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. (James 1:12–18, ESV)

Each of us has experienced trials that turn into temptations. The trial of a prolonged sickness can tempt us to grumble and complain. The trial of a difficult work life can tempt us to ease the pressure with substance abuse. The trial of a difficult marriage can tempt us to become vindictive or retaliatory. The trial of loneliness can tempt us to compromise our faith and walk with God to settle for someone we shouldn't. The trial of pressures at school can tempt us to lash out at the people around us. Trials often turn into temptations.

Perhaps an example from Scripture would help here. In the book of Numbers, after God had supernaturally delivered his people from their slavery in Egypt, he promised them the land of Canaan. Their leader, Moses, sent twelve spies into the land to scout out that land, and what they found tested them. There, in Canaan, stood impressive warriors and weaponry. This would be a trial they could, with God's strength, overcome. But their trial turned into a temptation to doubt God's promise and power. Unfortunately, they caved to their temptation, and it led to a forty-year delay before their next generation went into the land of promise. Trials often turn into temptations, and they caved to the temptation they faced.

James's audience was also in a trial. They were that unique generation that lived in the years immediately after Jesus' resurrection. They were present at the earthshaking epicenter of Christianity but, through some persecution, had been dispersed from Jerusalem. Now, these believers were trying to figure out how to live among customs and cultures that were foreign at best and far from God at worst. They needed a vision of human flourishing, a template upon which to pattern their lives, and a view of human wholeness. So James wrote them this letter. It is a profile or sketch of maturity that God meant for that first generation of Jesus' followers and every Jesus follower thereafter.

With the opening words of his letter, James set out three main themes (1:2-11). The mature believer will endure hardship with God, will get their wisdom from God, and see their poverty or wealth as God does. Those three concepts—trials, wisdom, and poverty/wealth—will litter the rest of his letter. And in this next passage, he will revisit the theme of trials, helping us understand how the mature person endures the temptations that trials often produce. James knew that their trials could turn into temptations, so he gave them a picture of someone who endured their trials and temptations well. How do they do it?

1. Through a Love Bond with God (1:12)

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. (James 1:12, ESV)

What James announces here is that people who remain steadfast under trials are blessed (1:12). There is something enriching and fulfilling about remaining under the weight of trials without giving up. Endurance in trials leads to a blessing—not mere momentary happiness, but a deep-seated position and sense of fullness and satisfaction that comes from God.

The reality is that many believers have a difficult time reconciling their faith with hardship, but there is a deep blessing that comes to those who endure their hardships in and with the Spirit's power. Just as it is inspiring to watch an endurance athlete push themselves through pain in an attempt to win their race, it is always moving to watch a believer press through trials without buckling to temptation. This is one of my favorite things about being a pastor: I get a chance to watch all sorts of people endure trials of various kinds with grace and dignity.

But James gives a reason the person who endures trials is blessed: when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life (1:12). James does not define what this crown of life is, but many have ventured guesses. Some think it is an eternal reward of some kind—and there is ample room for this view in Scripture. In Revelation, Jesus even promised the crown of life to the persecuted church of Smyrna (Rev. 2:11). As in, after you die for your faith, you will receive the crown of life. Others, however, think the crown of life might be, to James, another way of saying this person has a wholeness of life today. I believe both are possible at the same time—a life with an eye on eternity is the best type of life today.

But here is the important thing: James said that God promised this crown to those who love him (1:12). To James, endurance or steadfastness in trials can be evidence that a person loves God. Or, put another way, love for God produces steadfastness, which leads to the crown. We might think it all works in a different way: if I am steadfast, I will get God's love and crown. But what the Bible teaches is that because he loved us, we love him in return, and because we love him, we will endure trails and get the crown.

Here is the truth James reveals: enduring the temptations trials produce is best done through a strong love bond with God. As theologian, J.A. Motyer wrote, "We live by what we love; the shape of our lives is determined by the joys of our hearts." [^1]

When Christina and I were newly married, our love produced three wonderful baby girls. And the pressures of parenting in those early years were hard—trials we had to endure. Those trials brought various temptations, but our love for one another helped us through and grew stronger as a result. And now, as we help those same baby girls launch into adulthood and go through the personal pains attached to that change in life, it provides a new opportunity for our love to help see us through. Because we love one another, we endure together. And because believers love God, they can endure trial and temptation.

