This week, we looked at James 1:12-18. And since this post is going to be rather long, here are some links to allow you to skip around a bit:
In the interest of full disclosure, I learned a lot from Carson, taking both the two stories and the three principles from some messages of his that I listened to. If you want to hear Carson's teaching (and hear his French Canadian [with maybe a hint of British] accent I mentioned this morning), you can go listen to or download the message from the
Gospel Coalition's website.
Now, on to the stories:
I know an English chap, we'll call him George to protect the guilty, who some years ago felt called into the ministry in England, and he went to a Bible college. He turned out to be quite gifted - he was an able speaker, good with people, with a certain ability to declare the gospel with boldness and fruitfulness. Eventually he graduated, became pastor of a church, and the church began to grow and people were being converted. And then he got caught out in adultery. Of course he resigned. He disappeared from the scene.
He showed up some time later in Canada. In fact, that's where I met him. I met him at the seminary where I was studying in Toronto. We didn't know anything of his background, and he didn't let on. We graduated from the seminary at the same time. I became pastor of a church on the west coast of Canada, and he became pastor of a church somewhere in Ontario. In due course, I went to Europe and was there for a number of years, but I heard through the perennial ecclesiastical grapevine that this chap had committed adultery. And he was dismissed. He disappeared from the scene.
Years went by; I went back to Vancouver. More years went by, and then I moved down to Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where I am now, in Chicago. When I got there, I didn't know any of the churches in the area, but the seminary said, "You know Don, if you don't mind, where you end up in church is ultimately for you and your wife to decide, but in fact there's a Free church near here that has recently gone through some trauma. They've had a minister who saw quite a lot of fruitfulness - people growing and being converted, the numbers multiplying. But then the minister there was caught out in adultery, and there's a mess. Would you mind serving there while you teach here for a while?" You guessed it, your friend and mine, this same chap. Round number 3. Different country, different church, same pattern.
Well besides saying some things about how sometimes churches don't do enough background checks, this also brings me to the point of the story. If you speak to George today - and the last time I heard of him, he was in Ohio selling computer parts, and mercifully he's not gumming up any more churches - but if you ask him, "Come on, what went wrong? Three times; didn't you learn anything?" The most he would say is, "The New Testament says God will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able. I was tempted and I wasn't able to withstand it. God is a liar." Then he turns and walks away.
Now most of us would not put things quite as crassly as that, yet deep down when we're going through trials and temptations, we can begin to wonder if God's got it in for us. In fact, when you face horrible bereavement, or you're diagnosed with a vicious melanoma and there's no outcome but death and you're 42 with 3 children, or you're crippled at the age of 26, or you lose an only son in a war, it's pretty easy to start wondering what God is doing.
On the other hand, there are plenty of fascinating accounts of Christians whose lives shine most brilliantly under suffering, aren't there? When I went to England in 1972 for the first time, within a short while I got to know Sir Norman and Pat Anderson. Norman & Pat Anderson had been in Cambridge University, and went out as missionaries to Egypt, before World War II, where he became fluent in Arabic. In World War II, the British army conscripted Norman into service so he would be involved in counterintelligence work.
After the war, he went on with his education, and eventually became professor of Oriental Studies at London University. He was knighted by the Queen for establishing a couple of magnificent institutions. He wrote a couple of very important books on world religions from a Christian point of view. His understanding of Islam was profound. At the same time, though he was a layman, he was a very faithful university evangelist and became an astonishingly influential layman in the Church of England.
But not everybody knows that Sir Norman had three children. The first was a woman who became a medical doctor herself, and then in the revolution that turned the Belgian Congo into the Congo, which became Zaire, and is now the Congo again, she was gang raped. She was sent home and as she was recovering she went to California to do some further medical training preparatory to going back to Africa. While she was there, she tripped and fell down some stairs and knocked herself out and drowned in her own spittle. The second daughter died in circumstances almost as bizarre. The third child was a son, Hugh. And he was genuinely brilliant. He went to Cambridge University and became president of what's called there, The Union. Oxford and Cambridge have a certain tradition of debating unions, and a very high percentage of their future Prime Ministers come out of Oxford or Cambridge debating unions. He was already politically very well connected. However, he never graduated. He died at the age of 21 of a brain tumor. Six cabinet ministers attended his funeral. And there were no more Anderson children left.
