James chapter 1. God willing,
we'll be in Genesis chapter 11 next week, which should go well. Hopefully, we'll be able to finish
Genesis 11 next week. We're taking the last two Wednesday
nights off. Well, actually, the last Wednesday
night, which is the 26th and the first Wednesday night, which
is January 2nd. So there'll be two weeks of absence. When we
come back, we'll get into the Abraham narratives, beginning
in Genesis chapter 12. But tonight, I wanted to look
at the believers' response to trials in James 1, verses 2 to
8. But I'll begin reading in verse
1. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad, greetings. My brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing
that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with
no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven
and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose
that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded
man, unstable in all his ways. Well, it is intriguing that James
begins his letter on this particular note, which should indicate to
us that trials and difficulties and hardships ought not to be
surprising in the Christian faith. In other words, James addresses
it as something that is a common bit of knowledge. It's a common
assumption. It's something God's people are
very acquainted with. He doesn't say, my brethren,
I want to break it to you, but there's going to be hardships
and trials and afflictions in the Christian life. He does not
take that tact. He certainly would not when the
Lord Jesus in the upper room promised his disciples in this
world, you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. The New Testament and the Old
Testament assume that the people of God are going to have difficulties. In other words, when we come
to the Savior, when we are justified freely by His grace, it's not
the case that there's no longer any rainy days. It's not the
case that our bank accounts grow. It's not the case that every
problem we ever had we'll vanish and we'll just sing and dance
our way into the heavenly Jerusalem. That's simply not the way it
is. There's going to be difficulties. Remember that instance where
Christ is with the disciples in the boat. Well, that did not
make them immune to a storm on the sea. It did not make them
immune from having to actually cry out. Well, I don't know that
they had to cry out, but they did cry out, Lord, save us, we
are perishing. So the presence of Christ in
the boat doesn't mean the absence of waves and winds and rains
and tempests, but rather Christ with the believer will nevertheless
mean at times that there will be hardships and difficulties
and trials. And so James is addressing that,
a very essential element or a very essential feature of the Christian
life. And I think James does it under
two particulars. Notice first, the believer's
response to trials in verses 2 to 4, and then secondly, the
believer's request during trials in verses 5 to 8. So there's
a particular response we're to have with reference to trials,
and there's a particular request that we're supposed to have when
we are faced with trials. But note first, with reference
to the believer's response, the identification of the trials
in view. Notice in verse 2, my brethren,
count it all joy when you fall into various trials. It's the same word that you see
in verse 13. Let no one say when he is tempted. Now, it's the context that helps
us determine the specific meaning as to the word. In other words,
context is king when it comes to the interpretation of particular
words. It doesn't mean it can mean dog
or cat. It simply means that there are
ranges of meaning. Grammarians call this a semantic
range. We have words in English that
have a broad semantic range and we look for the context to help
us to understand how we're supposed to understand or interpret that
particular word. But the trials or the testing
that we find here in verse 2 are those good things God does or
those things that God does with the intention of a good outcome. Turn back for just a moment to
Hebrews chapter 11. In Hebrews 11, verse 17, we see
it utilized this way. By faith Abraham, when he was
tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises
offered up his only begotten son. We know that from Genesis
22, verse 1. Before Abraham is called to go
to Mount Moriah, Moses tells us God's purpose. Remember, Moses
doesn't tell Abraham God's purpose. He simply tells him to go and
offer his son, his only son, the son who he loves, as a sacrifice
on Mount Moriah. But Moses in Genesis 22-1 tells
us that the Lord is testing Abraham. So the Lord tries or tests his
people with the intention of a good outcome. If you look at
verse 13, this is a different sort of thing. It says, let no
one say when he is tempted. Now this is a solicitation to
commit sin. This is a temptation to commit
an ethical transgression against God or to not conform unto the
will or law of God. So verse 13, let no one say when
he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted
by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. So God doesn't
solicit us to commit acts of evil. That's what it means in
verse 13. But in verse 2, there are seasons
and times wherein the Lord tries or tests His people with the
intention of a good outcome. We know that these solicitations
to evil oftentimes come from within. We see that in verse
14. But each one is tempted when
he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full
grown, brings forth death. So we have a sinful nature, we
have remaining corruption, and oftentimes those things solicit
us to engage in evil. We know as well that the devil
does this. It was the devil who visited Jesus in the wilderness,
and it was the devil who attacked him and presented these solicitations
to do evil. So verse 2 in chapter 1 is dealing
with the trials, testings, and afflictions that beset Christians,
and they have a remedial end, or a redemptive end, as the context
makes clear. John Gill explains it this way.
Not the temptations of Satan. He's talking about the testing
and the trials of verse 2. He says, not the temptations
of Satan or temptations to sin. For these cannot be matter of
joy, but grief." See, James is going to tell us to count it
all joy. Well, we don't call solicitations
to commit evil joyous things. The trials in verse 2 are something
that with the right disposition and the right frame of reference
and the right context and the right orientation and interpretation,
we're able to assess them and we're able to see that God has
good good ends in view, and therefore we are joyful as a result. So back to Gil, not the temptations
of Satan or temptations to sin, for these cannot be matter of
joy, but grief. These are fiery darts and give
a great deal of uneasiness and trouble, but afflictions and
persecutions for the sake of the gospel, which are so called
here and elsewhere because they are trials of the faith of God's
people and of other graces of the Spirit of God. It's like
in Acts 5, we'll see the Lord willing this Sunday morning.
