As a whole the epistle of James is written with a focus upon the daily character and conduct of believers. It is filled with imperative instructions, exhortations, and even correctives. As a pastor James originally wrote this epistle under the inspiration of God the Holy Spirit to the Jewish believers who were scattered throughout the empire of Rome. His Holy Spirit inspired purpose was to provide pastoral counsel for a spiritually mature walk in the lives of these believers.
The opening matter about which this epistle provides pastoral counsel concerns the troubles, trials, and tribulations of our lives. Yet the truth of this opening passage does not simply give us words of comfort as we face the afflictions of this life. Rather, this opening passage confronts us with an instruction for our attitude as we face the afflictions of life. Grammatically the single sentence of James 1:2-3 can be divided into three parts. First, there is the exhortational imperative of the main clause – “My brethren, count it all joy.” Then there is the contextual incident of the subordinate clause – “When ye fall into divers temptations.” Finally, there is the motivational information of the participial phrase – “Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”
1. The Universal Dilemma of troubles, trials, and tribulations 2. The Required Demeanor of “all joy” in our hearts 3. The Purposeful Decision of counting trials as “all joy” 4. The Divine Design of testing and proving our faith 5. The Motivational Development of spiritual growth in our lives
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Pastor Scott Markle was raised in a Christian home, and received the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior at the age of four. He has served the Lord his God and Savior in pastoral ministry since 1992. He has served as the pastor of Melvin Baptist Church, a small country church in the...
