Episode 23: Is Your Faith Actually Steady?

Is your faith actually steady?

In this episode, we study James 1:1–18 and look at the difference between a steady faith and a divided one. James shows us that trials are not random, wisdom is necessary, and instability often comes from within, not from our circumstances.

Transcript

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Welcome to Rooted with Emily Talento, where we explore who Jesus is through context, culture, and covenant. Today we're doing something exciting. So the past, I don't know, what is it? Two months, three months since this started, we've been building a biblical worldview. What are the foundations for what we believe as Christians? What are the things that we don't realize that make a really big impact in how we view the world, but do? So that's what we've been tackling. Now we're shifting to more practical. How do we read the Bible? Let's study the Bible together. And so that's what we're doing. We're gonna be doing, I believe it's gonna be six weeks on the book of James. So Tuesdays we're gonna be in the book of James together. And then on Thursdays, we're gonna have more free-flowing topical conversations about, I don't know, whatever I feel like that week. So this upcoming week. Actually, let's not. There's been a few times when I've said things are gonna happen and they just don't go the way that I think they're going to, just because, you know, life. And so I'm not gonna say what's gonna happen this week, but just you know, random stuff, whether it's a discussion on how Christians respond to war or the persecuted church or an interview, whatever it is, different stuff like that. So for James, I'm so pumped, guys. James is amazing, and it's one of those things that I remember the first time I read it in high school, and I was like, this is so practical, this is so applicable to my life, like beyond. And then I, you know, studied it in Bible college and all things, but then I hadn't read it in a while, and I read it back in the fall, and man, even having studied it, it still blows me away. And so it's been a blast to get to dive in, and so that's what we're gonna do. The format for our study is gonna be similar to what I described a few episodes ago in my explanation of how we should study the Bible. So, looking at the text slowly, taking observations, being curious, then looking at what the text shows us about God, and then looking at how we can apply to our life based on what we learned about God. And so we're gonna read the text together. Um, actually, before we read the text, I want to give you a little bit of background about the book of James, so you have a little bit of framework, and then we'll read the text through, and then we'll go back and you know, unpack a little further. So, James is actually Jesus' brother, which is super cool. And here, I'm gonna put this here so I could look at both at the same time. He was a leader, the leader of the church in Jerusalem. So super big responsibility, important role. He's writing the book to the scattered Jewish believers. Actually, the way he says it in verse one is super interesting. He says, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, super interesting wording that he decides to recognize the 12 tribes. If you don't remember the 10 northern tribes of Israel, so everyone other than Judah and Benjamin were dispersed by the Assyrians a little less than a thousand years ago from the time that James is writing. And so the fact that he would acknowledge the 12 tribes is just another place of showing continuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament. God's promises never fail. Okay, so just throwing that in there, super cool. And the purpose of the book is just so practical, it's so lived out. The theme that we're going to be focusing on in this study, and there are a few different themes across the book of James that we could lock in on, but this idea of steadfastness, we can see it playing through from the first chapter to the last chapter, almost as if James is like, this is what the whole point of this entire letter has been. And it's this idea of steadfastness, being steady in our faith. We're gonna read it, the passage in its entirety, and then we'll go back through. So, James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion. Greetings. Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich brother in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass, he will pass away, for the sun rises with his scorching heat, and withers the grass, its flower falls, and its beauty perishes, so also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trials, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lord and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Okay, so that's what we're going to be unpacking today. So good, so many amazing points that I'm so excited to get into together. Let's go into some observations. So, observation one. Trials are forming something, they're not in vain. There's purpose to it. So it says, count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds. This testing of our faith, it produces steadfastness. Steadfastness again, being the theme that we are looking at. And why does it matter that we have steadfastness? Oh, because when steadfastness is in its full effect, then we are perfect and lacking in nothing. Oh, sorry. Perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. I don't know about you, but we live in a broken world. And so obviously the brokenness is all around us and it's very evident and clear. We don't have to go further than our own phone to see the destruction of this world, right? But I also don't have to go further than my own self. I could see my own brokenness. And so this idea of being perfect and complete and lacking in nothing is very appealing to me. But I only get that if I'm steadfast. And so steadfastness only comes from trials. So not that it makes me be like, oh, I want to go through trials. Obviously, nobody wants to go through trials. However, it does shift my perspective in trials because I could know confidently