In James chapter 1, that portion
that we read, the first chapter of the general epistle of James,
I want this morning to direct you to the words that we find
here at verse 12. Lest it is a man that endureth
temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of
life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." In James
1.12, blessed is the man that endureth temptation for when
he is tried he shall receive the crown of life which the Lord
hath promised to them that love him. We do read much of the blessed
man here in Holy Scripture because we meet with him several times
in the book of Psalms. Remember at the very Opening
psalm introduces us to that man. Yes, it is the man that walketh
not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners,
nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is
in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate. day
and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers
of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His
leaf also shall not wither, whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." What
a description we have there of the blessed man. It's the same
man that we read of when we come into the New Testament Scriptures.
We read of that blessed man in the Gospel. the Lord Jesus Christ
in the course of his own ministry, there in the Sermon on the Mount, in the very opening section of
that sermon, he speaks of that Blessed Manson nine times in
what we call the Beatitudes. And here we see him again as
James gives a description of him. the blessed man in his trials. The blessed man in his trials.
That's the subject matter, the theme that I want us to consider
this morning with the Lord's help. And to divide what I'm
going to say into some three sections, three headings. First
of all to say something with regards to the experience that
is being described here in the text. and then secondly to consider
the promise of God that's given to this man and then finally
to speak of his endurance or his perseverance. First of all
then, the importance of experience, that real experience that we
see set before us in the words that we have here in this twelfth
verse. Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation, for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of
life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." The Lord
Jesus himself says to his disciples in the world, you shall have
tribulation, but be of good comfort, I have overcome the world. Tribulations,
troubles, trials, temptations. Again the Apostle says we must
through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Here
then we read something of the lot, the experience of those
who are the godly, those who are the blessed ones. But when
we consider this experience, this this real experience of
the people of God we see that there is something of a mystery
with regards to it there seems to be some sort of contradiction
here in what is being said at the beginning of the verse the
man is blessed and yet this man is having to endure and is having
to endure temptation. Isn't there some sort of contradiction
there? But it is the lot of the people
of God that they do experience strange changes in their lives. The psalmist tells us in Psalm
55 that the ungodly know not changes, therefore they fear
not God. It's because of these experiences,
these paradoxical experiences, these remarkable changes that
come into the lives of God's children, that they learn more
and more the fear of God, and more and more their complete
and utter dependence upon God. And they are simply following,
of course, in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus Christ himself.
Or remember Christ's own experience as He begins His public ministry.
We read there at the end of Matthew chapter 3 how that Christ is
baptized by John in the River Jordan. And how at that baptizing
the heavens open. And God the Father speaks those
words, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. And
then we're told how the Spirit also descended upon him in the
form of a dove. The three persons of the Godhead
are there at the beginning of Christ's public ministry. But then immediately after that,
at the beginning of Matthew chapter 4, we're told how the Spirit
leads him into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. Oh,
what a blessing the Lord experienced at that baptizing, when all the persons of the Godhead
when the Father and the Spirit come to acknowledge Him, the
Son, as He is engaged now in that great work of redemption
and salvation. What a blessing it must have
been in the human soul of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then immediately,
immediately after that, He is led of the Spirit and is in the
wilderness. and there he is sorely tried
and tempted by Satan himself. It is a strange experience that
the Lord knew, and there we see him as a pattern to all those
who are his true followers. There is that that is paradoxical
there, where there is the real experience of the grace of God.
But here we see that this experience is a truly profitable experience. Look at what James says previously
in the chapter. There at verse 2 he says, My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations,
knowing this, that the trying of your fate worketh patience.
But let patience have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect,
and the entire wanting nothing. There is some profit in these
things. It's good. It's useful to the
spiritual growth of the people of God. Again, in Romans chapter
5, we have that chain of experiences. We often refer to the golden
chain in Romans chapter 8, but there's that chain of experiences
spoken of in Romans 5. Verse 3, not only so, Paul says,
but we glory in tribulations also, knowing that tribulations
work as patience, and patience experience, and experience hope. and hope make us not ashamed
because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost which is given unto us. Here is experiencing that will
be profit, it will contribute to growth and development in
the spiritual life of the people of God. And all of the apostles
speak of these things. James is speaking of it, Paul
speaks of it, so too does Peter. Remember there in the opening
chapter of his first epistle, the trial of your faith, he says.
