I invite you to turn in your Bibles to the book of James and pick up where we left off this evening at James, verse 12 of chapter 1. If you're using the Pew Bible, I believe that can be found on page 1199, 1199 in the pew bible james chapter 1 beginning our reading at verse 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 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 lured 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. Proverbs 24, 5 says this, a wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might. When I was a kid in the 80s, a popular saying went something like this, knowledge is power. Knowledge is power. Maybe you remember that saying. I don't hear it too often today, but I think Proverbs 24, 5 kind of captures that a bit. I titled this message tonight, Understanding Trials and Temptations. We all know that when we find ourselves in the thick of trials, in the thick of temptation, that we can all use a little more knowledge, a little more understanding, a little more wisdom. Well, in the text before us tonight, James wants to give us some knowledge, some understanding. He gives us knowledge for trials and knowledge for temptations. And so those two points will serve as our points this evening. If you recall, I've tried to impress upon us through our study in this book that Christ must be our treasured possession above all else. The key to going through trials and temptation is for Christ to be our treasured possession. Christ being our treasured possession is the key to remaining steadfast, as James will say in this text. Steadfast under trial. Steadfast under temptation. The verses before us tonight, verses 12 to 15 serve as something of a summary of what James has already said. Well, at the very same time, they serve as something of a transition to bring the reader to a new section in the book. If you recall, James has already said something similar to what he says here in verse 12. Back at verse 2, James says, count it all joy, brothers and sisters, when you meet trials of various kinds. And then he says that the reason you can count it all joy is because the Lord has purposed to use trials. He uses trials in our lives to produce steadfastness, and steadfastness will produce perfection and completion. Ultimately, what James is referring to here is sanctification. James is saying that the Lord uses trials to make us more and more like Jesus Christ. Now notice what James said. This is in verse 12 again. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life. Verse 12 summarizes what James has already said in verses 2 through 11, but 12 now adds a subtle nuance to what James has already said. If you notice verses 2 and 12, in both instances, James says that God intends to bless his people through trials. That's clear. In verse 2, however, the blessing is steadfastness leading to sanctification. But in verse 12, the blessing comes from being steadfast under trial. And so what James says here in verse 12 kind of assumes a progression has occurred in the life of a Christian. A progression where steadfastness has already produced through the trials that the Christian has faced so that now at verse 12, at the point of verse 12 this christian is more able to stand up under the trials that they face and so again there's a kind of progression here you see james desires for christians to mature he desires for christians to grow he's interested in a genuine and robust christian faith and so James presents us with a progression here to encourage growth. And to do that, he attaches to this growth a blessing here in verse 12. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial. See, the word blessed here is often used as a summary statement to describe God's people. It's the same word that's used in Psalm 1. Blessed is the man who does not walk according to the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is upon the law of the Lord, and he meditates upon that law day and night. Blessed is that man. That term, blessed, means happy. It's a way of saying happy. But I think the idea of blessed captures a little bit more for us today what the authors are trying to say. Happiness, we think of something that's more kind of fleeting, a kind of feeling or state of being. We're happy today. But blessed speaks to a kind of summary of our lives. This word blessed is a word that Jesus also uses in Matthew 5, isn't it? In the Beatitudes. We saw that in a study that we just finished recently, right? Blessed are the poor. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Those who hunger for righteousness. Those who are merciful. Those who are pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted. Well, James tells us we can add to those. Blessed are those who remain steadfast under trial. Well, if James' intention here is to summarize the life of those who remain steadfast under trial, I think we have to ask the question, what does it mean to remain steadfast? What does that mean? Well, the word here that James uses can also be translated persevering or enduring. It's a word that's also used in Matthew 10, 22 when Jesus says, You will be hated by all for my name's sake, but the one who endures, the one who remains steadfast to the end, will be saved. Same word is also used in Hebrews 12 when speaking of Jesus enduring suffering for sinners. Listen to what it says there. consider him who endured, there's our word, who was steadfast. