January 1-15
Daily Devotionals
by Pastor Larry Wilson
Are You For Real?: Meditations in the Epistle of James
January 1
Scripture for Day 1: James 1:1–5:20
Dear friends,
What follows is 120 days of meditations for secret or family worship through the book of
James.
James 1
1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.2Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
9Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.
12Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 13Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
22But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
26If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. 27Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.
James 2
1My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, "You sit here in a good place," while you say to the poor man, "You stand over there," or, "Sit down at my feet," 4have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called?
8If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing well. 9But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11For he who said, "Do not commit adultery," also said, "Do not murder." If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. 14What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18But someone will say, "You have faith and I have works." Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness"—and he was called a friend of God. 24You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James 3
1Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. 2For we all stumble in many ways. And if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle his whole body. 3If we put bits into the mouths of horses so that they obey us, we guide their whole bodies as well. 4Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things.
How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. 7For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, 8but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. 10From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? 12Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water. 13Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom. 14But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. 15This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. 17But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. 18And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
James 4
1What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us"? 6But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." 7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? 13Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"— 14yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
James 5
1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. 7Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. 8You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.
12But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. 13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, 20let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
I recommend that you begin each with prayer that the Holy Spirit will illuminate your heart to hear and heed the voice of your Lord speaking in his Word. Then read the Scripture and the devotional. The Scripture included in these readings is from the English Standard Version. But if you prefer, by all means use another translation, or compare. If you have time, meditate on the Scripture or discuss it together. Then respond with prayer. You may find it helpful to let the old tried and true ACTS acrostic guide the elements of your prayer:
Adore God himself in praise,
Confess your sin to God,
Thank God for his good gifts, and
Supplicate God for things that you and others need.
If you have time, it is also helpful to sing psalms and hymns to God as part of your secret or family worship.
Blessings, in the Lamb of God,
Pastor Larry Wilson
P.S. We’re about to embark on several months of meditating on the book of James. May I suggest that you read the entire book in one sitting right now to set the context? You may find it helpful to look it up online—here—and follow along as you listen to Max McLean read the book.
Devotional:
This epistle declares itself to be written by James. Three people answered to that name in the New Testament. However, the church has historically understood this epistle to be written by James, the son of Joseph and Mary, the younger half brother of our Lord Jesus, and there’s no good reason to doubt that he is the author.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, James did not believe (Jn 7:5; Mk 3:20–22; Mt 12:46–50). But he was converted when Jesus appeared to him after his resurrection (1 Cor 15:7). In the book of Acts, he appears as leader of the church in Jerusalem (see Acts 12:17; 15:31–21; 21:18 and Gal 2:9). He was martyred around 61 A.D.
In a sense, the epistle of James is more like a sermon than a letter. Let’s try to get a bird’s eye view of it before we begin our devotional meditations. There may be better ways to outline James, but I find this helpful:
Introduction
A. Greeting (1.1)
B. God sends trials (1:2-27)
1. He sends trials to sanctify genuine Christians and to separate them from counterfeit Christians (1:2-16)
2. One becomes a genuine Christian by being supernaturally converted from above (1:17-18)
3. Genuine Christians persevere and are purified through trials. (1:19-25)
4. What does a genuine Christian look like? (1:26-27)
Controls his tongue
Cares for the needy
Cleanses himself from worldliness
I. A genuine Christian cares for the needy. (2:1–26)
II. A genuine Christian controls his tongue. (3:1–18)
III. A genuine Christian cleanses himself from worldliness (4:1–5:6)
Conclusion (5:7–20)
January 2
Scripture for Day 2: James 1:1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Devotional:
It’s not unusual for us to begin conversations with words that can be taken lightly, but that is never true of God’s inspired Word. So we do well to notice that the human author of this Bible-book is James, the younger brother of Jesus. But how does he identify himself? As "a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ."