The trial of your faith, being much more precious than the gold
that perishes, though it be tried with fire, is to be found under
praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. And then, when we come to consider
the record that we have in Scripture concerning individuals and the
way in which the Lord deals with His people. We have that book
of Job and what remarkable things, what trials, what temptations
came into the life of that gracious man. But what does Job say? for what he said in Job. You see, life has a speaking
there in chapter 5, but there's truth in so many of the things
that those friends say. They were miserable comforters
in many ways. They didn't understand Job, but still, under the inspiration
of the Spirit of God, they say remarkable things at times. And
there in chapter 5, Eliphaz says, Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth. Therefore despise not thou the
chastening of the Lord. Mark the words that are spoken
there. He doesn't just say, happy is
the man. He says, Behold. In other words, consider this.
Examine this. Fix your eye on this. Or consider
this matter seriously. Behold, happy is the man whom
God correcteth. Why is this man a happy man and
a blessed man? Because the Lord is dealing with
him. But as I said, there is that which is so strange in this
dealing, so inexplicable. so mysterious. Oh, it is a strange
way indeed. Job himself is brought to cry
out in chapter 10, I am full of confusion. He cannot understand,
and yet it's the Lord. It's the Lord dealing with him.
These paradoxical dealings of God where the Lord seems to go
out against his people and yet has such a gracious intent. He only does it for the good
of his people. It's all for their profit. We sometimes sing those
words in the hymn, 237, "'Tis to credit contradictions, talk
with him one never sees, cry and groan beneath afflictions,
yet to dread the thoughts of his, "'Tis to feel the fight
against us, yet the victory hope to gain, to believe that Christ
has cleansed us, though the leprosy remain." It's all these mysterious
ways and dealings of God. And now we should be pondering
these things. We should consider these things.
Behold, says Eliphaz, who so is wise, says the Psalmist, and
will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving
kindness of the Lord. or there are so many scriptures
that we could refer to when we think again of those verses in
the Psalms as I said at the beginning repeatedly throughout the book
of Psalms we read of this man, this blessed man and I suppose
that there is a an equivalent to the words that we have in
our text this morning found there in the Psalm, in Psalm 94 and
verse 12, Blessed is the man whom thou hast chastened, O Lord,
and teachest him out of thy law, says the Psalmist. It's the same
man that endured a temptation when he is tried. He shall receive
the crown of life which the Lord has promised to them that love
him. Now, in looking at this verse, we
need to understand what this temptation is. We're told quite
clearly that God does not tempt. In the following verses, let
no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God
cannot be tempted with evil. neither tempteth he any man,
but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust
and enticed. There is to be no pointing of
the finger to God and accusing God, he does not tempt. He cannot
tempt. Thou art a purer eye, says the
prophet, to behold iniquity and canst not look upon seeing. Or it would be blasphemy to even
suggest that God tempts His people. Now it's true that when we read
in Scripture there are verses that to us are strange, difficult
to be interpreted and to be understood. Remember that great 22nd chapter
of Genesis, that remarkable chapter in which Abraham is commanded
to sacrifice his son Isaac. And it's a chapter of course
historic, yes, but also it teaches us so much concerning gospel
truth. Isn't Isaac in many ways there
a remarkable type of the Lord Jesus Christ himself? We know
that Abraham doesn't sacrifice his son. He receives him as from
the dead. That's what it says in Hebrews
chapter 11. He's a type of Christ. We see the truth of substitution.
He's not sacrificed, but the ram is offered in the place of
Isaac, and the father receives his son alive again. It speaks so much of Christ,
but it's also an historic event that is being described. And
you remember And it opens, God did tempt Abraham, it says. God did tempt Abraham. And yet here we're told, God
cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. So what are we to make? Is there
a contradiction? between what James is saying
and what Moses is saying there in Genesis 22. There is no contradiction
in the word of God. God doesn't contradict himself.
