James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:1-4
Following are significant statements from "A Thirst for Wholeness" by Jay Adams. What more needs to be said about this passage?
James calls the mature Christian—who is in the process of resisting and overthrowing sin, whose faith is strong and unwavering, whose prayers are effective, and who knows how to endure trial—a “complete” (teleios) person. (p 11)
Biblically speaking, a perfect person, therefore, is one who on all fronts (without exception) is progressing in his Christian life—not one who no longer sins. In every area of his life, the process of maturation is properly at work. (p 12)
Apart from the good effects of endurance under trial, a Christian is incomplete. Endurance under trial has an inner “work” to do. That is why James encourages you to avoid shortcuts. He wants trials to produce endurance, which is part of God’s “perfect work”. (p 13)
James doesn’t say “feel joyful,” about the trial, but “consider it all joy.” Now, there’s something you can do whether you feel like it or not. Indeed, this is not just good advice, but something you must learn to do; James lays it down as a command. (p 17)
God holds you responsible to endure. If you give up, saying, “It’s too much” or “It’s too tough” when God’s Word says differently (I Cor 10:13), you will remain spiritually immature. Instead of strengthening your faith by learning to handle trials God’s way, you weaken your faith by repeated failures. (p 23)
No one wins the great contest who has not won many seemingly insignificant ones first. (p 23)
You will be tempted to cut short the process of building endurance…. But if in some unbiblical way you cut the process short, you will lack the spiritual endurance the trial was designed to produce. At the moment you need that spiritual strength, you will find yourself incomplete. (p 24)
Following are significant statements from "A Thirst for Wholeness" by Jay Adams. What more needs to be said about this passage?
James calls the mature Christian—who is in the process of resisting and overthrowing sin, whose faith is strong and unwavering, whose prayers are effective, and who knows how to endure trial—a “complete” (teleios) person. (p 11)
Biblically speaking, a perfect person, therefore, is one who on all fronts (without exception) is progressing in his Christian life—not one who no longer sins. In every area of his life, the process of maturation is properly at work. (p 12)
Apart from the good effects of endurance under trial, a Christian is incomplete. Endurance under trial has an inner “work” to do. That is why James encourages you to avoid shortcuts. He wants trials to produce endurance, which is part of God’s “perfect work”. (p 13)
James doesn’t say “feel joyful,” about the trial, but “consider it all joy.” Now, there’s something you can do whether you feel like it or not. Indeed, this is not just good advice, but something you must learn to do; James lays it down as a command. (p 17)
God holds you responsible to endure. If you give up, saying, “It’s too much” or “It’s too tough” when God’s Word says differently (I Cor 10:13), you will remain spiritually immature. Instead of strengthening your faith by learning to handle trials God’s way, you weaken your faith by repeated failures. (p 23)
No one wins the great contest who has not won many seemingly insignificant ones first. (p 23)
You will be tempted to cut short the process of building endurance…. But if in some unbiblical way you cut the process short, you will lack the spiritual endurance the trial was designed to produce. At the moment you need that spiritual strength, you will find yourself incomplete. (p 24)
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