Steadfast Under Trial

Blessed is the man who remain steadfast under trial for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God's promise 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 has 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 firstfruits of his creatures pray together. Probably thank you for your word, a word that is so much more than just words on a page but a word that is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, a word that is able to penetrate and penetrate through our callous hardened hearts and and expose our motives or intentions's even powerful enough to correct those motives and intentions Holy Spirit would you take that word now and do with it what needs to be done in our minds and our wills and our affections.

We prayed all the name of Jesus Christ. The living word. Amen to be seated.

If I were to summarize James's main point in the verses we just read. I would say it's this the only way to win the prize is to finish the race. The only way to win the prize is to finish the race. Now I realize that in this, everyone gets a trophy sort of world in which we find ourselves. That assertion that James is making is not obvious to everyone in the real world where cause and effect are inseparably linked where if you don't plant the seed you don't get the fruits. The only way to get the prize is to finish the race. Only way to receive the crown of life. James calls it, is to remain steadfast to the end of the test I ran track. When I was in elementary school and one of the events that Iran was the grueling 440. The color of the 400 m now, it's that it's 1/4 mile race one lap around the track. So it's too short to be a distance race but it's too long to to be an all out sprint is just a miserable length of the race while I wasn't that great at running the 440 m was my body. We often found ourselves at the back of the pack. One particular track meet on a Saturday morning. I remember my friend now about three quarters of the way around this race and we were in second to last place and last place respectively.

We were coming on the last turn and I reach deep down inside somewhere and and found a little bit of a kick. For those last yards.

The race next thing I knew I had crossed the finish line and promptly ran onto the infield and through out right there in front of all of the of the spectators. It was one of my life shining moments when I glanced back to see how my friend was doing. He wasn't even there. He actually never finished the race. Instead, he had veered off the track. Going into the last turn and headed over to the concession stand and he was already buying a hot dog. He realized he was gonna come in last place. Anyways, I guess he thought we was the point, the concession stand right here.

If I finish rise up and walk all the way back to get my hot dog saw just save myself some steps. Needless to say my friend did not receive a prize for that race.

Why because he didn't finish the race.

If you don't finish the race.

You don't get the prize. Now course, James is not speaking of athletic races here in chapter 1 he speaking metaphorically of the trials of life, those trials of various kinds that we talked about last time we remember from from the first three or four verses of James that trials these these hardships these difficulties that come up in life are not capricious events that just randomly happen to us for no reason, no, these these trials are designed by God for the good of his children there with their trials with purpose various hardships we encounter in life are tests of faith that ship away aspects of our character that are contrary to godliness, trials, shape and mold us in good ways they they wean us from what is harmfully produced in us what is good, but if we don't endure the trials. We won't receive the benefit and ultimately we won't receive the prize.

The thing about trials is that they are by definition trying it. If trials were easy, then we would need to be exhorted to remain steadfast through them literally.

Evidently, we like James's original readers are easily discouraged. We just want the difficult things to be over with already.

But that's not how it works, we must go through the test complete the trial. Finish the race. If were to receive the prize and so we need encouragement. We need motivation we need reassurance that God has a purpose even in our suffering and the text before us tonight James gives us four motivations to help us remain steadfast under trial. How do you finish the race. You finish the race. By longing for something by avoiding something by acknowledging something and finally by experiencing something so let's consider each of these motivations that were given as we try to answer the question, how do you finish the race. You finish the race first. By longing for something we see this in verse 12 Blessed is the man who remain 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 there two different Greek words for crown one refers to the crown of a Royal personage it's it's a little chronic pain, ruler, and that sort of crown represents the power, the authority of someone who is in charge. The other word for crown refers to an athletes crown of victory. Sometimes it's translated reef or Laurel picture, an Olympian with the with the brief on their head. This sort of crown doesn't represent power and authority. It represents victory.

It represents success. Successful completion.

It represents achievement it's it's the reward of a race well-run.

James says those who remain steadfast under trial.