After the Sanhedrin scourges the apostles, they rejoice that
they had been counted worthy to suffer shame for the name
of Jesus Christ. They didn't rejoice because their
backs had been opened up. They didn't rejoice because there
was blood. They didn't rejoice because they
wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week or whatever.
They rejoice that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the identification of the
trials in view in verse 2 are those things God gives to His
people with the intention of a good or positive outcome. As
well, that expectation concerning trials. My brethren, count it
all joy when you fall into various trials, the way I explained it
in the introduction. James does not tell them that
you may possibly face trial. James assumes that they are facing
trial and James addresses them accordingly. Look at 1 Peter
chapter 4 for just a moment. 1 Peter chapter 4. In verse 12,
he says, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery
trial, which is to try you as though some strange thing happened
to you. So Peter's strategy, or Peter's
attitudes with reference to persecution includes expect it. Now, that doesn't mean every
single moment of every single day you're waiting for the hammer
to drop or the shoe to drop. You're waiting for bad things
around every corner. You have this trepidation, this
fear. You can't even get out of bed
because you feel like all these horrific things are going to
happen. That's not what it means. The idea is, in light of our
Lord's saying in John 16, 33, that in this world you will have
tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome the world. You
ought to sort of appropriate the fact that you're going to
have some issues in the world. Do not be taken unawares. Do not be caught off guard. Do
not freak out and do not panic. In fact, the particular people
that James is writing to, the people he wrote to were exiles,
according to chapter 1, verse 1. The people James wrote to
suffered poverty, according to chapter 1, verse 9, chapter 2,
verses 1 to 7, and chapter 2, 15 to 17, and then 4.13 to 5.11. The people James wrote to suffered
religious persecution, and the people James wrote to suffered
with their own remaining corruption, according to James 1.14 and 15.
So the people of God ought not to be so immune from or so taken
off guard or caught off guard by the presence of trials. There's
a certain expectation that we are to have with reference to
trials in the Christian faith. Now note the disposition necessary
during trials to be. He says, my brethren, count it
all joy when you fall into various trials. Now, I suppose that James
says that because it's absolutely contrary to the way that we would
normally behave when we fall into various trials. Remember
that God does not command things in a superfluous manner. James
is telling us something we need to hear because the tendency
or the inclination is, when we fall into trials, to not respond
with joy. Typically, now I can only speak
for one of us with absolute certainty in here, but I would guess that
others may possibly find themselves in this boat as well, that when
trials come or when difficulties overtake someone, it's not joy
they respond with, it's irritation, It's frustration, it perhaps
is murmuring, it's grumbling, it's complaining. And you see,
James doesn't want us to respond to trials in that manner. James rather wants us to count
it all joy. Notice in Matthew 5, James sounds
like his master. Matthew chapter 5, again, what
Jesus says here is sort of counter-cultural, if I can use that identifier. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 10,
blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now the word blessed there means
to be happy. So Jesus says, happy are those
who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. But he doesn't stop there. This is the only one of
the Beatitudes that he amplifies. Notice in verse 11, blessed or
happy are you when they revile and persecute you. Again, I doubt
when somebody reviles or persecutes us, we feel happy, or we feel
blessed, or we feel joyful. You see, Jesus and James are
telling us how we need to get out in front of these things
and how we are to deal with that. Blessed are you when they revile
and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely
for my sake. Rejoice and be, notice, exceedingly
glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted
the prophets who were before you." Now, twice I've cited John
16.33. He says, in the world you will
have tribulations, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the
world." So it is consistent within the Christian soul to fall into
these various trials and to nevertheless have a spirit of joy, a spirit
of thanksgiving, a spirit of blessedness, a spirit of happiness. Again, this doesn't mean you
laugh if your arm gets pulled off in farm machinery. This doesn't
mean you say, well, you know, that's the way the cookie crumbles. That's not the disposition in
view. It's to ponder, it's to reflect, and it's to see what
God is doing in the midst of these things for my well-being. Now, notice the specific reason
follows in verse 3, but at this particular juncture, I want to
reiterate that when we fall into various trials, we're supposed
to count it all joy. And I'm saying this as one who
really struggles with this. I'm not the kind of guy that
has a big happy smile on my face when I fall into various trials.
So I need to refresh myself with passages like these, and I suspect,
again, perhaps that you may need to be reminded of this as well. So the specific reason follows
in verse 3, but this is a necessary reminder because this is not
the way we typically respond to trials. John Calvin said he
means in short that there is nothing in afflictions which
ought to disturb our joy. There is nothing in afflictions
which ought to disturb our joy. It's a very powerful comment
on that particular statement. So again, it's not laughter,
it's not frivolity, it's not jocularity, it's not sort of
pretending that it's not there, but rather it is to think like
a theologian and to interpret the circumstances from sort of
a God-word perspective to see what the Lord is doing, to see
what the Lord is accomplishing, to see what the Lord is producing
in us. Now notice the recognition of
God's purpose in our trial. Notice the virtue in verse 3. He says, knowing that the testing
of your faith produces patience. Now, the word there could probably
be translated better as endurance or as perseverance. Patience
almost speaks to a passive mindset, a passivity. Just be patient,
and it will sort of all pass over. It'll all just go away.