In their later years, Pat suffered from Alzheimer's. Sir Norman worked with her and helped her and loved her until he finally died himself. And in all the years that I knew Sir Norman and Pat Anderson, not once - not once - did I hear a single bitter word. For two years after the death of Hugh, Pat couldn't talk about it. But not once did I hear bitterness, not once did I hear resentment, not once did I hear a bubbling, seething anger, not once. When he was a very old man, when Pat was incapacitated from Alzheimer's, Sir Norman was asked to speak to a large conference of university students in Wales. He didn't speak anymore, he said. His memory couldn't hold things together long enough, but he would be glad to try and answer some questions. So for almost an hour, one of my friends asked him questions about his experience of God across more than eight decades. And he testified to all of his experience of the goodness of God. And there was scarcely a dry eye in the place amongst those two thousand cynical students.
Now, my question to you is this - do you want to be George, or do you want to be Norman? Do not answer quickly. It costs something to be Norman. Now what makes the difference between these two kinds of people? Those who blame God and those who become more spiritually minded under it all. You may not suffer exactly like any one of them. You may not face temptations exactly like any one of them. But face temptations, you will; face trials, you will; and the longer you live, the more you're going to face. What kind of person would you rather be?
James 1:12-18 gives us three exceedingly important principles to bear in mind when we confront trial and temptation.
[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.
[16] 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. [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.
Principle #1:
When you are struggling under trial, remember the Christian's goals. (
Verse 12)
- “remains steadfast under trial” - in verse 2 we read that trials produce steadfastness (or perseverance); here we see how steadfastness allows us to endure trials; similar to working out – strength training helps you develop strength, developing strength allows you to endure strength training
- In the ancient world, victorious athletes were rewarded with a laurel wreath, which symbolized glory and honor to the victor. (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25)
- “crown of life” - life, eternal life, is the crown – Revelation 2:10 – crown of life is given to those who are faithful to death
- this crown of eternal life is promised to those who love God; this is not a reward that is in doubt, only if we remain steadfast under trial, but a motivation for remaining steadfast – we who love God have been promised the crown of life, therefore we can endure trials.
- Christ bore a crown of thorns so that we might receive the crown of life. (cf. Matthew 27:27-31)
- Discussion Questions: What is your reaction or response to this promise of a crown of life? In what ways does considering heavenly rewards spur you on toward perseverance?
- We must look at our sufferings with eternity's values in view. No matter how much things hurt now, 50 billion years into eternity, things will look differently. Our goal is not an easy life, but the crown of life, which has been promised us in Christ.
Principle #2 -
When you confess God's sovereignty, do not misunderstand God's motives. (
Verses 13-15)
- The idea of temptation here is different than a trial. A trial is an external difficulty. A temptation is an internal draw to sin.
- very interesting how we see the tension & interplay between the sovereignty of God and human responsibility. God tests us, gives us opportunities to strengthen our faith, to trust him in trials.
- These tests from God are not temptations to sin. God can’t be tempted because He is holy. There is nothing within Him for sin to appeal to. If He has no desire for sin, how could He desire sin for His people?
- Our sinful nature turns trials into opportunities to feed our sinful desires. Instead of running to God and trusting Him, we run away from Him and into sin.
- Discussion Questions: What is the progression of sin in our lives? How does understanding this progression help you resist temptation?
- God's motive in bringing trials & tests into our lives is not to lead us into sin, but to purge us of sin and strengthen our faith & trust in Him.
- Though death is the end of sin, though death is the last enemy (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:26), it doesn't get the final word.
Principle #3 -
When you feel abandoned & crushed, do not forget God's goodness. (
Verses 16-18)
- “Do not be deceived” - these trials are not bad, and God is not leading us into sin. As James says earlier, we can consider them joy. Why?