Isn’t it striking how James both puts his brother Jesus on a par with God and also identifies him as both Lord and Christ? It’s not unusual for younger brothers to look up to their big brothers, but how many actually worship and serve them as divine? This is all the more striking when you remember John 7:5, "for not even his brothers believed in him." James had been just as dead in sin, just as averse to the Light, and just as enslaved to iniquity as every other person born by ordinary generation. But somewhere along the line, God, who is rich in mercy, laid hold of James. In sovereign grace, Jesus sought and saved him. The Holy Spirit gave him a new heart.
At one point, Martin Luther feared that this letter denied the gospel and should be regarded as "an epistle of straw." But his fears were misplaced, for this very James welcomed Paul to Jerusalem (Gal. 1:18–19) and insisted to the first general assembly of the church that Paul was right on target in his understanding of the gospel (Acts 15:13–21).
From the upshot James insists in this letter that he is literally the willing slave of Jesus, his Lord and Christ (Prophet, Priest, and King). That’s how this letter should be read, and that’s how every genuine believer should feel.
Is that your commitment? Do you humbly worship Christ as God the Son—the second Person of the Trinity? Are you willingly subjecting yourself to him as your Lord and Savior? Are you humbly receiving every Word of your heavenly Prophet? Are you entrusting yourself wholly to the saving work of your heavenly Priest? Are you seeking ever to do the will of your heavenly King? The amazing grace of God in Christ triumphed in James. It can triumph in you. It can also triumph in your unsaved loved ones. Ask him right now.
January 3
Scripture for Day 3: James 1:1
1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion: Greetings.
Devotional:
Little children dread going to the doctor to get shots. But adults sometimes volunteer to be pierced by needles, for example, to donate blood. Why? Because they better understand the proportion of the pain, that it’s brief; and they better understand the purpose of the pain, that it’s beneficial.
James writes "to the twelve tribes in the Dispersion." On first blush, this
seems to mean physical descendants of Abraham, Jews who aren’t living in the
Promised Land but are scattered among the nations. But James writes as “a
servant…of the Lord Jesus Christ.” As you read the whole letter, it’s clear that
it’s addressed to Christians. This is worth considering. First, it
identifies who we are in Christ—"the twelve tribes." In the final
analysis, Jesus alone inherits the promises to Abraham; Jesus alone is the true
Israel; all God’s promises are "Yes" and "Amen" in Christ alone. Whoever is
united to Christ therefore inherits God’s promises in Christ, and is a
co-heir with Jesus. “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring,
heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29). Even though he unfolds it in stages,
God has one plan of salvation for one people. Accordingly, James addresses New
Testament Christians in Old Testament terms, much as Peter does in 1 Peter 2:9-10.
9But
you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light. 10Once you were not a people, but
now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have
received mercy.
Second, he identifies where we are in Christ—“in the Dispersion.” We do have "a home in glory-land"—all that the Promised Land symbolized—but we’re not there yet. No sooner did Peter address Christians in Old Testament terms, than he identified them as "sojourners and exiles" (1 Pet. 2:11). James does the same thing. We are “in the Dispersion;” we are pilgrims and strangers, looking for a city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
This sets the tone for the entire letter of James. The letter tells us how to respond in a godly way to trials. The Holy Spirit speaking through James wants us to be aware of the proportion of our trials, that they are brief; and of their purpose, that they are for our benefit. And so he reminds us who we are in Christ—God’s chosen people and heirs. And he reminds us where we are in Christ—marching to Zion on a pilgrimage to glory.
January 4
Scripture for Day 4: James 1:2–4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Devotional:
If verse 1 sets its tone, then verses 2–4 state the theme of the epistle of James. Verse 2 begins, "count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds…" That seems like a slap in the face. To "count" means to consider or to regard trials a certain way. What way? With "all joy…"! What? Is this God’s way of saying, "Don’t worry; be happy"? What’s more, this is a command. Thus, to fall short is sin. How our impatience and irritability expose our iniquity and need of God’s forgiveness and cleansing!
