or our feelings more than God…or even if we believe it equally then we really don’t believe God can handle everything right?
Remember I said this a few weeks ago (several times) If Jesus is who he says he is then that changes everything!!!!
The rest of the passage.
James 1:9-12
[9] Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, [10] and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. [11] For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
[12] Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
———-
This tells us that it doesn’t matter where we stand on the social scale, or monetary scale or the smart scale or whatever scale you want. We all have access to the throne during trials, no one is more special than the other and that it’s worth it.
Matthew 5:3
[3] “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So…….
When we have trials…and you will have trials. Go to the Father. See what he is teaching you. Grow in grace and love. Stop being petty and bitter. Stop being childish. If possible, live at peace with everyone.
When you think of a trial or trouble maybe you think burden or even a load to bear
Throughout the OT, Moses describes the people as a burden too heavy to bear. The word for load, s’et, has both a connotation of weight and strength. Bearing weights makes us strong. Strength is needed to bear the weight. When Job questions the justice of his plight, he is described as lifting it up, bearing it. Moses cannot bear the burden of the people, but Job who suffers excruciating physical pain and psychological torment shoulders it, anyways. The first time the word s’et appears in the Torah comes in the story of Cain and Abel. Cain, about to slay his brother out of envy, receives a divine warning. He is offered s’et, uplift, if he does the right thing. In fact, he does not do right and thus receives no s’et. How intriguing that s’et can be both a kind of reward (uplift) and an obligation (burden). In the case of Moses, the s’et is there but is too much. With Cain, the s’et is there only in potential, but is foregone.
To state the point: Cain refuses the weight, Job questions the weight, and Moses shares the weight.
That’s mature and confident.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13
[11] When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. [12] For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
[13] So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
