James 1:2 - Meaning and Application

We now come to the main subject of this letter. In this passage, we should notice several things. First, the suffering condition of Christians in this world is described in a very helpful way, if we pay attention to what is clearly said and what is clearly implied.

It is implied that troubles and hardships may be the lot of even the best Christians, including those with the most reason to think well of themselves. Those who have the greatest reason for joy may still go through very painful afflictions. Since godly people are often scattered and pressed, they should not be surprised when troubles come.

These outward troubles are also temptations to them. The devil uses suffering and setbacks to pull people into sin, to keep them from duty, or to make them unfit for it. But since our afflictions are in God’s hand, they are meant to test and strengthen our graces, that is, the good work of God in us. Gold is put into the furnace so it can be purified.

These temptations may be many and varied, as the apostle says, “divers temptations.” Our trials may come in many different forms, so we need to put on the whole armor of God. We must be armed on every side, because temptations surround us on every side. The trials of a good person are not ones he brings on himself by sin. They are things he is said to “fall into,” and for that reason they are easier to bear.

The graces and duties needed in a time of trial and suffering are also made clear here. If we could pay attention to these things and grow in them as we should, it would be a great blessing to be afflicted.

One grace to practice is joy: “Count it all joy” (James 1:2). We must not fall into a sad and hopeless state of mind, which would make us weak under trials. Instead, we should try to keep our spirits open and ready, so we can understand our situation rightly and make the best of it. Philosophy may teach people to stay calm under trouble, but Christianity teaches joy, because these troubles come from God’s love, not his anger. In them we are made like Christ our head, and they show that we belong to God’s family. By suffering in the path of righteousness, we serve the interests of our Lord’s kingdom and help build up the body of Christ. Our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown later.

So there is good reason to count it all joy when trials and hardships come to us in the way of duty. This is not only a New Testament thought. Even in Job’s time it was said, “Happy is the man whom God corrects.” There is even more reason for joy in afflictions when we think about the other graces they strengthen.

Faith is also included here, both in what one phrase assumes and what another clearly requires: “Knowing this, that the testing of your faith” (James 1:3), and later, “Let him ask in faith” (James 1:6). In times of trial, we must firmly believe the great truths of Christianity and hold fast to them. The faith spoken of here, the faith tested by afflictions, means trusting God’s power, God’s word, and God’s promise, while staying faithful and steady to the Lord Jesus.

Patience must also be present: “The testing of your faith works patience.” When one grace is tested, another is produced. The more a Christian’s suffering graces are exercised, the stronger they become. “Tribulation works patience” (Romans 5:3). To practice Christian patience rightly, we must let it work. It is not a passive or numb thing. Stoic coldness and Christian patience are very different. Stoicism makes people less aware of pain, but Christian patience helps them rise above it.

In times of trial, we must make sure that patience, not anger, is at work in us. Whatever is said or done, let patience have the lead in what we say and do. We must not let our passions shut down the good effects of patience. Give patience room to work, and it will do amazing things in trouble. We must also let it have its full work. Do nothing to limit it or weaken it. Even if one trouble follows another and a whole chain of them comes against us, patience must keep going until its work is complete.

When we bear all that God appoints, for as long as he appoints it, with a humble and obedient eye to him, and when we do more than endure and can even rejoice in our trials, then patience has its perfect work. When that work is complete, the Christian is mature and complete, lacking nothing. Patience equips us with what we need for the Christian race and battle, and it helps us continue to the end. Then its work will be finished and crowned with glory. After we have grown in other graces, we still need patience (Hebrews 10:36). But if patience has its perfect work, we will be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

Prayer is another duty strongly recommended to suffering Christians. Here the apostle shows, first, what we should especially pray for, wisdom: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God.” We should not pray only for the removal of trouble, but for wisdom to use it well. Who does not need wisdom in severe trials, to guide his judgments, govern his spirit, and manage his affairs? To be wise in hard times is a special gift from God, and we must seek it from him.

Second, we are told how to obtain it, by asking. Let the foolish become beggars at the throne of grace, and they are on the road to wisdom. The apostle does not say, “Let him ask of man,” not even of any one man, but “of God,” who made us and first gave us understanding and reason, the one in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Let us confess our lack of wisdom to God and ask him for it each day.

Third, we are given the strongest encouragement to do this: “He gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not.” It is also plainly promised that wisdom will be given (James 1:5). This answers every discouraging thought that may rise in our minds when we go to God, aware of our weakness and folly, and ask for wisdom. The one we are sent to has it to give, and he is ready to give it. There is no danger that his kindness will be limited to only a few and exclude others, or any humble soul. He gives to all men.

If you worry that you need a great deal of wisdom and a small amount will not be enough, the apostle says he gives generously. And if you fear going to him at the wrong time or being shamed because of your foolishness, it is added that he does not upbraid. Ask whenever you will, and as often as you will, and you will meet with no rebukes.