But we can always understand and interpret the Old Testament
in the light of the New Testament. And we've already made some reference
to Hebrews 11, and we're given the key there quite evidently,
because what does it say concerning that particular incident? In
Hebrews 11, 17, by faith, Abraham, when he was tried, offered up
Isaac. And he that had received the
promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was
said that in Isaac shall thy seed be called, accounting that
God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence
also he received him in a figure," as we said, the figure of Christ,
a type of Christ. But it is quite clear here that
this is the trying of his faith. It's not tempting him, the Lord
God. It's the trial of his faith. But we learn something more really
there in Genesis 22 because the way in which it's translated
in our authorized version does indicate to us the absolute sovereignty
of God even with regards to Satan. We see it most of all of course
when we come to consider the book of Job. How Satan is so active there
in that book of Job. And we have the setting of the
book there in the opening chapters, that Satan appears amongst the
children of God, the sons of God, and God challenges him, hast
thou considered my servant Job, he asks. Or as the margin says,
hast thou set thy heart upon my servant Job? and Satan has. But Satan is no free agent. Clearly
Satan appears because he must receive leave from God to do
anything in the matter of Job and the experiences of Job. You
read there in those opening two chapters and see how that God
is in control even of all that the devil is doing. This is the
mystery of the book. when we come to the end of Job.
There in the last chapter we are told how his brethren comforted
him over all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. All
the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. But God doesn't bring
evil upon any man. God doesn't tempt any man. We
cannot explain these things, I don't pretend to have the answer.
All I'm saying is this, that God's sovereignty is absolute. The devil is not a free agent. Are we not told, the devil and
all his demons are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness,
under the judgment of the great day. Even now Satan is reserved
in chains. He's not a free spirit. He's
subject to the absolute sovereignty of God and yet God is not the
author of sin. Or doesn't this all contribute
to the mystery of the ways of God and the dealings of God with
us? We can never fathom these things
out. We cannot find out God with all
our searchings. There is such a mystery in his
ways. But here we see something of
that strange life that the blessed man lives here upon the earth. He will know what it is to endure
temptation. He'll know what trials are. He'll
experience troubles and tribulations. Oh, this is the strange path
that he has to tread. It's the way of the God. But
what is it that sustains him in all this experience? It's
the Word of God. It's the promise of God. These are the things that encourage
him in the midst of all God's paradoxical dealings. And here
we have it, you see. The Lord hath promised, it says. he shall receive the crown of
life which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." Oh, he
has that promise of God. William Cooper in the hymn says,
trials make the promise sweet. Trials give new life to prayer,
trials bring me to his feet, lay me low and keep me there. There is the prophet you see
in the trial. It makes the promise of God,
it makes the word of God so sweet and so precious. I was reading
this morning a tome there in the Psalm, I think it's Psalm
50, Psalm 56, and I was struck by Just what
David is saying, it's when the Philistines had taken him in
gas, he's in the midst of trials, he's having to flee from Saul.
But what does he say? Verse 4, in God I will praise
his word, in God have I put my trust, I will not fear what flesh
can do unto me. And it was that that struck me,
in God I will praise his word. In God I will praise his word,
he repeats it. In verse 10, in God will I praise
His works. In the Lord will I praise His
works. In God have I put my trust. Oh, it's the Word of God. It's
the Word of God. It's the promises of God that strengthen believers in
the midst of all their experiences. Those exceeding great and precious
promises. And all those promises confirmed
by God's solemn oath, because he could swear by no greater.
Why, when he gave promise to Abraham, the father of the faithful,
what did he do? He swore by himself, in blessing,
I will bless. Oh, he's a blessed man. His confidence
is in God, his confidence is in the Word of God. He has to
walk that life of faith. We walk by faith and not by sight. Why to sight? So many things
seem to go against us, be against us. But we're to look beyond
our situations, our circumstances. We're to look to God. Now remember
those in the Old Testament, they saw the promises far off. That's the amazing thing, is
it not? Going there in Hebrews 11 verse 13, "...these all died
in faith," it says, "...not having received the promises, but having
seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced
them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on
the earth. For they that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country." And truly, if they had been mindful
of that country from whence they came out, they might have had
opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better
country that is unheavenly. Wherefore God is not ashamed
to be called their God, for He hath prepared for them a city."