But probably what James is saying is that the testing of your faith
produces endurance. It produces perseverance. It
produces metal in your soul. It produces tenacity. It produces
something that the Lord has calculated to produce by the various trials
that you have fallen into. The believer, as James says,
needs to know this. We all need to be theologically
inclined so that we can interpret the various things that affect
us. Notice what James says, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces patience. I pointed this out, or tried
to point this out, on Sunday night with 2 Corinthians 8 and
9. Brethren, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you
through His poverty might become rich. Paul says, you know the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Well, James says, knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience. In other words, you
should already have this. This should be a part of your
Christian arsenal. You should realize that when
trials come, it ought not to be first interpreted as God is
really angry with me, or God's trying to get me, or God's going
to kill me, or God's going to destroy me. Maybe it's God is
going to sanctify you. God is going to further you.
God is going to promote in you endurance and perseverance. Why
the negative Nelly response? He's out to get me. Why not the
positive response? He's out to conform me unto the
image of His Son. And if His Son learned obedience
through suffering, as Hebrews 5.8 tells us, then perhaps that's
the means by which God is going to promote in us. the same sort
of a thing. So the believer must be prepared
and sustained by such knowledge, and the trials undergone, as
I said, produce endurance and perseverance, better than patience. Not that patience is bad, but
again, patience can almost sound like, I'm just going to sort
of grin and bear it until it all passes by. But James is inculcating
this endurance and perseverance. One commentator said, not passivity,
but being bravely patient with suffering until it dissipates. And the trials we face have a
theological purpose, knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance. knowing that the testing of your
faith produces perseverance. In other words, there is a remedial
end. There is a redemptive benefit
in the trials that the people of God undergo. There is good
in view. God has you in his purpose. One particular fellow says, tempered
metal is more precious than the raw material. And Thomas Manton
said, God's aim in your afflictions is not destruction, but trial. God's aim in your affliction
is not destruction, but trial, as gold is put into the furnace
to be refined, not consumed. You don't put the gold into the
furnace to destroy it. You put the gold into the furnace
to refine it, to make it better. And that's what James is saying
God does in this furnace of affliction. He wants you to be better. He
wants you to be conformed unto the image of his Son. Never forget
that particular aspect of the Ordo in Romans chapter 8. Those whom he foreknew, he predestined
to be what? to be conformed to his son. In other words, God so loves
his son that he wants his co-heirs to be like his son. He wants
us to be like Jesus, and one of the means by which God does
this is through trial. It's a very intriguing thing.
I referred to the devil in the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness
in Matthew chapter 4. How did Jesus get out into the
wilderness? It wasn't the devil that took
him there. It was the Spirit of God that drove him out there.
It was the Spirit of God that brought him into the wilderness
and there to be tempted by the devil. So it was God Most High
who was behind all of that with reference to the Savior. So the
virtue is specified in verse 3, knowing that the testing of
your faith produces endurance or perseverance. Now note the
value in verse 4, but let patience or endurance or perseverance
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing. Now the presence of endurance
ultimately leads to perfection. We're going to define perfection
in just a moment. But this is what you need to
appreciate. Virtue begets virtue. Virtue promotes and produces
virtue. And this is what James says.
After the testing of our faith produces this endurance, that
endurance will have its perfect work, that you may be perfect
and complete, lacking nothing. Turn to 1 Peter for just a moment,
where you see this same sort of begetting with reference to
virtue. This same sort of begetting with
reference to virtue. Verse 6 of 1 Peter 1, "...and
this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need
be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness
of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,
though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor,
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom, having not
seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him,
yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of
glory, receiving the end of your faith, the salvation of your
souls." Notice in 2 Peter 1, verse 5, but also for this very
reason, giving all diligence Add to your faith virtue, to
virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly kindness love." So it's not the case that
God says, okay, here's your thing. This is what you need to do.
And then he looks at one of the other people of God and says,
OK, now here's your thing. This is what you need to do.
And then he looks at another person of God and says, OK, we
all have to pursue all this stuff. The fruits of the Spirit are
a package deal. It's not, you know, well, he's
really good at love, but he's terrible at this. Or he's good
at this gentleness, but he has none of that. No, no. These are
the fruits of the Spirit that the believing people of God are
called upon to inculcate. And back in James chapter 1,
we see that the testing of our faith produces endurance. And then this endurance, as it
is put into further activity, has its perfect work, that you
may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. Now, the perfection
in view is not perfectionism. James is not a Wesleyan. James
is not an Arminian. James is not a Pelagian. James
believes in the doctrine of remaining corruption. James knows that
the people of God still struggle vis-a-vis Romans 7 and Galatians
5. James understands that, so perfection
here does not mean sinless perfection. Perfection in view could be maturity. It's used that way in 1 Corinthians
14.20. It's used that way in Ephesians
4.13. So the perfection in view could be maturity. Knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience or endurance, but let
endurance have its perfect work, that you may be mature and complete,
lacking nothing. It also could be blameless. Remember,
Noah is described as a perfect man in his generations in Genesis
6-9. The New King James Version margin,
I think, gets it right when it shows that blameless is another
way to appreciate that. It doesn't mean that Noah's perfect.
We saw at the end of the life of Noah that he is not perfect.
He planted a vineyard. He drank too much. He got drunk.
He exposed himself in his tent. So Noah was not a perfect man
in terms of sinless perfection, but he was a blameless man in
terms of his generation. And so maturity and blamelessness
are probably the sort of thing that we ought to appreciate in
this context. knowing that the testing of your
faith produces endurance, let endurance have its perfect work,
that you may be mature and blameless and complete, lacking nothing."
