The First Sunday in Lent, February 26th, 2012: “Blessed Is the Man”

The epistle of James often gets a bad rap. Even the young Luther called it an epistle of straw. One can easily get the impression that it contradicts sola gratia and that it perpetuates legalism or at least pietism. The concerns, however, are unfounded. I love this epistle. It is written with great boldness for Christians in the midst of persecution. They needed their faith to be active in the face of it. It is good for waking us out of our laziness and slumber! This, however, does not say that it compromises doctrine.

Our epistle for Sunday, February 26th, will not permit the view that James promotes self-righteousness. In James 1:12-18, the first bishop of Jerusalem and half-brother of Jesus describes temptations process when it takes us to sin which leads to death. Knowing such a process reveals knowledge of the depth of our sin. The lure, enticement, and desire of sin is our spiritual disease and again, James teaches clearly that it leads to death. And those who are marked by death, can’t save themselves!

Thus James brings out that the Lord and all of His good and perfect gifts come down to us (v 17) and to highlight what is chief among those things coming down, we know that it is the Lord Himself who came down to us poor, desperate sinners. John 3:13 teaches that He who ascended to heaven is the same One who descended; and Ephesians 4:10-12 teaches us that He who descended sends us gifts to equip us for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. Thus, James is not proposing a 12-step program, 7 principles for victorious living, or the 5 principles for the true sanctification. Instead, James leads us to God’s plan: sinners are “brought…forth by the word of truth (James 1:18).” It is Christ the Word (John 1:1) who descends to us; it is Christ the Truth (John 14:6) who comes to us; and as Christ Himself is the resurrected Lord — the first-fruits according to 1st Cor. 15:20 & 23 — we are made by Him to be His first-fruits. That is our new lives are His doing!

Now the front part of this epistle is easier to grasp. Since Christ was THE blessed man who stood up under trial, we are not alone when tested. God’s tests come upon us as we are in Christ. God’s tests may be unpleasant, but in and through them our faith is refined. These tests strengthen faith, hope, and love (mark that this does not mean that you are going to feel strong). These tests, however, should never be confused with the devil’s temptations which deviate from God’s tests because whereas the Lord’s tests lead us to faithfulness, the devil’s temptations are designed to turn us from God. A good litmus test for differentiating between the two is this: God’s tests lead us to confess our sin and lean on God; but the devil’s temptations lead us to make excuses and blame others (even God) for turning from the Lord’s Word, truth, and will. Confession vs. Blame…that’s how we know.

How can we poor sinners possibly remain steadfast under trial? Know this: the Lord comes with His gifts and these lead us to confess our sin and our very great need for the Lord and for His Word and Truth to create in us a clean heart…to bring us forth to be a kind of first-fruits, the work of His hand.

The Christian under trail is the same one who is sustained by Jesus Christ. You stand simply because you do not stand alone…and with His Word, His Truth, and His Work making and keeping you as His creation, He will do it…we stand as His gifts are poured out upon us; we stand because Jesus descended; we stand because He bears us forth!

In Christ,

Dr. Espinosa

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