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He didn't say, you're preaching 
a different gospel. James emphasizes salvation by 
grace through faith in Jesus. If you look at chapter one, verse 
18, of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth, 
that we might be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. It's 
sovereign grace, it's not good works that makes the man accepted 
by God. And then in chapter two, verse 
one, my brethren do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Lord of glory with partiality. And then the sort of passage 
that Roman Catholicism invokes, and unfortunately has affected 
some Protestant interpretation, is James 2, 14 to 26. James' 
point, again, is not that you have to have a mingling of faith 
plus works in order for salvation. He is simply speaking about those 
who have professed faith in Jesus, those who have confessed that 
they are saved by grace through faith, that there is that sanctification 
that does follow justification. And all of that, the context 
makes that very clear. If you look at 2.14, what does 
it profit my brethren if someone says he has faith but does not 
have words? Can faith save him? I think it's 
better rendered, or at least interpreted, can that faith save 
him? And this is the same emphasis 
of the apostle Paul. Paul preached justification by 
faith alone, and Paul preached that those justified by faith 
alone would let their conduct be worthy of the gospel. So James 
is addressing those whose conduct is not worthy of the gospel. 
He invokes the examples of the patriarch and the prostitute. 
He points to Rahab. Rahab's hiding of the spies demonstrated, 
it was a public demonstration, of the faith she had previously 
exercised in God. Same with Abraham. Abraham was 
justified when he believed God according to Genesis 15. Genesis 
22, that test of Abraham by God, was a demonstration of his faith. So James' emphasis is the same 
as the Apostle Paul's. Our focus tonight, however, is 
going to be on James 1, specifically verses 2 to 8. So I want to read 
the section, and then we'll look at it in some detail. So James, 
a bondservant of God, in verse 1, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, 
to the twelve 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." So James addresses something 
that Paul himself addresses, that the Psalms address, that 
the prophets address, that the Old Testament throughout addresses. David confesses twice in his 
life that Yahweh delivered him from all of his adversities. 
David was not a man who had... David was a man, rather, who 
had trials and adversities and hardships. It's just part and 
parcel of being a child of God. You live in a fallen world, you 
have remaining corruption, there's going to be some difficulties 
along the way. So James addresses the presence 
of trials in the lives of God's people. And in the first section, 
in verses 2 to 4, he gives us the believer's response to trials, 
and then in the second section, the believer's request during 
trials, in verses 5 to 8. So the response to trials in 
verses 2 to 4, and then the request of the believer during trials 
in verses 5 to 8. So four things to consider under 
that first section in verses two to four. First, the identification 
of the trials in view. Secondly, the expectation concerning 
trials. Third, the disposition necessary 
during trials. And then fourthly, the recognition 
of God's purpose in our trials. So in the first place, to identify. Notice in verse two he says, 
my brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials. If you drop down to verse 13, 
you'll see the same word used, but with a different nuance. 
In verse 13 it says, 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 the trials of verse 2 are 
different than the trials of verse 13. The trials of verse 
2 are those things given to us by God for our betterment, for 
our improvement, for our further sanctification. The Lord tries 
or tests his people with the intention of a good outcome. 
The Lord Jesus Christ learned obedience through suffering. 
It was prophesied that he would be a man of sorrows, he would 
be acquainted with grief. He understood that, he embraced 
that, he knew that that was the will of the Father. The Apostle 
Paul on several occasions rehearses the trials and the difficulties 
that he had endured as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. So 
in verse 2, it's not talking about a solicitation to do evil. The trial there is not the temptation 
of verse 13. He's not saying, count it all 
joy when you fall into various trials, vis-a-vis solicitations 
to do evil. That's not something you're to 
count All joy. You're supposed to resist that. 
You're supposed to run from that. You're supposed to pray to God, 
deliver me from evil. Verse 13, however, is a solicitation 
to do evil. It's the activity of the devil. 
He comes to tempt Jesus in Matthew chapter 4. He comes to tempt 
the people of God. He roams about like a roaring 
lion, seeking whom he may devour. And so what we find in verse 
2 is not what we find in verse 13. The temptations associated 
with our remaining corruption is where the emphasis lies in 
verses 13 to 15. So you need to understand that 
distinction. James isn't saying when you're 
tempted to do a bad thing, you should count that as all joy. 
No, not at all. When you're tested by God, when 
you're tried by God, when there's afflictions received from God, 
you're to count that all joy. John Gill describes it this way, 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. So that's 
the emphasis there, and this passage is calculated to help 
promote this particular attitude in us, because it is counterintuitive 
when we consider then the disposition necessary during trials. But 
before that, Note the expectation concerning trials. Verse 2, count 
it all joy when you fall into various trials. That's an assumption. 
It's a presupposition. It's a given. It's axiomatic. It is foundational. There's going 
to be trials that the people of God endure. There's going 
to be afflictions. There's going to be hardships. 
