I. Introduction
A. Remember how this letter began: Count it all joy when you face various trials, for they produce endurance and maturity.
1. Then in the next section, James continued on the topic of trials, telling us that God is more than ready to help us in the midst of our trials, to give us wisdom and perspective when we ask.
2. Well, in this morning’s passage, the theme is still trials. Now James is teaching how to think rightly about trials.
B. James 1:13–18 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers. 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
1. Trials and temptations: same Greek word
2. But this doesn’t mean trials and temptations are the same thing. We have English words that have more than one meaning. And the only way you can tell which meaning is correct is by the context. And so it is with this word. Same word, two meanings.
3. So, in James 1:2-12, it’s clear by the context that he’s using the word to mean trial. And then James shifts in v.13. .
4. However, I think some translations, like the ESV, get the transition slightly wrong. The word is used twice in v.13. The second time it clearly means tempted. So, the first time it’s used they translate it “tempted” in light of the second it’s used, but I agree with the Bible scholars who think it makes much more sense to translate it as “being tried” in light of v.12.
a. What I am saying is that instead of being translated,
(1) When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me,” I think it should be translated,
(2) When experiencing trials, no one should say, “God is tempting me.”
C. I said in the first sermon that James is all about the practical application of the Christian faith, not the theology of the Christian faith. But James does USE theology to make his practical points. In this passage he uses a number of theological truths to make his point:
1. God’s perfect goodness and rightness – always perfectly just and wise
2. Adam and Eve being deceived by the serpent and falling into sin
a. God had given them everything! All the trees of the garden were theirs to eat, except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But even that tree was theirs in the sense that the prohibition from eating of it was for their good and not their harm.
b. But Satan deceived them into thinking that God was withholding it for their harm and not their good – they He was depriving them of what was really good.
3. In the process, man becomes sinful.
a. This is different than just sinning. It has to do with the human heart. It desires wrong things.
b. Desire – to action – to consequence (death)
4. In response, God curses the world, introducing suffering and pain into human experience.
a. This is not for vengeance sake. This is to provide a context whereby mankind can come to grips with their weakness and their need for God, and the futility of life without Him.
5. Regeneration
a. Election – to hearing God’s word of truth – to rebirth/regeneration
6. God’s sovereignty over regeneration and all of life
II. Now let’s talk about the practical point James is making with all this theology in James 1:13-18.
A. James is still trying to help Christians respond properly when they face various kinds of trials.
B. Earlier he was telling us how we should respond to trials: Count it all joy.
1. Now he is telling us how NOT to respond to trials: Don’t think that God is tempting you.
C. You see, he wants to teach us to count it all joy when we are faced with trials.
1. But he also knows that we are tempted to react very differently.
D. Instead seeing our trials as a gift of love from the Lord, we’re tempted to view our trials as harmful.
E. And so our trials tempt us to sin. We resent them. We get angry or bitter. We make evil choices to escape the pain.
F. But we don’t accept the blame for our sinful reactions. We blame God. After all, He’s the One who allowed these terrible things to happen!
G. Instead of thinking, “I am a sinner who needs to be trained by the Lord in righteousness through these difficulties,” I think, “God is the One with the problem here. He makes it impossible to have a good attitude because of the circumstances He allows me to experience. How am I supposed to be happy when my life stinks!”
H. Now, he’s not saying that everyone reacts this way. In the verse before this he said, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” – James 1:12
I. But he warns us against reacting wrongly: Let no one say when he is tested, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. James 1:13
J. And then he goes on to explain who we ought to blame when we respond sinfully to trials: “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.” – James 1:14-15
1. We should never blame God for our sin! Our sin is a result of our own evil desires, which lead us to sinful actions and their consequences.
K. And then James refers back to Adam and Eve. James 1:16–18 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 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.
1. God had given Adam and Eve everything! All the trees of the garden were theirs to eat, except the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But even that tree was theirs in the sense that the prohibition from eating of it was for their good and not their harm.
a. But Satan deceived them into thinking that God was withholding it for their harm and not their good – they He was depriving them of what was really good.
2. Likewise, God has given us everything there is to give us! Including our trials! Including our suffering!
3. And He knows just the right dosage of difficulty to administer at just the right time. And we can trust this doctor! He is the great physician! He knows every cell of our being! And He loves us!