This is one reason I feel convicted of highlighting the magnificence of God's love in the gospel—Jesus Famous—quite often to our church family. When we think of God and the kingdom he gives us through the cross as the greatest hidden treasure, like a discovered jewel of great price, we do so much better in the trials of life (Matt. 13:44-46).

So, how does the mature person endure temptation? First, through a love bond with God. Just as a mixed martial artist endures kicks to the head because he loves the idea of victory, so the mature person resists trial induced temptation because of they love God. We all understand this one. We all have people we would do nearly anything for because the bond is so strong. And as our love bond with God grows, we become better at enduring temptation in a way that is more reflex than responsibility, more second nature than steps to follow, more relational than religious.

2. With Total Ownership and Honesty (1:13-15)

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. (James 1:13–15, ESV)

When trials develop into temptations, we must approach those temptations with total ownership and honesty. James said that the tempted person should not blame God for their temptations (1:13). In a ridiculous turn of phrase, James's hypothetical person says, "I am being tempted by God" (1:13). But this is impossible given God's nature: he cannot be tempted by evil, meaning he has never sinned, won't ever sin, can't ever sin, and does not even know how to sin. He is holy, and he cannot deny his own nature. He will certainly test us with the intention that we succeed, but does not tempt us to provoke evil.

So, God is not to blame for our temptations, but this is often our natural response. Adam blameshifted in the garden of Eden—it was the woman you gave me, God—and we have followed in his footsteps ever since. We love to blame God for our behavior. He made this enjoyable. He made me this way. The heart wants what the heart wants. He could have kept me from this if he wanted. He shouldn't have let this into my life. He wants me to be happy. He has bigger concerns than what I do in my personal life. On and on our blameshifting goes, but the person who endures temptation expresses total ownership.

We are in a time where society is affirming itself to death. God told Adam that if he ate the forbidden fruit, he would surely die, and when the man ate the fruit, the death that unfolded was slow decay over time that led to eventual death. That is the type of death that comes to a culture or society that affirms every desire felt within.

But, as this passage tells us, desire does not indicate design. In fact, James tells us that we have broken desires that tempt, lure, and entice us (1:14). These are words James lifts straight from the pages of Fishing World Magazine. Like bait on a hook or in a trap, temptations appeal to our desires with plans to ensnare us.

And when we cave to those inward desires, James used the metaphor of pregnancy to describe a desire conceiving then birthing sin—and when little baby sin is all grown up, it becomes death itself. We have all seen this in action in our own lives or the lives of others. A little desire to gossip ends up destroying a decades-long friendship. A little desire to party turns into a lifelong addiction. A little desire to impulse shop turns into mountains of debt. A little desire to view pornographic material turns into a secret and dominating practice. A little Bathsheba turns into a scandal of murder (2 Sam. 11).

James detailed the anatomy of temptation, not by blaming God or the devil, but desires within. T. Swift be singing, "It's me, hi, I'm the problem it's me," and James be like, "Yes, Taylor." In the classic movie, Alien, a spaceship's crew comes into contact with an alien and, through that contact, inadvertently brings the alien on board the ship. The rest of the movie is about the alien's growth within the ship and the crew's struggle for survival. The problem was not out there in outer space but inside the ship.

And the problem is within. We have good desires that we abuse and use in unhealthy ways. We have bad desires that we should never succumb to. But we are a war within, which is why Paul said we must not present our bodies to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present our mortal bodies—every part—to God as instruments of righteousness (Rom. 6:12-14). We must starve the flesh and feed the Spirit. We must think about how we are using our eyes, ears, hands, and feet and present them each day to God.

And in all this ownership and honesty, we must be honest with one another. A lack of honesty is one of the greatest impediments to progress in the modern church. When we partake in the church gathering, go to groups, and serve on teams, all while harboring secret sin, it slowly erodes us—death.

This is one reason I have tried to do better over the years in terms of how I talk about the failures of Israel or Jesus's disciples. When we laugh and ridicule them for their fickle walks with God, all while forgetting that they wrote it all down so they could own and be honest about it, we promote an environment that makes fun of the struggle. Then, when we struggle, we think we better keep quiet lest we, too, be mocked. Instead, we need to be honest about how temptation works, take ownership, and confess our sins and even temptations that might lead to sin to one another.