There's no two ways around it. All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Moving through the Upper Room 
Discourse, we see in John 15-18, all the way to John 16-4, Jesus' 
emphasis to his disciples that if the world hates me, then it's 
certainly going to hate you. And if the world that hated me 
and crucified me, they're going to hate you, and they're going 
to cast you out of their synagogues, they're going to deliver you 
up to death, and in that, they're going to think they're doing 
God's service. So the assumption by James is not maybe, perhaps, 
there's a possibility, I've heard it been said before, that along 
the way some of God's people have had these difficulties and 
these afflictions. No, it's an assumption, count 
it all joy, when you fall into various trials. So the teaching 
of the Lord Jesus Christ underscores that reality. the experience 
of the early disciples in Acts 12, the imprisonment of Peter, 
and the beheading of James. Paul's statement in Acts 14.22, 
he says, we must, through many tribulations, enter the kingdom 
of God. As well, that statement that 
I just invoked from 2 Timothy 3, all who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. So there's an inevitability involved 
with reference to these particular trials. If you look at Peter, 
1 Peter chapter 4, a passage we'll refer to a bit later, but 
in 1 Peter chapter 4, Peter gives attitudes for persecution. Christian 
attitudes with reference to persecution. He tells us first, we're to expect 
it in verse 12. He then says we're to exult in 
it, not exalt, but exult. That means to rejoice in it. 
I wanted to alliterate here. to exult in it in verses 13 and 
14, evaluate its cause in verses 15 to 18, and then entrust yourself 
to God in verse 19. So James is coming at the same 
issue that Peter does with the same sort of reasoning or rationale. 
But notice in Peter at chapter 4, verse 12, Beloved, do not 
think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try 
you, as though some strange thing happened to you. It's not strange 
that trials come upon the people of God. It's not strange in light 
of the fact that our Lord learned obedience through suffering. 
It's not strange in light of the fact that we have remaining 
corruption and God is presently conforming us unto the image 
of his beloved Son and oftentimes the way that he does that is 
through affliction and hardship and trial. The psalmist said, 
it was good for me that I was afflicted. Before I was... he 
speaks of that reality of having gone astray. Affliction brings 
him back to the Lord Most High. So James says that we must expect 
that this is going to happen. So the Lord teaches this, and 
then James' own context highlights this. If you go back to chapter 
1, the people to whom James wrote were exiles, according to James 
1.1, to the 12 tribes which are scattered abroad. The people 
James wrote to suffered poverty, according to chapter 1, verse 
9, chapter 2, verses 1 to 7, and chapter 2, verses 15 to 17, as well in 
4.13 and 5.11. And then the people James wrote 
to suffered religious persecution. So James isn't making up this 
concept in the perhaps chance that they're going to undergo 
some sort of trial or hardship. And I think this is one of those 
pernicious errors that has been perpetuated by the health, wealth, 
and prosperity gospel. But there is a great degree of 
spillover into evangelicalism and perhaps even into Reformed 
churches. We think we're children of the king. There shouldn't 
be any hardship. Shouldn't be any difficulty, shouldn't be 
any problems. That's not what Jesus promised 
in John 16.33. He says, in this world you will 
have tribulation. That's the promise of Christ. 
What the encouragement is, be of good cheer for I have overcome 
the world. So James, along with every other biblical author under 
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, assumes the reality and the expectation 
concerning trials. Now note, thirdly, the disposition 
necessary. He says, count it all joy. Count it all joy. That is counterintuitive 
to when afflictions and trials fall upon us. If you're like 
me, when a trial or affliction comes, the first avenue in terms 
of the throne of grace is, Lord, please remove the trial. Lord, 
please take the affliction. Lord, please smooth out these 
difficulties. Lord, please help me to not go 
psychotic in the midst of these particular things. He says, count 
it all joy. Now, I'm not suggesting, and 
I don't think James is teaching, that there's joy in suffering 
for suffering's sake. It's in this particular context, 
and he's going to lead us by the hand, as to how we can count 
it all joy when we fall into various trials. Because God has 
his purpose and plan here in the conforming of us unto the 
image of his beloved Son. So he says, count it all joy. He's going to give specific reason 
or rationale for that in verse three, but this is a necessary 
reminder. When afflictions come, when trials 
hit us, the first knee-jerk response ought not to be, well, why has 
God done this to me? Or where is God in the midst 
of these things? That's not the way that we're 
supposed to respond. Again, we don't chop a finger 
off and then smile and laugh and have giddiness in our hearts. 
