Last week I began a study in the book of James…a five-chapter book that has been considered a practical commentary on the Sermon on the Mount because it doesn’t offer a plan of salvation but rather is focused more on those who are already a member of God’s family.
This book is encouraging God’s people to act like God’s people…Christians evidence their faith by how they conduct themselves…if those who call themselves God’s people truly belong to Jesus their lives will produce the results of a life lived like a Christian.
Throughout the entire book of James he reveals those traits that should be evident in the life of someone who identifies themselves as being a Christian.
That is the reason this epistle is valuable for both unbelievers as well as believers, especially for those who consider themselves to be Christians.
James’s purpose throughout this epistle is for professed Christians to test their faith to find out whether it is genuine or false.
James’s letter gets right to the heart of our everyday problems…something I began preaching on last week and I want to finish that thought.
2 Consider it all joy, my brothers when you encounter various trials
WHY TRIALS? – Because God’s ultimate goal for your life on earth is not comfort, but character development…life is a test…you are always being tested…words like trials, temptations, refining, and testing occur more than 200 times in the Bible…. As a Christian your character is both developed and revealed by tests.
These trials come as a result of a number of reasons…something I want to continue talking about this week because of its importance.
As Christians are we prepared—and willing—to be used by God?…that’s where most of us turn back because we fail to look for the reason for our difficulties.
It is these issues that have the power to afflict the mind and soul…intense prolonged suffering can bring a believer to the point of despair, filled with protest and hate. That’s why Peter gives us the appropriate reaction to suffering: [1 Pet. 4:12]
Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you…[13] but rejoice
Last week we identified the root causes of trials and tribulations…
Chastisement…Character development…Suffer for Christ…Common to man…Natural disasters…Thoughtless behavior…Self-sufficiency.
Just for a moment I want to highlight three of those 7 reasons again because there is a lot of confusion among Christians about how we’re supposed to deal with suffering.
One part of being tested has to do with the self-sufficient person…the person who doesn’t need God’s help…the “I’ve arrived and can now make it on my own” person… “thanks God I can take it from here”.
There should never come a time in our life where we can say to God…I am now self-reliant …because in reality…we are never self-reliant.
That’s the temptation from Satan…it’s a deceptive and tempting approach to life that doesn’t work…the self-sufficient person doesn’t need God…that’s what’s wrong with us as individuals…America…and the world.
–If you are not right with God…you can never turn your mind anywhere but on yourself.
–As long as you are self-sufficient you will never feel the need to ask God for anything.
As Christians we need to come to grips with the reality that what happens in our life is not the result of God punishing us.
GOD DOES NOT PUNISH PEOPLE…no such thing as ‘I didn’t give last week so God caused my water heater to go out’ or ‘I missed church so God caused my car to break down.’ God does not work that way.
Purpose Driven Life – Problems are not punishments. God has a purpose behind every problem…problems are significant in God’s growth process for you…they do not occur without God’s permission.
God corrects His children so we can grow in our spiritual maturity…not as punishment.
That’s why it’s important to know how God works in the lives of Christians when it comes to how He deals with us in our everyday lives.
That His primary intent is not to cause bad things to happen in our lives as punishment…but He does correct us and through that correction helps us see the error of our ways…it’s called chastisement.
Chastisement…Christians at times create their own problems…God’s chastisement or correction comes when we act on our own impulses rather than seeking God’s direction and purpose in our lives.
Problems will come between God and us as a result…God will step in…For whom the Lord loves He corrects [Proverbs 3:12].
Character development…when you receive Christ as your Savior, God began to work in your heart and in your life until He burns up all the worldly things that keep us separated from Him…the Biblical term is sanctification…God guiding us to maturity.
The difficulties we face in life can trip us up and tempt us into doubt and despair.
Peter…wanting to instruct us on the benefits of trials and troubles tells us [1 Pet. 1:6-7] that those are the very reasons we are to rejoice:
6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes…may result in praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
The ‘That’ in [v.7] points to the purpose of the various trials of [v 6] …that our faith might be tested or refined…Peter is encouraging us to rejoice because
We are being prepared for glory by the things that we suffer in this temporal and passing life…that’s a summary of the sermon.
Need to be clear that there is such a thing as false faith…the Parable of the Sower reveals people whose faith was not grounded in solid acceptance of Jesus as Savior, then when affliction came because their faith was only in ‘What’s in it for me’…they fell away.
That type of faith will fail when needed the most…but worse…it will lead people to think they are Christians headed for heaven when in reality they are headed for eternal separation from God.
In [1 Peter 1:6] Peter teaches 5 Characteristics of Trials
1) Trials are temporary (“now for a little while”) [6].
We need to view earthly trials as Paul puts is…as ‘light affliction, which is but for a moment’ …which is not done to cause us harm or as punishment but to remind us of the eternal glory awaiting us …any suffering in this life does feel unbearable…BUT is far outweighed by the glory of the life to come.
2) Trials are necessary (“if need be”) (6).
What is there in our life that makes these trials ‘necessary’?
Peter is teaching that it is the sovereign will of God that governs all the distresses that happen to us…that God in His infinite wisdom knows exactly the kind of trials necessary to stimulate our spiritual growth for our own spiritual health.
In Paul’s case it was necessary that he was given a “thorn in the flesh” and, though he did not enjoy it, God assured him it was the necessary to stunt the growth of his cancerous pride, lest he become useless to God.