- Verse 17. Because they are good gifts from God. Every thing God gives His children is a good gift. It is only because of our sinful nature that we turn God's good gifts into sinful ends. As the Reformer John Calvin said, the human heart is an idol making factory. Sure, we're too intellectually sophisticated to make statues of wood or metal and worship them. Instead we take good things like money, marriage, spouses, work, sex, food, sports, children … you name it, and we turn them into ultimate things. We were made to worship, but what are we worshiping? Anything that takes our attention and our loyalty away from God is an idol.
- God is the Father of lights, does not vary or shadow – He does not change. Have you ever noticed all the shadows in an auditorium when all the lights are on – how we have multiple shadows all over, no matter where we are? Or how on a clear night out in the country that you still see shadows all around? God has no shadow. He is above all the lights He has created, and His glory outshines them all. He is the unchanging, eternal Light of life.
- God's unchanging nature is good news because of the crown of life that He promised us, that we saw in our first verse today, verse 12. And our last verse today, verse 18, speaks of how God brought about this crown of eternal life to His children.
- First, it was “by His own will” - another affirmation of God's sovereignty. It was His call, His plan, His decision to do what follows
- And what did He do by His own will? He “brought us forth” - As we saw earlier, sin gives birth to death, but God gives birth to life. – not just our physical life, although He did give us that, but here it's particularly our eternal life in Christ – the “crown of life” James mentioned before. How do we know this? Because of the means by which He brought us forth – the “word of truth”
- This phrase appears four other times in the New Testament:
- Every time, this phrase refers to the Gospel, the good news of the righteous life, substitutionary death, & resurrection of Jesus Christ, by which we are born again
- As D.A. Carson says, “The most outstanding demonstration of the sheer goodness of God is that He chose to give us new birth through the gospel”
- Discussion Question: How does understanding the character of God, in particularly in the Gospel, help you resist temptation?
- This “word of truth”, the Gospel, is important to remember all the time, and especially in this study of James. Consider next week when we get to James 1:22, where James encourages us to be doers of the word, and not just hearers. We don't just carry around a list of rules to live by as Christians. But the Gospel should come to bear on our lives in at least a couple of distinct ways:
- As Paul exhorts the Philippian Christians, we should live in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ. (cf. Philippians 1:27) The Gospel becomes the foundation & fuel for our living. To sneak a peak ahead at some of the imperatives in James:
- Why should we be quick to listen? Because Christ is the Word, and faith comes by hearing. The Gospel (the "good news") comes to us as we listen.
- Why should we take care of orphans? Because God is Father to the fatherless, our Father who redeemed us from sin and adopted us into His family.
- Why shouldn't we look down on the poor? “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9) Compared to (and apart from) the riches of God's glory, we are all bankrupt sinners. But He has made us co-heirs with Christ.
- When we fail to withstand temptation, when we fall into sin. Whatever list of rules you want to pull from the Bible, we fail to keep them. But we do not lose heart because we have a Savior who perfectly fulfilled the Law – every jot & tittle – on our behalf. When James says in verse 5 that God gives generously to all without reproach, he means that God doesn't make us clean up our act before He gives us good gifts. His good gifts are what forgive us and clean up our act for us. We live in light of the Gospel when we remember the grace of God and do not submit ourselves to a yoke of slavery to the law, but turn to Him in repentance and faith. We go back to the cross again, and again, and again.
- God's goodness doesn't depend on our performance, and the ups & downs of our daily lives, but it ultimately depends on and was demonstrated on a small hill outside of Jerusalem nearly 2000 years ago.
Back to the stories D.A. Carson shared at the beginning. When you face trials & temptation, do you want to get bitter, like George, or do you want to get better, like Norman? Do you want your life to be characterized as the double-minded man, unstable in all his ways (as in verse 8)? Or to be one who considers trials as joy, who grows in them by trusting God and standing firm in the truth of the Gospel? Remember the three principles from along the way:
1. When you are struggling under trial, remember the Christian's goals.
2. When you confess God's sovereignty, do not misunderstand God's motives.
3. When you feel abandoned & crushed, do not forget God's goodness.
