James, the brother of Jesus
and a major leader of the Christian church in Jerusalem, wrote his letter to
the first century Christians spread out in the Roman Empire. You note this when
he addresses his letter to the “twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad.” This
letter speaks on how to be a Christian. James jumped straight into this task.
James
began his word of instruction with verse two and drew the reader and hearer to
the realities of being a Christian: the testing of your faith. Before this, though,
he reminded us to that which Christians are to cling: joy. James said in verse
2, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” A question arises upon hearing/reading this: how and why
would you experience joy when you are facing difficult times? The answer James
gave was that it produces endurance (vs.2). In case someone asks why anyone
would want to produce endurance, James provided that answer in verse 4. He said,
“so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” In verse 12, he
reiterated this, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” Verse 18 goes even further in explaining why God allows
hard times to happen to us. It says, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so
that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” James said, through these trials and tests God allows you to
go through them to grow you and make you stronger in your faith. This growth
brings you closer each time to being more Christlike. This is why you can count
it all joy; you are being made more like Christ. In addition, you acknowledge
that your end on earth, as a Christian, is not your eternal end. God is your
Father and promised you eternal life in His kingdom.
Before we get ahead of ourselves though, we must return
to verse two. James said we must endure or persevere so that we may be perfect
and complete. Peter said in 2 Peter 1:5-7 perseverance comes from diligence,
faith, moral excellence, knowledge, and self-control. We must grow from our
diligence in believing to apply the lessons of Christ in our lives so that we
become moral, knowledgeable, and self-controlled. Perseverance comes from
knowing the Lord, following His commands, and living by allowing the Holy
Spirit to control our words and actions. Without God’s commands and promises
and without the strength and power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot persevere. We
must allow God to be our life first before we can achieve endurance. Let us
understand the definition of endurance/perseverance. In the Greek, perseverance
is hupomone. According to Strong’s
New Testament Greek Lexicon, hupomone is
the characteristic of a person who is not swerved from his or her deliberate
purpose and his or her loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials
and sufferings. Perseverance is a patient, steadfast waiting and stance.
We
must answer questions about perseverance now. What is it? Why do we have to go
through trials? Why should we persevere? How do we get the strength to
persevere? Why do people joyfully persevere? Strong's shows the answer to what
is perseverance in his definition. A biblical reference is Revelation 14:12.
This passage tells us, “Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” Saints, Christians, are those people who keep the
commandments of God and keep their faith in Jesus. That is what James said in
chapter 1:5 when He spoke of asking for wisdom. Peter spoke of it in 1 Peter
1:5 when he said to add goodness and knowledge to your faith. Faith is great;
faith in Jesus Christ is what saves you and keeps you, but you must add to it
goodness, knowledge, and wisdom. These come from the commandments of the
Godhead through Jesus’ life - words and actions. Without a firm faith in Jesus,
bolstered by His teachings on inner attitudes and outer actions, we cannot
stand strong and persevere through trials.
Our
next question arises. Why do we have to go through trials and temptations? There
are two reasons, positive and negative. First, we go through trials because we
are followers of Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 10:22, "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved” [NASB]. In John 15:18 & 20, "If the
world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you…Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also” [NASB]. Because we are followers of Jesus, people
persecute and try us. People who are not believers do not understand and will
mock and try us. On the positive side, our privilege is to go through trials
because we have our reward in heaven. We know where we will be when God’s
kingdom comes. Luke 6:22-23 says, “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets” [NASB]. We have a reward, which nothing and no one can
take from us, and we can persevere through trials and temptations knowing this.
This
leads us to our next question: Why should we persevere? Luke 6:22-23 above
gives us the best reason. We should persevere because we have a reward in
heaven. James 1:12 tells us, “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him” [NASB]. This crown of life is that which Paul spoke
of when athletes run the race (1 Corinthians 9:25). The crown will not be a
crown of laurel in imitation of the crown of gold an earthly king wears, but it
will be an imperishable crown because it comes from the immortal God. This is
the crown given to each of God’s children in heaven when He commends them as
the master in the parable did when he said, “Well done my good and faithful
servant” (Matthew 25:23, [NASB]). Hebrews 10:36 tells us why, “For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised” [NASB]. We need to persevere to be approved by God, to
receive our crown in God’s kingdom, and to be seen as Jesus’ followers.
