BASIC EQUIPMENT FOR CHRISTIAN LIVING

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Text: James 1.

Delivered on:  September 28, 2008. Streetsboro.

INTRODUCTION.

1. James has been called the most practical book in the Bible.

2. If you want to know something about Christian living, this book is for you.

3. This book is not just important for Christians.

4. Perhaps there is someone here who is thinking about becoming a Christian but you want to know more about the Christian life before you make a decision. This book is for you too.

5. To sum up Christian living we could say, Christianity is learning to love the things that God loves and learning to hate the things that God hates.

6. In the first chapter of James we have a list of basic equipment for Christian living.

   
   

BODY.

1. CHRISTIANITY IS LEARNING TO LOVE THE OBSTACLES OF LIFE.   James 1:1-4. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings. 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.
   

   1. When is our faith tested?

      1. With the common maladies of human beings.

         1. Why didn’t God make the Christian immune to this kind of suffering?

         2. Why do we have to face these maladies that peck at our faith all the time?

         3. Two reasons.

            1. If God took away these trials for the Christian, you would have a lot of artificial Christians.

            2. God knows that we need the struggles to become strong.

         4. Matthew 7:24-27.  Storms came on the wise man and the foolish man. Must have right foundation to withstand the storms.

      2. When I am tempted to sin.

      3. When I have wealth or poverty.  Proverbs 30:8-9. Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches— Feed me with the food allotted to me;  ⁹ Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the LORD?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

      4. When I am disappointed in other Christians.

1. It happens all the time.

2. We put faith in people and they let us down.

3. We can disappoint ourselves as well.

4. People are not perfect. They are going to fail.

1. Our faith is not based upon man but upon Christ.

1. When a loved one dies an untimely death.

1. If we are going to have a strong faith to lean on in these times of trouble we need to strengthen that faith when we are NOT going through trials.

   1. Why is it so important that we be faithful to the worship assemblies?

   2. Why is it so important that I study the Word of God?

   3. Romans 10:17.
      

2. How can we count it all joy when we face trials?

   1. Matthew 5:11-12.  “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹²  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

      1. Jesus said to rejoice.

      2. How can we do that?

      3. Illustration: watching recorded football games when I already know who won.

         1. Watching a game live, I have a lot of nervousness and distress.

            1. At times it is not even enjoyable.

            2. When the opposing team does well, I get frustrated.

         2. But when I am watching a recording and I know that my team won…

            1. It’s a whole different story.

            2. I don’t mind when the other team does well.

            3. I don’t get too upset when my team is having troubles.

            4. Why?

            5. Because I know the outcome in advance.

      4. It is that way for Christians. We know the outcome. “For great is your reward in heaven.”

   2. James says that the trying of our faith works patience.

      1. As Christians we must keep our eyes on the goal.

      2. Titus 1:2. In hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

      3. We’re going to heaven.

      4. You’re going to face hard times. 2 Timothy 3:12. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

      5. 1 Peter 4:15-16.  But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. ¹⁶ Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

1. CHRISTIANITY IS LEARNING TO LOVE WISDOM. James 1:5-8.   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.
   

   1. What is wisdom? The ability to see how a particular course of action will ultimately turn out.
      

   2. James says that we are to ask God for wisdom.

      1. How does God give wisdom?

      2. Good question.

      3. I think we are talking about more than just the wisdom that comes from the word.

      4. Regardless of how we get it, we need to keep asking for it.

   3. The greatest source of wisdom is the word of God.

      1. We need to be hungry for wisdom.

      2. Real wisdom starts with a fear of God.

      3. Real wisdom understands what true success is:

         1. True success is living your life and going to heaven.

         2. True failure, no matter what else may be true, is living your life and going to hell.

   
   

2. CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT LEARNING TO LOVE A SOCIETY OF EQUALITY. James 1:9-11. Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation, ¹⁰ but the rich in his humiliation, because as a flower of the field he will pass away. ¹¹ For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.
   

   1. In the world we are judged by a lot of different standards.

      1. An those standards are not always fair.

      2. But when we step into a worship assembly of the church of Christ and we are treated according to a different standard.

