Lesson 1
Testing or Temptation
James 1:1-18
I do not know about you but I have been tempted far more times than I have been tested. Testing is those external things thrown at us, many over which we have no control. For instance I cannot determine what a person thinks of me when we first meet. Things like diseases, although they are within the body, come upon us because we live in a broken and fallen world. I have been in situations where there has been a personality conflict with someone at work. It may be my doing but quite often, rather than being able to have an open dialogue, the other party just decides that I am not one with whom he or she can work and one of us has to make drastic changes or move on to another position. There has been a few times when my faith has been stretched to the limit because of being put into a situation brought on by the actions of someone I love. The inevitable question that I want to ask is “Why” instead of how God can receive the glory by the way I handle myself. If we are hurt very badly we act out those feelings that do not make us a good witness for Christ.
All of the resources I read in preparing the lesson to follow used Job as a primary example of one who suffered in a way that he did not understand. He had no way of knowing that God was allowing Satan to cause him all kinds of problems. God allowed trials in his life that led Job to have a greater understanding of what He wanted to do in his life.
Acting on temptation is another matter. Although the stimulus for them may be external it is our own desires that if cultivated turn into rebellion against God. The word we all too often ignore calls our thoughts and actions what they truly are sin. I may have mentioned before that I once made a list of the sins I could find in the Bible. I was overwhelmed by the number of instances that are in the pages of the sixty-six books. We hear the advice that we should always be prayed up because temptation and the resulting sin are ever with us.
The church today is facing many challenges. We have seen one of the major issues in our study of the letters of John, Timothy, Titus and Jude. There is so much false teachings prevalent in congregations that those on the inside quite often do not know what to believe. Those holding to the truth have trouble surviving while others that compromise the teachings of the Bible seem to be thriving and growing. It is our calling to stay firm no matter what the world throws at us. We will see how James calls on the church to deal with the trials that face us today.
James 1:1
Although not mentioned in the initial greeting, the vast majority of theologians believe the James of this book was the half-brother of Jesus. He described himself only as a bond-servant, in Greek doulos, of both the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Like so many of the others he considered himself a slave, without rights, and totally committed to God.
The recipients of his letter were probably, what today are called Messianic Jews. They were those who had become believers of Christ as early as Pentecost and taken that new found faith back to the places from which they had travelled to be in Jerusalem to celebrate the feast following fifty days after Passover. Even though they were believers of Christ they maintained their commitment to the traditions and rituals of the Jewish religion. Many believed that James used the term twelve tribes as a picture of the new Israel who, unlike those living under the old covenant, had accepted Jesus as the Messiah. The Jews on the other hand had given up, for a period of time, their rights to be called the chosen people. His salutation was brief indicating that it was a circular letter to be read by many churches unlike the more personal greetings found in the letter of Paul.
- What did we learn from the opening sentences of James’s letter?
- Who was the James who is the author?
- Why did he not explain his relationship with Jesus? (It was not his purpose to claim something that probably would not mean much to the readers of the letter.)
- What gave him the right to send this letter? (He was considered an apostle and the primary leader of the church in Jerusalem.)
James 1:2-4
Knowing the challenges that the churches were facing he wanted them to have a sense of peace and feel blessed when they were dealing with the trials that were affecting their everyday lives. It would be easier if what was happening was the same thing over and over again. James wrote that they could expect the testing to be diverse and various. In other words they did not know what each new day would bring.
He wanted them to know as they were victorious in each situation, they would have the ability to handle and endure the next one. The steadfastness and living in a constant way in the faith would do three things in the person’s life. God was in the process of developing a man’s character. To do so God would:
- Bring him to the point of maturity or completion. They were to move beyond just knowing the ABC’s of the faith and are ready to teach and lead others.
- Make him complete. It was the process of removing the blemishes from a man’s life and taking away his weaknesses to make him fit to serve God and his fellowman.
- Make sure he was lacking in nothing. There would come a time when he was not deficient in any area of his life and would come closer and closer to being like his Savior and Lord.
- In what ways do you feel that you have been tested or faced trials in your life?
- How do you find peace and a blessing in the midst of testing?
- What is God trying to do by allowing testing in your life?
- In what ways have you blamed God for the trials that have come to you?
- Who is really to blame?
- What is Satan trying to do by bringing trials and testing upon you?
- How can you defeat the devil?
James 1:5-8
According to James there is no reason that a man should lack wisdom. Wisdom is the ability to take what one has learned and put it to practical use. To get that practical knowledge all a man has to do is ask God and it will be given to him. God will not give a person just a little bit of wisdom, but will give generously and graciously all that a person needs. It is a powerful thing to understand that God will not criticize or rebuke for asking. There are those who will never be wise because they do not believe God will provide wisdom for them. The man who does not believe is like the water driven in all types of directions by the wind never coming to the shore the same way twice. A man who doubts and is inconsistent in his belief cannot expect to receive anything from God.
