James 1:12-15

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 has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Living in a sin cursed world with a sin cursed body is a dangerous thing.  We are sure to face trials and temptations.  The things that Satan designs to destroy us and our faith; God will often use to strengthen us.  This passage provides us with some promises that are important to remember when we are facing trials and temptations.

GOD PROMISES THAT HE WILL REWARD YOU: “Is it worth it?”  This is a common question believers will ask themselves when trials, tribulations, and persecution come their way.  James answers this question with a resounding “yes!”  He urges his readers to stand firm in the face of troubles and uses as motivation the crown of life.  Eternal rewards are constantly used in Scripture as valid motivations for faithfulness on earth.  We know very little about these rewards and know that we will cast these crowns at the feet of Jesus.  What we do know is Who will be the Rewarder.  If the Lord has promised rewards, we can be assured that they will FAR outweigh the difficulties we face on earth no matter how severe they may become even unto death.  Yes, it is worth standing firm in our love for Him even in the face of suffering!

GOD PROMISES THAT HE WILL NOT TEMPT YOU: The affirmation is the previous passage that God is able to use sufferings to perfect us should not cause us to think that God is the one who is tempting us.  Tozer defined the wisdom of God as His ability to use the sins of man for His own glory.  Sovereignly and wisely using the temptations we face and even the sin we commit is not the same thing as causing those temptations.  God is perfect and is not tempted by evil and cannot tempt others with evil.  We live in a fallen world, but God is on mission to rescue us from this world.  He will forever vanquish sin and all its effects.  He may use our sin and the sins of others to accomplish His eternal purposes, but He will never promote or cause temptation to sin.

GOD PROMISES THAT SIN WILL KILL YOU: The most common and difficult source of sin is our own wicked heart.  Our own desires are enticing and alluring to us.  The lusts of our own flesh produce create in us desires that almost seem to be unsatiable.  Those desires begin a process James calls “conception” which is the mental process of planning how we might satisfy our desires and then rationalizing about ways to excuse those things that we know are wrong.  The process of conception, if left unchecked, will inevitably lead to sinful acts.  Before God, the sinful desires are already sin, but thanks be to God we don’t “live out” all our sinful desires.  His grace and the power of His Spirit allows us to put away those desires and say “no.” Unfortunately, more often than we would like, desires are planned and rationalized until we actually commit those sinful acts.  Sin is a terrible liar because it promises fulfilment and joy, but it is never satisfied.  If we don’t repent of sin, it will become what James calls “fully blown” which is the state of uncontrollable slavery to sin we are powerless to control.  The final step in this process is death.  Christ alone has the power to set us free along any of these step or even resurrect us from this condition of death by giving us forgiveness and freedom through faith in His sacrifice on our behalf.

APPLICATION: Remember the precious promises of eternal rewards for standing firm in our love for the Lord.  Be assured that God will never tempt us to sin even though He will sovereignly use our sin to draw us unto Himself.  Check the desires of our hearts through repentance instead of rationalizing our way into addictive sins that will only cause slavery and eventually death.