But this command doesn’t hang in thin air. See how verse 2 identifies to whom it’s addressed, "my brothers." That is, God means this for those whom he has justified and adopted through faith in Christ’s atoning work. Notice that God does not say "if" you meet trials, he says "when" you meet trials. Some say that faith in Christ will make you "healthy and wealthy" (for some mysterious reason, they tend to omit "and wise"). But God says that believers will "meet trials" and that they should make a conscious choice to evaluate their trials with the eyes of faith. Therefore, they should rejoice.
Verses 3–4 tell us why we should rejoice—"3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." God is resolved to make his children "perfect and complete," entirely conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). This work will be finished only at the resurrection; we will be sinlessly perfect—both body and soul—in glory. But God’s work of sanctification doesn’t start at the resurrection. It is rather the "full effect" of "steadfastness," of patient endurance or perseverance. And so God works steadfastness in his redeemed children in the here and now in order ultimately to perfect them.
As R. C. Sproul likes to say, "Right now counts forever." But what instrument does God use toward this end? Look again at these verses. God uses "trials of various kinds" so as to "test the faith" of his redeemed children so as to produce "steadfastness" so as to make them "perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." You should rejoice when you face trials because you know that the Father who so loved sinners that he sacrificed his only begotten Son is wisely and lovingly doing what is best for his redeemed children.
January 5
Scripture for Day 5: James 1:2–4
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
Devotional:
God says that when you face trials, you should rejoice! Why? Because you know that the Father who so loved sinners that he did not withhold his only begotten Son from the accursed cross is wisely and lovingly doing what’s best for his redeemed children. That suggests two questions.
First, are you God’s redeemed child? Are you right with God through faith in Christ the Redeemer? If not, then the trials you face won’t work for your blessing. Quite the opposite! You see, these trials are for "the testing of your faith." They’re like a refiner’s fire. Gold ore gets thrown into the refiner’s fire. Everything that is not gold gets burned off. Eventually only pure gold is left. God uses trials exactly like that—to test and refine his own work of grace, "your faith." But if you have no saving faith, then this refining process will show that. It will burn up everything until it destroys you under God’s everlasting curse. If that is your case, then you don’t have a prayer … except the prayer of repentance. Now is the day of salvation. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved…" (Acts 16:31).
Second, if you are trusting in Christ, are you also responding to your trials by faith? Are you reacting to your trials in the light of eternity? Notice that verse 4 contains a command—"let steadfastness have its full effect." That’s a call to walk—step by step, moment after moment, day after day—by faith. When you walk by faith and not by sight, then you see this life as passing—both with its trials and with its enticements. You know God is causing all things to work together to further his sanctifying purpose, you receive his supernatural strengthening, and you devote yourself to cooperate with God’s purpose. You "let steadfastness have its full effect." The goal of the Christian life is not just to survive its trials. It’s to be conformed to the image of Christ. That involves turning from sins in repentance and walking in Christ-like devotion to God.
Pray that God will grant you such God-consciousness and such God-centeredness that "when you meet trials of various kinds," you will "count it all joy" and you will "let steadfastness have its full effect."
January 6
Scripture for Day 6—James 1:4–5
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
Devotional:
Verse 4 says, "let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete…" In other words, unless we do respond the right way, we won’t receive the spiritual profit for which God intends our trials. That sounds good in theory. But when trials actually do harry and oppress us, it seems like a pretty tall order to rejoice in them and to resolve to press on in steadfastness. It’s counter-intuitive; it seems unnatural. And, in fact, it is unnatural; it’s supernatural. We need ability beyond that which we have in ourselves. And so, without changing the subject from responding to trials, James immediately summons us to pray, "let him ask God…". Jesus said, "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. … apart from me you can do nothing" (John 15:4–5). You can’t rightly handle trials on your own. So pray!