that the trials produce steadfastness. Steadfastness produces perfection and completion where I'll be lacking in nothing. That's so wild. Okay. If you've been watching for a minute, you know we have rooted moments. They've kind of shifted form, not gonna lie, like trying to figure out what they look like. And sometimes at their end, sometimes they're at the beginning. Right now, we're gonna be doing multiple throughout. The purpose is to get us to understand the original context and culture of scripture when it was written that we are likely missing here in 2026 in America or wherever we're watching from. So, rooted moment number one. We're gonna look at steadfastness. Now, my background's in Hebrew. It's been a blast to get to look at the Greek as the New Testament was written in Greek, so I'm learning a ton. But we hear the word steadfastness and we have a picture of what that looks like, what that means, consistency, remaining under trials. Like we have pictures, right? The Greek is referring to it's not just patience, it's endurance under pressure. So it's staying where you are and not moving off what you believe. Like there is a resoluteness, there is um a stability, there is uh a foundation that you're standing on that you are not moving from. Okay, let's move on to observation number two. You need wisdom. This is connected to verse five. Now, I'll read it quick. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. How cool. How many things are like that that we could just ask God freely and he will give generously? I feel like so often there's so many prayers we have that we're like, oh hey God, like please. And it's like, no, here, take all the wisdom. Wild. Because without wisdom, we have instability. And that's something that we could see play out over these next few verses. Now I'm very excited to get to this next observation, so we're gonna do that. Double-mindedness is the real danger. This is verses six through eight. But let him ask in faith, let him ask for wisdom, let him ask in faith without doubting. For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord. He is double-minded and unstable in all his ways. Okay. This is like my favorite verse in the chapter, truthfully. Now, when we again like steadfastness, I think we have a certain image that comes to mind. Double-minded. What is it saying? What is the Greek referring to? It's this idea of divided trust. And because of this divided trust, we are unstable in all of our ways. Now, this double-mindedness is something that we've all experienced at different points, maybe currently, right now. The second rooted moment for this episode, this Greek word for double-minded, it literally means too souled. Think like divided self, split loyalty, two internal directions. It's not so much, oh, I'm struggling to trust, like I have doubts. It's rather part of me trusts God and part of me doesn't, and I'm living out both. Now, this is probably relatable to everybody because I'm sure we've all had seasons of life where there maybe, again, we're in one right now, but there are areas in our life that are submitted to God, we're trusting God, we're doing everything we're supposed to be doing, but then there's other areas where maybe we're not. Maybe we're living for ourselves and it's just totally separate and disconnected. That's what he's referring to. So, so convicting. So we're gonna jump down to verse 12 for observation four. This is another really cool passage because well, it explains trials versus temptation, and you also can see the process of how sin takes place and the aftermath. So I'll read it again and then we'll unpack further. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast, here we are, under trials, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say, when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lord and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it is conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown, brings forth death. Okay. So first thing. Trials bring forth steadfastness. Temptation, it doesn't have to be bad. It doesn't have to be wrong. I mean, we know that Jesus was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. We know this from the book of Hebrews. We also could see this play out in the desert in early in his ministry, before his ministry, he was being tempted by Satan, he didn't give in, he didn't sin. So I would argue actually that temptation could be a good thing, because it means that there's conviction, you are fighting. It's the worst is when there's no temptation, when you have a desire and you just act on it. So temptation means that there's a sense of conviction. However, if we're not fighting temptation, then what's preventing us from giving in? And if we're giving in to temptation, then we can see the pattern that ensues. I just want to highlight very quickly, the text makes it very clear, abundantly clear, that God doesn't tempt anyone. And so that might not sound like it might sound like it's obvious, but it's really important that we have that right in our heads because we all have different temptations, and to have the distinction right in our head that this is a trial, and a temptation could be an element of a trial, but the temptation itself is not the trial. Trials come from outside circumstances, temptation comes from inward desire. Again, not that temptation can't be a response to trials. However, the temptation itself is its own thing. Because remember, we know that God uses trials to shape us. God also can use temptation. I don't mean that God himself is causing the temptation in any way. Obviously, the text is super clear, but we know that God works all things for good. So God could use the temptation that we ourselves are responsible for in our sin nature to rely on him more, to kill our flesh and trust in him more deeply. My pastor was talking about this yesterday, and I always really appreciate it because we give so much credit to the enemy for our temptation, for our failure. The enemy could take a break for the next 10 years, and there would still be just as much sin in the world because, as