So that's the believer's response to trials. And we need to ask
ourselves, is that my response to trials? Do I count it all
joy when I fall into various trials? Or do I grumble whine,
complain, and tell people that I can't catch a break. Everything
is terrible. Life is falling down around me.
And I'm just the most miserable specimen of a human being on
the face of the earth. Again, I'm not pointing the finger
at anybody. I can only identify certainly
with one of the people in this room. And I know the tendency,
and I know the temptation. If you have that in your heart,
get a fresh dose of James 1, verse 2, my brethren, count it
all joy when you fall into various trials. Now note the believer's
request during trials in verses 5 to 8. Verse 4 ends on this,
you are complete, lacking nothing. So we ought to appreciate it
this way. In the life of God's people,
these various trials produce this endurance. This endurance
over the long haul becomes complete. One is blameless, one is mature,
and one is functioning faithfully. But verse 5 brings us back right
into the trial itself. So that's kind of the thing here.
Notice at the end it says, you're complete, verse 4, lacking nothing. That's the redemptive end or
the remedial end of that whole process. But verse 5 puts us
back into the midst of the process and thus says, if any of you
lacks wisdom, let him ask of God. Now, we need to understand
this as contextual. We can't say, you know, I need
wisdom on this business opportunity. I need wisdom on how to purchase
a new car. I need wisdom on how to deal
with this particular issue in the life and context of the church.
I need wisdom. It's wisdom in dealing with trial.
That's the wisdom in view in verse 5. If any of you lacks
wisdom while he's going through these kinds of trials, let him
ask of God. That's the contextual sort of
modifier with reference to this approach to wisdom. Now, again,
note the assumption here. James assumes that it may just
be the possibility that you will lack wisdom. might just be that
way. Pastor James knows the hearts
of the people of God. And so Pastor James is not going
to speak to things, again, superfluously. James addresses real life particulars. So brethren, as you fall into
these various trials, and you're in the midst of these various
trials, and when you're in there, the thick of it, you realize
you lack wisdom. The thing you ought not to do
is to whine, to grumble, and to complain. But rather, you
should ask God for wisdom. You see the connection? You've
got a particular response to trials, joy, but there's also
this request during trials and wisdom, because you need wisdom
to properly navigate through trials in a joyful way. It's not just going to happen.
You need wisdom. You need to think God's thoughts
after him. You need to understand certain theological propositions
so that you can navigate through these difficult waters such that
you please God most high. So the connection, as I said,
verse 4 highlights the perfection and completion of the one who
has been trained under trials and indicates that he will be
lacking nothing. Verse 5 begins with the supposition
that believers during the process will lack wisdom. And that connection
holds as well. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God. Not complain, not whine, not
snivel, not grumble. Well, I find that I don't have
the wisdom that I need to properly see my way through this particular
trying time, so I'm just going to fall apart. No, you're not
allowed to fall apart. Again, that's an option that,
at least with certainty, I know one of us can tend toward, but
God never says, go ahead and fall apart. Just go huddle up
in a mass somewhere and cry. That may happen for a season. I'm not suggesting that you're
necessarily wicked if that happens, but you need to get up, dust
yourself off, imbibe God's thoughts, and apply it to the particular
situation at hand. That's what he is saying. So
there is this necessity when we go through trials for wisdom. Isn't that beautiful? What do
I need when I go through trials? My first response would be, no
more trials? What do I need when I'm going
through trials? I need for God to stop the trial. That's not
what we need in the midst of trial. What we need in the midst
of trial is wisdom so that we can respond to the trial in joy,
rightly understanding God's redemptive end in the midst of the trial. And so, as Manton says, it, wisdom,
is to be restrained to the circumstances of the text, not taken generally. He intends wisdom or skill, notice,
to bear afflictions. He intends wisdom or skill to
bear afflictions. I think this is something we
ought to put on our sort of, you know, daily prayer list.
God, I need wisdom generally for the various things that are
going to face me in a day, but I also need wisdom specifically
for the trials that I fall into on any given day. You see, we
pray for wisdom generally the way that Solomon does. Solomon
is asked by Yahweh, what is it that you want? as Solomon occupies
the throne in Israel. And instead of Solomon saying,
I want more wives, I want more houses, I want more cars, I want
boats, I want summer homes, I want all the rigmarole that goes along
with being a king. Solomon says, I want wisdom.
Solomon understood that in order to properly administrate the
kingdom of God, he was going to need wisdom. And so God is
pleased with that request, and God pours out wisdom upon him.
And then that wisdom is manifested or demonstrated in that incident
with the two prostitutes and the dead son. And Solomon evidences
that the Lord God Most High had in fact visited him with wisdom. So we need wisdom in the general
sense for the daily sort of grind, but we need wisdom particularly
for the various afflictions that we find ourselves in. That's
the context of James 1.5. John Gill agrees. He said, it
intends wisdom to behave aright under temptations and afflictions.
So we need that. We need to govern through, or
govern or operate rather through, these trials and afflictions.