God refused to heal Paul…in the movie “The Chosen” there’s a scene where one of the Apostles is disabled…it’s not factual…but it does prove a point…Jesus refuses to heal him because by having him remain disabled Jesus says he will perform a greater good.
It is not always God’s will to heal a person…we need to cast off the erroneous idea that God heals everyone…someone may sincerely pray…the Church might sincerely pray…they may have all the faith that God can heal…but…just because you pray for someone to be healed doesn’t mean it will happen…if it’s not God’s will to heal…then no healing will come.
If it were always God’s will for people to be healed then everyone would be healed every time they became ill…if good health was always God’s will then Christians would never die…it’s important to know…sometimes God uses illness to accomplish His will…as cruel as that sounds.
Should we pray for the sick…[James 5:15] YES…Scripture says we should because you don’t know what God’s will is…that’s why we pray asking that God’s will be done…BUT…will they always be healed?… NO they won’t.
When we pray ‘your will be done’ we are acknowledging God’s right to rule… that’s what we’re saying… ‘God I’m trusting you to do what’s best’ …it’s a statement of submission…we are asking for our will to be conformed to His.
Does God heal today?…YES He can and YES He does…the question we need to ask in any given situation is… ‘What does God want?’ …and that’s the difficult part because it’s not always what we want.
Christians have an over-simplified idea of healing…they think that if they are sick they have only to ask God to heal them and because God loves them He will immediately heal them…NO He won’t.
Often times God has another plan other than healing someone…it is through the difficulties of this life that God may show His glory through weakness.
Trials are necessary for our growth and sometimes that includes sickness.
3) Trials are distressing (“you have been grieved”). Trials afflict us in two ways.
FIRST…our bodies…both Job and Paul are extreme examples of this…in Job’s case he lost all of his livestock …his servants and all his children were killed…he had sores covering his entire body…Bible says he would sit scraping his skin trying to find relief.
Paul was given a ‘thorn in the flesh,’ an ailment that troubled him throughout the rest of his life.
SECONDLY…At times trials are mentally distressing…there is no pretending here…Peter knew his readers were “grieved” …this word does not refer to the suffering itself, but to the mental effects of suffering, which many times is worse than what can be identified bodily.
4) Trials are diverse (“various trials”)
Although trials do test our faith and prove the genuineness of our faith here it is referring more with the purification through the trial rather than an examination to see if faith is present.
We receive these trials with joy because this testing produces the perfection of character which is building into our lives passion…perseverance…and a deeper character change that ultimately is providing the fuel we need to get to our destination.
5) Trials refine us (“though it is tested by fire”).
God’s purpose in suffering is to prove the reality of our faith in a way similar to the process of purifying metals, our faith being more precious than gold itself.
Trials are sent from God as a gift for His good…His glory…to encourage others …for building others up…as a witness to others …and especially for your benefit. That’s why Peter says in [v6] “In this you greatly rejoice” as you see how God’s going to use that trouble for His glory and for your benefit.
To fully understand how exciting that rejoicing is we need to back up to verse 3 where Peter gives the reasons for rejoicing…it is in God’s promises to us and in His commitment to keep it.
Verse 3: by His great mercy He has given us new birth…through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
Verse 4: God is keeping an inheritance for us in heaven which is imperishable and will not fade away.
Verse 5: God is keeping us for that inheritance.
Then in verse 12 James give the reward:
Blessed is the man who endures…for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
James echoes the thought begun in [v.2] where he called on believers to categorize difficult times as joyful times…because our faith only grows stronger when tested by trials.
Trusting God in the midst of our everyday trials and difficulties brings His blessings…our circumstances may be hard but we have the promise that when we trust God during those difficult times…we will receive the ‘crown of life.’
Something we fail to recognize is that God rewards us here on earth…we get so caught up and focused on the rewards and promises of Heaven that we overlook the blessings He gives us while still on earth.
The blessings gained through trials are not only for the distant future but also for the here and now…when we embrace problems and truly search for the reason we are experiencing them…we then see the opportunities for personal growth and spiritual enrichment they can produce in us on earth.
Those who trust in God during hardships will receive ‘the crown of life’ as a reward given in eternity for Christians who refused to stop trusting God even when experiencing trials on earth.
BUT…it may also include the promise of a more abundant life here on earth which is in agreement with what Jesus said [John 10:10] I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
When we learn to submit our will to the will of God even in the midst of our sufferings, we will learn to say with Job, “When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold” (Job 23:10).
Trials are temporary (“now for a little while”).
Trials are necessary (“if need be”)
Trials are distressing (“you have been grieved”).
Trials are diverse (“various trials”). Trials come in all shapes and sizes.
Trials refine us (“though it is tested by fire”). God’s purpose in suffering is so — the works of God might be displayed [John 9:3].
As we continue on into the book of James we need to be mindful of the importance of what James has stated in his opening statement…the ‘why’ of trials…least we think that God has somehow been unfair with us…ever heard that?… ‘God you’re just unfair.’
If you really desire a God who’s fair here’s what that means…everyone would receive exactly what they have coming to them…eternal separation from God… the wage each one of us would receive if God were fair is death.
Praise God that He’s not fair and doesn’t give us what we deserve…BUT… because He is concerned and focused on our eternal destiny He…sends…allows …and permits trials…troubles…tribulations…and suffering in our lives to refine us to prove the genuineness of our faith…with the result being “praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”