Part 1 of James: Don’t Let Trials Become Temptations

James 1:1-18 (CSB)

Today, I’m launching a series on the book of James. This book seems to be one of the most controversial books in the Bible, although I do not think the controversy is warranted. The problem seems to stem from Martin Luther’s assertion that James is “an epistle of straw.” I strongly disagree with Luther’s opinion. James was the brother of Jesus, and it’s clear from his writing that he is echoing the teachings of Jesus. Some people think James contradicts Paul’s writings, but the more I’ve studied Scripture, the more I see that James fits in perfectly. In fact, I think it contains truth that is crucial to know in order to fully understand how we are to live out our faith.

This week, we will look at only the first 18 verses. To begin, let’s read verses 1-4, which say:

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ:

To the twelve tribes dispersed abroad.

Greetings.

2 Consider it a great joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you experience various trials, 

3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 

4 And let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.

As you can see, James wastes no time getting right to the point, and I think he’s stating the thesis of his whole letter. Throughout his letter, he will be telling believers what it looks like to be mature and complete Christians. He will explain that faith is more than intellectual belief. True faith is tested, proven, and lived out in practical and specific ways. In this first section, his focus is on how and why our faith is tested through trials and temptations that we face.

This theme of trials being used to test our faith is seen in other parts of Scripture, too. Last week, Everett took us through Psalm 105, which told us how God tested Joseph. Psalm 105:19 (NLT) says, “Until the time came to fulfill his dreams, the Lord tested Joseph’s character.” Now, here too, James is telling us that when we face trials, those trials are a testing of our faith. In other words, trials test our character and reveal who we really are. And not just to us, but to those around us, too. We should not be distressed or worried when we face trials, though, on the contrary, James tells us we should rejoice when we face trials. Why? Because it’s an opportunity for our faith to grow in endurance.

But here’s the key: every trial presents a test of faith. Will we let it build our endurance, or will we fall into temptation and miss what God wants to do in us?

As I said, we see this theme all throughout the Bible. Hebrews 12:1 says, “Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us.” This verse is using a race as a metaphor to describe life. If our life is like a race, then we must endure to the end. We must keep going, no matter the obstacles we face that seek to trip us up.

I really like what Alexander MacLaren wrote about this passage in Hebrews. He said, “You know what they call an obstacle-race, in which the intention is to accumulate as many difficulties in the course as can be crowded into it; I fancy that is a good deal like the race that is set before all of us, by God’s wisdom. There are many fences to be climbed, many barriers to be crept under, many deep ditches to be waded through, many bad bits of road studded with sharp points, through which we have to pick our way. We say to ourselves, and to our friends, ‘What does it all mean?’ And the answer is, ‘He has set the race before for our profit that we might be partakers of His holiness.’”

In other words, God uses trials or obstacles to strengthen us and make us more like Him. That’s why James tells us to rejoice when we face trials. We should rejoice because it’s an opportunity to strengthen our faith in the Lord and to make us more like Him. Trials build more than just our endurance. As Romans 5:3-5 says: “And not only that, but we also boast in our afflictions, because we know that affliction produces endurance, endurance produces proven character, and proven character produces hope. This hope will not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

When we go through trials or afflictions, that suffering can become productive. God can use it to build the traits God desires to see in us. Think of trials like exercise: it’s rarely fun in the beginning, but over time our muscles increase and we become fit. If we never exercise, our muscles shrink and we become weak.

Back to our text, James then recommends that we ask God for wisdom. This might seem like a different topic, but I don’t think it is. Let’s read the next set of verses, 5-8:

5 Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him. 

6 But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 

7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, 

8 being double-minded and unstable in all his ways.

How does this tie together? James tells us: If we are going through a trial, we should ask God to give us wisdom so we can keep our faith during the trial and grow in endurance and become more like the people God would have us become. This is important advice because we need wisdom to navigate properly through a trial. But when we ask for wisdom, we must ask for wisdom from a place of faith. If we are double-minded, we won’t receive that wisdom.

In Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, he explains what that term, “double-minded” means. He says, “The word here used, ‘dipsuchos’ occurs only here and in James 4:8. It means one who has two souls; one who is wavering or inconstant. It is applicable to a man who has no settled principles; who is controlled by passion; who is influenced by popular feeling; who is now inclined to one opinion or course of conduct, and now to another.”

