Sunday
Morning Bible Study
May
19, 2019
Introduction
The book of James is possibly one of the earliest things written in the New
Testament.
It’s thought to have been written around AD 40-50
It was written by James, the half-brother of Jesus.
James’ father was Joseph, while Jesus’ father was God.
Though James didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah until after the
resurrection, James would eventually be recognized as the leader of the church
in Jerusalem.
James was known in the early church as “James the Just” because of his
great devotion to God and purity of life.
Ancient historian Eusebius describes James’ prayer life, that he…
was frequently found upon his knees begging
forgiveness for the people, so that his knees became hard like those of a camel,
in consequence of his constantly bending them in his worship of God, and asking
forgiveness for the people[1]
The book has a distinct flavor.
While the apostle Paul wrote mainly to Gentiles, James is writing to the
Jews.
His teachings are going to be very practical (hence our “tools” pic) and
will draw much from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, as well as the book of
Proverbs.
There is a structure to the book.
The first chapter is filled with short little statements that will be
discussed in greater length in chapters 2-5
1:9-11 Rich and Poor
:9 Let the lowly brother
glory in his exaltation,
glory – kauchaomai – to
glory (whether with reason or without); to glory on account of a thing; to
glory in a thing. NIV – “take pride”
present middle imperative
lowly– tapeinos – not rising far from the
ground; metaph. as a condition, lowly, of low degree; brought low with grief,
depressed; lowly in spirit, humble
exaltation – hupsos –
height; of measurement; of place, heaven; metaph. rank, high station
:9 the lowly brother
In context, when you compare with verse 10, this is talking about those who
are poor.
The poor person who trusts in Jesus has a reason to be happy.
:10 but the rich in his
humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away.
the rich – plousios –
wealthy, abounding in material resources; metaph. abounding, abundantly
supplied; abounding (rich) in Christian virtues and eternal possessions
humiliation – tapeinosis
– lowness, low estate; metaph.; spiritual abasement, leading one to
perceive and lament his (moral) littleness and guilt
flower – anthos – a flower
the field – chortos – the
place where grass grows and animals graze; grass, herbage, hay, provender
he will pass away – parerchomai
– to go past, pass by; metaph. to pass away, perish
future middle indicative
:10 the rich in his humiliation
The wealthy person also has a reason to be happy, if he should learn
humility and trust in Jesus.
:11 For no sooner has the
sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its
beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his
pursuits.
risen – anatello – rise
aorist active indicative
burning heat – kauson –
burning heat; of the sun
it withers – xeraino – to
make dry, dry up, wither; to become dry, to be dry, be withered; of plants
aorist active indicative
flower – anthos – a flower
falls – ekpipto – to fall
out of, to fall down from, to fall off
aorist active indicative
beautiful – euprepeia –
goodly appearance, shapeliness, beauty, comeliness
appearance – prosopon –
the face; the outward appearance of inanimate things
perishes – apollumi – to
destroy; to perish, to be lost, ruined, destroyed
aorist middle indicative
pursuits – poreia – a journey;
a going, that is: purpose, pursuit, undertaking
fade away – maraino – to
extinguish (a flame, fire, light, etc.); to render arid, make to waste away,
consume away, perish; to have a miserable end
future passive indicative
:11 the rich man also will fade away
We will be talking more about the issues of the rich and the poor later on
in James’ letter, but the one simple lesson here is:
Lesson
Focus on what lasts
James is using a common picture found in the Scripture, a picture that
comes from living in the land of Israel, a nation with a climate very similar
to California.
We say, “April showers bring May flowers”, and boy have we seen that this
year.
We’ve had an abundance of rain, and an abundance of green grass and
colorful flowers as a result.
Yet the further we get from the rains, the dryer it gets, and much of the
grass and flowers have begun to wither.
Isaiah identifies the easily withered grass as a picture of men.
(Isaiah 40:6–8
NKJV) —6 The voice said, “Cry out!” And he said, “What shall I cry?” “All flesh is grass, And all its
loveliness is like the flower of the field. 7 The grass
withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the Lord
blows upon it; Surely the
people are grass. 8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word
of our God stands forever.”
James reminds the wealthy person that they too are part of the picture of
what withers.
Some people make the acquiring of wealth the sole aim of their life, trying
to provide some kind of “security” for the future.
The problem is, nothing lasts.
