Dealing with failure

[Shaolin]

In James chapter 1 we read a telling passage...


James 1:12*
Blessed is the man who continues to cleave to God through temptation even if he fails, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.


This is a direct rendering of the Greek with its full grammar intact, which is why it reads differently from most English word-for-word translations (because Greek cannot be accurately rendered into English on a word-for-word basis). What James is saying, is that the most important thing for a person to do, is remain clinging to God, even when he fails (ie; falls to sin). There is a difference between falling to sin and running to it, as John tells us in 1 John. He uses two different words for sin: hamartia, and hamartano. One means purposefully sinning with a high hand, without a care about what God says or thinks. The other means missing the mark, which is missing the mark of obedience.

These two terms speak of the will - one man wants to sin, he does not want to even try to curb his behavior; while the other man wants to walk in obedience to God, he wants to practice righteousness and holiness...but for whatever reason he falls to temptation (and there are numerous variables as to why a person falls to temptation). What John and James tell us together (or, rather, what the Holy Spirit tells us through these two apostles), is that there is a difference not only between falling to sin and running to commit sin, but also a difference of heart.

When you do not want to sin, but fall to temptation because of some weakness, the main thing is to not let satan bat you over the head constantly in repeated failure, but remember that in God's eyes, what He requires is that you desire to be sinless. That desire is what He looks at, and if we keep that in mind, He sees our hearts and does not condemn us. What He requires today under the new covenant in Christ, is that we do our best, and when we do, He takes care of the rest...

1 John 1:7
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

The "test" that James talks about in his verse, is the test that you will cling to God no matter what: whether you rise up and defeat the temptation, or whether you succumb and fall to it. What God is looking for is that we do not quit Him. He has promised that as long as we do not quit Him, He will never quit us!

Blessings!

 

[Waggles]

(DRB) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for, when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life which God hath promised to them that love him. [proved > after being assayed or tested]

(ESV) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

(KJV) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

(LEB) Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that he has promised to those who love him.

(Weymouth) Blessed is he who patiently endures trials; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the victor's crown--even the crown of Life--which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

 

[Shaolin]

(DRB) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for, when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life which God hath promised to them that love him. [proved > after being assayed or tested]

(ESV) Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

(KJV) Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.

(LEB) Blessed is the person who endures testing, because when he is approved he will receive the crown of life that he has promised to those who love him.

(Weymouth) Blessed is he who patiently endures trials; for when he has stood the test, he will gain the victor's crown--even the crown of Life--which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Yes...I assume you are highlighting the differences between the version that I used and these others. The main difference is that I go into the Greek and utilize the grammar, which most word-for-word versions do not always do, thus important information is missing from those translations. Because of the grammar, what I give is more closer to a thought-for-thought translation...again because Greek is not amendable to English translation on a strict word-for-word basis.

Blessings!

 

[Hekuran]

For this kind of thing, an interlinear Bible is a useful reference.

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/james/1-12.htm

I don't see how the "even if he fails" element belongs.

 

[Shaolin]

For this kind of thing, an interlinear Bible is a useful reference.

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/james/1-12.htm

I don't see how the "even if he fails" element belongs.

That's because the grammar is not fully taken in word for word translations. The idea that "even if he fails" is fully seated in the Greek, not only in the text but in the immediate context as well as the larger context of the NT.

Interlinears really do not help you at all if they do not contend and explain the grammar used in the Greek text. I suggest getting rid of all your interlinears and purchase for yourself Zodhiates' Word Study NT Dictionary or his Word Study Greek New Testament. They both give the grammar of each word and how the Greek rules of grammar interact.

For example, pistis (faith) is used in two different modes: subjectively or objectively. If it is used subjectively, then it can mean faith, belief conviction, persuasion, realty, or faithfulness in one's spiritual duties. But if it is used objectively, it changes the meaning to that which is believed, the doctrines and articles of Christianity.

Another example: a word in the Genitive means possession of, or origin (from); but if the word is in the Dative, it changes the meaning to an indirect object, location, or the instrumentality that something is accomplished by. When word for word translations ignore the grammar of the text because it would add a whole sentence or even three or four words, they cut off the full accuracy of what the text is actually saying in the Greek.

epi is a Greek preposition whose meaning changes when it is acted upon by different cases. When it is with the Genitive case it means on, on the basis of, over, or before (generally). When it is acted upon by the Dative case, it changes to mean at, in, or against. When it is acted upon by the Accusative case, it changes to mean distribution upon, among, throughout...and that doesn't include any of the metaphorical meanings of epi for each case.

What I am pointing out is that when the full grammar is NOT added to the translation, because they want to keep the verse two lines long (rather than the four or five lines that it would be if the grammar was fully engaged in their translation), they butcher the meaning and the full meaning never comes across to the English reader. For example...

Ephesians 4:11-14 (ESV)
11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers,
12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,
13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.


Ephesians 4:11-14*
11 And truly, God gave the apostles, and the prophets, and the evangelists, and the pastors, and teachers to the church;
12 for the end result of the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministering to others, the result of the process of building up the Body of Christ through spiritual instruction and edification:
13 until we all attain to the unity of the doctrines of the Faith, and coming to know the Son of God through personal relationship, into a maturity of knowledge and understanding of the truth;
into the measure of spiritual maturity in Christ, reaching the intended goal of life in Christ - the fullness of Christian knowledge and love:
14 so that we might no longer be infants in doctrinal understanding, tossed here and there and driven about by all manner of the winds of shaky, deceitful teachings of men; deceived imposters
who seduce people into sin and error through artifice as they walk in the directions of their own carnal minds, causing the unstable to wander out of the right way of God.

If English word-for-word translations actually employed the fullness of Greek grammar into their translations, like I have in the second translation, your NT would be twice as thick...and most English publishers think its thick enough.

Blessings!