Maturing In the Christian Faith - Ten Lessons from the Book of James

By Elena Arnaudova

"Maturing in the Christian Faith" is a book of ten Bible studies inspired by the book of James. These down-to-earth, practical studies are designed to move the believer from the basics covered in "Ten Bible Studies for New Christians" into a deeper understanding and level of maturity. Each chapter ends with suggestions for personal reflection as well as ideas for group discussion and prayer, making this suitable either for individual or small group study.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 18, 2018
• ISBN: 9780244667221

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Maturing In the Christian Faith - Ten Lessons from the Book of James

MATURING IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Ten Lessons from the

Book of James

Elena Arnaudova

MATURING IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH 

Ten Lessons from the Book of James

Copyright © 2017 by Elena Arnaudova. 

All Rights Reserved. This publication may be printed and copied for personal or church use but may not be reproduced for profit or any commercial use.

ISBN: 978-0-244-66722-1

www.lulu.com

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.  Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House.  

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright details of other translations are cited in the footnotes of the chapter in which they appear.

Introduction

(James 1:1)

This is a letter written by James, the half-brother of Jesus.  After the death & resurrection of Jesus, James became a leader in the Jerusalem church.  This letter, written probably around 49AD, was to the Jewish Christians who had been scattered abroad through persecution.  At that time there were Jewish-Christian communities living in Rome, Alexandria, Cyprus, Greece and Asia Minor.  These early believers did not have the support of an established Christian church so James wrote to them to encourage them in their faith through those difficult times and to give them practical advice on how to live effective Christian lives.

This letter is also very relevant to us.  As twenty-first century Christians, we can experience many different challenges as we live in an increasingly secular, pluralistic society. In the same way that those Jewish Christians must have been influenced by the Gentile communities in which they were living, there are temptations also for us to compromise or dilute our faith in order to fit in with those around us.  

Are you in a situation where you daily face difficulty, persecution, or challenges to your faith?  Are you in a place where you really don’t want to be because it’s just too hard?  Perhaps this is exactly the place where God wants you – he wants you in that department where there is no other Christian witness in order to be a light. (Didn’t you pray for God to use you?)  He wants you in that neighbourhood; he wants to keep you in that difficult relationship because He knows that not only will the experience refine and purify you but it will bring change also to those around you.

Sometimes when we encounter difficulties we can be tempted to think that it is because we are in the wrong place or doing the wrong thing.  We think that the fact that we are encountering problems demonstrates that we are not in the will of God but how far from the truth!  Just look at these early Christians.  The very last words Jesus had spoken to his followers before his ascension to heaven was that they would be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 

So we can surmise from this that the trials and difficulties facing those early believers due to persecution and subsequent displacement were in line with God’s will and were instrumental in bringing about his purpose that the gospel and good news would reach all mankind  (Acts 1: 8).  We could also cite the example of Paul who faced imprisonment, flogging, shipwreck and finally execution.  Yet Paul was probably without a doubt the greatest missionary and church planter in the whole of history. He was also responsible for writing almost half of the New Testament!

With these thoughts in mind, therefore, let us turn to the first of our ten studies – overcoming trials and temptations.

Lesson 1

Overcoming Trials and Temptations

(James 1:2-4 and 13-15)

The very first subject addressed by James in his letter is that of our faith being tested, strengthened and purified when we face trials and temptations.  James instructs his readers that trials are in fact not only beneficial but necessary to our Christian growth.  Notice that James doesn’t say if but whenever you face trials.  He doesn’t even say when, which might imply only one occasion, but whenever implying that the believer will undergo numerous trials.  Moreover, we are instructed that these trials will be of many kinds. In other words, we will face trials of many different kinds.

How many of us naively thought when we gave our life to Jesus that our days would become all plain sailing, that it would be the end of all our troubles and that, in the words of every good fairy-tale, we would live happily ever after?  This is just not reality.  If it were, why would Jesus have warned his disciples that they must count the cost before following him?  Why is the road narrow that leads to heaven but wide that leads to destruction if not for the fact that as Christians we walk a difficult path that not all will choose to take?  There are Christians in many parts of the world who, like those early Christians, suffer brutally for their faith; they face torture and even death.  Here in the West the trials we undergo may be more subtle, attacking our minds and emotions more than our physical bodies, but they can be just as real and just as dangerous. 

Before looking at how we can overcome the trials and temptations we face it is important to make a distinction between them.  Trials arise from our outward circumstances and God may allow them (or even initiate them), as we have already said, for the testing and strengthening of our faith.  Temptations, however, come from our own evil desires within us and are never from God.  God will never tempt us to sin (1:13).  Temptations come either from our own flesh or from the devil. 

It is possible that as a result of a trial we can fall into sin and we must beware of that trap.  For example, a Christian may be experiencing marriage difficulties and as a result of being unfulfilled and unhappy in the marriage they may be tempted to fall into the sin of adultery.  Or, as a result of losing a loved one we may become bitter and angry at the world and at God and remove ourselves from church and the fellowship. Instead of turning to God for comfort and strength in our time of need and allowing ourselves to be encouraged by our fellow Christians, we