Only two things in this room will go into eternity – God’s Word, and the
people around you.
And of the people around you, only the ones who have come to trust in Jesus
will make it into the good part of eternity – heaven.
A wealthy person has a handicap – they have to learn to trust Jesus instead
of their money.
Paul wrote,
(1 Timothy 6:9 NKJV) But those who desire to be rich fall
into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts
which drown men in destruction and perdition.
Jesus said,
(Luke 18:25 NKJV) For it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
But it’s not impossible – if a wealthy person finds the humility of
learning to trust Jesus instead of their bank account, they too will find true
stability.
In the long run, it’s okay if you’re poor right now.
Money doesn’t make it into eternity.
If you are a person who has trusted in Jesus, then you’re set for eternity.
1:12-15 Temptation
: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.
:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation
The word for “blessed” (makarios)
can also be translated “happy”.
There is something good, something special, something that will make you
smile when you endure temptation.
endures – ὑπομένω
(hupomeno) – to remain
“under”; to persevere.
It’s the idea to “keep going”, “not to quit”
The word for “temptation” (peirasmos)
can either refer to a difficult time (a “trial”), or something that is tempting
you to sin.
We saw the word translated “trial” back in:
(James 1:2 NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
I think the idea through our passage might be better handled by using the
word “temptation”.
Even a difficult time can turn into a temptation to sin.
There is a special blessing for those who endure temptation.
blessed – makarios –
blessed, happy
who endures – hupomeno – to remain; to tarry behind; to remain i.e. abide, not
recede or flee; to preserve: under misfortunes and trials to hold fast to one’s
faith in Christ; to endure, bear bravely and calmly: ill treatments
temptation – peirasmos –
an experiment, attempt, trial, proving; the trial of man’s fidelity, integrity,
virtue, constancy; an enticement to sin, temptation
from – peirazo – to test,
to tempt
Forms of this word will be used throughout this passage:
(James 1:12–15
NKJV) —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. 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. 14 But each one
is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin,
when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
This was also the word that was translated “trials” in:
(James 1:2 NKJV) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
:12 for when he has been approved
approved – δόκιμος (dokimos) – accepted, tried and true, genuine
In the ancient world there was no banking system as we know it today, and
no paper money. All money was made from metal, heated until liquid, poured into
molds and allowed to cool. When the coins were cooled, it was necessary to
smooth off the uneven edges.
Even after they were made, some people kept shaving the edges off to get
more bang for their buck – maybe stretch the metal of 5 coins into 6.
Some money changers were men of integrity who only accepted and gave out
genuine, true coins. Such men were called “dokimos”
or “approved”. (Donald Barnhouse)
Whether you are going through a difficult trial or temptation, how you
respond will show how “genuine” you are.
has been – ginomai – to
become
aorist middle participle
adverbial, temporal
:12 he will receive the crown of life
he will receive – lambano –
to take, to receive
future middle indicative
the crown of life
“life” is a genitive of apposition (RWP) – life itself is the crown.
The way James phrases it, the crown is life itself.
Jesus said,
(Revelation
2:10 NKJV) Do not fear any of those things which you are
about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into
prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be
faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
The crown is eternal life, the resurrection from the dead.
promised – epaggello – to
announce that one is about to do or furnish something; to promise (of one’s own
accord) to engage voluntarily
love – agapao – to
welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly
Lesson
No prize for quitting
Listen to me carefully.
The point is not to say that you must stop sinning if you want eternal
life.
The point is that you must stay in the battle and endure.
Don’t quit your fight against sin.
Sometimes we just quit the race too soon.
We might even think we’ve already won before the race is over.
Please don’t tell me that you will never ever do that sin
you struggle with. Tell me you’re doing
better, but don’t get cocky thinking you’re done.
Jesus said it several times (Mat. 10:22; 24:13; Mar. 13:13), and though He
was talking about the difficult things ahead in the last days, the principle
applies:
(Matthew
24:13 NKJV) But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
(Matthew
10:22 NKJV) And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake.
But he who endures to the end will be saved.
(Mark 13:13 NKJV) And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures
to the end shall be saved.
Solomon wrote,
(Proverbs
24:16 NKJV) For a righteous man may fall seven times and rise
again, But the
wicked shall fall by calamity.
When we fall down, we just need to get up.