Those who finish the course of life, having kept the faith receive the crown. In this second, since the reward of eternal life now. The concept of reward in relation to the Christian life well lived and can be confusing because we tend to think of a reward or something that's earned that seems contrary to grace in our minds. If an athlete puts it puts in that the proper training applies himself diligently enough you will win the race will be rewarded for his hard work and so we think of reward as a merit-based thing, but this is where the analogy that James is using breaks down and that's okay.

Analogies are limited. We know that when it comes to the Christian life.

Any reward we received from God is not and can never be merit based sinners deserve nothing but judgment because we've already lost the race wheat we can even run the spiritual race before us because were were nothing but corpses lying at the starting line incapable of any good thing.

Nevertheless, James, and many other New Testament writers clearly speak of a Christians reward, and they repeatedly call Christians to even contemplate those rewards as as motivation to faithfulness in the Christian life. We have to understand this reward. This this crown, not in terms of something we've earned by something that God graciously gives in spite of us and based solely on the merits of Christ in us. God gives the prize. The reward for a life well lived. But if we have live the Christian life. Well, it can only be because God has enabled us to do so. The concept of reward for Christian faithfulness then has to be understood as a motivating reward, not as a merit based reward, but there are also those who think of this unmerited crown of life as as a reward that is is given simply to those corpses that are lying dead at the starting line of the race. Salvation entails so much more than that God doesn't merely give undeserving sinners. The prize of eternal life. He actually changes the nature of those undeserving sinners he he regenerates spiritually dead racers.

He resurrects them he gives them running shoes. He gives them strength in their legs and strengthen their long and he gets them across the finish line. The Christian life is supposed to be actually run by grace, yes, but actually run without faith in Christ without love for God without the filling of the Holy Spirit in the life of trending obedience that goes with it.

A person will not receive the reward they must finish the race to win the prize, but the running of the race and the finishing of the race and the crown of life received as a result of running and finishing the race is all of grace. That being said, James holds up this this crown of life. This reward of eternal life as motivation for us to keep on running the press through the hardship of trials and to finish the course.

Nothing about it. If you don't love the reward.

It's not very motivating as it it it if if you don't love the crown of life.

It's been promised, you will be motivated by this crown to endure the trials. But if you love that crown that reward in every trial you encounter in life becomes an aide and a help to spur you on across the finish line. James is calling us to long for something is calling us to long for the reward to long for an eternity spent in the presence of Jesus Christ is calling us to desire heaven so much that the hurtful things people say to you, or the disappointment of deferred hopes that the fears of chronic illness or the anxiety of financial shortage. All of those things that fall under the category of trials of various kinds.

None of that deters us from our pursuit of the finish line.

I can't help but think of Paul's words in Philippians 3 where he says one thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus you learn to love Christ so much that no amount of earthly comfort or prestige. No amount of earthly trouble and pain will deter you from your pursuit of him. If you haven't, and learn to long for heaven more spend time contemplating the reward God offers to those who love him. How do we finish delay the race by longing for the crown of life. James then gives us a second motivation to aid us in remaining steadfast under trial. We finish the race first. By longing for something. But secondly, by avoiding something. If verse 12 describes the right attitude we ought to have during the trial, then verse 13 describes the wrong attitude and attitude of a thought process that ought to be avoided. Verse 13 says 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 for the thing to be avoided is blaming God for my propensity my inclination towards sin if if we find in ourselves a tendency to veer off the track and head on over the concession stand for a mid-race hotdog and folks will have that tendency in the trials of life. If we find that tendency in ourselves than we better not think that God is responsible for that tendency just because God is the one who resurrected me at the starting line and and gave me the legs of faith to run doesn't mean that my poor running is God's fall, so James is telling us to avoid now should point out that the word trial in verse 12, and the word tempted in verse 13 are from the same Greek route one is a noun. The other is a verb, but otherwise they're the same word can be confusing to us.