How
do we get the strength to persevere in the face of trials and temptations?
Second Peter 1:5-6 tells us, as stated in the last paragraph. We persevere
through faith, knowledge, moral excellence, and self-control. The people who
have these are the good soil of which Luke spoke in Luke 8:15. They will endure
because they “heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” [NASB]. This says those who go through these hard times
have faith, moral excellence, and they are growing in the Word, bearing fruit.
Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (12:1 [NASB]). We must give up anything that keeps us from following
Jesus closely and we must not succumb to sin so that we can run the race with
endurance. This chapter also encourages us to endure because so many faithful
followers have run the race before us, endured, and await us in heaven for our
reward.
How
do people joyfully persevere? James said to “consider it all joy” when
the testing of your faith produces endurance (1:2). Luke 21:19 says, “By your
endurance you will gain your lives” [NASB]. Paul
said in Romans 5:2b-5, “We exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations,
knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance,
proven character;
and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured
out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us”
[NASB]. Paul stated further in 1 Corinthians 6:4 & 10, “…in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses… as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich,
as having nothing yet possessing all things” [NASB]. Hope and perseverance are tied together,
thus, joy is tied to perseverance. Joy comes from God. It comes in knowing God
is in control and we are His children. How can we joyfully persevere? We do
this by recognizing God is all-powerful and in control. Nothing can remove us
from His hands, protection, or strength.
Let us return to James 1.
James said,
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you
encounter various trials (and
temptations), knowing that the testing (the
proving or trying) of your faith (your
conviction of truth, Christ is the Son of God) produces endurance. And let endurance
have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect (mature/virtuous) and complete (free
from sin, faultless), lacking in nothing, (5) But if any of you lacks
wisdom (the knowledge and practice of the
requisites for godly and upright living), let him ask of God who gives to
all generously and without reproach (without
finding fault), and it will be given. (6) But, he must ask in faith, without any doubting, (a repetition for emphasis; with a hope that is grounded in who God is),
for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the
wind. (7) For that man (human being)
ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord (8) being a
double-minded (doubting, hesitating)
man, unstable (inconstant, restless)
in all his ways (course of conduct).
(12) Blessed is a man who perseveres
under trial and temptation; for once he has been approved (passed the test; accepting, pleasing); he will receive the crown
of life (immortality and a more perfect
body). (Italics and bold type are my emphasis.) (James 1:2-7, 12 [NASB])
Perseverance comes through faith, knowledge of God the
Father and Jesus, and their commands, and hope. Without the strength of
almighty God keeping us strong through His Holy Spirit who dwells in us as
Christians, we would falter and maybe fail to endure. We endure because Jesus
endured persecution. We endure because He told His disciples the world hated Him
and they would hate us, His disciples. We endure because God promises us hope
of eternal life, a better life, in His kingdom. We persevere joyfully because God
holds us up; we are not standing alone. We persevere joyfully because God is
faithful to His promises. We persevere because we know God and recall His word
in Romans 8:35-39, which says:
35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just
as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP
TO BE SLAUGHTERED." 37
But in all these things, we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height,
nor depth, nor any other
created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [NASB]
Perseverance comes through knowledge, wisdom, faith, and
self-control, which comes from God. Perseverance ultimately comes from God
because we know, as Paul stated in Romans 8, nothing can separate us from the
love of God.
Now, we have to ask
ourselves a question. Do we believe in Jesus and know we can rely fully upon
Him for the strength to endure? If you are not yet a Jesus-follower, now is the
time to acknowledge Him as God’s Son, believe that He died to save you from
your sins, and confess your sins to Him accepting His forgiveness and gift of
eternal life. God will give you the faith to believe if you ask Him. It is up
to you if you want to believe and choose to live life with Jesus as your Lord
and Savior.
