James 1:12-15 Sermon

Introduction

Throw some comments in!

With all the craziness in our world right now, there are a lot of people saying some pretty crazy things and justifying all kinds of things by their belief in what this time means.

Story of blaming God for temptation as a way of justifying sin

James 1:12–15 ESV

12 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. 13 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. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

I. Trials are a blessing

Remaining steadfast under trial results in blessing

What does “blessed” mean? This is a really common word today actually, #blessed.

The Greeks used this word to describe “transcendent happiness beyond care, labour and death”

This is meant really in relation to the gods, who exist in a happy state above earthly sufferings

But it was also used to describe the happiness of humans

This is essentially how many people use this word today - “blessed” simply means I am happy, and it is a happiness rooted in my circumstances

But the Bible turns this word upside down

It means the same thing - happiness, fortune, blessing

But it is found not in easy circumstances but in suffering, particularly in suffering for the kingdom of Jesus - it has an eschatological bent

The Theological Dictionary of the New Testament D. The Word Group in the New Testament.

A clear difference from the Gk. beatitudes is that all secular goods and values are now completely subsidiary to the one supreme good, the kingdom of God, whether it be that the righteous man may hope for this, is certain of it, has a title to it, or already has a part in it. The predominating estimation of the kingdom of God carries with it a reversal of all customary evaluations.

Jesus says that the ones who are “blessed” are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the ones who are persecuted for righteousness, the ones who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the ones who are pure in heart and peacemakers.

The point? Blessed is the person who is living his life with an eye on the future promises of God to bring about the kingdom of Jesus and give his people a place in it. This is where James goes:

James 1:12 ESV

12 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.

Question: How have you experienced joy and blessing in the midst of trial?

God has promised the crown of life to those who love him, and will give it to those who remain steadfast under trial

What is “the test?”

James uses the same word seven times in 4 verses, and it is translated “trial,” “test,” or “tempt”

It can refer in an external reality that happens to a person, which would be translated as “trial” or “test”

This carries the purpose, as we talked about a couple of weeks ago, of refining our character to make us more like Jesus

It can refer to an inward pull toward selfishness, greed, idolatry, sin, and it is translated “tempt”

This carries the purpose of pulling us into sin and away from God

Ultimately, life itself is the great test - it is filled with adversity at every turn, and in large part the measure of a person is not whether he encounters trial but how he endures it.

God has promised the crown of life to those who love him

The crown of life is a phrase that simply refers to life eternal, salvation in Jesus Christ

The only other place this phrase is used is , where Jesus is addressing the church and he says to the Church in Smyrna:

Revelation 2:8–10 ESV

8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “ ‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

What is the simple point to this church?

James is reminding his readers of the future hope they have in Christ, that God has promised to give the crown of life to those who love him

This is an allusion to a theme James will pick up - a great comparison he makes in his book is between those who actually love God and those who don’t

James 4:4 ESV

4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

James is tying his readers’ hope to the gospel

Jesus has died for the forgiveness of sin

He was raised from the dead and now offers the crown of life to any who trust in him

Since Jesus is radically faithful,

Summary: James is wanting us to understand in the midst of our difficult circumstances, God is teaching us to trust him and to love him.

He is inviting us to respond to the gospel and live in light of it

That in Christ, we know we are loved by God because Jesus suffered for us

He is reminded that through the gospel, through Jesus suffering and dying for us, we are forgiven of our sin, adopted into the family of God, and promised eternal life - all of this for James is summed up in the phrase “the crown of life.”

He is inviting us to respond to the gospel by loving God more than all else, but steadfastly enduring trial with hope, faith, and obedience to God.

Application: So let’s ask:

As we go through this very difficult season, do we love God more than we love the world?

Are we operating on values inherited from the world around us or are we living in light of our love for God?

Are we hoarding things for ourselves or are we generously sharing with our community?

A crisis should not cause us to put our love for God on hold but rather to lean deeper into it as we remember his love for us.