All the promises, the promises are far after them. That promise,
that promise that centers all together in the Lord Jesus Christ,
that's the promise, that first promise that God gives there
in Genesis chapter 3 in the very chapter that records the entrance
of sin, the fall of our first parents those words that the
Lord God speaks to the serpent concerning the seed of the woman
it shall bruise thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel or
that blessed seed of the woman. Why? When he comes in the fullness
of the time he is made of a woman. He has no human father, conceived
by the Holy Ghost in the Virgin's womb, the seed of the woman.
And then he becomes, of course, the seed of Abraham. As I said, Isaac, the son of
promise that in God's appointed time was born to Abraham and
Sarah. Why, Isaac is a remarkable type
of the Lord Jesus. But what does the Apostle say
to Abraham? And his seed with the promise he's made, he saith
not to seeds as of many, but as of one, as of one unto thy
seed, which is Christ. Oh how these, in the Old Testament,
they see those promises are far off. We read just now there in
Hebrews 11, 13 to 16, but then the very next verse, verse 17,
speaks of the fate of Abraham. It's the fate of Abraham. He
sees these things are far off, how he has to wait, and wait,
and wait, and wait again for the birth of his son Isaac. But
then beyond that how he has to look and wait for the appearance
of his true seed, even the Lord Jesus Christ. And his faith,
he's the father of all believers. The great example of faith, his
faith is a justifying faith. And that faith is looking always
for the Lord Jesus Christ, looking to the Lord Jesus Christ. You
know that passage there. in Romans chapter 4. What saith the scripture? Abraham
believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. What was it that was counted
to him for righteousness? It was the object of his faith. Again, at the end, he staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he
had promised he was able also to perform, and therefore it
was imputed to him for righteousness. That's the problem. It's not
his faith that's imputed. It's the object of his faith
that's imputed to him for righteousness. And what is the object of Abram's
faith? Oh, it's that that's afar off
in his day. It's the coming of his seed. It's the birth of Christ. It's the great mystery of godliness.
God's manifest in the flesh. Why the Lord Jesus himself says,
Your father Abram rejoiced to see my day. And he saw it. and was glad. This is what sustains the godly. This is what bears believers
up in the midst of all their trials and all their troubles.
It's that glorious promise. But what do we have here? It
is that promise ultimately of glory. Oh they have grace They have grace today. And what
is grace? That saving grace of God. Why? It's the glory of God
in the Barth. But they look, they look for
that better country. They look for that city that
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God. They're looking
for heaven. And what is heaven? What is glory? Why? It's that
full grace now. It's that grace come to the full,
the full blue. of grace that's what glory is
and that's what we have here the blessed man he endured a
temptation when he strives he receives the crown of life it
says which the Lord hath promised to them that love him always
the promise of glory itself I hath not seen nor heard neither hath
entered into the heart of man the things that God hath prepared
for them that love Him. The Lord Jesus has told us quite
plainly He has gone to prepare a place and He is preparing that place
where He is, there His people might be also. Oh, this is their blessed hope.
Beloved, now are we the sons of God and it does not yet appear
what we shall be but we know that when He shall appear, we
shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." It's heaven,
and how, oh, how the believer longs and yearns for it in the
midst of all his temptations. Heaven, that's holy, happy place,
where sin no more defiles, where God unveils His blissful face
and looks and loves and smiles. Oh, that's what the believer
is longing for. He wants to be there, he wants
to see the very face of his God. When we come to the end of Scripture,
there in the very last chapter, Revelation chapter 22, what does
it say, verse 4, "...they shall see His face." They shall see
His face. and His name shall be in their
foreheads, and there shall be no night there, and they need
no candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God giveth
them light, and they shall reign forever and ever." What a glorious
place it is. John says, I heard a great voice
out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men and he will dwell with them and they shall be his people
and God himself shall be with them and be their God and God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be
no more death neither sorrow nor crying neither shall there
be any more pain for the former things are passed away no more sin No more temptations,
no more trials, no more troubles. Sin, my worst enemy, before shall
vex mine eyes and ears no more. My inward foes shall all be slain,
nor Satan break my peace again, says Isaac Watts. How true. And
this is the promise, you see. Oh, this is the promise that
we read off here in our text this morning. He shall receive
the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised
to them that love Him. How sure, how certain it all
is. He shall receive it. All those
promises, they're all Yah, they're all Amen in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's this prospect. It's His
blessed prospect seen by faith that makes this man to be a truly
blessed man. Blessed is the man why he receives
the crown of life. The promise sustains him in the
midst of all his experiences. All the mystery and the paradox
of those experiences that are the lot of God's children. And then finally this morning,
just to say something with regards to the endurance. of the believer,
the perseverance of the saints. We have it here in the text.
