5th October 2024

5th October 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read (James 1v9-18)


Message (Scott Woodburn)


We would do well to remember that one day we will be forgotten. I apologise for this abrupt beginning but it is certainly true. Consider the Kings and Queens of Britain, how many of them can you remember? The current Monarch is Charles III, his mother was Elizabeth II, her father was…George something…and his uncle was king…or was it his brother? Perhaps you are as staunch as a King Billy tea towel and can name them all, but most of us struggle. One day all of us will be forgotten, even the most famous people in history.


Brothers and sisters, do not allow this to depress you but rather give you perspective. You live to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. Understand that your riches or lack of them are no evidence of either God’s anger or His favour. The brother who is lowly can find reason to boast in his exaltation (v9). This means that even the most downtrodden Christian on earth has a heavenly inheritance that would put Elon Musk to shame. In the same manner the brother who is rich is to understand that riches come and go (v10-11). He should not find his meaning in his money but rather in his status as a redeemed, loved, saved child of God.


Every Christian is to be focused on what James calls “the crown of life” (v12). What does this mean? The person who endures faithfully to the end will certainly have a place in the world that is to come. We know from Hebrews that on earth we have no lasting city (Hebrews 13v14) but we absolutely can trust the promise of the world that awaits for those who have trusted Christ (v13).


It is this certain hope that drives us forward in the midst of this collapsing world. Jesus spoke truthfully when He told us that in this world we will have trouble (John 16v33). Therefore we should not be surprised when the Christian walk seems hard, but when we are called to endure temptation, we should never believe that God is tempting us towards sin. Some think the Lord puts obstacles on our path everyday to see what we are really like. The thinking goes that if we fall over enough obstacles then the Lord will turn away from us. However, all of this is egregiously false. The Lord is not evil nor can He be tempted by evil and so it is not God who tempts us to stray from the path (v13).


In this world our major battle is with our own sinfulness. We are justified yet sinful and so we must be aware that temptation comes when we are lured away by our own sinful desires (v14). Eventually this desire gives birth to sin and sin left unchecked leads to death (v15).


James paints a bleak picture of the world and our place in it. He doesn’t write a Gospel of works and he doesn’t tell us that life will always be easy. Even so, bathed in his uncompromising message is the glorious Gospel of our Lord. God is good and He is unchanging (v17). He has not turned against you because your life is not the way you once thought it was going to be. He does not love you more because of your bank balance and He does not love you less because you stumble your way through this world.


The Gospel is this - Christ died for sinners. In the fullness of time, God called us by His Word to repentance and faith (v18). Christians are therefore “a kind of first fruits” (v18) because one day, we and the entire universe will know the full scale of God’s redeeming grace. There will not be one inch of creation’s entire array where sin will still be found. The curse will be lifted and even death will be placed beneath the feet of Jesus.


That probably won’t happen today or tomorrow and so you will continue to know trials of various kinds. You will be required to continue in that dead-end job. You must persevere in relationships that are broken. Then one day you will die and eventually no one will remember you or your troubles. I’ll not be winning any awards for an uplifting message but even so, you must, must, must keep going. The heavenly city awaits, your crown of life is there and Jesus is your great reward. Brothers and sisters, you are saved and may you know the sweetness of the Gospel when your life tastes bitter.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC


Q1 What is the chief end of man? Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.
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