True Faith Puts Trials in Perspective

James 1:2-8
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

In these verses, James addresses four important realities for believers whom he calls “My brethren.”

1. Trials / testing – situations, conditions and events which though difficult and unpleasant force us to make choices of our own actions in response to the situation. These events also force us to either control our attitude by our own deliberate choice or permit whatever attitude arises from the event to control us. This is a constant battle for control of our emotions and will.
2. Patience / endurance – Endurance is the product of trials and the ingredient of the growing Christian’s success in his walk with God. Trials produce evidence of the constancy and endurance of true faith.
3. Wisdom – the ability to make right choices. Trials force us to make choices. Wisdom is the ability to make the right choice in difficult circumstances. The way James speaks of wisdom makes it clear that we all need more wisdom.
4. Faith – πίστις / pistis – “conviction of the truth” (Thayer). James uses the word twice in these verses. In verse 3, he uses the word with the definite article along with a second person plural possessive pronoun – ὑμῶν τῆς πίστεως – which can be translated in this case “your the faith.” In verse 6, he uses no definite article – ἐν πίστει – which is literally “in faith.” The two usages of the same Greek word are substantially different in their meaning.

• It appears that throughout the New Testament, the word faith is used in two ways. The Greek indicates these two ways in a rather specific manner. I may be making an arbitrary assumption here, but it seems to me that when an author of Scripture uses the definite article before the word pistis / faith as in verse 3, he is describing faith as a body of doctrine, specifically doctrine of Jesus Christ. When the writer does not use the definite article as in verse 6, he is referring to faith as the act of believing in that body of doctrine and more particularly believing in the person of Jesus Christ.

There is a fifth word that begins this whole discussion. That is the word “joy.” Joy – χαρά chara – this word speaks of basic joy or gladness that comes from one’s heart by choice rather than from circumstances. Earlier I penned these words regarding joy. “The central issue that James is addressing is the disparity between the appearance of certain circumstances which cause us pain and we see as misfortune and the spiritual reality those same circumstances. This appearance is contrary to the underlying reality that we should know and always consider, and that reality is the sovereign goodness of Almighty God.”

Joy puts “the faith [belonging to] you” into perspective. If our doctrine teaches that God is sovereign and always righteous, good, and just; then living by that fact places the difficulties which might cause us to doubt our beliefs into the proper perspective. That settled confidence in doctrine – the faith – provides the foundation for endurance in the face of difficult situations.

The result of that trial, then, is confident joy base on our knowledge that God is at work whether we see his immediate purpose or not.