That's not what I'm suggesting. There's not joy in the act of 
suffering. There's joy in the effect of 
suffering and trial and affliction and hardship. And that's what 
James will come to address. This is a reminder. Calvin says 
he means, in short, that there's nothing in afflictions which 
ought to disturb our joy. We're told in Scripture to rejoice 
always. Paul even says, I say again, 
rejoice always. So there's this overarching emphasis 
with reference to the Christian life that we're to have a joyful 
disposition, a joyful attitude. Again, that doesn't mean you 
walk around with a big fake or painted grin on your face, but 
there's that settled peace with God as a result of justification 
by faith alone. The reality that if we get hit 
by a car, we enter into the presence of God, we're going to be accepted 
in the beloved. There's a certain amount of joy that that doctrine 
of justification should yield to the believer in all times 
and in all seasons and in all circumstances. So the emphasis 
here is to remind us that we're not to have those knee-jerk reactions, 
to call into question the goodness or the justice of God, and then 
to impugn evil upon God for the things that have befallen us. 
That is a response that oftentimes is intuitive. So James's words 
are counterintuitive in terms of what we do when trials affect 
us. We are to count it all joy. Turn 
back to the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew chapter 5. Matthew 
chapter five, as I understand it, Susie Spurgeon had written 
this or had a, I don't think it was a painting, some sort 
of a, what do they call that? Words that are framed and hung 
it on the wall in their bedroom because Spurgeon definitely received 
a lot of scorn and persecution for being a gospel preacher. 
His brother, Pastor Romain, pointed out he was well loved by his 
people. But he was not well loved by, not his people. He was, you 
know, hated by the hyper-Calvinists, well, I don't, hated, not liked 
by the Arminians, and then the press had a field day with him. 
So he knew something of persecution. Notice in chapter 5 of Matthew's 
Gospel, verses 10 to 12, blessed are those who are persecuted 
for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
There's that counter-intuitiveness with reference to the Beatitudes. 
Notice verse 3. Blessed are the poor in spirit. 
That's not typically the response to those who find themselves 
in poverty of spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. 
Literally, happy are those who mourn. It's counterintuitive. We need to be told this. We need 
to be reminded of this. We need to be instructed that 
this is kingdom ethics for the children of God, justified freely 
by His grace. So back to verse 10, blessed 
are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs 
is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile 
and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely 
for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, 
for great is your reward in heaven. for so they persecuted the prophets 
who were before you." Same sort of a method there. He tells them 
to rejoice, he tells them that they're blessed, and he tells 
them the reason why. Not because there's virtue in 
the act of suffering. There's virtue in the act of 
being persecuted. There's virtue in the act of 
going through these these aches and pains. No, he says specifically, 
rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For so they persecuted the prophets 
who were before you. You can turn to the book of Hebrews, 
Hebrews chapter 11, see a similar emphasis with reference to Moses, 
Hebrews chapter 11. Verse 23, by faith Moses, when 
he was born, was hidden three months by his parents because 
they saw he was a beautiful child and they were not afraid of the 
king's command. By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused 
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to 
suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing 
pleasures of sin. Now, verse 26 is going to explain 
why he does that, because Moses was a good monk and he knew that 
there was virtue in suffering. No, that's not what the text 
says, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than 
the treasures in Egypt, for he looked to the reward. In other 
words, the suffering and the hardship and the reproach were 
constant reminders that there was a better city, a more glorious 
habitation, the reality that it's better to suffer for Christ 
than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin. So James does that in 
our text. And that brings us to the fourth 
point under the main head, the recognition of God's purpose 
in our trials. So after having said, count it 
all joy when you fall into various trials, in verses three and four 
he tells us the virtue and the value. Notice the virtue, knowing 
that the testing of your faith produces patience. Patience doesn't 
come through book learning. I mean, you can learn about patience, 
but patience comes usually in the crucible of suffering, hardship, 
and affliction. You don't learn patience when 
you're sitting on a sunny beach sipping your favorite beverage. 
That's not the time that you learn patience. You learn patience 
in crunch time. You learn patience when you're 
stretched. You learn patience when everything around you seems 
to be falling down. And so he says, knowing that 
the testing of your faith produces patience. The believer must know 
what James relates here. That's absolutely essential. 
If you're not in tune with what James says concerning trials 
and the knee-jerk reaction is to say, where is God? How come 
he's doing this? Or how come he's not good to 
me? If your knee-jerk reaction is to lose your mind over the 
situation you find yourself in, if your knee-jerk reaction is 
anger and hatred and animosity, and it's not joy, then you're 
not going to know that the testing of your faith produces patience. 