What I want to realize is that some of the trials of life are morally neutral. Verse 12 they they they happen and they are genuinely difficult hardships, but they are the result of some sin that we've committed by things like the death of a loved one diagnosis of a chronic illness, the loss of a job, perhaps even the sting of a relationship that's broken because of someone else's sin. These are certainly hard things to endure, but they're the kind of trials that are not the result of moral failure on your part. However, some trials are the result of moral failure on your part. Verse 13 a marriage that falls apart because of your infidelity, financial struggles that result from foolish spending sickness that is brought on by licentious living.

These are also trials, but there brought on or exacerbated by our own sinful choices.

The same Greek word is used to describe both of these types of trial. The general hardship brought on by life in a fallen world, and the specific hardship brought on by personal sin. God uses both kinds of trials. By the way, but James is exhorting us not to ascribe causation to God flip Wilson used to say, the devil made me do it. Sometimes we even say God made me do it. God made me this way. The woman you gave me took and ate of the fruit and made me eat this the sort of reasoning is wrong and it's what must be avoided if we are to finish strong.

One theologian explained this way. He said while God may test or prove his servants in order to strengthen their faith, he never seeks to induce sin and destroy their faith. Thus, despite the fact that the same Greek route is used for both the outer trial and the inner temptation is crucial to distinguish them so that outer trial in the inner temptation, a crucial crucial distinction that outer trials mentioned in verse 12 refer to the circumstances of life. It test our faith. But the inner temptation mentioned in verse 13 refers to the wicked desires in us that lead to sin. God is responsible for the first we are responsible for the second God may allow there to be a concession stand alongside the track in order to strengthen our resolve. But our desire to bail out of the race and head over to the hot dog stand is is not God's fault. It's the is the result.

It's caused by our own inner sin nature. Now some of you may be thinking, all right, what about those Scripture passages that say God give certain people, up to a reprobate mind or delivers them over to shameful lusts or hardens their hearts like Pharaoh, John Callan provides a link a helpful answer. He says when Scripture ascribes blindness of blindness or hardness of heart to God. It is not assigned to him the beginning of this blindness. Nor does it make him the author of sin so as to ascribe to him.

The blame no words. God doesn't depraved or corrupt our hearts, our hearts are already depraved and corrupted God simply gives some people over to those corruptions and it's far different than causing the corruption we we have a cat named Maggie in our house.

Maggie lives outside most of the time but occasionally see slips in the door when someone opens it. We also have a parakeet parakeet lives inside the house in a cage safe distance away from Maggie, but sometimes we will catch Maggie after she slipped and will catch her licking her lips and staring intently at the parakeet in the cage that we all know that if left to herself.

Maggie would kill and eat the parakeet right. She's only prevented by the fact of the bird is in its cage out of reach of her feline claws. If I were to remove the cage from the situation we would have a dead parakeet on her hands, but my point is I would not be causing Maggie to be a carnivorous hunter simply by removing the impediments. Maggie is already a carnivorous hunter.

That's her nature.

I'm simply controlling that nature limiting that nature for the safety of our bird and just as I can, allow or not allow our cat to live according to her nature, so God can allow or not allow us to live according to our nature to act on the impulses and desires that already exist in our hearts. He doesn't make us sinners were already backed that's James's points. Now I know I'm getting dangerously close to theological cliff here in trying to understand God I'm getting very close to questions that have no answers. At least not in this life let's avoid temptation to speak like further stick to the text is before us.

We ask you this. Why would James caution us to avoid blaming God for our own propensity to sin. All evidently he cautioned just because we have a tendency to do that that we we want to blame God for the blackness of our hearts.

Why would we want to blame God for the blackness of our hearts. I think the answer is probably obvious because if God is responsible for my sinful inclinations, then I'm not responsible. I have an out.

Truly amazing is in and how resistant we are sometimes to the idea of the sovereignty of God when were talking about the salvation of sinners were talking about the sinfulness of sinners were were eager to let God be sovereign.

James says don't do that. Don't blame God for your sin nature. James then gives two reasons why we ought not blame God for our sinful inclinations. The first is related to God's character. The second is related to his actions.