3. By Trusting God (1:16-18)

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. (James 1:16–18, ESV)

So, how does the mature believer endure temptation? Through a love bond with God and with ownership and honesty, but also by trusting God in two specific ways. James was concerned that we not be deceived and get the wrong ideas about God (1:16). Instead, he sang a bit of poetry when he said every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (1:17).

God is not the one who tempts us but is the source of true and unwavering goodness. There is no variation or shadow due to change in him (1:17). He is the Father of lights, but his light is steady and unchanging—it never dims or fades but is a constant beam for his people.

Why does James give us this picture of God here? Because when in temptation, the desires of our hearts lie to us and tell us that behind the temptation are the good and perfect gifts we need. But we are to trust God as the source of all that is truly good and perfect for us.

James is not writing a scientific treatise on how light works but is giving us powerful imagery to help our conception of God. Life blossoms under the light of the sun, and human life flourishes under God's light. We are made to connect with the God who is only capable of gifts that are like him, good and perfect. As we connect with him, as we find him sufficient and enough for us, we are preserved from the temptations that beset us. We endure temptation by trusting God as the source of all that is good and perfect.

We have all seen children who are so young and wild that they are a bit of a danger to themselves. Every once in a while, especially in a crowded place with lots of traffic, you'll see a little one wearing a shoulder harness attached to a leash. The parents likely didn't want to go there, but for whatever reason, it came to that point. The child's radar for danger isn't developed; they might run out into traffic, therefore harness it is. But a child with a keen sense of the danger and the safety of their parents is different. You might see them holding up their hand near a crosswalk. They know they need their parent's guidance.

They trust their parents—and this is a good picture of the trust we must have for God in the face of temptation. He is good and perfect. Every good and perfect gift comes from him. In the traffic of temptation, hold your hand up to him and ask him to lead you.

But we also endure temptation by trusting God will finish the work he started in his people. You might feel a little depressed that internal desires are warring against your progress. I'm sure it didn't surprise you, but it can be a bit deflating to consider the honest reality of the war within.

James, however, reminded us that it was of God's own will that he brought us forth by the word of truth (18). God is the one who initiates our salvation and calls us home. We love him because he first loved us (1 John 4:19).

And why did God call us? So that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creation, meaning his plan is that we would become the crowning jewel of his creation once again (1:18).

This is powerful language that is in contrast with the death and destruction connected to temptation and sin. Yielding to temptation brings forth baby death, but God births us to be his special people. And the mature endure temptation by trusting God to continue that work of newness and transformation in their lives. The God who regenerated us is the God who transforms us and is the God who will bring us to resurrection glory.

So, we must believe he can transform our desires to become like his. Modern science is even describing this process as a rewiring of the brain—neuroplasticity—through various therapies and habits. But James sees how there is a God behind those practices who slowly transforms our impulses and drives, conforming them to himself that we might become more like Christ.

When a healthy baby is born, they have within them everything needed to grow into maturity. They are not mature at the start—drives, desires, and impulses are their guides for life. But if they are actively parented—if healthy boundaries are established, careful standards are set, and loving discipline is administered—that child has a good chance to develop into maturity. It is in connection to their parents that so much of their maturity develops.

So it is with us. We are born again by the Spirit, and everything we need for life and godliness is given to us in Christ Jesus (2 Pet. 1:3). But we are so new we are infants, and our desires and impulses still often drive us. If, however, we yield ourselves to the Father of lights and receive his ongoing work in our lives—if we continue to develop the love bond we have with him—maturity will grow. This is the process we must trust him for—he is the source of all that is good and perfect, and he can finish what he started in us.

[^1]: Motyer, J. A. The Message of James: The Tests of Faith, p. 49.

Study Questions

Head Questions:

According to James, what is the source of temptation, and why is it important to understand this?
How does James describe the process of desire leading to sin and ultimately to death?
What does James mean when he refers to God as the "Father of lights," and how does this relate to enduring temptation?

Heart Questions:

How can a strong love bond with God help you endure trials and temptations in your life?
What emotions or feelings do you experience when facing temptations, and how can honesty about these feelings help you overcome them?
How does trusting in God's goodness and his transformative work in your life encourage you to persevere through temptations?

Hands Questions:

What practical steps can you take to cultivate a deeper love relationship with God, and how might this help you resist temptation?
How can you practice ownership and honesty about your struggles with temptation, both with God and with trusted fellow believers?
What specific actions or commitments can you make to trust God more fully and rely on his strength when facing temptations?