So James tells us, know this, and by knowing this, it will 
help you imbibe what I've said to you in verse 2. In other words, 
if you know that the testing of your faith produces patience, 
when the testing of your faith comes, you'll count it all joy. This is a tightly knit argument 
designed to not only provide for us the imperative, but to 
give us the rationale or the reason, the justification for 
that imperative. So James says the believer must 
know what James says here. Manton says ignorance is the 
cause of sorrow. So many times people don't have 
a biblical doctrine of what trial is, what affliction is, what 
hardship is, what difficulty is. They don't have a doctrine 
of God's providence wherein he governs all his creatures and 
all their actions. that the good comes from God, 
but the bad comes from God as well. And when believers don't 
know these things, they're not going to respond to trials in 
the way that James says, to count it all joy. Why? Because you 
know certain truths about God. You know certain truths revealed 
in God's Word. You see them in the lives of 
David. You see them in the lives of Paul. You see them in the 
lives of the saints throughout the history of the church. You 
see them there demonstrated in vivid detail. So we need to know 
what God has orchestrated. The believer must be prepared 
and sustained by such knowledge. So it's good to hide these sorts 
of passages in your heart such that when trial does come, you're 
ready for it. I'm not saying that every moment 
of every day you're going to suffer affliction and trial and 
hardship. No. The Bible doesn't say that, but 
the Bible does say that there is going to be suffering, there's 
going to be trial, there's going to be hardship. So as one who prepares, 
it's good to get this good bit of practical theology in your 
head so that when trial does come. Notice he says that knowing 
that the testing of your faith produces patience. We could translate 
that word as endurance, or perseverance. As one commentator says, the 
emphasis is not passivity, but being bravely patient with suffering 
until it dissipates. So the same word is used elsewhere, 
it's translated as endurance or as perseverance. And I think 
that's the emphasis here, probably the margin, yup, endurance or 
perseverance. So knowing that the testing of 
your faith produces patience or endurance or perseverance. 
How do I learn to persevere? How do I learn to endure? Well, 
through the afflictions and the trials and the hardships that 
God sends your way. That's the means by which He conforms us 
evermore to the purpose of God Almighty. The trials, as we see 
here, have a theological purpose. God's not just throwing trials 
into our life, you know, the way we might mock somebody or 
the way we might upbraid somebody. Hey, look at that. I, you know, 
put Saran wrap on the toilet and he had an accident. That's 
not what God's doing with trials. There's a theological purpose 
behind this. And if we don't have that theological 
purpose, we're not going to respond to trials by counting it all 
joy. We need to know God and His purpose 
and providence in our lives in order to respond to these things 
in a way that glorifies Him. So God produces endurance by 
strengthening the soul through trial. A modern commentator, 
Peter David, says, tempered metal is more precious than the raw 
material. How do you get tempered metal? 
Through a forge, through fire, through burning out the dross. 
That's the emphasis that James is setting forth here. So how do we count it all joy 
when we fall into various trials? Because we know the practical 
theology of James that these testings of our faith produce 
patience. So the virtue is knowing that 
the testing of your faith produces patience. The virtue isn't us 
knowing that. The virtue is that endurance 
or perseverance that comes as a result of God's having tried 
us by fire. And then the value, notice in 
verse 4, he says, but let patience or endurance or perseverance 
have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, 
lacking nothing. Virtue begets virtue. When you 
respond properly, it sets off a chain of better responses in 
the future. If you respond improperly, typically 
it's a downward spiral. So if at the initial outbreak 
of trial you respond with anger, or whining, or grumbling, or 
why did you desert me, oh God, most likely the trial isn't going 
to benefit you the way that it would if you followed James' 
exhortation here and counted it all joy, knowing that the 
testing of your faith produces endurance. When he says, let 
patience have its perfect work, he doesn't mean perfection. He 
doesn't mean sinlessness. The perfection in view could 
be maturity. The word is used elsewhere in 
1 Corinthians 14, Ephesians 4. The perfection in view could 
be blamelessness, Genesis 6, 9, with reference to Noah. The 
marginal note says blameless or having integrity. And the 
perfection or completeness will not be realized until the eschaton. Notice in verse 12. Blessed is 
the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, 
he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised 
to those who love him. So the fruition of this is ultimately 
when we get to heaven. But it affects us in the here 
and now because as we suffer, when we suffer according to God's 
revealed will that we find here in James chapter 1, we bring 
glory to God and a faithful consistent testimony to those who see us 
going through these trials and afflictions and hardships. I 
don't want to say this, but it's really pretty simple, isn't it? 
James wants us to have a particular attitude with reference to the 
trials that come from God for our good. And the reality is 
that we need to know that those things are given to us for our 
good. The testing of our faith produces 
patience, and that patience has its perfect work, that you may 
be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. So the believer's response 
to trials. Don't want to minimize any sufferings 
or hardships or afflictions or trials, but in terms of a biblical 
response, it's pretty simple. It's pretty easy to follow. The 
logic is clear and it's tight. Here's what you're supposed to 
do, and here's what you're supposed to do, knowing what you know 
about the purpose of God in the giving of those particular afflictions. 
