Blessed Are The Tried

I. The Man Who Endures Temptation Is Blessed (v. 12)

James 1:12 NKJV

12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

A. Blessed Because He Knows Trials are Tests

The one who endures is “approved” or shown to be genuine. The way that we are supposed to think of this approval is that God will permit trials to invade our lives so our faith will be vindicated. This is what we saw in the life of Job. Remember, Satan tells God that the only reason Job is faithful is because Job has a great life. So, God allows Satan to attack Job so Job’s faith is seen by all.

B. Blessed Because of A Heavenly Reward

Now, James directs our gaze beyond the trial to its appointed end. When you go to school, you endure because you know graduation is ahead of you. When you go to work, you endure because you know the check is in front of you. When you go to practice, you practice hard because you know that a championship trophy might be ahead of you. That idea of reward is what James has in mind here. Now, I want to spend a while here to make sure we aren’t confused by this language. The first thing I want us to consider is:

The Nature of the Reward: The Crown of Life

When we hear about crowns, we usually think of the cool things the King and Queen of England wear. However, that’s most likely not what James had in mind. James, like Paul, is referring to a wreath which athletes would receive after they won their race. What James and Paul both emphasize for us is that the crown that we’re striving for doesn’t whither up like the athletes crown. Rather, we are striving for something that is incorruptible.

The next thing I want us to know about the nature of this reward is that you aren’t striving to earn salvation. My fear is that you might read this text and think, “Okay, I’ve got to ace this next temptation is I’m going to get into Heaven.” What we need to get is that if you are in Christ now, you have already received eternal life. Remember, what Jesus says in John 6:47:

John 6:47 NKJV

47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

So, for the Christian, eternal life is already possessed. What James is referring to, however, is that after this life of trials that we are facing, we will enter into the fullness of our eternal life. We will enjoy a glorified life. So, James is not trying to motivate endurance by fear of loss, but by hope of consummation. Trials are not pointless; but preparatory. However, the idea of enduring these trials is still in the text. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t fight against temptation and endure. That would be a dangerous mistake for us to make!

James is teaching us that in the midst of this life of trials and temptations, we can endure. And after we endure, we will enter into our heavenly reward. But this causes us to ask, “How do we endure.”

C. The Blessed Man Endures by His Love For Christ

Endurance flows from affection. In John 14:15, Jesus says:

John 14:15 ESV

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

There are some who interpret this not as a command, but as a promise, and I tend to agree. They understand the Lord to mean that those who love Him, and remember John taught us that we only love Jesus because He first loved us, and since we now love Him, we will now live a life which obeys His commands. As we look back in James, we then can say, “Hey, the blessed man will endure trials not only because a glorious inheritance is before him, but because he lives for a Lord that he loves.”

II. This Man Must Understand Temptation (vv. 13–15)

James 1:13–15 NKJV

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

A. God Is Not Your Tempter

James wants to carefully pause to make sure that we know that it’s not okay to blame God for our temptations. While God ordains the events of our lives, such as hardships, he does not cause the temptation to sin that we might face in that hardship. For instance, God may send a storm into your life, but if you find yourself filled with anger and complaining in that storm, that’s not on God, that’s on you and the evil forces that used that storm to entice you to bitterness. Since God cannot be tempted to sin, He cannot entice us to sin because that would make Him the author of sin. While He might permit sin, He never authors it.

B. Temptation Works Like This:

Understanding temptation from James 1:12-13

1. Your mind is drawn to sinful desires. (Satan knows your proclivities).

2. You entertain those distractions and find them pleasurable. (Like Eve).

3. You indulge in that sin.

4. You, being ensnared, will be brought to ruin.

Satan knows your sinful proclivities. He will not dangle a carrot in front of a wolf. He knows where to target you and is a master of his craft. So, you must watch and pray, knowing that these tests are overcome by those who love the Lord.

III. This Man Knows God’s Character (vv. 16–18)

James 1:16–18 NKJV

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

A. God Is Good

Every good and perfect gift descends from above. Trials do not contradict His goodness; they serve it.

B. God Is Unchanging

There is no variation or shadow in Him. The God who saves by grace sustains by grace. By calling God the Father of Lights, James is telling you to look up into the sky at the Sun, Moon, and Stars. The idea is that God’s creation and sustaining of this massive lights is a continual reminder that He is unchanging and capable of caring for you. So, not only is God good, but He is forever good and nothing is changing that.

C. God Is Gracious

Next, James builds on that fathering language and now refers to God birthing us spiritually by His word. So, in essence, James is saying, “You see that Sun is the sky? The God who made that has preserved it continually. That same God gave you new birth when you were dead in sin, and just like the Sun, He will take care of you. So, when you’re tempted to question Him in times of trial, look up at the sky and be reminded that He is good and He never changes.”

By saying that we are a “kind of firstfruits,” James is telling us that God has extended grace to us through the gospel and made us a kind of down payment on a redemptive plan that will engulf the whole world. Now, this doesn’t mean that everyone will be saved. But it does mean that the whole physical world will experience redemption at the last day. This is what the Earth groans for according to Paul. Romans 8:18-23

Romans 8:18–23 NKJV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.