What we need above all so that we respond rightly to trials and thus receive the spiritual profit that God can give through them, is wisdom. Look again at verse 5, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God…". For years, my family and I have started most days with a brief reading from the book of Proverbs, so that we’ve cycled through the book many times. Proverbs contrasts two ways of life—the way of wisdom and the way of folly. By nature, we are each fools, but by God’s grace in Christ we can be made wise. But we need to act on the fact that wisdom comes from the all-wise God. Pray, and in particular, ask God to make you wise by his Spirit and through his Word.
And what great encouragement God gives for us to ask! "…ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." Christianity is not merely an ideology to which we assent, or a code of ethics by which we live; it’s a living relationship with the living God! And the living God is the giving God. God "gives generously"! We may fear that we’re the wrong type or class or pedigree of believer. But the living God "gives generously to all"! We may fear, when we come to him with the same request for the umpteenth time, that he’ll reject us for our persistent weakness and failure. But the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Father by grace through faith in Christ, "gives generously to all without reproach." Knowing all that there is to know about us, he has sent his Son to be our Savior. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Rom 8:32).
"O what peace we often
forfeit,
O what needless pain we
bear,
All because we do not
carry
Everything to God in prayer."
(Joseph Scriven)
January 7
Scripture for Day 7—James 1:4–8
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
Devotional:
In order to respond rightly so as to receive the spiritual profit that God can give through trials, what we need above all is wisdom. And so God calls us to seek wisdom from him by praying for it. In other words, the way we walk by faith is by exercising faith, and the way we exercise faith is by praying.
But in verses 6–8, God gravely warns, "But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
God isn’t fooled if you merely go through external religious motions. You might fool everyone else, but God won’t answer "doubting" prayers — "the one who doubts … must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord…" Don’t misunderstand what "doubting" means here. It does not mean that you occasionally wonder if God is real or if his Word is true or if his promises are sure or if he is wise enough to effect them in your life or if you are a genuine believer, etc. Satan doggedly whispers accusations like those in the ears of genuine believers. "One who doubts," however, is someone who honors God with his lips while in reality his heart is far away (Matt. 15:8). It’s someone who professes faith in Christ while in actuality he is an unbeliever. Such a person "is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind … he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." He is "unstable" because he is "double-minded," (literally "two-souled," or, as it could be put, he is "two-faced with God").
This is what "doubt" means here, being two-faced with God. It’s the opposite of authentic faith. The doubter is the double-minded person who’s trying to live for two worlds at once—both this present evil age which is passing away and the age to come which God has already launched in the Kingdom of Christ. The double-minded person wants to live for the world but still reap the benefits of the Kingdom of God. God sees right through such hypocrisy and he refuses to bless it. If you are pursuing such rival ambitions, then you will be frustrated in dealing with trials. They will overwhelm you "like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind." You literally don’t have a prayer ("that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord," v. 7)—except the prayer of repentance!
But if you do "ask in faith, with no doubting" (v. 6)—if you are a sinner who is clinging to the blood and righteousness of Christ and is seeking to follow and serve Christ—then "God, who gives generously to all without reproach" will answer your prayer (v. 5). Repent of worldliness. Seek God in sincerity. Ask him to enable you to love him with all your heart and soul and mind and strength. Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and he will provide everything you need.
January 8
Scripture for Day 8—James 1:9–12
9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Devotional:
Christians love the book of James for its practical exhortations about living the Christian life. But don't make the mistake of thinking that James is just a list of do's and don'ts, let alone a disconnected list. The Holy Spirit speaking through James is telling believers how to respond to trials. Notice that verses 2–3 state this theme—"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness"—and verse 12 is still carrying on this theme—"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." Note the connections between trials, testing, and steadfastness.