   2. The lowly brother.

      1. The lowly brother may not have much money.

      2. He may not dress well.

      3. But in the church, he is treated with the same honor as a rich man.

      4. The lowly brother can rejoice in this. He has been exalted or lifted up.

   3. The rich brother.

      1. The rich brother is humiliated.

      2. He is to rejoice in this. This is a challenge for this brother.

      3. He is brought down to the same level as everyone else.

      4. He does not receive preferential treatment.

   4. James 2:1-4. My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. ² For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, ³ and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” ⁴have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?

      1. When we become a part of the church…

      2. The amount of money in our checking accounts doesn’t matter.

      3. The color of our skin doesn’t matter.

      4. The kind of clothes we wear doesn’t matter.

3. CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT LEARNING TO LOVE GROWING UP SPIRITUALLY. James 1:13-16.  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. ¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
   

   1. Have we grown up spiritually?
      

   2. Why would a man say he is tempted by God?

      1. We like to try justify or rationalize ourselves in our sin.

      2. Any sin that we can think of, you can bet someone has rationalized a way to make it alright.

      3. Homosexuality falls into this category.

         1. Some try to blame God for their homosexuality.

         2. God is never at fault when we sin.

      4. Just because a man is tempted to sin, it does not mean he has a license to sin.

   3. We are drawn away by our OWN lusts.

      1. Different things tempt different people.

      2. What tempts me may not tempt you and vice versa.

      3. Temptation must be resisted.

      4. Don’t make excuses.

   4. Giving into lust leads to sin which leads to spiritual death.
      

   5. We must grow up and stop making excuses.

      1. Example: Attending faithfully.

      2. Hebrews 10:25. Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

4. CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT LEARNING TO LOVE GOD’S DEPENDABILITY. James 1:17.  Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
   

   1. Everyone enjoys the physical blessings of God. Matthew 5:44-45. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
      

   2. Spiritual blessings are in Christ. Ephesians 1:3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,

      1. Answer to prayer.

      2. Salvation.

      3. Hope of heaven.

   3. What if God was not dependable?

      1. What if He wasn’t dependable in regard to physical blessings?

         
         

      2. What if He wasn’t dependable in regard to spiritual blessings?

5. CHRISTIANITY IS ABOUT LEARNING TO LOVE APPLIED TEACHING.  James 1:21-25. Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²² But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. ²³ For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; ²⁴ for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. ²⁵ But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
   

   1. It is one thing to hear the will of God for my life but it is an entirely different thing for me to implement the will of God in my life.
      

   2. The man in the mirror.

      1. The man who looks into the mirror sees all of his imperfections.

      2. But then he goes his way and forgets about them.

      3. Same in a spiritual sense.

         1. One comes to a worship assembly and sees that he is living in contradiction to the will of God and learns what he must do to correct it…

         2. And then he leaves and does nothing.

   3. This is a part of growing up spiritually.

      1. We must start taking Christianity seriously.

      2. How many people do we know in our lives who have some connection to Christ?

         1. Maybe the use to be Christians but are no longer faithful.

         2. Maybe they believe in Christ but that is as far as their faith goes.

         3. It is not that they don’t know the truth it is that they do not implement that truth in their lives.

   4. The truth is able to save our souls.

      1. We can know the truth.

      2. But we have to put it into our lives. Two examples are given.

         1. James 1:26. Control your tongue.

         2. James 1:27. Care for the helpless.

      3. What about you?

         1. Are you applying the things you’re learning here to your life?

         2. Are you seeking to serve the Lord in your life?

         3. Christianity is not just a part of my life.

            1. Like some club or social activity or sport.

            2. Christianity is our life. It is a lifestyle.

   5. Don’t just look into the mirror and go your own way.

      1. Are there things in your life that need corrected?

      2. Correct them.

      3. Baptism? “I know I need to be baptized but I’m not going to do it.”

      4. Repentance? “I know I need to repent but I’m not going to do it.”

      5. Attendance? “I know I need to be faithful in my attendance but I’m not going to do
         it.”

CONCLUSION.

1. Basic Equipment for Christian Living.

2. Learn to love the things that God loves.

3. Let us grow up spiritually.