You aren’t disqualified because you’ve fallen down.
You’re disqualified if you stay down.
Get back up.
: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.
when he is tempted – peirazo –
test; to test one maliciously, entice to sin
present passive participle; adverbial/temporal
I am tempted – peirazo –
test; to test one maliciously, entice to sin
present passive indicative
tempt – peirazo – test; to
test one maliciously, entice to sin
present active indicative
cannot be tempted – apeirastos
(“not” + “tempted”) – that can not be tempted by evil, not liable to
temptation to sin
tempted – peirazo – to try
whether a thing can be done; to try, make trial of, test: for the purpose of
ascertaining his quantity, or what he thinks, or how he will behave himself; in
a bad sense, to test one maliciously, craftily to put to the proof his feelings
or judgments; to try or test one’s faith, virtue, character, by enticement to
sin
let … say – lego – to say,
to speak
present active imperative, 3rd singular
:13 nor does He Himself tempt anyone
All the verbs translated “tempt” are in the present tense.
It’s not talking about some future time.
It’s not talking about some time in the past.
This is all about what happens at the time you are being tempted.
Lesson
Don’t blame God
When Adam ate the forbidden fruit and found himself having to explain his
actions to God…
(Genesis
3:12 NKJV) Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave
to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.”
It sounds as if Adam might be blaming God for giving him
the woman in the first place…
Sometimes we can fall into the subtle trap of thinking that God must have
something to do with the temptation we’re experiencing.
We might think that He’s the one that put it there.
We might think that if He doesn’t want me to give in to the temptation, He
can take it away … and when He doesn’t take it away we just give in.
That’s wrong.
Let’s make one thing clear. There is
no person in the universe farther from the concept of sin than God.
(1 John 1:5 NKJV) This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to
you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
He did not put that temptation there.
There are three things that can be responsible for temptation:
The devil
The world
And me …
:14 But each one is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
:14 drawn away by his own desires and enticed
tempted – peirazo – test;
to test one maliciously, entice to sin
present passive indicative
drawn away – ἐξέλκω (exelko) – to drag
away; taken in tow
Present passive participle
It wouldn’t hurt to think of this as a fish being caught on a hook and
being dragged into a boat.
The form of this verb carries the idea of a continuous action, not just a
one time occurrence.
enticed – δελεάζω (deleazo) – to bait, catch by a bait
Present passive participle
It’s a fisherman’s term, coming from a root that means “to deceive”.
In hunting and fishing, game is lured from its hiding place
Lesson
Recognize the lure
I am not in the habit of showing beer commercials in church, but this one
kind of makes my point, doesn’t it?
It’s one of those kinds of “lures” that appeal to our sin nature.
Yet James isn’t talking about getting drawn away by beer. James says the actual problem is bigger than
that.
his own – idios –
pertaining to one’s self, one’s own, belonging to one’s self
desires – ἐπιθυμία (epithumia) – craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden
These aren’t someone else’s “desires”, but my own desires. They belong to me.
We might simplify this as our own “sin nature”.
It’s my own sin nature that entices and drags me away.
(James 1:14 NLT) Temptation comes from our own
desires, which entice us and drag us away.
:15 Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.
:15 when desire has conceived
The language that James uses is literally “pregnant” with meaning.
desire – epithumia – craving, longing, desire for
what is forbidden
has conceived – sullambano –
to seize; to conceive
aorist active participle
gives birth – tikto – to bring forth, bear, produce
(fruit from the seed); of a woman giving birth; metaph. to bear, bring forth
Both words are used in:
(Luke 1:31 NKJV) And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring
forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus.
Present active indicative
full-grown – apoteleo – to
perfect, to bring quite to an end; accomplish.
Another teleo word.
aorist passive participle
The ultimate result of sin is death.
brings forth –
apokueo – to bring forth; from the
womb; give birth to; produce
present active indicative
If we don’t deal with lust, it will give birth to sin.
If we don’t deal with sin, then it too will grow to become “pregnant” and
give birth to death.
I wish I could give you the absolute perfect message today that will solve
all your personal sin issues, but I’m not sure that’s possible.
Dealing with sin in your life is going to be a lifelong struggle.
Let me share four things that might be helpful.
Lesson #1
Temptation isn’t wrong
It’s only after you’ve given in to the temptation that lust becomes sin.