Therefore the Holy Spirit is not changing the subject when he says, "Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation." He is still talking about the "trials of various kinds" (v. 2). It's easy for us to regard poverty as a trial. Who doesn't? But this Scripture says something really stunning—that prosperity is just as much a trial as is poverty! Being "rich" is just as much a "test of faith" as is being "lowly." In fact, everything in this life is a trial; everything in this life is a "testing of your faith." Now we begin to see why we so need wisdom from God in order that we can walk by faith and not by sight. Wisdom is not the same as knowledge; one can be very knowledgeable and at the same time very foolish. But wisdom is the ability to respond to the ups and downs of life in a godly way. As a case in point, it's the ability to respond to either the test of poverty or the test of prosperity in a godly way. What does a godly response look like?
"Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation." Compare that to James 2:5, "Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?" The lowly believer ought to be conscious that, even though he is a pilgrim and stranger in this life, he looks for the city with foundations so that he boasts in his exalted privileges in Christ. In contrast, the rich believer is to boast "in his humiliation." That is, he too is to look for the city with foundations, but in the meantime he is to be conscious that, even though he has temporal blessings, he is also a pilgrim and a stranger in this world, this world that is passing away—"…like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits." Whether you are a rich Christian or a poor Christian, keep first things first, and make everything else in life revolve around seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:20–21).
January 9
Scripture for Day 9—James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Devotional:
God now takes his exhortation in verses 3–4—“…the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing”—and reinforces it by a great promise in verse 12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.”
Jesus Christ walked this lonesome valley ahead of you. He successfully remained steadfast under all his trials. And so God exalted him to the highest place and gave him a name above every name. And by his atoning blood and perfect righteousness, Jesus won and secured eternal life for all whom the Father had given him. Thus, if you belong to Christ, then your full salvation is secure. You will “be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing…” But the Holy Spirit applies that salvation in the course of your life. Those whom God justifies, he also sanctifies. He “Christianizes the Christian.” Accordingly, the pattern of your full salvation follows the pattern of Christ’s life— now you must endure the cross, but God is waiting for you with a crown.
“God has promised … the crown of life … to those who love him.” Do you love him? We love him because he first loved us. One believer is suffering deeply. Does God care? Indeed he does, and he’s waiting for his redeemed child with a crown. Another believer is enjoying smooth sailing. This too is a test a faith. It’s a different kind of trial, but it’s still a trial. He’s tempted to forget God, but he loves him, so he presses on in faith. Does God care? Indeed he does, and he is waiting for his redeemed child with a crown. In love, he superintends the way of each of his own. He will never overlook or forget you or what you must endure.
God is bringing trials into your life, whatever they may be, whether poverty or wealth, pain or pleasure. Either way, they are tests of faith. How are you responding? Do you persist in trusting God? Do you keep in mind that you are a pilgrim on your way to your true home, the heavenly Promised Land, and to the true blessing, the crown of life? Or are you instead wallowing in self-pity or in self-seeking or in self-indulgence? Those are sins, responses of unbelief. Repent of unbelief and sin. Remember that God tests believers so as to make them steadfast so as to give them the crown of life. Bear in mind that your temporal trials have an eternal purpose—to bring you ultimate blessing. And thus encouraged, rejoice that God is using your experiences and circumstances in this life toward that end and resolve to abide in Christ and to bloom where he has planted you.
January 10
Scripture for Day 10—James 1:12
12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Devotional:
Verse 12 clearly affirms God's goal in testing the faith of his redeemed children by bringing them through various kinds of trials. It is to crown them with his supreme blessing! Through this promise, God summons you to approach life in a way to which he has called each of his children from the beginning of Genesis—to live life in hope, to approach life consciously in light of eternity, to walk with God and for God day-by-day with regard to anticipated blessing, knowing that God will reward you with good according to his glorious promises.
We in the affluent West need especially to heed this summons and embrace this promise. We are disposed to see prosperity as a blessing … as the blessing most to be desired! Bear in mind how James 1:9–10, however, brands prosperity as just as much a trial as is poverty. According to God, being rich is just as much a test of faith as being poor. Certainly, liberty and prosperity in this life are blessings. But they are temporal, passing blessings and as such they are above all tests of faith. Will your faith stand the test?
