Trials vs Temptations
James 1:2-4 "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
4 And let steadfastness have its full effect,
that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
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Testing produces steadfastness. When you take a test at school, it produces steadfastness. When you go through a test or trial, you come out stronger in some form or fashion. A friend ran in a triathlon sprint yesterday, her first ever, very exciting. I asked her, “How was it?” She said it was so great, she went and signed up to do CrossFit yesterday. Trials and testing produced steadfastness. The strength to sign up for that came from the trial that she just passed.
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Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. |
“Steadfastness is not simply the ability to bear things; it is the ability to turn them to greatness and to glory.” William Barclay |
Steadfastness means resolution, persistence, determination, commitment. When I pass through this trial, I will be more committed, more persistent. Where does steadfastness lead? To putting yourself further along in the process of being made perfect: Sanctification. When you accepted Christ as your savior you were justified, declared not guilty of all sin. Not guilty. Then you spend the rest of your life in this process of sanctification, becoming more like Christ, because faith changes you. So that when you meet Christ face to face you will be fully sanctified and then glorified. Your persistence in your faith, your persistence through these trials produces sanctification. That’s what grows you. It is spiritual growth that happens as you pass through these trials.
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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.
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.”
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.”
Earlier we talked about testing versus temptation and focused on testing. Now James says we’re getting away from trials and testing and talk about tempting. Testing produces steadfastness, commitment, determination. Temptation can produce sin, and sin produces death. If you get nothing else out of this morning, get that. Testing produces commitment to God. Temptation produces commitment to yourself and ends in death.
How do I know if I’m being tested or tempted? Is this a trial or a temptation? That’s what everyone wants to know. Here’s the litmus test: God will never, ever, ever lead you to do something wrong! You are not being tested – it is not a trial – to look at porn. That is a temptation. It is not a trial to fudge some numbers on your taxes. That is a temptation. God will never lead you to do something wrong. God will allow us to get into situations where we have to make the choice between right and wrong.
But for questions like: Should I take this job, should I move here, should I do this or that? Keep your eyes focused on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of your faith. That’s what you do, and as you do the decision you make will lead you to that. I have an acquaintance who says, “I have this great profession, but I think in a few years I’m going to be in ministry in some way.” Then you need to not pour so much into this if it’s not going to be happening for the rest of your life. Is it bad to do what he’s doing? Not at all, he has a fantastic career unless he is confident God is saying to do something else.
If God says go here and you don’t, you’ve failed the trial/test. “Do I buy the blue car or the red car” is not a trial – nobody cares! “Should I order this or this for lunch?” Is one going to cause you to sin? No? Then it doesn’t matter! At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was tempted by the devil to abandon the mission God had given to him. God allowed the test to happen (see Matthew 4 for the details) but Jesus passed the test by confronting the devil with the truth of God’s Word. What did he do? Every time he was tempted he quoted scripture. So the devil started throwing scripture back at him, and Jesus said, “You’re taking that out of context, you liar. No, absolutely not.” Tests and trials lead to a commitment to God. Temptation leads to a commitment to sin and death. That’s the difference
How do I know if I’m being tested or tempted? Is this a trial or a temptation? That’s what everyone wants to know. Here’s the litmus test: God will never, ever, ever lead you to do something wrong! You are not being tested – it is not a trial – to look at porn. That is a temptation. It is not a trial to fudge some numbers on your taxes. That is a temptation. God will never lead you to do something wrong. God will allow us to get into situations where we have to make the choice between right and wrong.
But for questions like: Should I take this job, should I move here, should I do this or that? Keep your eyes focused on Jesus who is the author and perfecter of your faith. That’s what you do, and as you do the decision you make will lead you to that. I have an acquaintance who says, “I have this great profession, but I think in a few years I’m going to be in ministry in some way.” Then you need to not pour so much into this if it’s not going to be happening for the rest of your life. Is it bad to do what he’s doing? Not at all, he has a fantastic career unless he is confident God is saying to do something else.
If God says go here and you don’t, you’ve failed the trial/test. “Do I buy the blue car or the red car” is not a trial – nobody cares! “Should I order this or this for lunch?” Is one going to cause you to sin? No? Then it doesn’t matter! At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was tempted by the devil to abandon the mission God had given to him. God allowed the test to happen (see Matthew 4 for the details) but Jesus passed the test by confronting the devil with the truth of God’s Word. What did he do? Every time he was tempted he quoted scripture. So the devil started throwing scripture back at him, and Jesus said, “You’re taking that out of context, you liar. No, absolutely not.” Tests and trials lead to a commitment to God. Temptation leads to a commitment to sin and death. That’s the difference
James 1:16 “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.”
In other words, most of his believers were being deceived by these things so he says, “Let me clear this up for you. Stop believing the lie.”