That brings us then to the believer's request during trials in verses 
5 to 8. He speaks first of the pursuit 
of wisdom, and then secondly, the necessity of faith. Now note 
the pursuit of wisdom here in verse 5. This is very intimately 
connected to what has preceded. There's not a break here. He's 
not saying, okay, let's shift directions, and for those of 
you in the church that want wisdom, so that you can compose proverbs 
alongside of Solomon, so that you can understand the starry 
heavens, come to God and ask for wisdom. No, the wisdom here 
is the wisdom necessary to navigate the trials and afflictions that 
we have. So the connection is, or verse 
4 rather, highlights the perfection and completion of the one who 
has been trained under trials and indicates that he will lack 
nothing. Verse 5 begins with the supposition that believers 
will lack wisdom. So until you get to this verse 
4 reality, ultimately achieved in verse 12, right now, in order 
to get there, you need wisdom. And again, notice the counter-intuitiveness 
of this particular passage. When trials come, we typically 
ask for their removal. When trials come, we typically 
ask for better circumstances. When trials come, we ask for 
bags of money. But James says when trials come, 
you need wisdom in order to be able to navigate. Manton again 
says wisdom is to be restrained to the circumstances of the tax. In other words, this is not a 
general request for wisdom. It's good that we pray every 
day for wisdom. If you're a man, you're a husband, you're a father, 
you're a worker, you're a citizen, we need wisdom to navigate in 
each of these areas. There's a general sense where 
we always stand in need of God's giving us wisdom. But there is 
the specific application here to the trials that we face and 
the afflictions and hardships that we undergo. We need wisdom, 
not deliverance. We need wisdom. We need joy. We need to understand the theology 
behind the suffering of God's people. So again, Manton, wisdom 
is to be restrained to the circumstances of the text, not taken generally. 
He intends wisdom or skill to bear afflictions. Wisdom or skill 
to bear afflictions. John Gill, similarly. It intends 
wisdom to behave aright under temptations and afflictions. 
So verse five, with reference to the, if any of you lacks wisdom, 
it is specifically conditioned by the context relative to the 
troubles and the trials that the believer faces. So James, as well, assumes, presupposes, 
supposes that most likely you will lack wisdom, most likely 
you'll lack joy, most likely you'll not remember the theology 
behind the suffering that the people of God go through. So 
he assumes that pastorally, and then he gives admonition or exhortation 
on what we do. So he says, let him ask of God. 
Great. When we have affliction, instead 
of being angry with God, instead of blaming God, instead of calling 
God to respond as to why we're going through such hardship, 
we're to ask of God for wisdom. Now, God is the source and giver 
of wisdom, so this makes perfect sense. 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 our Lord 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. And then 
that wonderful statement by Paul in Colossians 2, 3, concerning 
our Lord, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and 
knowledge. So he says, let him ask of God. Not, go read a book 
on affliction. You can read books on affliction. 
I encourage that. There's a lot of good Christian 
treatments out there on how to deal with trials, how to go through 
suffering, how to navigate, all those sorts of things. But your 
first stop is the throne of grace to seek wisdom from God to navigate 
through those trials. And in that wisdom of God, it 
might be, go find yourself a good Christian book and bone up on 
God's purposes in trials. Notice as well the means employed 
for the acquisition of wisdom, primarily prayer. The book begins 
and ends with prayer. James begins and ends with prayer. This is similar to what Jesus 
says in Matthew chapter 5, ask, seek, or Matthew 7 rather, ask, 
seek, not. Similar to what Jesus says in 
the upper room discourse, ask in my name. Similar to what you 
see in 1 Kings chapter 3 when God comes to Solomon in vision 
and asks Solomon, what do you want? And Solomon says, I want 
wisdom. So that's where we go when we're 
in trial or when we're in difficulty and we need wisdom to navigate. 
And Manton again says, 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. Manton on James, at least the 
bits that I've read, is very much worthwhile, Thomas Manton. So James says, if any of you 
lacks wisdom, which most likely all of us will, He goes on to 
encourage, to ask of God, and then he further gives an encouragement. 
He says, who gives to all liberally and without reproach. So this 
is a promise. It's not, you know, if he's got 
time for you, he might fit you in. If you grovel enough, then 
he might dole out a few units of wisdom. No, it's a promise 
who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will 
be given to him. 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. He's a fountainhead of wisdom. 
So let him ask of God. and not only let him ask of God, 
but know this about God. He gives to all liberally and 
without reproach. The liberality in view, the old 
King James has, he upbraideth not. What does he mean by that? 
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to 
all liberally and without reproach. Here's what I think he means. 
God doesn't say, oh, you again? You're back? You want more wisdom? I don't ever remember getting 
a father of the year coffee cup. And I know one of my propensities, 
when my kids came to me time and time again with the same 
thing, it was in me to say, again? You did that again? I know these 
are horrible admissions, but I'm a sinner saved by grace. 