Ironically, the easier life which the temporal blessing of prosperity makes possible can actually make it an even more difficult test of faith. Indeed, Charles Spurgeon said that there is no test like prosperity! In the midst of the good things you enjoy, will you still exalt God as supreme, seeking first his kingdom and his righteousness? Or will you live life like a pagan who thinks that "you only go ‘round once" so you should "grab all the gusto you can get"? Will you devote yourself to accumulating the things of this passing world, pursuing the philosophy that "he who dies with the most toys wins"? Or will you devote all that you are and all that you have to advancing the kingdom purposes of God and thus lay up your treasures in heaven?
God encourages us to stop exaggerating our temporal blessings out of proportion and thus letting them distract us from our real chief end—to at the same time both glorify and enjoy God forever. He does so by holding before our eyes the far superior, everlasting blessing—"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." But to apprehend the glory of that promise, we need the wisdom that comes from above. The wisdom that comes from above opens your eyes both to the splendor of heaven and to the hollowness of earth.
"Savior, if of Zion's city
I, through grace, a member am,
let the world deride or pity,
I will glory in thy Name!
Fading is the worldling's pleasure,
all his boasted pomp and show.
Solid joys and lasting treasure
none but Zion's children know." (John Newton)
January 11
Scripture for Day 11—James 1:13–16
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Devotional:
If nothing else, our trials force us to face the fact that the Christian walk is much more than ideology, where we merely assent to the right stuff and dot our doctrinal "i"s just so and cross our doctrinal "t"s just so. It is also much more than ethics, where we merely do the right thing and behave just so. "Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). And so the Lord summons us to examine our hearts before him.
He has already said that "the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." (1:6–8). It's possible to be two-faced with God, and God isn't deceived even when such insincere motives are well-masked by good doctrine and upright behavior. He has also previously said, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him" (1:12). Do you love God? When you do, you don't want to be two-faced with him. Instead, your attitude will be,
"Dear Lord and Master mine,
still keep thy servant true;
my Guardian and my Guide divine,
bring, bring thy pilgrim through" (Thomas H. Gill).
Granting that, still, wouldn't it be a whole lot easier to remain steadfast under trial if we weren't continually tripped up by internal temptations? The fact is, trials do make it harder for us to trust God, to love God, and to obey God. When God tests us, we sometimes do stumble into sin. Isn't that God's fault? No! No! A thousand times no! "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one" (v. 13).
God does test us, but he never tempts us. The devil tempts us; others tempt us; and we tempt ourselves; but God never tempts us, not even in the most severe trials. How do we know? Because first, "God cannot be tempted with evil…" God is holy. He is so holy that he cannot want evil. It goes completely against who and what he is. As a result, second, "he himself tempts no one." Consequently, that voice you hear saying—"You can't take any more. Just throw in the towel. Just give in and please yourself for a change. You need it."—is not God's voice; it's yours! "But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire" (v. 14).
We need more, therefore, than simply instruction and exhortation. We need salvation. We need a Prophet to guide us; a Priest to forgive us, and a King to strengthen and renew us. We need Jesus every moment of every day! Look to Jesus! Abide in him!
January 12
Scripture for Day 12—James 1:13–16
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Devotional:
Whether they consist in pain or pleasure, wealth or poverty (vv. 9–10), our "trials of various kinds" (v. 2) make us vulnerable to temptation. In this way, God tests us, just as he tested the father of the faithful, Abraham (Gen. 22). But never with evil intent! "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God.'" Why? Because God is supremely holy and therefore "God cannot be tempted with evil." He cannot want evil. Therefore "he himself tempts no one." And yet, is it not the case that we're especially tempted to doubt God in times of trial? We fret and worry, "Is God really in control of my situation? Is he really paying attention to me? Does he really care about me? Is he really wise enough to pursue the best course for me? Is he actually trying to manipulate me into sin?"