We need God's wisdom to help us to navigate. That's the point
that James brings up. Now note the exhortation. If
any of you lacks wisdom, go down to the local Christian bookstore
and buy a book on wisdom. Now, that's not necessarily a
bad thing, but I would say not the local Christian. Well, Valley
Gospel would be great. Go to Reeves Road, there's a
whole bunch of stuff there, and you can find books that will
help you on wisdom. But in the first place, if any
of you lacks wisdom, let them ask of God. The Bible is so simple,
isn't it? We want to do something, and
we deliberate, and we read, and that's good, and there's nothing
wrong with that. But at some point, we should really just
ask God. I think I've shared with you before the story of
the gospel blimp. There was a group of people,
it was a book I think in the 60s, and they made a movie called
The Gospel Blimp. It was adapted after the book. Not a huge following out there
for The Gospel Blimp, but it begins with a group of people
sitting in their backyard, And one of the persons, the man that
lives there, has a next-door neighbor, Herm, and Herm is unconverted. And so they're deliberating,
how do we reach our community with the gospel? How do we get,
you know, the Herms of the neighborhood to come to Jesus Christ? So,
you know, after some deliberation, after some discussion, they buy
a blimp. And with that blimp, they put
the banner on, repent or you'll go to hell. and they throw gospel
tracts down in mass upon people's yards, and the guy's mowing his
lawn, and these tracts come down, and he can't mow his lawn, and
he raises his fist at the blimp driver, and the blimp driver
waves, and all that sort of thing. Well, towards the end of the
film or the book, the man that lived in the house takes Herm
bowling. Now, the grand message isn't
bowling for Jesus. The message was, be his friend. Do things with them. You don't
need a blimp to fly over the neighborhood and throw tracks
down. Talk to people. Be nice to people. And it's been
my experience at times that within the context of the church, we
need to do evangelism. And we do. We need to schedule. And we need to formulate. And
we need plans. And we need strategies. And we
need maps and grid coordinates and all that. But we also need
to just talk to people about Jesus. or we might know that
we need to increase our prayer life. So we get A.W. Pink's book
on A Guide to Effective Prayer, and we read that, and we take
notes, and we underline. Brethren, there's no substitute
for just praying. And I think that James's point
kind of goes that way. If any of you lacks wisdom, ask
God. It's really simple. The law of
Yahweh makes wise the simple. The psalmist says in Psalm 19
and in Psalm 119. The psalmist says the law of
Yahweh makes me wiser than all my teachers. And this is good
news for dim bulbs. We have a God we can ask to grant
us wisdom. There's no secret, there's no
mystery, there's no, how did you get that wisdom? Well, I
read 15 books, and I took the appropriate notes, and at the
end of the day, I found this great deal of wisdom. No, I asked
of God. The means employed for the acquisition
of wisdom is prayer. And it is intriguing because
the epistle of James begins and ends with prayer. But go back
to Matthew chapter 7 for just a moment. Matthew chapter 7. Now, I am not suggesting that
you shouldn't read A.W. Pink's Guide to Effective Prayer. I'm not suggesting that we shouldn't
have strategy sessions and committee meetings on how best to reach
our communities. But I am suggesting that at times
we can be more occupied with the committee meeting than talking
to her. We can be more occupied with
buying blimps and irritating people mowing their lawns than
just talking to our neighbor about Jesus. But in terms of
this whole concept of asking, notice in Matthew 7, 7, ask,
and it will be given to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock,
and it will be opened to you. And, I mean, the English version
here is wonderful because it's, you know, ask, seek, knock. That's ask, A, S, and K, right? You can't forget this verse.
You have to try really hard to mess this verse up. I mean, it's
written for people like you and me. Ask, and it will be given
to you. Seek, and you will find. Knock,
and it will be opened to you. What do you think the Lord's
trying to tell us here? I think he's trying to tell you to ask,
to seek, and to knock. We want to complicate. I don't
know. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God. Sounds just like his master,
doesn't he? Notice in verse 8, for everyone
who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks
it will be open. So what do you think we can conclude
if we don't have wisdom? Well, probably because we're
not asking. That's an unwise fellow there. Well, it might
indicate something about his prayer life. He's not asking
for wisdom. Because the Bible says, if I
ask for wisdom, God's going to give me wisdom. Now, it doesn't
mean probably in Solomonic proportions. It doesn't mean you're going
to be able to administrate an entire kingdom. But hopefully
it'll help you administrate the affairs of your day. and definitely
see you through the various trials that you fall into. And then
in verse 9, or what man is there among you who, if his son asks
for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will
he give him a serpent? Of course, none of us would do
that. I mean, we might joke, you know,
your kid asks for a treat, and you bring him home a potato.
That's a little funny, but for the most part, there's none of
us, if our son asks for bread, will give him a stone. That's
just not, we wouldn't begin to think that way. Our child is
hungry and he wants something good. We will give him something
good. Verse 10, or if he asks for a fish, will he give him
a serpent? Of course he won't. I mean, your
kid's hungry and he wants a fish. You don't hand him a ball constrictor.
You're not that kind of a person. Now note Jesus' implication in
verse 11. First there's an assumption and
then there's an implication. If you then being evil, that's
his assumption. If you then, being evil, you're
messed up, you've got big problems, you've got ethical darkness in
your soul, and yet, if your kid asks for a fish, you won't give
him a snake. If your kid asks for an egg,
you won't give him a stone, or bread, you won't give him a stone.
If you then, being 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? So back to James, James
sounds incredibly much like his half-brother, according to the
flesh, and his brother, according to the spirit, even our Lord
Jesus. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God. Manton again says, God will have
everything fetched out by prayer. He giveth nothing without asking.