First, he says don't blame God for your sin because God cannot be tempted by evil, God cannot be tempted with evil. Then he says don't blame God for your sin, because God himself tempts no one. It is not even in God's nature to be tempted.

Then it would not be consistent with that nature for him to go around soliciting sin from those who bear his image to reflect his character by tempting them. If it is not in my nature to tweak like a bird or walk on all fours, or be nocturnal. Why would I want my children to tweak like birds and walk on all fours and be nocturnal, so both in God's character and in his actions. He keeps himself from anything that is sinful over to finish the race. Well there something we need to avoid.

And that something is the wicked tendency of blaming God for our sin nature because that will simply mask the real reason we fall prey to sinful temptations.

This brings us to the third point how do we finish the race finish the race. Thirdly, by acknowledging something by acknowledging something versus 14, 15, say, but each person is tempted when he is Lord and enticed by his own desire, then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully grown brings forth death.

We need to understand that desire is not innately bad. There were good desires, but in this context, James is referring to the fleshly selfish illicit desire.

The bad desires and desire. In this sense is at the root of our tendency to yield to temptation.

James gives us a couple of analogies to illustrate the path into sinful behavior, which is the opposite of remaining steadfast in the trial. The first analogy relates temptation to fishing our desire for sin makes us susceptible to the bait of the war of temptation, sin is alluring and enticing precisely because we have a pre-existing desire to sin that's already there when the temptation strikes if we take the bait.

We get hooked and eventually were dragged away sin often takes us much further than we want to go, but James's point is that the initial taking of the bait is rooted in an individual's desire for the bait. We want the sin that's what our sin nature does to us. The second analogy in verse 15 has to do with birth and delivery. The mother, which refers to our sinful desires.

Those original inclinations within us. The mother is allowed to conceive and conception leads to the birth of a child, that child represents the sinful actions. External actions that are spawned by those wicked internal desires. The child of these sinful actions grows in and matures and eventually gives birth to another child, which is the grandchild of the original desire in this grandchild's death the ultimate wage of sin.

So we learn in verses 14 and 15 that rather than God being the cause of our sin. We are the cause and more specifically, our desires are at the root of every outworking of sin in our lives. Now don't be confused and and think James is saying that sin isn't sinful until it manifests itself in some external action. He does call the outward behavior sin, but that doesn't mean the desires driving that outward behavior are not themselves also sinful. They are sinful desires Internal may not have as as devastating a consequence of sinful desires that are acted upon, but those internal desires are nonetheless just to sinful and they ought to be mortified.

They ought to be put to death.

This is the point of the sermon on the Mount is in it. Matthew five Jesus lists several of the 10 Commandments and he points out that both the external action of of murder and adultery and bearing false witness and the internal motivation behind those external sins are to be mortified.

They're both wrong. The external action as well as the internal desire or thought process that is driving those those external actions.

James is telling us that if we want to finish the race.

We need to acknowledge where our sinful actions come from the come from the heart that is inclined to do evil, and if my susceptibility to temptation is rooted in a heart that wants to do evil, then church. I need to keep my heart in check fund to remain steadfast under trial. I need to take the fight against sin to the realm of my heart desire or need to wait until my sin arrives in an ugly display of visible behavior. I ought to be killing it in the privacy of my own affections and thoughts and motives resisting the hot dog stand needs to happen long before the last turn of the race. We need to acknowledge our sinful inclinations and address those inclinations at the level of desire long before the Lord of temptation never enters the picture. The fourth and final agitation. James gives us is that the way to finish strong is by experiencing something by experiencing something versus 13 through 15 indicate what God does not give in verses 16 to 18 indicate what God does give in church.

Everything God gives is a good and perfect gift. If our life gives birth to sin and death.

We are the source and the cause but if our life gives birth to righteousness and eternal life, then God is the source God is the cause. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.

Verses 16 and 17 say, 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 and just as God's inability to tempt man is grounded in his sinless character, so his benevolence and giving good things is grounded in his unchanging character. Verse 17 is the only place in the Bible that describes God as the father of lights.

