James 1:9-18 NEW DIGNITY Doubts have a way of leaving a person unsettled and unsure of themselves. The wisdom we receive from God enables us to trust Him and the answers to our questions that He chooses to answer make sense. When we are in fellowship with our Lord, we can find ourselves in fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ no matter what their station in life is or our own situation. The poor and those not so socially accepted by the standards of the world, have a new dignity that is seen in the local assembly of believers. Class distinction should not be evident there because of our oneness in Christ. People in low positions are not overlooked by God. They are great in God’s eyes.
All believers have a God-given dignity because of the Person of Christ in whom we have been accepted by our Righteous God. A consciousness of this acceptance promotes a dignity that expresses itself in our worship and our words. Riches don't mean much to God who is the Source of everything. Riches can come and go like dry grass and fading flowers. True riches are in a person's heart because those unseen things endure forever. What you have in your heart, not in the bank, is what matters to God and for eternity. Showing favoritism is wrong because it is inconsistent with Christ’s teachings and results in evil thoughts. It insults people who are made in Christ’s image as a new creation. Favoritism is a by-product of selfish motives that go against the biblical definition of love. It shows a lack of mercy towards the less fortunate. It is hypocritical and it is sin. A lesson we can learn from James that the Lord taught on the sermon on the mount is those who are humble (lowly by the world’s standard) should rejoice in their position as those whom God loves [Jas.1:9; Mat.5:3].
The crown of life is the reward of living the consistency of eternal life here on earth and being with God forever. We have eternal life now and are expected to be faithful to our Lord and love Him in times of suffering and in difficult circumstance. Temptation comes from evil desires, not from God. God tests us but in no way does He deceive us. Testing calls for help from God to behave wisely when wronged and insulted, v.5-11. Never let it have its way [Mat.4:1-11; 1Cor.10:13; 2Tim.2:22]. Testing brings blessing to the one who conquers temptation, v.12. Testing by evil does not come from God, v.13-18. Times of testing are allowed by God to strengthen our faith and produce spiritual maturity in our lives. We are able to resist temptation effectively by obeying God's word and by getting our spiritual strength from Him to deal with temptation when it first raises its head. To make excuses for ourselves when we yield to temptation is when we sin. When this happens, we take responsibility for that which we have done that is wrong, confess it as sin to God, and forsake it.
We should not ever be deceived about God. He never entices people to do evil. His light casts no shadows. God tests, not tempts. He allows Satan to tempt us to refine our faith and dependence on Christ. Strength to resist comes from God and His Word. Trials bring out the best in us. Temptations come from Satan to bring out the worst. To lay blame and make excuses like 1] It’s the other person’s fault. 2] I couldn’t help it. 3] Everybody’s doing it. 4] It was just a mistake. 5] Nobody’s perfect. 6] The devil made me do it. 7] I was pressured into it. 8] I didn’t know it was wrong. 9] God is tempting me, is spiritual immaturity. A Christian accepts responsibility for his actions; right or wrong. We can be sure of the goodness of God. God gives only good gifts from above and His will is worked out in us when we are patient, not angry.
There has always been light because God is light. He put light into certain forms like the sun, moon and stars at creation. The darkness was made to reveal light for what it is. In heaven there is no need for the sun because "the Lamb is the Light thereof." The "Father of lights" has always existed and the energy emitted from Him does not increase or decrease. What God does is forever, and "nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it" [Ecc.3:14]. Anything that "turns" in on itself will soon entropy, which is what that word comes from. It will soon become disorganized, then deteriorate and become chaotic - and then dies. God is not bound by the laws He put on His own creation. There is not even a "Shadow of turning (entropy)" with Him.
And more than that, He has given us new birth by "His word of truth" and that new life does not entropy either. It is evidence of all the eternal blessings He has provided for us. The new-born Christians in the first century were "a kind of first-fruits" of all who will be saved by His grace. Our Lord Jesus Christ was the first- fruits in His resurrection of all those who have died and who will be raised at His coming. Those Hebrew believers were the first-fruits of all who have been born again by the Spirit of God in this church age.