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Be a complete Christian By Paul Thompson

Minutes before that Titanic hit the iceberg that sank her, a series of events were set in motion.
The crew on watch were meant to have binoculars so they could see. They had none.
A vital message from another vessel just 20 miles away.
Warning of ice never reached the captain because the wireless operator on the Titanic
was too busy sending messages ashore for the passengers.
The vessel was travelling at maximum speed which meant the crew had less time to react.
When the iceberg was sighted and the ship ordered to stop and turn to the right,
the sailor at the wheel turned the Titanic to, yes you guessed it, the left.
As Gordon reminded us two weeks ago, small mistakes can have tragic consequences.
Jesus writes to Jewish Christians who are being hit hard socially and economically.
They are being persecuted for being Christian.
Like the Titanic, they are in danger of making shipwreck of their Christian lives.
James begins by telling them God wants them to be complete for him in heaven.
And here in verses 1-18 he tells them how they can turn trials to their advantage
to work towards becoming complete, mature Christians.
In fact this is his goal throughout this letter.
Now he begins by saying when trials come you need a heaven focused joy.
Verse 2, consider it pure joy, my brethren, whenever you face trials of many kinds.
James assumes that sooner or later tough times will hit us as Christians.
Is this you this morning? Listen to James.
He knows that our natural reaction is to become angry or sad when this happens.
Isn't he being totally unrealistic and unsympathetic to tell me to consider it pure joy
whenever you face trials?
James says you and I are to respond differently. Why?
Well he is picking up the kingdom language of Jesus when he said on the mount
to those who would be his followers, rejoice and be glad when people insult you,
persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
His reasoning is simple. It is as if he is saying, look, when you became a Christian
you were filled with joy because this Jesus proved to be Messiah.
He died on a Roman cross so your sins were forgiven.
You turned from your sins to trust him.
He brought you into his kingdom and under his loving rule.
Why should hard times interrupt this joy that God has given you?
God hasn't changed. His salvation of you hasn't changed.
Saved by his Son, for his Son to be ultimately like his Son.
Friends, this is the heaven focused joy James urges you and me
to deliberately cultivate in hard times.
Now last weekend Pete and Marie were filled with joy at finally being married.
No doubt they had their difficulties before the happy day.
What got them through?
The joy that one day soon we are going to be husband and wife,
one flesh a new family unit.
We need that same heaven focused joy.
One day soon I am going to be complete and mature like Jesus.
What joy to focus on in tough times.
Next James says there are three steps to becoming complete for heaven.
And the first step is your faith needs to be tested.
Look with me at verse 3.
Because you know that the testing of your faith.
Look at the first part of verse 3.
What is this faith?
Well it is the new orientation of my life before I trusted in myself, ignoring God.
For James readers maybe it was their goodness or Jewishness they trusted in.
Yes, but why is my faith being tested in these tough times?
Think of it this way.
We test objects of value all the time.
For us guys maybe it is reading about the road test of a new Falcon or Commodore or some other model of car.
For girls maybe it is that gorgeous new dress in the window.
You drag your husband inside the shop and ask him how does it look on me dear.
We test objects of value to see if they perform to do the job.
James says God does the same thing with our faith to see if it is dinky dye and not a lemon.
The picture James uses is of a refiner's fire.
He puts the object of worth into the fire to prepare it for use.
Without the metal being toughened the object will soon buckle, break and fail.
If my faith is the real deal it will pass the stress test.
For James his readers would recall their father Abraham.
Remember in Genesis Abraham was tested eleven times, not to mention Job and how they persevered and passed the test.
But how did they pass the test and how do we pass the test?
Our verse tells us, the remainder of the verse, they developed perseverance.
And James says this is the next step to becoming a complete Christian.
Look at verse 4, Perseverance must finish its work.
James' readers would have been tempted to give up.
The social cost of being a follower of this Jesus was high.
Families were divided.
The economic cost was high.
Maybe jobs were lost or homes and land left behind.
Remember they were scattered because of the persecution from those who saw Christianity as a threat to Judaism.
Again James is echoing Jesus' words, He who perseveres to the end will be saved.
What is this persecution?
Well for James it includes all the encouragements and exhortations in the rest of his letter to living as a Christian.
To our speech, our attitudes to the poor and wealth and faith and works and prayer and sickness.
One of the characteristics of being an Olympic athlete is perseverance, not giving up when the pain becomes intense.
This is saying there is no gain without pain.
Are you tempted to give up right now because of the pain of tough times?
James says hang in there because this will produce something wonderful.
And James gives us the final step to becoming a complete Christian.