This is a reference to God as the creator of astronomical bodies, the father of lights, the sun, the moon, the stars, James is comparing God to these astronomical bodies that he has created. I think about it. These bodies up in the sky are constantly changing sun rises and sets the moon waxes and wanes the stars twinkling and die out sometimes. All of those heavenly bodies are covered by clouds are not even visible. But God never leaves never waxes and wanes never dies out these never covered up by atmosphere that's beyond his control. Unlike the lights that he has created. God never changes. So one of the good and perfect gifts that God gives the heavens. The sky and everything it contains the heavens declare his glory. Psalm 19 one. But one of the ways the heavens reveal God's glory is by reminding us that God, unlike the heavens never changes this past Tuesday I had stayed here at the office pretty late. I was on my way home. It was dark and the moon had just come up over the horizon. It was a huge beautiful moon. One of those moons. You can't just ignore Tuesday had been a discouraging day of following the news keeping track of election results. But as I drove home and started thinking about the age and constancy of the moon never ever have these deep philosophical introspective moments that come out of the blue started thinking about how old the moon is in the thought occurred to me that the moon has been up there in the sky for millennia. Abraham looked at that same and that I was looking Alexander the great, look at that moon Pilate and Nero Augustine and Pelagius, Hitler and Churchill all looked at the same moon that I was looking at that nine that same moon marched across the sky during the Crusades during the Protestant Reformation. During the battle of Gettysburg, both world wars and now it's marching across the sky on this November night in money when he James's point in our text is that God the father of that moon, the father of lights is even more constant than the ancient moon which he made a few thousand years ago.

God can create and sustain that mutable heavenly body that swells up and shrinks down every month in this immutable God can well take care of me and my family and my church without so much as a struggle but not only do we find stamina for the race by looking at God's unchanging nature. We also find stamina by looking at God's actions on our behalf.

Verse 18 describes the most wonderful of all God's good and perfect gifts to us. James says in verse 18 of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. The phrase word of truth occurs numerous times in Scripture and every time it refers to the gospel.

So what is it that God brings forth what is it a God burst into existence to the power of the gospel is Christians, its assets, the church.

It saves sinners. James is describing here the process of God the father through the power of the Holy Spirit and upon the merits of Jesus Christ birthing saints from sinners and he says this miraculous birth is motivated by the sovereign will of a God who never changes that it's brought about the instrument of God's word, the gospel which never changes and that this good and perfect gift is only the first installment, the first fruits of the many gifts yet to be given, not exciting if we are to finish the race. There is something we must experience. We must experience the regenerating work in our spirit that only the Holy Spirit can accomplish great experience that then we can be certain that we will remain steadfast under trial that we will finish the course that we will persevere to the end and that that end will be far more glorious than anything we can imagine, we conclude tonight.

Notice that God's provision for us through the testing of our faith includes regeneration and conversion at the outset. It includes instruction on how to fight temptation and how not to fight temptation in the midst of the test and it includes eternal promises of reward after the test is long over.

God meets us before, during and after the trials of life folks that is grace suite suite grace and this grace gives us motivation to stay in the fight until God has accomplished exactly what our tests of faith need to accomplish in us. If you want the blessing of being able to say at the end of our lives.

I fought the good fight. Finish the race. I've kept the faith. And we need the Longmore for heaven and long less for the passing pleasures of this world, we need to avoid ascribing blame to God and start taking responsibility for our own sin through sincere repentance.

We need to acknowledge that the root of my sin problem in my lack of perseverance are heart desires that are wicked and make me vulnerable to temptation desires that need to be put to death every day and we need to experience the regenerating empowering work of the Holy Spirit that produces in us all sorts of spiritual fruit to the power of the gospel that word of truth that is living and powerful pursue these things, church, and you will remain steadfast and immovable faithful under trial, a man let's pray Lord, would you make us steadfast. Would you make us faithful to the end so that you might be glorified in how we run the race that set before us, and so that in the end we might enjoy the blessings of heaven, we might enjoy your voice saying to us, well done good and faithful servant with payroll. In Jesus name