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"Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away" (James 1:9,10).



A little boy was overheard talking to himself as he strutted through the backyard, baseball cap in place, toting ball and bat. He was heard to say, "I'm the greatest hitter in the world." Then he tossed the ball into the air, swung at it and missed. "Strike one!" Undaunted he picked up the ball, threw it into the air and said to himself - "I'm the greatest baseball hitter ever," and swung at the ball again. And again he missed. "Strike two!" He paused a moment to examine his bat and ball carefully. Then a third time he threw the ball into the air. "I'm the greatest hitter who ever lived," he said. He swung the bat hard again, missed a third time. He cried out, "Wow! Strike three! What a pitcher! I'm the greatest pitcher in the world!" 1



Now here's a little guy who turned the disappointment of not being a Hall of Fame hitter into a favorable experience. Rather than dwelling on the circumstances in which he found himself, he looked on the bright side that he was the greatest pitcher in the world - out of defeat came victory! What a great attitude!



The persecution that ensued after the stoning of God's spokesman resulted in these kingdom saints being scattered throughout the nations of the world. As God turned to the Gentiles, He gradually withdrew His blessing from the chosen nation. This left these Hebrew believers destitute! In the course of time, many of these dear saints struggled to make ends meet, due in part to the difficulty of integrating themselves into a foreign culture. But James didn't want them to dwell on their poverty; therefore, he redirects their attention to the exalted position they possessed in the kingdom. He wanted them to live above the disappointing circumstances in which they found themselves. After all, they were a royal priesthood! (I Pet. 2:9). They may have been poor concerning the things of this world, but they were rich in regard to the inheritance that awaited them. James encouraged them to remember the following promise:



"Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" (James 2:5).



It is our tendency in the family of God to dwell on our problems and not be as mindful as we should about the blessings we enjoy in Christ. But thankfully there are exceptions. Many years ago I had an opportunity to lead a young lady named Marie to the Lord at one of our weekly Bible studies. As a result of her faithful testimony a number of her family members came to know Christ, including her husband and daughter. Marie suffered from childhood diabetes, which eventually took its toll. She gradually lost her sight, her kidneys failed leading to a kidney transplant, and she had to have both of her legs amputated below the knee. Along with other serious complications, this was followed by losing four of her fingers to the disease.



Every time my wife and I visited Marie, whether at home or in the hospital, we came away edified. We never once heard her complain about her condition, even though she was obviously in discomfort at times. When we were in her presence, the entire time was spent talking about the things of the Lord. She always marveled at the grace of God that was extended to her in salvation. Marie is now with the Lord and her sweet spirit is fondly remembered by all of us who had the privilege of knowing her. I shared at her Memorial Service how "our lives touch the lives of others" and this was certainly true of Marie; even her attending physician and members of her medical team were present. They, too, marveled at her inner strength.



James normally has little good to say about the rich, who in his day had a propensity to oppress the Lord's people. In fact, he often speaks of them in the context of unbelief (James 2:6,7; 5:1-6). Here in Chapter one, however, I believe the apostle is addressing those of the household of faith who were rich. Mitton states: "The word `brother' in the original Greek stands right at the beginning of the whole sentence, and it is most natural to understand it as referring to both parts of the sentence, and to translate it: `Let the brother who is poor - and the brother who is rich?.'" 2  Furthermore, this seems to be the sense of verse 12 where James concludes: "Blessed is the man," that is, whether rich or poor, "that endureth temptation [trials], for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him."
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Notice James says regarding the rich "in that he is made low." There is nothing inherently wrong in itself with being wealthy. Many wealthy believers faithfully serve the Lord and generously support His work with their resources. But James wanted to remind the rich that they should not place their confidence in uncertain riches, which would be their natural tendency. Having come to know Christ as Savior and Lord was, to say the least, a humbling experience. Suddenly their realm of influence and social status they once enjoyed, and profited from, was greatly diminished.



The gospel has a way of leveling the field, which is illustrated time and again in the Scriptures. For example, Peter extended his hand to the poor lame beggar at the temple "and lifted him up" (Acts 3:1-8 ). On the other hand, the Lord said to the rich publican named Zacchaeus, who had climbed up into the sycamore tree, "make haste, and come down; for today I must abide at thy house" (Luke 19:1-5). James tells us that the brother of low degree is "exalted" while the rich brother is "made low." The gospel is the great equalizer!



GOOD AND EVIL



"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man" (James 1:12,13).