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. In your struggles against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. So what does it mean to be steadfast. It means to stand up under pressure, to persevere, to endure under that pressure. And that's why James says here, blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life. Blessed is the man who stands up under the pressure of trials. Many of you know that at the age or by the age of 23, I had three knee surgeries all on the same knee. And so you won't find me or you won't often see me running around. My days of running are behind me. But when James speaks of steadfastness here, I can't help but think of those who run long distances. To run long distances, one has to be able to endure, to remain steadfast, to persevere under the pressure of being tired and fatigued. Now that kind of endurance doesn't just happen overnight, does it? There's training that is involved in that. I see James speaking in verses 2 through 11 as that training. If you are around the church throughout the week during the afternoon or evening hours, as I am often around here, then you'd probably see our Calvin boys and girls running out and training for track or cross country. I often see them out there and they're pushing it, they're training, they're building up that endurance so that when they're tested when they have that race they can persevere they can be steadfast what does that look like when it comes to our spiritual life what is remaining steadfast spiritually speaking look like well it looks like someone who remains on the right path the godly path, even when faced with difficulty. Even when faced with difficulty, remaining on the right path. I think we could think of the man Abraham. Abraham who was under trial, trial of sacrificing his son Isaac. Abraham remained steadfast under that trial. I think we can also think of Moses. Moses who persevered in leading an adulterous and idolatrous people. And how could we not think of the man Job? Job who literally remained steadfast under the trial of losing everything. Job lost everything and he remained steadfast. These are all men who remained steadfast spiritually speaking but you see the single greatest example and encouragement for us as christians to remain steadfast in our faith when under pressure must be the lord jesus christ jesus who for the joy set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Jesus remained steadfast. He remained steadfast all throughout his life. He remained steadfast under the harshest trial, the heaviest circumstances. Jesus remained steadfast under the weight and pressure of the very wrath of God, even upon a cross. You want to know what it looks like to remain steadfast, spiritually speaking? look to Jesus. Look to Christ. Look to your Lord and Savior who endured shame, guilt, humility, wrath, all for our sake, for us and for our sin. In fact, that's what Hebrews 12 tells us to do. It tells us to look to Christ as we strive to be steadfast in our lives. Hebrews 12 comes right after Hebrews 11, obviously. And in Hebrews 11, we have a number of saints that are listed. We have the hall of faith. And in that text, it says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. Yes, the saints of old may encourage us to be steadfast in our faith under trial, but no one motivates us and moves us like our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross. Well, right in line with Hebrews 12, James here in verse 12 of chapter 1 sets a reward before the Christian to encourage us to be steadfast under trial. He speaks of the crown of life. Hebrews 12 says that it was joy that was set before Christ which motivated Him to endure the cross. Have you ever wondered what that joy was? What was the joy set before Christ? That's you. That's me. It's our redemption. The joy of the salvation of His people. The redemption of all who by God's grace would come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. The joy set before Christ was that He would be the fulfillment of the wonderful news that was promised of the Messiah who would save sinners and reconcile them to God. And so now as those who are called to endure trials, who are we to look to for strength to do that very thing? Christ. Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith, the one who endured for us. And as James says here in line with Hebrews, Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life. If you recall back in verse 2, the reason to count trials as joy was because of the effect of the trials that God purposed in the life of the Christian. The effect was steadfastness, sanctification. Here in verse 12, however, James motivates the Christian not with the effects of what the trials will produce but the with the reward for those who remain steadfast under trials maybe we don't think about it much but do you know that we will receive rewards in heaven the lord will give rewards to his people i think that idea of rewards in heaven could sometimes confuse us a bit because we think of rewards as something that is earned something that is merited. But we know that what we receive from God comes by grace, and that's right. These rewards are not rewards that are earned and merited. They're rewards that God gives and grants graciously to his people. They're gracious rewards. Listen to what question and answer 63 says. It asks, how is it that our good works merit nothing while yet it is God's will to reward them in this life and in that which is to come? The answer is the reward comes not of merit but of grace. What's the reward that James speaks of here given to those who are steadfast under trial? The crown of life. You see, trials are not only blessings. They not only have a purpose. They also have a prize, the crown of life. That prize is God Himself. When James speaks here of the crown of life, which God promises to those who love Him, he literally or symbolically is speaking of eternal life. Life with God. Life with the triune God. Life with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. You see, that's what eternal life is from a Christian perspective. Life with God. Being fully satisfied in Him. Having our joy complete in Christ. Being with Him. You see, as I reminded you, this text reminds us to treasure Christ above all else. And so what we're confronted here really is, again, the question, how much do we treasure Christ? Is he the motivating factor in our lives? Is he the motivating factor that strengthens us to be steadfast under trials? James tells us the prize of steadfastness under trials is Christ himself, life eternal with him. So the question for us is, are we treasuring Christ? Is He our treasured possession? Is He the one that we find complete satisfaction in? So much so that the promise of life with Him strengthens us to be steadfast in our faith. We've seen from Hebrews 12 that we are Christ's joy. Is He ours? Is He our joy? The Apostle Paul thought so. Paul says in Philippians 3 that he counts everything lost for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Brothers and sisters, is Christ your treasured possession? Well, treasuring Christ is not only crucial in times of trial and for steadfastness, but treasuring Christ is also crucial in times of