All of these doubts are sin, of which we need to repent, and which we need to confess. But perhaps the worst of them all is our deep-seated inclination to try to shift the blame to God. Sometimes we do so directly, but most often we do so indirectly. My sin must be the fault of my surroundings—whether it's the family I had to grow up in, or the one I have to live in now, or the community I have to live in, or the society I have to live in, etc. Or maybe it's the fault of other people—whether it's my parents, or my spouse, or my siblings, or the kids I'm stuck with, or the other people in the church that I'm stuck with, or the neighbors that I'm stuck with. Maybe I inherited propensities—whether to overeating, or to illicit sex, or to substance abuse, etc. But in all these things, there's a subtle shifting of the onus from ourselves ultimately to the one who we know "works all things after the counsel of his will" (Eph. 1:11). When God caught him in the first sin, the first Adam said, "The woman whom
Put to death every sinful penchant to shift the blame to God. Keep reminding yourself what the true and living God is really like, that he is "infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth" (Shorter Catechism #4).
January 13
Scripture for Day 13—James 1:13–16
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
Devotional:
But when God sovereignly orchestrates trials and we do fall into sin, then if that isn't God's fault, whose fault is it? Look at v. 14—"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." God does test us. But temptation starts in our own hearts. It starts with "desire." How can this be? God himself has desires. And God created us with desires. Accordingly, without a shred of sin, our Savior said, "I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer" (Luke 22:15). In and of themselves, desires aren't evil.
Unhappily, owing to the rebellion of the human race, we come into this world totally depraved; every aspect of our being is polluted by sin. That includes our desires. "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually … the intention of man's heart is evil from his youth" (Gen. 6:5; 8:21). Do you believe that about yourself? It's a fact that we need to take seriously. "Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." Our sinfulness is such that even good desires for good things can be a first step in a downfall. If that's so, then how much more dangerous must be wrong desires for good things, let alone wrong desires for wrong things. "Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life." (Prov. 4:23).
"Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire." Picture the bait on a fishing hook. First, you're "lured" by your "own desire." Then you're "enticed" (in other words, you get "hooked" like a fish). And what comes of it? Temptation promises great rewards, perhaps even relief from your trials. But if you take it up on its offer, what does it deliver? Verse 15, "Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." Therefore, "Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers" (v. 16). It's been said:
"Sow a thought, reap an act.
Sow an act, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny."
Only the grace of God in Christ can break that deadly chain-reaction. And that's precisely what's implied in the words, "my beloved brothers," at the end of v.16. James is addressing fellow-Christians, redeemed children of God who love because God first loved them. Because God loved us, even while we were enemies, he sent his Son to die in our stead in order to redeem us. All who are in Christ are children of God, brothers and sisters in God's family. Jesus cleanses us from both the guilt and the power of sin. And so, even when we stumble and fall in the face of temptation, we can run straight to our heavenly Father and confess our sins openly in light of his sovereign mercy in Christ. And we can seek the help of the Holy Spirit to empower us to overcome temptation and grow in Christlikeness.
January 14
Scripture for Day 14—James 1:16–18
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation.
Devotional:
Verse 16—"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers"—seems to apply both to what came before in vv. 13–15 and to what follows in these verses. God is so thoroughly holy that he cannot even be tempted himself, let alone tempt others. But at the same time God is so thoroughly benevolent that he won't even think of doing his redeemed children harm. Just the opposite. William Cowper wrote: "Behind a frowning providence he hides a smiling face." As his redeemed children go through the trials of this life, God's providences may seem to frown on them, but that doesn't mean that God himself is. He is always "the Father of lights" and with him "there is no variation or shadow due to change." None whatsoever. We can be two-faced towards God, but he will never be two-faced towards us. He is "the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." Accordingly, not only does he never do his children harm, but also he always does them only good. As Matthew Henry says,
"We should take particular care not to err in our conceptions of God … God is not, cannot be, the author of anything that is evil; but must be acknowledged as the cause and spring of everything that is good."