Now, thankfully, Manton is overstating the cause, because we know good
and well there are times when God gives us good things that
we didn't ask for. That shows the benevolence and
the generosity and the kindness and the goodness and the love
of our gracious Father, doesn't it? However, Manton's point ought
to be heeded. God will have everything fetched
out by prayer. He giveth nothing without asking.
We usually wear with thanks what we win by prayer, and those comforts
are best improved which we receive upon our knees. Now, of course,
we know that God is the source and the giver of wisdom. Job
9.4, God is wise in heart and mighty in strength. Job 12.13,
with him are wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding.
Psalm 147.5, great is Yahweh and mighty in power, his understanding
is infinite. Isaiah 40.28, his understanding
is unsearchable. Romans 16.27, to God alone wise,
be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Colossians 2.3,
in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. You
see, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God and he will
give it to you. Now, notice the encouragement. So he says, if any of you lacks
wisdom, let him ask of God. Now he's going to encourage us.
Not just saying, okay, you recognize in the midst of your trial that
you lack wisdom. Your response ought not to be to whine, grumble,
and complain, but rather to ask of God who gives wisdom in such
situations. Notice, he gives to all who ask. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God who gives to all. He does. He gives wisdom to all. He will answer your prayer. Proverbs 2, 6 and 7. For the
Lord gives wisdom. From his mouth come knowledge
and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for
the upright. He is a shield to those who walk
uprightly. Brethren, if you're ever in doubt
about this, read 1 Kings 3. When Solomon says, I'd like wisdom,
God is... He goes... blesses him, he gives
it to him, he profusely pours it on him so that he can administrate
the affairs of the kingdom. So he gives to all who ask and
he gives liberally. If any of you lacks wisdom, let
him ask of God who gives to all liberally, not just miserly,
not just a little bit. That's, you know, part and parcel
of Roman Catholicism is to be taught that, you know, God, you
know, really isn't that good. I mean, he's good, but not to
the likes of you. And I find that that's also prevalent
in Protestantism. And brethren, these things just
ought not to be. The Bible teaches that God gives
to all liberally, not miserly. He's not ever an Ebenezer Scrooge
just dulling out the tiniest bits for you. No, James says
He gives to all liberally. The ideas of liberality and bountifulness
and generosity are in view, along with sincerity and singleness. Calvin said, hence, no man ought
to deprive himself of so great a privilege. No man ought to
deprive himself of so great a privilege. So he gives to all who ask. He
gives liberally. And notice, he does not reproach
those who ask. It says, who gives to all liberally
and without reproach. Or as the old King James has
it, he upbraideth not. And the idea here means to rebuke,
to reproach, or to insult. And I've always kind of likened
it this way. Suppose that your kid came to you and asked for
a particular thing, and then your kid came the next day and
asked for that same particular thing. You might be inclined
to say, what did you do with it yesterday? Did you waste it? Did you squander it? Did you
lose it? You might be. Again, I can identify
certainly with at least one of us in here that may respond that
way. Well, where is it? I gave it
to you yesterday, and you should be able to account for it. Now,
that's a principle. Kids shouldn't lose jackets.
They shouldn't lose sweaters. They should act like their heads
are screwed on, all that. But the point that James is making
is that when you come back to ask God for wisdom, he doesn't
say, you again? You're wearying me with this
constant asking for wisdom. That's not something you'll hear
from the mouth of your father. He's not going to say, you're
wearying me because you're asking for wisdom. See, God actually
intends for us to be wise. So when somebody like a Solomon
comes along, and when given the opportunity to ask anything he
can of God, and he says, I want wisdom, God's using a human analogy,
over the moon and happy to profusely bless Him. Brethren, the Lord
does not upbraid, He does not mock, He will not insult, He
will not reprove us, He will not hold us, or He will not engage
in reproach. The Lord our God is merciful
and kind. Calvin, on this point, says,
this is added, lest anyone should fear to come too often to God. This is added, lest anyone should
fear to come too often to God. You see, we should never fear
that. We should never think that heaven's gonna be responding
with, you again? I gave you a portion of wisdom
yesterday. Did you squander it? Did you
misuse it? Did you go out and lose it? No,
when the Lord God Most High bids us to come and ask for wisdom,
he does not upbraid us, he does not reproach us, he does not
mock us, he does not yell at us and scold us, but rather he
gives to all liberally and without reproach. Now, the reason why
we need wisdom in the midst of our trials, we need it so that
we will respond to the trials with the disposition of joy that
James calls upon us here. But in terms of some real practical
things, we need to be able to see the hand of God in our afflictions.
And it's only wisdom that will aid us in that pursuit. In other
words, when we have these trials, when we have these afflictions,
when we have these difficulties, Perhaps Romans 8.28 needs to
be ringing loud and clear in our minds. God causes even these
bad things to work for good to those who love Him and to those
who are the called according to His purpose. So the wisdom
helps us to see the hand of God in our afflictions. Our wisdom
helps us to appreciate the sovereignty of God in our afflictions as
well. We don't live in a world governed
by blind fate. We don't live in a world governed
by a pantheon. We live in a world governed by
one sovereign God, and all things come from His hand. Not only
the good, but also the difficult. Doesn't Job say this to his wife? His wife says, curse God and
die. Be done with it already. You're
a mess. You're a wreck. What's Job's
response? Shall I take the blessings from
God and not the adversity? Shall I take the good that he
has to offer? but not the hardship, that's
not being a consistent believer. That's being a fair weather fan.