Again? James is saying God doesn't do 
that. It's you again? He doesn't do that. He upbraideth 
not. He gives to all liberally. He 
doesn't, he's not miserly with it. He's not Ebenezer Scrooge. 
He's not withholding things in some sick manner to get you all 
twisted up. No, he gives to all liberally. Calvin says, based on this, hence 
no man, excuse me, ought to deprive himself of so great a privilege. 
The ideas of liberality and bountifulness and generosity are in view, along 
with sincerity and singleness of mind. So James wants you to 
fetch out wisdom at the throne of grace, and he gives you the 
promise that he'll receive it, and that he'll receive it abundantly. 
He gives it abundantly and without reproach, or liberally and without 
reproach. And then notice, well James doesn't 
do this, this is a bit of practical application. The reasons why 
we need wisdom, if you just kind of comb through scripture, and 
you read Thomas Manton, you come up with a few ideas here. First, 
to see the hand of God in our afflictions. Right? If you are in the midst of something, 
wisdom will help you to see the hand of God in that something. 
It's inevitable. God teaches his people, by the 
wisdom he gives, to understand theologically and practically 
the various situations that they find themselves in. Again, David 
is a wonderful example of this. Job is a wonderful example of 
this. to secondly, appreciate the sovereignty of God in our 
afflictions. In Romans 8, 28, we know that 
God causes all things to work for good. We know that God causes 
all things to work for good when those are good things. We know 
that a job promotion, we know that finding a bag of money, 
we know that hitting every green light as you're trying to drive 
through, that's great, yeah, it's causing everything to work 
for good. I suppose that Paul is speaking about the bad things, 
the hard things, the difficult things. Those things are overruled, 
or governed rather, by God in His providence for our good. And it's wisdom that helps us 
to make that conclusion. as well to understand the good 
end of God in our afflictions. Wisdom received by God will help 
us to apply verses 2 to 4. If we don't have wisdom from 
God, we're not going to apply verses 2 to 4. And as well, this 
wisdom will help regulate our response to affliction. regulate 
our response to our affliction. Again, Manton, to moderate the 
violences of our own passions. He that lives 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. That is profound. passions, anger, 
outbursts, outrage, which is typical for a lot of people that 
get afflicted, that's not the way to live, as Manton says. 
You need to govern those things. How do you govern those things? 
The wisdom that you fetch out at the throne of grace. How do 
you govern your flesh? It's by knowing God and receiving 
the wisdom that he has promised to give to those who ask, and 
he will not do it with reproach. In Psalm 73, you have a Psalm 
of Asaph, and Asaph, in fact, look there for a moment. I don't want to assume familiarity 
with the Asaphian Psalms. Let's just look at it. Psalm 
73. I don't know that Christians 
who are not inspired by the Holy Spirit are as honest as the psalmists 
are with reference to their struggles and their hardships and their 
difficulties. Notice in Psalm 73, a psalm of 
Asaph, truly God is good to Israel to such as are pure in heart. 
That's axiomatic. He starts the psalm that way. 
Whatever else I'm going to tell you, this much you need to know. 
Don't ever forget that. God is good to Israel, to such 
as are pure in heart. We believe that, we confess that, 
we know that that is a perfection of God. Asaph knew it, but Asaph 
had an Asaphian moment, and he now rehearses that. But as for 
me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. 
For I was envious of the boastful, when I saw the prosperity of 
the wicked. For there are no pangs in their death, but their 
strength is firm. They are not in trouble as other 
men, nor are they plagued like other men. Therefore, pride serves 
as their necklace. Violence covers them like a garment. 
Their eyes bulge with abundance. They have more than heart could 
wish. They scoff and speak wickedly concerning oppression. They speak 
loftily. They set their mouth against 
the heavens, and their tongue walks through the earth. Therefore 
his people return here, and waters of a full cup are drained by 
them. And they say, how does God know? And is their knowledge 
in the most high? Behold, these are the ungodly 
who are always at ease. They increase in riches. Surely 
I have cleansed my heart and vein, and washed my hands in 
innocence. For all day long I have been 
plagued and chastened every morning." I think we can all relate to 
that to some degree. I don't know that we're as honest 
as Asaph here to actually tell people about it. It really bugs 
me that these people that are bent on destroying the universe 
constantly prosper. These people that are pro-abortion, 
pro-euthanasia, pro-sexual perversion, they're just pro-everything that 
is anti-God. Yeah, it shouldn't bug us. There 
is justice given us by God. We image God. One of those perfections 
is justice and righteousness. So Asaph looks around, he sees 
the prosperity of the righteous, and it causes him to stumble, 
especially when he reflects on the suffering of the saints. 
Notice in verse 15, if I had said, I will speak thus, behold, 
I would have been untrue to the generation of your children. 