temptation. And so that brings us to our second point this evening. James not only gives us understanding on trials, but he also gives us understanding for temptation. The sad reality is that not all Christians respond to trials with steadfast faith and treasuring of Christ. Some sadly at various times respond to trials with blame and attack upon God and His character. I'm sure we've all heard or even had the feeling arise in our hearts when under trial to question God. But not only to question Him, maybe we've been even tempted to question His goodness, His faithfulness, His justice. We can all imagine how so easily those accusations and charges against God can arise in our hearts while under the pressure of trials in life. See, James has already made it clear from verses 2 and 3 that trials serve to test our faith. The Lord, being sovereign, tests our faith in order to produce a stronger and more robust faith. Jeremiah 17 says, I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind. So if God is the one who tests us, if he's in control over our trials, and if in the midst of those trials we fail and find ourselves sinning, can we say God was the one who tempted us to sin? James anticipates that question here, and so he brings up the issue of temptation in verse 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. Again, I think it's easy for any of us to imagine and understand how this could arise under the pressure of trials. Trials that we face, we waver and we end up sinning. And so what happens in that progression is we're tempted to then question God, accuse Him, charge Him. We see this progression under a test in the life of the people of Israel in Exodus 16, where God tested His people with manna, with the bread from heaven. It says there in Exodus 16.4, Then the Lord said to Moses, Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them whether they will walk in my law or not. We know, sadly, Israel did not walk in the ways of the Lord. Some of them tried to keep the manna that they were not supposed to keep overnight, And so when they woke up in the morning, it was full of maggots, worms, and it stank. In addition, in order to keep the Sabbath on the sixth day, the people of Israel were supposed to collect twice as much and then not go out on Sunday or on the Sabbath to collect manna. Sadly again, some certainly did. And in so doing, they broke God's commandment and sinned again against Him. Now, it was God who was testing them. But was it God who was tempting them? Certainly not. Certainly not. We also see God testing Abraham in Genesis 22, where it reads, After these things, God tested Abraham and said to him, Abraham, and Abraham said, Here I am. And the Lord said, Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, go to the land of Moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you. In regards to this test, Abraham was steadfast under trial. He trusted the Lord so much that he was willing to even sacrifice his only son. So in one instance, we see the testing of the Lord led to the sin of the Israelites. In the other, the case of Abraham, it led to him trusting the Lord. I think it's clear. God tests, but doesn't tempt. Just as James says here, no one should say when they are tempted, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt. You see, brothers and sisters, God is holy. God is righteous. God is good. He is true to who He is and His character. And so even if our reasoning leads us astray and into concluding or questioning God and His character, well then let God be true in all men. All men, liars. Because brothers and sisters, God is who He is. He does not change. He cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. The character of God is a non-negotiable truth for us as Christians. The character of God must never be questioned for whatever reason. And if for whatever reason we find ourselves doing that, then we need to submit ourselves, our thoughts, our ideas to the Lord and His Word. And that's why I say, let God be true in all men, liars, if that's what we are doing. God's character is set in stone. Set in stone, the stone of His infallible, inerrant Word. And we must trust His Word. You see, tests only become temptations when the sinful nature of man rises up within him, or we might say rises up against him. That's what we see in Exodus 16 in the life of the people of Israel, and it's exactly what James describes to us here. In case James' hearers don't understand James' instruction here so far, he's going to be abundantly clear, and so he says in verse 14, Each person is tempted when he is lured 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. I think this is such an important passage for us to understand. Especially in our day and age where there is really a lack of personal responsibility. Generally, because of sin, we don't like to take responsibility, right? that goes back to the garden. Adam blamed God and blamed his wife, right? This woman who you gave to me, she's the one. So generally we don't like to take responsibility, but I think today especially personal responsibility has fallen on very, very hard times. We blame other people. We blame God. We even blame the devil himself. The devil made me do it. The devil put the thoughts in my mind. The devil gave those thoughts to me. James will have none of that. James says, no, you're tempted by your own lust, which leads to sin and ultimately brings forth death. Another reason that this passage is so important is because it provides us with insight into how temptation in our hearts work. And we need instruction on this if we are going to fight against temptation and sin. And so notice how James instructs us on the issue of temptation. First, James speaks universally here. He says, each person is tempted when. James' instruction applies to everyone across the board. Men and women, young and old, each and every person who is ever tempted and sins. and so that includes all of us secondly the temptation that james the temptation begins with desire desire is the beginning of temptation and sin james says each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire now it's important to understand that not all desire is evil. Christians are not Stoics. Desire in and of itself is not wrong or evil. The problem arises when desire turns into lust. Now what's lust? Lust