Owing to the fact that the living and true God is infinitely, eternally, and unchangeably who he is, we can be sure that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above" (v. 17). I am continually convicted by my own lamentably enormous ingratitude. God is so lavish in his generosity that it's all too easy to take his gifts for granted, as if that's just the way things should be. Do you count your blessings day-by-day? Do you consciously give thanks for them to God?
Verse 17 actually uses two different words translated "gift" when it says, "every good gift and every perfect gift…" What this means is that all God's giving to us is good and all God's gifts to us are perfect. All this is highly significant because the Holy Spirit speaking through James is still discussing the believer facing trials. He has never changed the subject. Even the tests God gives us will prove in the end to be good and perfect! But it is precisely in these trials, whether of pain or of pleasure, that we are most tempted either to question or to lose sight of God's character. Do not be deceived. Ever seek and ever cling to a clear, biblical conception of God and his character. It will help to anchor you and stabilize your walk.
High among the evidences of God's good and perfect gifts to his people is the grace of regeneration, the new birth—v. 18—"Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."
"How good is the God we adore,
our faithful unchangeable Friend!
His love is as great as his pow'r,
and knows neither measure nor end!
"'Tis Jesus the First and the Last,
whose Spirit shall guide us safe home,
we'll praise him for all that is past,
and trust him for all that's to come." (Joseph Hart)
January 15
Scripture for Day 15—James 1:18
18 Of his own will he brought us forth…
Devotional:
Towering among the evidences of God's goodness to his people is the grace of regeneration, the new birth. "Unless one is born again," Jesus declared to Nicodemus, "he cannot see the Kingdom of God" (John 3:3).
The cause of this new birth is God's sovereign grace ("Of his own will he brought us forth…"). There is nothing or no one above or behind God that compels him to grant this gift; there is nothing outside of God that makes him regenerate sinners; he does so "of his own will."
When Jesus says, "you must be born again" (John 3:7), therefore, he is by no means saying, "You must bear yourself again." Being born again is not your decision; it's God's. "Of his own will he brought us forth…" We come into this world dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). We are utterly helpless to even want salvation, let alone to save ourselves. We are entirely dependent on God's sheer grace if we are to be saved at all.
And yet, it seems to be part of fallen human nature that we flatter ourselves and feel as if God owes us salvation. But God doesn't owe sinners anything except what is due us—"the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23). God has to want to save you, or else you won't be saved. It's a matter of mercifully granting you something when in fact you deserve the exact opposite.
Do you sense how utterly dependent you are on God's supernatural intervention to rescue you? Are you daily grateful to God that he has been so gracious and merciful that he reached down into the muck to pluck you out? Do you ever wonder where you might be if God had not mercifully regenerated you?
Do you sense how utterly dependent we are on God's supernatural intervention to rescue any sinners? Do you daily pray that he will sovereignly use the church's outreach in order effectually to call sinners out of darkness into light?
How sweet and awful is the place
with Christ within the doors,
while everlasting love displays
the choicest of her stores.
While all our hearts and all our songs
join to admire the feast,
each of us cry, with thankful tongues,
"Lord, why was I a guest?
"Why was I made to hear thy voice,
and enter while there's room,
when thousands make a wretched choice,
and rather starve than come?"
‘Twas the same love that spread the feast
that sweetly drew us in;
else we had still refused to taste,
and perished in our sin.
Pity the nations, O our God,
constrain the earth to come;
send thy victorious Word abroad,
and bring the strangers home.
We long to see thy churches full,
that all the chosen race
may, with one voice and heart and soul,
sing thy redeeming grace. (Isaac Watts)