4. Some of you folks have fathers who were physicians. You can’t always trust physicians. But hopefully you can trust a physician who is also your father!
5. Of course, even they might have some other motive to not give you the best treatment. Even they might have some shadow of untrustworthiness.
6. But we can always trust the Father of lights! In Him there is not even a shadow of variation when it comes to His faithfulness to us, to do the best thing for our welfare.
L. And then to illustrate this, James reminds them that this great Father/physician already chose to give us the greatest gift of all – the gift of eternal life, the gift of a new heart, the gift of the knowledge of Christ! James 1:18 “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth.”
1. By the power of His Spirit, He caused us to be born again by the word of truth, by the word of the gospel of Christ.
2. This is a greater gift than we might realize! One day Christ will return and make all things new: a new heavens, a new earth. One day “He will reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” – Colossians 1:20
3. That will be a great day indeed! But amazingly a little, tiny piece of the glory and wonder of that day has already been given! Like the firstfruits of the harvest, one little part of creation has already begun to experience this great transformation. What is it? Slowly, one-by-one, the Holy Spirit is regenerating the hearts of God’s chosen people, giving them the life of the age to come.
4. This is why He says, “that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” – James 1:18
III. But remember the issue here is how we handle our trials. The issue is the tragedy of hardening one’s heart toward such a wise, loving, generous, trustworthy Father, the travesty of blaming our best Friend, blaming the One who gives us everything good, accusing Him of giving us bad when He’s given us nothing but good! He loves us so much that He will not withhold any good thing from His child (Ps.84:11) – even the hardships which they need.
A. So we must accept our trials as from God and for our good. Instead of resenting them, we must appreciate them and the good they’re sent to accomplish.
B. And we must be in touch with our need to learn endurance, and our need for growth and maturity. Because of our sin, we need trials. And God in His wisdom knows just how much we need: how much difficulty, how often, how intense, how persistent.
C. We must not let ourselves be deceived like Adam and Eve. Satan tries to convince us that the One who generously gives us every good and perfect gift is actually depriving us. He wants to persuade us that God can’t be trusted. And we’re all vulnerable to His deceptions!
D. He is the One who chose to redeem us when we were His enemies, the One who proved His friendship toward us beyond the shadow of a doubt, and yet we are perfectly capable of treating him like He is our enemy, and accusing Him in our hearts for everything bad in our lives.
E. I mean, everything we have is from God! Every breath, every bite of food, every kind word, every pleasant breeze, every beautiful sunset, every song, every success, every provision. Even the gift of having a new heart, of being born again as a child of God.
F. And yet, instead of accepting blame for our own sinful reactions, we’re very capable of thinking it’s His fault for putting us in the circumstance.
IV. It is part of our sinful nature to blame others and not accept responsibility ourselves.
A. It’s what Adam and Eve did in the garden (Gen.3:12-13).
B. We even see it in little children, who want to blame their sister or brother or friend for what they did. It’s in us all — and very deeply ingrained.
C. But what we must realize is that when we point blame, we’re ultimately blaming God. After all, He’s the one who put us in this situation!
D. And when we blame God, we are rejecting His goodness.
E. He works to give us exactly what we need, and we despise Him for it. And then we blame Him for our bad attitude and wrong reaction.
F. And it’s all a deception. Satan dupes us into thinking that if it hurts, it’s bad, that God is withholding the good things from us.
G. But James reminds us that God sends His children only good gifts. He doesn’t mean that the bad things come from elsewhere. He means that we ought to view our trials ultimately as good things.
V. And so you see, dear Friends, it’s not enough to survive trials. God wants us to appreciate our trials, to interpret them rightly, as send by an all-wise, all-loving God for our good – not because they don’t hurt, but because they serve a good and important purpose in our lives.
A. We want everything and we want it now. But God knows what we need. He knows we need training; He knows we need to be worked on, that we’re far from a finished product. We have plenty of spots and blemishes which need to be removed.
B. You see, I am an immature child who needs to be trained, raised, taught, by my heavenly Father.
1. But like many children who don’t think they need their parents’ discipline, who think they know everything they need to know, who protest when mom or dad says no to their desires, so often I do the same thing when the Lord disciplines me.
C. Sure, it’s very possible for a parent to discipline a child wrongly, or too harshly, or unwisely. But not so the Lord!