Look at the end of verse 4.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
The King James of course and I think the new King James has perfect.
James is not satisfied with us becoming anything less than growing and developing to become increasingly like our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
James again picks up an Old Testament theme.
Others who went before had become mature and to use the language of the King James, Noah would have come to mind.
The NRV says that Noah was blameless before the people of his time and he walked with God.
The King James of course has perfect.
But James also has the words of Jesus in mind who when giving the standard needed to enter the Kingdom of God said,
Be perfect, therefore as your Father is perfect.
This is God's goal for us, to be perfect like Christ.
Can we achieve this?
God puts this goal before us in his letter.
But he tells us how in tough times we can live so it will become an increasing reality.
If the way to becoming a complete mature Christian is to persevere, how do we do it?
James says we need wisdom and we have to ask God for it.
Look at verse 5.
If any one of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to him.
For James this wisdom would have included the words of Proverbs and the sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
But the emphasis here in the original is on God's ability to give.
For James God is not a tight fisted miser.
No, he is more than willing to give us his knowledge on how to go through the trial and so pass the test.
But notice there is a condition.
He brings us back to faith.
Look at verse 6, 7 and 8.
But when he must believe and not doubt, because he doubts is like the wave of a sea, blown and tossed by the wind,
that man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord.
He is a double minded man, unstable in all he does.
John Piper, speaking on this verse says,
Our hearts can't be divided. God has to be our only God.
We can't look partly to God and partly to another source.
James gives us three illustrations of inward errors in our thinking to become complete and Christ-like Christians.
The first is trusting our stuff or material things in tough times.
Notice what he says in verse 9.
The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position.
Now, what about you who are poor?
James is saying don't be tempted to think that the trial of being poor is too much and therefore stop persevering and trusting God.
Remember they might have lost jobs and homes.
No, he says you are rich in God's eyes and that is something you can be proud of.
But notice verse 10.
But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position.
Are you rich this morning?
Are you tempted to think because I am rich my stuff, my possessions will get me through the tough times?
No, you are not to trust your wealth.
Instead be humble because it will pass away like a wild flower.
Notice verse 11.
For the sun rises with the scorching heat and withers the plant.
Its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed in the same way the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business.
Next, James deals with the error of blaming God or rebelling in the tough times.
Look at verse 13.
When tempted no one can say God is tempting me for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone.
It is interesting, James uses the word tempt but it is the same word for trial that he has used earlier.
The natural tendency is to think God is to blame.
He only sends me evil.
But trials have the potential to turn into temptations and one common one is to blame God and to say he sends me evil not good.
Look at verse 14 and 15.
But each one is tempted when by his own evil desire he is dragged away and enticed.
Then after desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown gives birth to death.
Notice the slippery slide to going down the tube and failing the test.
Enticed, conception, birth, death.
That is why James calls us to persevere and resist the temptation to fail and sin through the tough times and not use the opportunity to grow like Jesus.
The danger is to be tricked into thinking this is right, wrong.
Look at verse 16.
Don't be deceived dear brothers.
You see we need our thinking to be changed.
God's way is the opposite.
He now answers the objection that God only sends evil in tough times.
God only goes good to his children because he is good.
And James gives three powerful motivators to trust him so that we will become complete for him in heaven.
Notice James first motivator to trust him.
God is going to crown you if you are a Christian this morning.
Look at verse 12.
Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised through those who love him.
You see we can be happy when we have stood the test because you and I will be crowned in heaven by God.
Why will this happen?
Look at verse 17.
Every good and perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.
God is going to crown me because he is a good God who is like a consistent father that sends never-ending light to his creation.
But notice James third motivator to trust him.
God says you're his best.
Look at verse 18.
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.
James uses again this conception birth theme but this time it is positive.
Christian what a motivation to trust God.
Chosen by God before the world began to be his creation.
The good news of Jesus has miraculously birthed you to new life.
You'll be the pick of God's crop, the first of a great harvest when this world ends.
This is God's ironclad guarantee you will become complete like Jesus.
What a God, what a Saviour.
If you are not a Christian this morning listen to the words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount.
Enter through the narrow gate for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction and many enter through it.
But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life and only a few find it.
God is calling you now to become a Christian this morning.
You are on the road to destruction.
Stop and turn from living for yourself.
Be revived to eternal life through his Son Jesus Christ.
Why trust not yourself.
This is the only way you will survive the judgment that is coming on all those who ignore God, Jesus and the Bible.
Then you will have God's ironclad guarantee that you too will become complete like Jesus and heaven ready.
Don't be a fool.
Do it now before it is too late.
Amen.