When I thought how to understand this, it was too painful for 
me until I went into the sanctuary of God. till he got wisdom, till 
he got God's perspective, till he got a bird's eye view from 
heaven about the conditions on earth. Then I understood their 
end. He says, surely you set them 
in slippery places, you cast them down to destruction. Oh, 
how they are brought to desolation as in a moment, they are utterly 
consumed with terrors as a dream when one awakes. So Lord, when 
you awake, you shall despise their image. You see what he's 
saying? I saw the prosperity of the godless, 
I saw the suffering of the godly, and it vaxed my heart until I 
went into the sanctuary. Then I understood. The godless 
are going to lose. The godless are going to be cut 
off. The godless are going to be judged, and righteously so, 
by the Most High. See, it was that Godward perspective 
that he lacked when he's looking around and it's vexing his heart 
rather than him appreciating the fact that God was going to 
right every wrong. And so James is telling us we 
need wisdom to navigate, to see the hand of God, to appreciate 
the sovereignty of God, to understand the good end of God, and to help 
regulate our passions in the midst of the trials. And then 
the section ends on the necessity of faith. Notice in verses 6 
to 8. And again, he's not saying you 
need to be saved. You need to look to Jesus and 
be saved. He's talking to Christians, professing Christians. He's talking 
to justified by grace through faith in Jesus believers. And so the faith here is that 
faith that believers have. Remember, we're justified by 
faith alone, but that faith is not alone. It's always accompanied 
by all other saving graces and is no dead faith. That's our 
confession of faith that invokes as a proof text James chapter 
2. So when we are justified, we have faith in our Lord Jesus 
that brings us savingly in union with Him. But in the life of 
sanctification, our faith can grow. How does our faith grow? By feeding it Scripture, by praying, 
by using the means that God has ordained. And so now James is 
going to encourage them with reference to having faith. Don't 
come to God without faith. Don't come to God unbelieving. 
But remember the glorious description in verse 5. 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. Remember, James is writing 
under the inspiration of the Spirit. He's not making this 
up. He's not hoping that this is 
the case. This is the case. This is the case for every one 
of God's people. If we lack wisdom and we ask 
of God, we can trust that he will give it to us liberally 
and without reproach. Pretty good. That's why Calvin 
says, hence no man ought to deprive himself of so great a privilege. 
You ever been in that condition where I really need this? Well, 
have you asked God? Well, I don't usually pray about 
that. Maybe you should start. Might be a good thing to add 
to the old prayer list there. So notice he says in verse 6, 
let him ask in faith. So the focus in verse 5 is more 
theological in nature. You need to understand who God 
is. You need to understand your theology when you come to God 
asking wisdom. Verses 6 to 8, the focus is on 
man. How does a believing man or woman 
come to that throne of grace to present that petition with 
reference to wisdom? Well, the emphasis is on faith. 
As Gill says, not only in the faith of the divine being that 
God is, but in the faith of the promises He has made, and in 
the faith of His power and faithfulness to perform them, and in the faith 
of this, that whatever is asked, according to the will of God, 
and is for His glory, and His people's good, shall be given. So James says, let him ask in 
faith, and then he gives this condemnation with no doubting. Again, brethren, I understand 
all too well that most of us don't go to the throne of grace 
with absolute confidence the way that we ought. and that there's 
doubts and there is those minglings of little faithness that perplex 
us and all of that. But James is exhorting the method 
or manner by which we come to the throne. So let him ask in 
faith with no doubting. Now, this danger of doubting 
is highlighted and illustrated by James in a threefold way. Notice what he goes on to say. 
For, so don't doubt, 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. So the danger of doubting results 
in an unsettled man, an unanswered man, and an unstable man. So 
see how this kind of all works together? If you don't have that 
faith, and it's all doubting, then this is going to be the 
end game for you. First of all, you'll be unsettled. 
The metaphor of a stormy sea was a common one. It's still 
a common one. It works really well. Paul uses 
it in Ephesians 4 to talk about the need for the people of God 
to be instructed well by the teachers of God's Word so that 
they're not tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine. 
So unsettledness we ought to conclude from this text, is not 
a desired trait in the Christian life. Settledness is a desired 
trait in the Christian life. Settledness is a virtue that 
comes not because of our faith, but by the instrumentality of 
our saving faith in Jesus Christ. We have confidence in God, not 
just that He is, but that He is a rewarder of them that diligently 
seek Him. We take his promises, we take 
them to heart, and we bring them to him and pray them back to 
him. Unsettled, if you doubt. Notice, will be unanswered. 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. Unsettled. For let 
not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the 
Lord. He'll be unanswered. They'll be unanswered. You ask 
in faith. And again, I don't think the 
idea here is that you're cut off and you're a reprobate and 
off you go, you go. That's not the issue. When we're 
struggling and when we don't believe God and when we're not 
taking God at His word and with His promises, most likely we're 
not even praying anyway. If we have a proper view of who 
God is in light of the situations that we find ourselves in, the 
reflex of the born-again believer is to pray. It's to come to God. 