the text states, it comes back to our own desire. We are responsible for way more than we give ourselves credit for in a bad way. Usually we give ourselves credit for the good. It's the bad. I just love the pattern that the text lays out. How we could see it play through very physically. We have the opportunity to turn away from our sin. And if we don't, this is the result. This is what happens. Observation five. God is unchanging and forming life. Verse 16 through 18. It says, Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. Okay. So much that we miss by just having a 2026 American mindset. So rooted moment number three. This term father of lights we just read past. But what is James getting at? So this term father of lights is referring to the creator of the sun, moon, and stars. But unlike the sun, moon, and stars, he doesn't shift or dim or change. We in 2026 have electricity. So we, unlike the ancient people that would have received this letter, don't rely on the light of the sun, moon, and stars. So they would have been very aware of how shadows moved and how lights fade and how seasons change. Very differently than how we are experiencing it today. And what James is saying in this passage, I'll read it again. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there was no variation or shadow due to change. We're going to talk about this in the next episode. Our God is unchanging. This is just another example of that. Even the imagery he uses, he says, with whom there was no variation or shadow due to change. But the original readers would have understood a deeper message. God is the same. That's the takeaway there. Now, this last insight for verse 18. I guess it could be considered a rooted moment. But we again miss so much context. This is very deeply Hebrew in understanding. Remember, he's writing to the Jews in the dispersion. So there's this, some of the letters are written to Gentile believers. This is specifically being written to people who have, I mean, we talk about context all the time, context for our God and for history that that the Gentiles didn't have. And so Paul is writing in a way that their understanding that we who don't have this Hebrew context are also missing. This is so cool. Okay, so in James 18, it says, of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth. This is birth language. He is saying that we have new life in God. Now, the context, remember, we just talked about how our desire gives birth to sin, and when it's fully grown, it leads to death. So we have these two things that are forming us, either our desire or God. And ultimately we get to choose. But then he goes on to say, because there's a comma, right? I'll read it in context. Of his own will, he brought us forth by the word of truth that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creation. Okay, this is so Hebrew. Like this is so dripping in the Old Testament. Let me tell you why. The definition of first fruits is the first and best portion of the harvest set apart for God. So what James is saying is you are the first fruits of creation. You are the beginning of what I am doing. You are set apart. You are a part of something much larger than yourselves. How crazy. How cool. This also speaks to the continuity of the Old and New Testament, that God's promises remain, that He is faithful to the very end. And so, with all of this, this is the whole text that we're going to be covering today. We looked at the observations. Now we're going to look at what this show us about our God. When we look at the passage as a whole, we can see that he's forming us, he's not punishing us. He's generous, he's giving us good gifts. He's not a source of sin. He doesn't change. He wants to give us wisdom and he gives us life. So with that being, what we can see, or some of the things we could definitely go into a lot more detail about all of the things that we can learn about our God. But based on that, how should we respond? What is the application that we could take away from this? Passage. It's our job to ask for wisdom. It literally says in verse 6, ask him for wisdom. He's wanting to give it to us, but don't doubt when you ask because then he won't give it to you. Choosing steadfastness in all circumstances. I think this just gives perspective to trials. Obviously, trials are hard. But if we know that steadfastness is being produced, and when steadfastness comes to fruition entirely, then we are complete lacking in nothing. Then I think it does help. We need to stop blaming God. It's not his fault. He's protecting us, he's loving us, he's working all things out for our good. And somehow we're still like, God, really? Like, really, you're like, get out. It's it's it's not it, man. But we're all guilty of it, so and last but not least, we need to anchor our lives in who he is. I feel like that's the theme of this podcast, right? Oh my gosh, yeah, rooted. That's everything. This idea that on our own, we have no foundation, we have no stability, we have no steadfastness, and so it's anchoring into what he already has, what he's already doing, what he's already done, and standing strong, rooted in that. That looks like spending time in the Bible. That looks like spending time with friends that are encouraging. That looks like listening to worship music. That looks like just spending time in prayer. Easier said than done, all of it, I know. But that is how we anchor in to who he is. Reminding ourselves of truth. We're so quick to forget. And in closing, a steady faith isn't one that never struggles. Obviously, that's not real life. But it is one that's rooted in who God is. And that is where we're gonna end for today. I am super excited to study this book together. If you enjoyed this episode, if you like, comment, subscribe, all the things that you would do for any of the other podcasts that you like. I would appreciate it if you follow me on Instagram at Emily Talento and at rooted with Emily Talento. And maybe share this with somebody that you think could be encouraged by the book of James. So I hope you have a great day, and I will see you next time.