As we noted in an earlier lesson, the word "temptation" (Gr. peirasmos) that James uses here speaks of "a putting to proof, by experiment of good, or experience of evil, solicitation." Our English word temptation is almost exclusively used today as a prompting to do evil. The biblical term, however, can also mean a "trial" sent by God which serves to test a believer's faith (See Gen. 22:1 cf. Heb. 11:17). This twofold meaning is clearly exhibited in the above passages.



The purpose of God's testing of Joseph: While Joseph's brethren were contemplating what to do with him after they threw him into the pit, the Midianite merchantmen hoisted Joseph out of his would-be grave and sold him to the Ishmaelites who were traveling to Egypt (Gen. 37:28 ). Interestingly, however, it is Joseph's brethren who are charged with selling him into slavery - God ultimately held them accountable for placing their brother in harms way (Acts 7:9).



Years later when Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy corn, because the famine was so severe in the land, Joseph's identity was made known to his brethren, at which time they feared for their lives. Although Joseph was in a perfect position to retaliate, his reply to them displays the caliber of his spirituality: "But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive" (Gen. 50:20). The testings of God are always meant to bring out the good.



Joseph's temptation to do evil: The other side of the term peirasmos or temptation is a solicitation to do evil. The purpose of the Tempter is to appeal to the base nature of the believer and cause him to stumble in the faith. Temptation is the Devil's insidious tool to draw his prey into a sinful situation. It has been correctly observed that temptation is normally not a one time event, but a process.



The afternoon that Potiphar's wife caught Joseph by his garment and said, "Lie with me!" was the end of a long process. Prior to that day he was gradually being lured toward the trap. It was ever so subtle at first but became more and more obvious in time. There was the seductive look when his master's wife, "cast her eyes upon Joseph." Then there were the "chance meetings" she arranged to flatter Joseph with sweet words of enticement, "And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day." The web is spun wider with, she's so lonely, laced with the seemingly innocent request to "come lie by her," to keep her company. A short time later, with the house empty and the servants gone for the day, the final allurement: we're all alone, no one will ever know, "And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me" (Gen. 39:6-12).
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Thankfully, Joseph did all the right things in the face of a temptation that could have destroyed him, if he had yielded to it. The Scriptures state concerning Potiphar's wife's first advance that Joseph "refused her." When she pursued the matter he revealed to her the depravity of her request: "how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" Notice that the act of adultery would not only have been a sin against his master, but God Himself. On another occasion, "he hearkened not unto her." Finally, she caught him by his garment, but Joseph wisely fled out of the house leaving the garment in her hand. The key to overcoming temptation is resist, resist, resist, and if necessary flee!



James, of course, knew his hearers were also susceptible to temptation, especially the temptation to retaliate against those who were oppressing them. But they, too, were to resist with the understanding: "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19).



THE TAP ROOT OF EVIL



"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man."



The origin of evil has been passionately debated by scholars and theologians since it first raised its ugly head. So it is doubtful that we are going to resolve the matter to everyone's satisfaction in these few lines. Some have even gone as far as to charge God with its inception. Mitton astutely observes: "God is untemptable! There is nothing in God to which evil can make its appeal. And it is impossible to think of One so wholly free from evil as being in any way directly responsible for it in another."



"Thou art the anointed cherub [Lucifer] that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence" (Ezek. 28:14-16).



Based upon the above passages, most agree that shortly after the dawn of creation God tested His angelic host to ensure their loyalty to their Creator and His eternal purpose. We know the test was not between good and evil, simply because evil was nonexistent at this point in time. Apparently the test was between wills. As free moral agents, the angels could choose to follow their own will or God's will. It is here that evil was conceived in the heart of Lucifer. As the Scriptures clearly say, "till iniquity was found in thee....Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness" (Ezek. 28:15,17).



Satan wanted to be like God. He desired the honor and glory that was rightly due the Lord. In his rebellion against the Holy One of heaven he led one-third of the angelic host astray in his defection. The rebellion ended when God created the Lake of Fire for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41). One word sums it up - pride! So then, it is Satan and his fallen host who tempt man to do evil, not God. The devil is the one who is ascribed the title, Tempter! He is the one who appeared in the garden to tempt our first parents.



"But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:14,15).



James was concerned for the brethren of his day that they didn't take sin lightly. Sin has consequences! Incredibly, the formula of temptation hasn't changed after all these centuries. It's the promise of something that is forbidden. We should bear in mind that being exposed to temptation is not a sin. The Lord was exposed to it three times in the wilderness, yet we know "He knew no sin." It is when you yield to the temptation that a sin is committed.



Endnotes



1. Illustrations Unlimited by James S. Hewett, Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Wheaton, Illinois, page 40.



2. The Epistle of James, C. Leslie Mitton, Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, pages 36,37.



3. Ibid., page 47.