Blessed is that man, it says, not that he's just tempted, he
endureth. He endureth temptation. Now, if we go back to the beginning
of the chapter, we have that word patience. knowing this,
that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience
have a perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting
nothing. Now, the word patience there
in verses 3 and 4 is from exactly the same root as the word endureth
here in verse 12. It's really the same word. It's
the same word. Our believers, you see, endure
their patience. Why it's in patience that they
possess their souls, is it not? Oh, they have to wait. This is
what Abram has to do. Waiting upon the Lord. You see,
God has such a gracious and a good ending view. And that's what
they are persuaded of. all that bless these that endure when we come to the end of the
book in chapter 5 verse 11 behold he says we count them happy which
endure we have heard of the patience the endurance of Job and have
seen the end of the Lord that the Lord is very pitiful and
of tender mercy All we believe, we believe in the perseverance
of the saints. We speak of those five points
of Calvinism, the canons of Dortrecht. And the final one, of course,
is the perseverance. You might think, why not the
preservation? Those doctrines speak very much
of the sovereignty of God. in the whole matter of salvation.
Isn't it God that preserves those that he has chosen, those that
have been redeemed, those that have been called? You think of
those doctrines totally privatized, that's man's condition by nature,
but then the unconditional election of the Father, the limited atonement
by the Son, the irresistible grace of the Spirit. Why there
we see the sovereignty of God, but when we come to the last
of those points, it's not so much the preservation, it's the
perseverance. And we see it there in that verse
that we just referred to at the end of the book. Behold, we count
them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience
of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is
very pitiful and of tender mercy." Oh, think of Job. What a remarkable
example of the great doctrine of perseverance. How the Lord blesses him in the
end. The Lord blessed the latter end
of Job more than at the beginning, it says. And when we're introduced
to him, why, he is a man of great wealth and great substance. But
the end, all of that is restored and increased. Though thy beginning was small,
it says, yet thy latter end shall greatly increase. Oh, how true it was. In the midst
of all those things he knew. He knew his God, he knew the
goodness of his God. He knoweth the way that I take,
he says. When he hath tried me, I shall
come forth as God. Now the man is enabled to persevere. This is the way the Lord deals
with His people. I know the thoughts that I think toward you, He said,
thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected
end. All these things will ultimately be for the profit of His children. All that God does when He comes
to us when He tries us, when He tests
us, when He chastises us. Why, if ye enjoy chastening,
God dealeth with you as with sons. What son is he whom the
Father chasteneth not? No chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless. Afterward it produces the fruit of righteousness. Nevertheless, there's an afterwards.
There's profit in all of these things, but all the need of that
grace of perseverance, that grace of patience. We must have a right beginning.
There is a beginning to the Christian life. It begins, of course, with
that great mystery of the new birth. Oh, there's a mystery,
you see, in the human birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. There's
a mystery, is there not, in that regeneration that comes into
the soul of that sinner who is dead in trespasses and sins.
It must begin there. He must be born again. But there's not just a beginning,
there's a continuing. There's a persevering. there's
need for patience the Lord Jesus himself says either shall endure
to the end or there's an enduring to the end either shall endure
to the end the same shall be saved oh God grant to us that
grace of enduring to be those who can identify with this man,
spoken of here in James, as I said at the outset, is everywhere
in the Scripture. The Bible is a description of
this man and his experiences. Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of
life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him. May the
Lord be pleased to bless His word to us. Amen.