That's giving a vent to the lie of the devil. That was the devil's
report, wasn't it? God, he only serves you because
he's got a nice family. He only serves you because he's
got a nice wife. Probably not that nice of a wife.
He doesn't actually say that, but perhaps that's part of the
plea with God. He only serves you because everything's
going his way. And so when the wife comes on,
Mrs. Job, and says, curse God and die, be done with it all
once and for all. He says, no, you're thinking
like the devil here. I don't serve God because He
gives me good things. I serve God because He's God.
I serve God because He is who He is. Naked I came into this
world, and naked I shall depart. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
That's what activated and motivated Job. As well, we need to understand
the good end of our God in our afflictions. Again, the whole
Romans 8, 28 thing. And to help regulate our response
to afflictions. We need wisdom so that we will
regulate our response. What's our response supposed
to be? What's our response? Not supposed to be whining, grumbling,
complaining, sniveling, and ultimately holding God in contempt of court. Manton again says, to moderate
the violences of our own passions. He that liveth by sense, will,
and passion is not wise. Skill is required of us to apply
apt counsels and comforts, that our hearts may be above the misery
that our flesh is under." Man, if we all got that, we'd be a
whole lot happier. It's the psalmist's perspective
in Psalm 73. You remember those psalms ascribed
or credited to that fellow Asaph. Asaph was a man who knew sorrow. Asaph was a man who knew struggles. Asaph was a man who was certainly
of a melancholic spirit. And in Psalm 73, he sees the
prosperity, the wicked. He sees the terribleness for
the righteous. And he's struggling with that. Why is it that the people of
God are continually kept down, and why is it that the wicked
have these lives of what look like unencumbered joy and happiness? He says, until I went into the
sanctuary of the Lord. In other words, I had to get
a God-word perspective on the situation to properly interpret
it. And this is what wisdom will
help us to do in the midst of trial. Until I went into the
sanctuary of God, then I understood their end. Now notice, finally,
in verses 6 to 8, verse 5 is theological in nature. If any
of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all
liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
You see, that's theology. That tells us about our God.
God is the one who gives to all liberally, and He does that without
reproach. Now, verses 6 to 8 affect us. In other words, man. When we
come to God asking for wisdom so that we may properly understand
and negotiate the trials that are ahead of us, we need to understand
how we are to approach Him. Now, notice we are to come in
faith. Verse 6, let him ask in faith. with no doubting. Again,
James is telling us stuff that's tough, and that's why James is
telling us. See, this isn't intuitive. This
isn't the way that we are. This is the way we ought to be,
you see. When the New Testament epistles
command the people of God on several occasions to greet one
another with a holy kiss, we ought to conclude that there
were some holdouts. There were some dudes that didn't
want to engage in the holy kiss, so Paul had to tell them, engage
in the holy kiss. Now, I'm not suggesting on Sunday
everybody walk up to each other and kiss. Now, handshakes or
some other sort of cultural courtesy extended, that's probably what
the holy kiss was. You see, the New Testament in
particular, certainly the Old Testament, tells us things we
need to hear. It's not superfluous. And repetition
is there because we need to hear it repetitively. And now notice
what James says. Again, sounding just like his
brother, the Lord Jesus. But let him ask in faith with
no doubting. And this sounds like Matthew
17, Matthew 21, and of course Paul in Hebrews 11. By faith
it is impossible to please God. The one who comes to God must
believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. So you need to know God is, and
you need to know something about His attributes or His perfections.
He not only is, but He's also a rewarder of them that diligently
seek Him. You can't separate God from His attributes. If you
know God, you need to know the attributes. You need to know
the perfections. And so James says that. We need
to come to God and ask in faith with no doubting. Now, if indeed
a man comes without faith, if a man does come with doubting,
James says that there's going to be problems here. There's
going to be difficulties here. And basically, he gives us three
U words. This is a helpful mnemonic. a
helpful way to remember what it's like to come to God without
faith. You'll be unsettled, you'll be
unanswered, and you'll be unstable. That's what James says there.
Notice, let him ask in faith, verse 6, with no doubting, for
he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed
by the wind. You'll be unsettled. This is
a common metaphor used by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter
4. Demonstrates the unsettledness of the man who doubts. In other
words, you need to believe that God is and that He is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him. Now brethren, in this prayer
for wisdom, throw in there a prayer for increase my faith. because
we need to believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
them that diligently seek Him. Remember, in this world we walk
by faith, not by sight. I preached in Surrey recently,
and I preached on the proper motivation for prayer from Matthew
chapter 6, and it's in that context where Jesus tells us we need
to go into our locked room, we need to go into our closet, we
need to go into our prayer closet, and the God who sees there will
reward you openly. I don't think there's a greater,
greater place that faith is demanded than in private prayer. I mean,
just think about it. You're going into this closet.
Now, you say, I don't have a closet, so therefore I can't pray. No.
Find a secret place. Be alone. I remember years ago
during the Subway craze, some girl was asked, do you want to
lose weight? She said, well, I'd love to lose
weight, but I can't afford to eat at Subway, so therefore I'm
not going to lose weight. You missed the point. The Subway
diet means eat 700 calories a day. You don't need to buy Subway
sandwiches to lose weight. That was an effective marketing
campaign on the part of Subway, but it's absolutely contrary
to everything we know about nutrition and diet and exercise. But people
might be tempted to think that. Matthew 6, Jesus says, I have
to have this closet. I have to have a storage room.