II. Every trial brings temptation

Remember, the same word can refer to either a “trial” or a “temptation”

James is using this wordplay to make a very important point: EVERY TRIAL BRINGS TEMPTATION

Every trial is an opportunity to learn to trust God more, but it is also a temptation to sin

James 1:13–15 ESV

13 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. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

God is not the author of temptation

God is not the author of temptation

Temptation comes from within

James warns us not to say when we experience trial, “God is tempting me to sin”

Because God cannot be tempted with evil

Literally “God is without temptation to evil”

Because God does not tempt anyone toward evil

Since there is no evil in God, he is not in the business of tempting others to evil

Temptation to sin comes from within

Because to do so is to tragically ignore the actual source of temptation: Ourselves

Temptation comes from within

Temptation comes from within

James gives a string of thoughts to describe how temptation happens

A person is tempted because he is “lured and enticed by his own desire”

This is a fishing metaphor - a fish is lured by bait on a hook, and then when he has bitten it he is dragged away

A person is tempted by his own desires that lure him like bait and then drag him away

This is reminiscent of

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

Eve “saw” that the tree was good

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

It was a delight to her eyes

It was to be desired to make a person wise

So she took it (it was not against the command of God to touch the fruit, but rather simply to eat it)

Taking the fruit set her on the path, it was the biting on the baited hook

She ate it

This is all a graphic and honestly terrifying description of how temptation works

You begin to see or think about something you desire that is against the will of God

You believe the bait, are enticed by the lure

You bite down on it thinking it will taste good, and it ends up being a hook

You are dragged away

In the end, your sin will kill you

But how does this happen?

Application: Desire, Fear and Trust

Desires are tricky things. I was thinking about trying to divide up “good desires” from “bad desires,” but the more I thought about the more I thought that didn’t make sense - what would be a bad desire? The desire to rob someone? Well, does anyone desire to rob someone? Do any of you desire to rob someone? If you were going to rob someone, would it be because your desire was to rob them, or because of another desire you had that resulted in your perception that you needed to rob someone?

Well, some are.

Here’s my point: Desires are deep, deep things that may not be inherently evil on their own, but can quickly turn us to evil. How does that happen? We try to satisfy our desires apart from God, usually out of fear. The fear that you may not get what you desire will tempt you to sin. The fear that without satisfying your desire you will be incomplete will tempt you to sin.

Lust for someone who is not your wife.

Fear. The fear that you may not get what you desire will tempt you to sin. The fear that without satisfying your desire you will be incomplete will tempt you to sin.

Robbing from some

How do good desires turn evil?

Example 3: Toilet Paper/Food

I desire to practice good hygiene, particularly because I am fearful of the coronavirus

I am fearful that in the apocalypse there will not be enough toilet paper and so I will not be able to practice good hygiene. This thought terrifies me, so I buy all of the toilet paper I can find.

Example 1: Pornography

I desire to have security for myself and my family

I am afraid that we will run out of food and not be able to buy more

I desire intimacy and connection.

But I am terrified of intimacy and connection because they make me vulnerable, so I seek out a means of satisfying my desire for intimacy without the vulnerable part.

So I buy everything I can

How many marriages are ruined simply by fear? Fear that if I let my guard down I’ll get hurt, fear that I’ll lose out because _____.

Example 2: Not talking to people about Jesus and the gospel

I desire to be valued, appreciated, respected, liked

I am afraid of losing that respect or appreciation, so I don’t do anything that might make people not like me, including talking about Jesus

Example 3: Toilet Paper/Food

I desire to practice good hygiene, particularly because I am fearful of the coronavirus

I am fearful that in the apocalypse there will not be enough toilet paper and so I will not be able to practice good hygiene. This thought terrifies me, so I buy all of the toilet paper I can find.

Fear uses our desires to entice and lure us, and when we bite on that we are dragged away to sin that will eventually kill us.

So what do we do? We choose trust over fear. We choose to trust Jesus.

We trust that our sins are forgiven

We trust that we truly do have life eternally in him

We trust that he really is the way, the truth and the life, and that there is no real life outside of him

We trust that following him in obedience, steadfast even in our trials, is the path to real blessing.

We trust him because he has proven both his love for us and his great power and majesty in his suffering on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.

Landing

Semantics - believe vs. trust

Belief says “I agree with you”

Trust says “I’ll put my life in your hands”

Belief is oriented around cognitive understanding and intellectual assent

Trust is oriented around action and response

So for us to resist temptation, we have to TRUST JESUS

We have to ACT on our belief in him and our trust in him

We have to respond to him in faith.

He’s worth it. He is good, he has given his life for us, he has risen from the grave, he is the sovereign Lord of all creation, and so we have nothing to fear and need not give in to any temptation, because in Christ we are blessed when we suffer trials and we are promised the crown of life.

Transition:

Time of response:

Communion

Offering

Church we still need you to believe in the gospel ministry that our church can do in the city of Redmond and in Deschutes County

Song of worship

Let us live in this season with great confidence and trust in Jesus.

Make sure to tune in tomorrow at noon for another RCC Update and Church Devotion