is a desire for something that is sinful. Lust is anything or any desire for something sinful. For example, a desire for sexual immorality. is not desire but lust sexual immorality is sinful in and of itself and so desire for that is itself sinful and wrong now that's pretty straightforward at least we would think today things can get a little bit more complicated when the thing desired may not necessarily be wrong in and of itself like one example that a commentator brought up the beauty of a woman that author says a woman's beauty is intrinsically good and innocent beauty by itself never forces anyone to sin men should be capable of noticing God's handiwork with perfect innocence they should be able to have what he says is a detached admiration like someone admiring a sunset the stars at night or an eclipse so in that case when does admiration become lust well admiration becomes lust when that desire becomes immoral when that admiration becomes immoral desire for that beauty. Then it can become coveting. And this can happen to even a woman admiring the beauty of another woman, right? She begins to covet or be jealous of that beauty. She desires it for herself, not trusting the Lord and having given her beauty and the beauty that she has. Well, our commentator says, it's men who have a problem with such detached admiration. Since admiration of beauty can lead to desire of that beauty, and that desire can easily become sinful lust. That's why James speaks of a person being tempted when they are lured and enticed by their own desire here we see the third point that james makes about temptation and sin and that is that temptation and sin is deceitful it's deceitful see desire becomes lust when a person is lured and enticed to sin by their desire james speaks here of sin tricking and deceiving the person at this point so that at this point the person who who desires doesn't just desire but is lured and enticed by their sinful lust what james is describing here is just the deceitful nature of sin the person the person may think they're simply admiring beauty when in fact they've been deceived and to lust and sin lured and enticed just as jeremiah 17 9 says the heart is deceitful above all things desperately sick who can understand it or romans 7 15 where paul says i do not understand my own actions for i do not for i do not do what i want but i do the very thing I hate. Now, however much these passages may sound like sin and temptation is something out of our control, that's certainly not the case. Christians are not enslaved to sin. Christians have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit and were called and enabled by the Spirit to fight against sin to turn from it to deny it the reality is when we are tempted we're tempted and deceived by our own lust and sinful desire this is why even as christians we need safeguards in our lives we need accountability we need other christians to come alongside and check in on us to hold us accountable, to see how we're doing. No one's above temptation and sin, brothers and sisters. Sadly, Scripture is full of examples of that, is it not? Another point that we should take to heart is that we should be willing to fight temptation with all that we have. We need to take the battle of sin seriously. and so seriously that maybe we need to cut some things off just as jesus says if your eye causes you to sin gouge it out if your hand causes you to sin cut it off maybe there's certain things that we just can't have in our lives cut those things out take sin serious take the battle with sin serious. As John Owen says, you must be killing sin or it is killing you. We can't be nonchalant when it comes to temptation and sin. And that goes for all sin, even the respectable sins. Not just the sins that we find to be embarrassing or the sins that we find to be inconvenient but all sin john owens speaks of killing sin at its root all sin well the last thing that james speaks of here is the result of temptation and sin death death death is something that'll make a room go cold is it not james says here when sin is fully grown it brings forth death a serious statement death is the inevitable result of temptation and sin just as James here lists that life is the reward for steadfastness under trial he says death here is the result of sin when temptation is given into that's exactly why Paul says in Romans 7 who will save me from this body of death after discussing sin the law of sin Paul asked that question who will save me from this body of death sin brings forth death if you know that passage you know, Paul answers that question by saying, thanks be to God for Jesus Christ. Christ will save us from sin. Brothers and sisters, if you find yourself caught in sin, turn from that sin. Deny it. Turn to Jesus Christ, your Lord. He will save you from the wrath that your sin deserves. He will save you from the power and the pull of sin. You must set him before your mind and your heart. He must be your treasured possession above all else. You see, the single greatest way to deal with sin and temptation is to replace that desire with christ james tells us that temptation and sin begins with desire well what if we cultivated hearts that desired christ above all and then filtered all other desire through that desire for jesus christ would christ not then become to us something of a shield something of a a great aid great strength would he not allow us then through the strength that comes from knowing christ would that not strengthen us to be steadfast under trial steadfast under temptation yes it would brothers and sisters cultivate a desire for the lord jesus christ cultivate that desire find in the one who finds found in you his joy find your joy find your satisfaction and be strengthened under trial and under temptation let's pray lord we thank you for the wisdom that james imparts to us here in this text And we pray, Lord, that you by your Spirit and through your Word would cultivate in our hearts a desire more and more for Christ Jesus, our Lord. Lord, you know that we are weak, but you are strong. And when we trust in you and acknowledge that weakness, then indeed In Christ we are strong Make us wise unto trials Make us wise unto temptation And we'll be sure to give you All the praise and all the glory For we pray this in Christ's name Amen