1. We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us...for a short time as it seemed best to them, but the Lord disciplines the one he loves — for our good, that we may share his holiness...For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:6–11
D. The question is, Are we going to accept that and allow Him to teach us? Are we going to interpret the circumstances of our lives as His wise, perfectly-designed curriculum? Are we going to thank Him every day that in His wisdom & love He brings us the exact circumstances which are best for us? Or are we going to kick against it all and against Him?
E. Ps.23:4 says, “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
1. The psalmist is saying, “Thank You, Lord, for Your wise and loving use of Your rod in my life, to discipline me as I need.”
2. When we can’t thank God for His rod and staff, we are ultimately saying that we know better than God, that we are wiser than Him, and that we care more about our lives than He does.
F. Human beings have a rebellious nature. It is hard for us to honor authority, it’s hard for us to let someone else tell us what to do.
1. Of course, it’s always possible that those who are in charge are being unwise, or even malicious.
2. It’s also possible that the authority is being loving and reasonable, and we’re just being rebellious.
G. And that’s always the way it is with the Lord when we kick against Him. He is never wrong in His judgment. He is never unwise. He is never unloving. He never expects too much.
H. If we don’t think we need trials, that means two things:
1. It means we think God is wrong about us – that we know ourselves better than He knows us.
2. It means we think we’re fine without God’s intervention in our lives.
VI. The Christian faith is not a way of escaping from pain, although it helps us understand the pain and find comfort in the midst of pain. It helps us to understand the value of pain and its necessity.
A. And then in addition, it also teaches us that God gives us comfort to His people in their pain.
1. 2Corinthians 1:5 Just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.
B. What if there was a lethal and painful cancer which everyone in the world had, but some were able to go through a painful therapy to be healed from the cancer and live. Wouldn’t you want to do it?
1. This is the reason God has chosen to allow pain in our lives. It’s designed to heal us.
2. Many of you know that Brian is a cancer survivor. He went through a grueling process to become cancer-free. Ask him about it some time. But also ask him if it was worth it – and ask his wife, his children, his grandchildren, his friends.
C. I know we don’t like to suffer, or to see our loved ones suffer.
D. That’s why God doesn’t let us rule over our own lives or over the lives of our loved ones.
E. If I had been ruling over the world, when I heard Lazarus was dying, I would have left right away, and healed him immediately, and saved his sisters Mary and Martha all that grief (John 11:1-44).
1. I would have rescued Peter from prison on the first night instead of on the last night before he was going to be executed to save him and his friends from fretting (Acts 12:1-11).
2. I would have prevented the man born blind in John 9 from being blind in the first place.
3. I would have prevented all those people from being demon-possessed in the first place.
F. But would all this really have been better? Weren’t all those people actually better off for all they went through?
1. Haven’t we learned from the cross that pain is not necessarily bad? Haven’t we learned that sometimes the best things come through the worst struggles?
2. Aren’t we all better off for the hard things we’ve gone through?
G. It’s hard to watch our loved ones suffer! And it’s hard to go through suffering ourselves.
1. We want them to escape, and to escape ourselves.
2. But the fact is, if we could relieve ourselves or our loved ones from pain, we would be cheating ourselves and cheating them out of so much good.
H. Think about if God had answered Jesus’ prayer and taken the cup away from Him in His agony. Think about if He had released Him from the cross! It would have cheated the entire world out of a Savior and out of salvation, and out of an eternity filled with no suffering and no pain.
I. God knows the beauty our suffering will produce. And He’s watching over us to keep us from any suffering which is unnecessary. And He promises we can trust Him. And He promises not to give us any more than we can bear.
J. So instead of trying to protect ourselves or our loved ones from pain and discomfort, we ought to pray, asking our Father to give the needed strength and hope, to use the struggles to do His beautiful work, to open eyes to see how wide and high and deep and long is Christ’s love, to leave hearts grateful, humble and thankful as a result of the road He leads us on.
K. And when we don’t react this way, when we don’t count it all joy when we or our loved ones experience trials of various kinds, when we get angry with God instead of thanking Him, there is someone to blame. It is our own hearts, our own desires, which lead us to sin.
1. We have repudiated His kindness, we have rejected His good gift, we have refused His wise and loving treatment.
2. Only when we are convinced of His great love for us will we have eyes to see that we are the ones who deserve the blame for our bad response. And only then can we experience His willingness to forgive us, and receive us, and help us start over, and to reassure us of His love.