- What is wisdom?
- To whom is it available?
- How does God act toward the man who seeks wisdom?
- Who is the man who will not receive wisdom?
- What is his nature?
- What will be the results of his life?
James 1:9-11
As in all churches there is a diversity of people. James specifically spoke to two classes of people found in the early church. There would be the poor and throughout the Roman Empire those individuals were also possibly slaves. At the other end of the spectrum there would be those who were wealthy and in many cases slave owners of those in attendance at the church. James indicated they the poor should rejoice in the fact that Jesus had made them people of value and worth. In some cases they may have risen to positions of leadership in the church. On the other hand the rich was to rejoice because he had learned that it was not his wealth that brought him into a relationship with Christ. He had to repent and be forgiven in the same way as the poor. One lesson that the rich and poor alike learned was that the things of this world are not permanent and could be lost in the same way that the sun can burn up vegetation.
- What was to be the attitude of the poor in the church? (Rejoice that God had given them worth when the world treated them as nothing.)
- What was to be the attitude of the rich?
- What has Christ done for everyman? (Made us equal at the foot of the cross.)
- What are the lessons we can learn from these verses about physical possessions?
- What is permanent that we should want in our lives?
James 1:12
Once again James returned to the thought of how a man was to handle adversity. He wanted a man to find joy and peace as he bore up under the trial courageously that might be taking place. It was not the idea of letting the testing weigh a person down but to be overjoyed that God will see one through the trial. The overcomer will receive the crown of life that signifies a life of abundant living for Christ. God has promised this crown to all who love Him.
- How can you find happiness in testing?
- What kind of attitude does God want us to have?
- What is the outcome of enduring with joy?
- What does endurance truly mean? (Living through a trial with courage.)
- Who are the only ones who can receive the crown of life?
James 1:13-15
James quickly moved from the topic of trials and testing to what should be understood about temptation. He concludes that it was within man where the problem existed. Jesus spoke of the issue in Matthew 15:19-20. It was from the heart, the seat of man’s will, that every evil thought came resulting in the commission of sinful acts. John also spoke of the fact that sin comes from man as he wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but from the world.” (1 John 2:16)
James spoke of the process of temptation to sin and death. It is
- All are tempted but temptation is not a sin in itself. One can quickly turn away from those situations.
- Man is carried away by the temptation. He or she continues to dwell on or fantasize about it. Temptation becomes sin at this point.
- Being enticed to commit the act of sinning
- Once the sin is committed spiritual death is the result.
For an example of this process read the account of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel.
- What is the biggest difference between testing and temptation? (Testing does not begin in the heart but generally from outside the person.)
- How does Jesus in Matthew 15:19-20 deal with this issue?
- What is the process of temptation leading to death?
- How can you avoid getting yourselves into situations that lead to sin?
- Why is the result of sin spiritual death? (Sin is rebellion against God and must be punished.)
- What is the remedy for sin?
- What would happen if God could be tempted? (He would no longer be perfect and could no longer be the righteous judge for what we do.)
James 1:17-18
In contrast to what happens in the heart of man everything he receives from God is good. Man can rely on that statement because God never changes. He is not like the creation he made that varies every day. The Bible says, God, as seen in His Son, is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 15:8). Out of His will He had declared truth to mankind. His word stated that He would make man new through this rebirth in Jesus Christ. Those who were of James’s generation were the first born of many to follow.
- What are some of the good things that you believe you have received from God?
- How do you know they are good? (James emphasizes the truthfulness of God’s promises.)
- What guarantee do we have that God never changes? (His word for one thing.)
- How different is He than His creation? (The universe is changing everyday according the studies made byu reputable scientists.)
- What is the greatest gift that God has given to man?
- What indication is there that it is true in your own life?
- Knowing that you belong to God learn to face trials and testing with peace and courage.
- Grow in the knowledge that it is God’s desire for you to mature and become complete in your faith.
- If you do not believe you are a wise person ask God who is more than happy to give you wisdom.
- Be careful that you do not let the temptations you face lead you into sin.
- Understand that the love of God is manifested to us through the gift of grace found in His Son.
Every time we are exposed to any kind of media today, we realize the great challenges that face the church today. It is so easy to compromise our beliefs and fall into lock step with the world. God calls us to be different. Rather than giving up we are to see the trials and testing that are coming to us belong we belong to Him as causing joy in our lives. We know that those who endure will find an eternal home with Him. The Bible tells us that God’s word is true and He will fulfill every promise made to us. His Word tells us that He truly has a future for those who have received the new birth.