So let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from 
the Lord. Now, see, what happens in these kinds of situations 
is that people come with doubting. They may offer up a prayer, and 
they're unanswered. And then they say things like, 
well, I tried to pray, but it didn't work. Well, that's not the way 
you should really look at prayer. It didn't work. It's kind of 
like a Coke machine. I put a dollar in and it didn't 
work. It's not a mercenary activity. It's not a barter deal. It's not, you know, negotiations. Okay, I'll pray 15 units of prayer. 
I'll get 15 units of wisdom and all the good things that God 
has promised. That's not it at all. Rather, we need to understand 
faith in God, faith in His promises, typically evokes from the believer 
prayer to God for those things He has promised, and we are not 
to doubt what God's Word has revealed to us. And then lastly, 
he will be unstable, literally a double-minded man. James condemns this elsewhere 
in James chapter 4. So he says in verse 7, let not 
that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. 
He is a double-minded man. Notice, unstable in all his ways, 
not just some of his ways, but all of his ways. So unsettledness, 
unansweredness, and unstableness, those are not good things. By 
faith in the living God, trust in the written word, it brings 
settledness, it brings answers, and it brings stability to us. As I said, the word used is literally 
double-souled or double-minded. The word reflects a departure 
from what God calls his people to. You know, just the opposite 
of what James is commending here and exhorting us on to. The word 
was used of unfaithful Israel. And the word is comprehensively 
applied to all of his ways. So James' exhortation, on the 
one hand, is very simple. And when I say that, I get, you 
know, there's words written on a page. It's good syntax. That means the words all relate 
to one another. The sentences are structured. 
The logic is tight. But on the other hand, it's the 
most difficult thing in the world, isn't it? Because once trials come, 
it seems like all this theology goes right out the door and we 
whine and grumble and complain and say, why me, God? We need 
to get these texts in our minds and hearts. We need to hide God's 
word in our hearts that we might not sin against him. We need 
to know that theology so that it stabilizes us, so that it 
encourages us, and so that it helps us when we come to these 
particular situations. We need to receive passages like 
these. And most likely, or I would say 
most helpfully, it's when we're not necessarily in the thick 
of trials. You don't get your gun and ammo and your knives 
and all your stuff ready. You don't do that on the battlefield. 
You typically, hopefully, I mean, you could, but you usually get 
geared up and ready to go and then go to the battlefield. You 
get the theology of suffering in your mind and heart so that 
when it happens, you're prepared, you're ready, you've got your 
kit. Manton says Christ's eyesalve 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. He's telling us we need to prepare 
for trials with passages like these. We need to hide them in 
our hearts. 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, and it is by God's 
Spirit that we come to discern and esteem the things that are 
of God. Prepare for it. I'm not, you know, hopefully 
jinxing anyone or vexing anyone, hexing anyone. Okay, now you're 
going to go out and your car's going to have a flat tire. You're 
going to run out of gas on the way home. Butler put a hex on 
me. No, no, no. I just, you know, anybody that's 
been in the Christian life long enough knows it's inevitable. 
There's trial. I have yet to meet anybody who's 
been in the way for any amount of times. Oh no, it's only ever 
been great. Well, just wait. Just wait. We need to identify 
God's purpose for trials in our lives. Vis a vis James 1, 2 to 
8. And we need to embrace God's 
comprehensive providence. Our trials ultimately come from 
God. Turn back to 1 Peter 4. I mentioned those four observations 
on that section. In 12 to 19, expect it, exult 
in it, evaluate its cause, entrust yourself to God. The entrust 
yourself to God highlights the providence and sovereignty of 
God in verse 19. Therefore, let those who suffer, 
note that next phrase, according to the will of God, commit their 
souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. How can 
anybody deny the absolute sovereignty of God? I've never understood 
how you can open a Bible and come away thinking that God is 
not absolutely sovereign. I mean, our suffering is according 
to the will of God. So having a proper understanding 
of biblical providence, or God's providence as biblically defined, 
will help us to understand the things that we are going through 
and will hopefully promote in us the right response, joy, the 
knowledge that the testing of our faith produces perseverance 
and endurance, and the recognition that if we lack wisdom, we ought 
to ask of God and we ought to do so with faith. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you that it addresses all areas of 
our lives. We thank you that you've not 
left us wondering and seeking and searching for things that 
don't exist, but scripture is full. of encouragements and exhortations 
and admonitions just like this. We have many examples in the 
scriptures of men who suffered, of men who were tried and afflicted 
and came through by your grace, singing your praises and glorifying 
your name. We do long to persevere and endure 
And we know that trials are one of the means that you use. So 
give us this mindset, give grace to us and help to us and flood 
our hearts with wisdom so that we may navigate properly. And 
we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.