This is why James tells us to ask for wisdom, and to ask in faith without doubting. We need to ask fully expecting to receive God’s wisdom. We must not only believe that God can transform the suffering we experience during a trial into something good, but we also need wisdom to act the right way during the trial. James says the person who is double-minded should not expect to receive anything from the Lord, much less wisdom. That makes sense, doesn’t it? If someone is double-minded and not fully committed to following the Lord, then during a time of stress and trouble, that person is very unlikely to respond in faith to what’s happening. For example, think of King Saul. He is a good example of someone who was double-minded. He was not fully committed to following the Lord, and so during a crisis he did not cry out to the Lord for help. He did not seek counsel from the Lord or from God’s Word. He took matters into his own hands and, as a result, he did not receive help from the Lord. King David, on the other hand, when he faced a crisis, he cried out to the Lord, and the Lord helped him.  

Moving on to the next verses, James mentions poor people who will be exalted and rich people who will be humiliated—again, is this a new topic? Let’s read what he says in verses 9-11, which say:

9 Let the brother of humble circumstances boast in his exaltation, 

10 but let the rich boast in his humiliation because he will pass away like a flower of the field.

11 For the sun rises and, together with the scorching wind, dries up the grass; its flower falls off, and its beautiful appearance perishes. In the same way, the rich person will wither away while pursuing his activities.

I think this goes together with what he previously said about wisdom, because again, if we aren’t double-minded, but rather if we have wisdom, we will know that riches in this world don’t matter. Even if the trial we are facing is threatening to destroy our wealth or comfort, if we have proper thinking or a proper perspective on life, then we won’t lose faith during the trial. And we won’t react or respond to the trial in a sinful or faithless manner.

We need wisdom to keep a proper perspective, because if we do, then once we’ve endured the trial, as verse 12 states, then we will be blessed. It says:

12 Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

This is very similar to what 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 says: “Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.”

Paul is using athletic imagery to urge believers to train and discipline themselves like athletes. This implies choice and effort and proves that our lives are not filled with predetermined outcomes. Our responses in life are not predestined. We have to be determined to follow God’s ways. As Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:7, only then can we say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

We find this same idea in Philippians 3:13-14, which says, “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” Life is like a race requiring effort and endurance. We press on toward a goal. That means that we must do the work and cooperate. God doesn’t force us or prevent us. We must press on, with singular focus.

That means we must persevere or be disqualified. All through our lives we encounter obstacles and difficulties that threaten to trip us up. It takes effort to make it across the finish line. I know that I quoted from MacLaren stating that God sets up obstacles, and more importantly, Psalm 105, which tells us that the Lord tested Joseph’s character. But there is an important distinction we need to note. In verse 12, the word is translated as trial, but HELPS Word-studies says this word is peirasmós (from peirázō) and it can mean temptation or test. It says, “The positive sense (‘test’) and negative sense (‘temptation’) are functions of the context (not merely the words themselves).” That means both meanings can be used interchangeably depending on the context.

While God may allow us to face difficult trials, we shouldn’t think that God is tempting us in the sense that He is tempting us to fail or give in to sin. The next verses in James 1:13-15 tell us:

13 No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. 

14 But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. 

15 Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.

So now, in verse 13, the word is translated as tempted, but it’s peirázō again. There is no claim that God authors the temptation. Throughout this passage, James is using this same Greek word, but he’s not contradicting himself, he’s alternating the meaning. He’s showing us two possible outcomes from being “tested.”

This is the test of faith that James presents: will your trial be an opportunity for spiritual growth, or will it become a temptation that pulls you away from God?

If we face a trial with wisdom and faith, it becomes a means of growth.

If we respond with doubt because we are double-minded, then the same trial can become a temptation that leads to sin.

If we are tempted to sin and give in to our evil desires, then we have failed to keep the faith during the trial. And as verse 15 said, “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”

Then James wraps up this passage by really making it clear to us that God is not the one who tempts us to sin. He says in verses 16-18:

16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. 

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 

18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.