If anyone says, “This may be true for some, but I fear I will not find wisdom as easily as others,” let that person think about how clear the promise is: it will be given to him. Fools deserve to perish in their foolishness if wisdom can be had by asking, and they still will not pray for it.

There is one thing we must also remember when we ask: we must ask with faith and a steady mind. James says, “Let him ask in faith, without wavering” (James 1:6). The promise is sure, but only with this condition, wisdom will be given to those who ask God for it, if they believe that God can make the simple wise and will keep his word to those who come to him. Christ also pressed this same point when he dealt with people who came for healing: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

There must be no doubt, no staggering at God’s promise because of unbelief, or because we feel weak on our side. A divided, insincere, and unsettled mind is another duty to guard against in suffering. “He that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed.” A person can be lifted up by faith one moment and then thrown down by distrust the next. He may rise toward heaven, wanting glory, honor, and immortality, then sink again into wanting ease for the body or pleasures in this world. This is like a wave rising and falling as the wind pushes it this way and that.

But a mind that has one main aim, its spiritual and eternal good, and that stays firm in its purpose toward God, will grow wiser through affliction. It will keep its prayers warm and will stand above trials and opposition. To cure a wavering spirit and weak faith, the apostle shows their bad effects. First, they ruin prayer. “Let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord” (James 1:7). A doubtful, unstable person is not likely to value God’s gifts as he should, and so he cannot expect to receive them. When we ask for heavenly wisdom, we are not likely to obtain it unless we prize it above riches and above the greatest things in this world.

Second, a wavering faith harms the way we live. “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8). When our faith rises and falls with outward troubles, our conduct and actions will also be shaky. This may sometimes bring contempt from the world, but such a way cannot please God or profit us in the end. Since we have only one God to trust, we have only one God to obey, and that should keep us steady. He who is unstable as water will not excel.

The apostle then describes the humble spirit that should mark Christians both when they are lifted up and when they are brought low. He shows where both poor and rich should place their joy and comfort (James 1:9-11). Those who are poor are still to be treated as brothers. Poverty does not break the bond among Christians. Good Christians may also be rich in the world. Grace and wealth are not completely opposed. Abraham, the father of the faithful, was rich in silver and gold.

Both the poor and the rich are allowed to rejoice. No condition in life takes away our ability to rejoice in God. If we do not rejoice in him at all times, the fault is ours. Those of low degree may rejoice if they are raised up to be rich in faith and heirs of God’s kingdom, as Dr. Whitby explains this place. The rich may rejoice in humbling providences, because these produce a lowly and humble spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. If anyone is made poor for righteousness’ sake, that poverty itself is his honor. It is an honor to be shamed for Christ’s sake. “To you it is given to suffer” (Philippians 1:29). All who are brought low, and made humble by grace, may rejoice in the hope of their final exaltation in heaven.

Rich people also have strong reason to be humble, because both they and their riches are passing away. “As the flower of the grass, he shall pass away.” He and his wealth with him (James 1:11). The sun rises with burning heat, and then it withers the grass. Worldly wealth is a fading thing. Riches are too uncertain, and too small in the end, to make any great or proper change in our minds, as Mr. Baxter says here. Like a flower that fades under the scorching sun, the rich man will fade away in his ways, his plans, efforts, and dealings in this world.

For that reason, let the rich man rejoice, not so much in the providence that made him rich, but in the grace that keeps him humble. Let him also rejoice in the trials and exercises that teach him to look for happiness in God, not in things that perish.

A blessing is then declared on those who endure their trials as instructed here: “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation” (James 1:12). It is not only the person who suffers who is blessed, but the one who endures, who goes through hardship with patience and steady faith while doing his duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable unless we ruin them by our own response. Good can come from them, and we can be blessed in them. They do not take away a good man’s happiness, they increase it.

Suffering and testing are the path to eternal blessedness. “When he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life.” The phrase means, when he has been approved, when his graces have been shown to be real and valuable, as metals are tested by fire, and when his integrity has been proved before the great Judge. A Christian should aim, above all, to be approved by God in every trial. That will be his final blessedness, when he receives the crown of life. The tested Christian will be crowned, and the crown he wears will be a crown of life, full of life and joy, and lasting forever. We bear the cross only for a little while, but we wear the crown forever.

This blessedness, given in the crown of life, is promised to the righteous sufferer. So we may trust it with full confidence, because when heaven and earth pass away, God’s word will still stand. At the same time, we should remember that our future reward comes, not as something earned as a debt, but as a gracious promise.

Our patient endurance in trials must come from love for God and for our Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, we have no share in this promise: “The Lord has promised it to those who love him.” Paul says that a man might even give his body to be burned for some religious reason, and yet still not please God or be accepted by him if he lacks love, that is, sincere charity, or a true love for God and people (1 Corinthians 13:3).

The crown of life is promised not only to great and outstanding saints, but to all who have the love of God ruling in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God will one day have its sufferings in this world fully rewarded in the world above, where love is made complete.