Jesus Himself was tempted. We have a
record of Satan tempting Him before He even began His ministry:
(Matthew 4:3 NKJV) Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of
God, command that these stones become bread.”
And yet Jesus didn’t sin.
(Hebrews 4:15–16
NKJV) —15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet
without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of
need.
Martin Luther said: “It’s not a wrong for a bird to fly over your head,
just don’t let it build a nest in your hair”
See what trouble people get into when they let the bird build a nest…
Billy Graham said: “The first look is free. It’s the second look that kills
you.”
Watch what happened with David and Bathsheba:
Video: David and Bathsheba – David
sees Bathsheba
I like how the movie made a point of David taking his time
watching and thinking about the temptation.
You can read the rest in 2Samuel 11-12
So learn to shift your gaze when something catches your
eye.
It’s when I dwell on the temptation that I get into
trouble.
Make choices on life’s path that take you away from
temptation.
Lesson #2
Recognize the root
The real root of my sin problem isn’t that thing I’m tempted with.
vs. 14 said it was “his own lust”
The real root is me.
I think some of us have this notion that our sin nature is something we
might be able to get rid of, like Peter Pan lost his “shadow”:
Some churches act as if you can “cast out” these things from your life, but
I’m sorry to say you can’t.
You’re stuck with your sin nature for the rest of your life.
Paul wrote,
(Romans 7:18 NLT) And I know
that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what
is right, but I can’t.
Over the years I’ve found myself getting lazy in regards to this.
I would only concern myself with sin in my life once I had committed it.
I now realize that I need to be aware my very real weakness towards certain
temptations.
I remind myself every morning that I have areas of my life where I am weak
in, and I tell Jesus all about it.
Some people will tell me that this is wrong because I’m making a “negative
confession” about myself.
I would reply that I’m just agreeing with what Paul said
about himself.
Some people would say, “But aren’t we new creations in Christ and the old
has passed away?”
I would reply that we may now have a new nature inside of
us, but the old nature is still very much present.
Lesson
Dead Reckoning
While we can’t get rid of it, we can learn to rethink what kind of power it
has over us.
(Romans 6:11 NKJV) Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to
sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
It’s a present imperative – something I need to do continually, over and
over again.
Even though my sin nature is still with me, I have to act as if it’s dead
and powerless.
Lesson #3
Weed and Feed
Your heart is like a garden or a lawn.
You need to feed the good plants and weed out the bad.
Paul wrote,
(Galatians 6:7
NKJV) Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows,
that he will also reap.
An old Eskimo proverb says: “There are two dogs fighting
inside of you. The one you feed is the
one that wins.”
The two dogs are my flesh and my spirit.
If I sow to my flesh, or “feed” my flesh, then my flesh
will grow strong and temptations turn into sins quite easily.
On the other hand, if I learn to starve my flesh, learn to
cut out some of those things that make me think about sin, my flesh will grow
weaker.
What does that look like?
Maybe I need to think about the kinds of things I feed my
brain (TV, internet, etc)
Perhaps I should reevaluate the people I spend time with.
I also need to learn to “feed” the spiritual side of me.
Paul wrote,
(Galatians
5:16 NKJV) I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
The word “walk” is a present imperative, carrying the idea
of continually walking in the Spirit.
fulfill – teleo
– to perform, execute, complete, fulfil
The word is an aorist active subjunctive, but when
combined with the double negative (οὐ
μὴ), it forms an exceptionally strong phrase, like “never
ever”.
The underlying Greek has the idea that if we will
continually walk with a close connection to the Holy Spirit, then while we are
doing this we will never fulfill the lusts that are in our flesh.
How do I “feed” the Spirit?
Reading the Bible.
Prayer. Fellowship. Worship.
The reality is that this is something we need to cultivate, something that
we want to learn to do more and more of – yielding to the Holy Spirit in our
lives.
For me, one step is to pray a simple prayer every day that Jesus would be
strong in all the areas that I’m weak in.
Lesson #4
Reset
Because you’re human, the truth is you’re still going to sin, even if you
do all these things right.
When you’ve already given in to the temptation and have sinned, there is a
way back to spiritual health.
(1 John 1:9 NKJV) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Don’t run from God when you’ve sinned.
Run to God and admit what you’ve done.
I think there’s room for others to be made aware of the problems in my life
as well.
(James 5:16 NKJV) Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one
another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous
man avails much.