By telling us that every good gift comes from God, I think he’s correcting the false idea that temptations are God’s way of trying to trip us up. Temptations and trials are different things. Temptations happen to us when we are tempted by our sinful flesh. Those temptations are our own fault if we give in to them, and the end result of sin is death. But all the good things that happen to us are gifts from God. He doesn’t send us terrible things. Trials can be used for our good, to shape us more into reflections of Jesus and to build our endurance to finish this race of faith. 

That’s an important theological truth, and a comforting one. That means we should not blame God for temptations. Instead, we should remember that He is the one who gives life, not death. Which is what verse 18 is emphasizing. James is contrasting two things: sin gives birth to death (vs15), but God gives birth to life by the word of truth.

As verse 17 assured us, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” All the good things that happen to us are gifts from God. It’s like Jesus says in Matthew 7:9-11, “Who among you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him.”

Our Heavenly Father is the author of everything good. As verse 18 reminded us, “By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.” He didn’t give us death; He gave us life. It is because of free will that there is sin and death in this world.

So, a trial can become a temptation if we let our sinful desires take over. The difference isn’t the circumstance—it’s our response and what we believe about God in the middle of it. The difference is whether we are double-minded or not. Once again, here’s the test of faith: will this trial become a tool in God’s hands to grow our faith, or a temptation that feeds our sinful desires?

Because the same fire that refines gold can also consume wood. Whether a difficult moment becomes a trial that strengthens you or a temptation that destroys you depends on whether you trust God’s goodness and seek His wisdom or follow your own evil desires.

I think this is what 1 Peter 1:6-7 is talking about when it says, “You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

I want to quote something Alexander MacLaren wrote in his commentary on James. He says, “We must cultivate the habit of thinking of life, in all its vicissitudes, as mainly meant to make character. That is what the Apostle is saying in the context. He says, ‘Brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations.’ That is a paradox. It bids a man to be glad because he has trouble and is sad. It seems ridiculous, but the next verse solves the paradox: ‘Knowing this, that the trial of your faith worketh patience.’ That is to say - if I rightly understand the meaning of this world in its bearing on myself, the intention of my whole life to make me what God would have me to be, then I shall not measure things by their capacity to delight and please taste, ambitions, desires, or sense, but only by their power to mould me into His likeness.”

Trials purify our faith. If we face a trial, it’s an opportunity to strengthen our faith. If we can have the wisdom to respond during the trial with faith and hope in God’s goodness, then our faith will grow stronger, our character will grow more mature, and God will shape us a little more into a better reflection of Jesus’ character.

My observation has been that oftentimes the things we experience or go through are not just for our own benefit, though. Usually, God is using us in some way to impact or affect somebody else in some way, too. We can obey Him and get to be an instrument of His use, or we can disobey Him and not end up being used by Him and miss out on an opportunity. In the same way that our disobedience can negatively affect people and the world at large, our obedience to God can be a blessing to others and bring glory to God.

I love how MacLaren ended his sermon on this passage of James. He wrote, “There is nothing to be won in the perfecting of Christian character without our setting ourselves to it persistently, doggedly, continuously all through our lives. Brethren, be sure of this, you will never grow like Christ by mere wishing, by mere emotion, but only by continual faith, rigid self-control, and by continual struggle. And be as sure of this, you will never miss the mark if, ‘forgetting the things that are behind, and reaching forth to those that are before,’ you ‘let patience have her perfect work,’ and press towards Him who is Himself the Author and Finisher of our patience and of our faith.”

James makes it clear: we are to ask God for wisdom, not be double-minded, recognize God’s unchanging goodness, and remember the new life we’ve been given through His Word. So when trials come—and they will—let us seek wisdom, walk by faith, and trust in the goodness of our God. And let us never forget: every trial presents a choice. Will we give in to temptation, or will we endure in faith? If we endure, we “will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”

Pray: Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your steadfast love and goodness. When trials and temptations come, please help us turn to You first. Strengthen us by Your Holy Spirit to endure with faith and hope. Teach us to walk with wisdom and not be double-minded, but grounded in Your Word. Help us keep our eyes on what truly matters, live with eternity in view, and run this race with endurance. May we be people who reflect Jesus, even in our suffering, and be used by You to bless others. Lord, help us to endure so that we can receive the crown of life You’ve promised to those who love You. In Jesus our Savior’s name we pray. Amen.