It has to be able to lock. Well, I don't have that, so therefore
I can't pray privately. No, pray privately. Go walk in
the woods. Go find somewhere where it's
you and God. But that takes faith, doesn't
it? I mean, how many times do you just run to the closet? I
know God is there. I hope that's your disposition.
Brethren, it's an exercise of faith. We know that He's there,
we believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him. If we are going through these motions,
and we have doubt, and we have a lack of faith, we're going
to be unsettled. But as well, notice, we'll be unanswered.
Verse 7, for let not that man suppose that he will receive
anything from the Lord. See, typically we pray to God
and we don't get what we pray for and we blame God, don't we?
Well, you know, I asked the Lord for 10 years and I didn't get
it. We never think to blame ourselves. We never stop. Well, in the first
place, no is an acceptable answer. I think all of us as parents
would agree. If you told your kid no on something, you can't
have him say, well, you never answer me. Well, of course I
answer you. You just don't like the answers
that I give you. So sometimes God may just answer
you with a big fat no. That's not when it comes to the
asking of wisdom. But, you know, more generically.
But in terms of asking God with this doubting disposition and
this mindset that, well, I don't even know if He's there or not,
you're going to be unanswered. Because without faith it is impossible
to please Him. You must believe that He is,
Hebrews 11, 6, and you must believe that He is a rewarder of them
that diligently seek Him. Persons who pray and don't get
what they are seeking typically blame God. It never dawns on
us. It never comes into our heads
that, wow, maybe I'm unsettled in soul because of my lack of
faith and my doubting. Maybe the issue isn't God. Maybe
the issue is I need to believe in more. See, verse 5 is the
theology. God's there. He's got the wisdom. He doles it out. He gives it
profusely. Verses 6 to 8, there's a bit
of responsibility on your part. You need to come to God in faith,
and you need to make sure you're not doubting. And then you need
to really not suppose that you'll receive anything from the Lord.
So you'll be unsettled, you'll be unanswered, and then you'll
be unstable. Notice, in verse 8, he is a double-minded
man, unstable in all his ways. The word used is literally double-souled
or double-minded. James uses it again in James
4 at verse 8. draw near to God, and He will
draw near to you, cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify
your hearts, you double-minded." What is double-minded? Double-minded
means, on the one hand, I believe God, on the other hand, I don't
believe God. I have these doubts that paralyze
me. I have this unbelief that restricts
me from this access to God that James says I need to have. This
is consistent with Jesus' teaching. The people of God are to believe
God. The people of God are to believe that He is, and that
He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. The Word
reflects a departure from what God calls His people to. We're
not to be double-minded men. We are supposed to be single-minded,
focused upon Him. Seek first the kingdom of God
and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to
you. The word was used of unfaithful Israel in the Old Testament.
And then I think what we have is the first part of verse 8
being defined or explained by the latter part of verse 8. He
is a double-minded man. Well, what does that mean? Unstable
in all his ways. So it's not just the case that
it's going to affect you when you're going through trials.
You're going to be unstable there. You're going to be unstable in
all your ways. Somebody who doubts God, somebody who doesn't believe
God, somebody who doesn't go to God, of course that person
is unsettled, of course that person is unanswered, and of
course that person is unstable. We might read that and say, wow,
Pastor James, you're sounding to be a bit harsh. No, that's
evident. All of Scripture, all the pressure
of Scripture indicates that. We need to believe that He is,
and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. Brethren, we need to understand
that there are, in fact, trials in the Christian life. We need
to understand there's a particularly Christian way we are to go through
those trials in the Christian life, and it's to be one of joy. We're to know that God has redemptive
ends in view. We are to know that there is
this virtue giving birth or begetting more virtue. And if we find in
the midst of these trials that we are without wisdom, we need
to ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. In terms of a preparation for
trials, Manton says, Christ's eye salve must clear your sight
or else you cannot make a right judgment. There is no proper
and fit apprehension of things till you get within the veil
and see by the light of the sanctuary lamp." In other words, the way
to prepare for trials is to read James 1. The way to prepare for
trials is to read Romans 8. The way to prepare for trials
is to read the life of David. The way to prepare for trials
is to understand Christ's word on such things. He says, a man
that hath no other light but reason and nature cannot judge
of those things. God's riddles are only open to
those that plow with God's heifer. I love that. God's riddles are
only open to those that plow with God's heifer. You all get
the reference, right? It was Samson. You wouldn't have
got my riddle if you hadn't plowed with my heifer. Imagine a man
saying that about his wife today. Boy, he'd go to jail. And it
is by God's Spirit that we come to discern and esteem the things
that are of God. After he had been hit with the
frying pan. So brethren, hopefully this will be an encouragement,
a reminder, some review on the way that the people of God are
to face the trials that we face. Well, let's close in a word of
prayer. Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for the
clarity of this passage. the simplicity of the passage
and the blessed promise of the passage that you do give to all
liberally and without reproach. We thank you, God, that you are
not a miser. We thank you that you are not
one who just barely apportions out what the people of God need,
but you are God who delights to give those good gifts that
your children stand in need of. And Lord, we know many in our
church face trial, and we know many are facing affliction, and
we know many are struggling, not only physically, but spiritually,
and we commit each one to you and to the word of your grace,
and we pray that you would grant a great deal of wisdom to each
and every one of your people, and help us all to persevere,
help us all to endure, and help us all to be conformed further
unto the image of your beloved Son. Go with us now, we pray,
in Jesus' name. Amen.
