Word of Salvation – Vol.25 No.30 – April 1979
Trials For A Good Reason
Sermon by Rev. D.K. Baird, Th.Grad on James 1:2-4 (with Lord’s Day 10)
Scriptures: Job 1:1-22, James 1:1-18
Psalter Hymnal: 118; 411; 407; 110
Life is made up of differing situations and circumstances. You could probably put together quite a list of the various things that have happened during this past week. Some of those things will be good, others you would probably rather forget,
God is involved in all these circumstances. We call that the Providence of God, and that is what this Lord’s Day 10 is speaking about. It mentions good and not-so-good circumstances and states that we need to acquire the right attitude to these things. And we can too, because God is involved.
Out of the many and varied circumstances in which we find ourselves, it is the not-so-good ones we want to focus on today. We want to consider those adverse circumstances in which we find ourselves. Of course we usually call these: “trials”. You can see fairly easily that our text in James 1:2-4 is about: “trials”. But they are “Trials for a good Reason“.
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Trials in themselves are not enjoyable: they are a burden. We say to ourselves,
“If only that person would stop being such a nuisance!”
“If only that Christian sister would be a help in the church instead of a hindrance!”
“If only I lived somewhere else.”
“If only the government would change.”
So we go on.
We try to wish trials away.
We may even try to pray them away.
At times all we see is the trial itself.
We focus on it and almost stare ourselves blind looking at it.
Now really that is a hopeless thing to do.
It just makes us miserable and achieves nothing at all.
In fact this is a wrong approach altogether.
The Lord wants us to look at this in a totally different way.
The Lord has not given us trials so as to make us miserable.
James, in fact says,
“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
We are to rejoice in them! But how is that possible?
Well, let’s find out. From our text we can learn something about these trials which will help us look at them in a different light. We will see that they have been SENT and that there is a PURPOSE in them. Once we realise that, we will be able to have a better ATTITUDE to them.
- THE SENDER OF TRIALS
Fundamental to understanding our trials is the fact that God is the Creator.
Hebrews 11:3 says,
“By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible”.
Things have not come into existence by chance.
Now what you think about creation affects your view of daily events in that creation. For God not only created, He also governs day by day that creation of His. If life had started by chance then each day’s events would be a matter of chance too. However they are not.
The God of creation is also the God of providence.
So Q.28 asks, “What does it profit us to know that God has created, and by His providence still upholds, all things?”
– – – – – – – – –
Our text today is about day by day events,
And it is about GOD who governs those everyday events.
The same God who has created all things by His word of power.
But how can I say that this text is about God?
His name is not even mentioned in these verses 2 to 4.
That’s true, yet it is clearly about God.
Verse 4 tells us there is a purpose in our trials,
and that purpose is God’s purpose.
It is in His providence that these trials come upon us.
They do not just drop out of the sky by chance.
God authorises them and He has a purpose in doing so.
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Notice every type of trial is included.
Vs.2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.”
Some trials we have may be so hard to understand or accept that we want to leave them out of this discussion. However, we must remember that God is sovereign and He governs ALL the events of our lives. To think anything else would be to belittle Him in our minds.
“He does according to His will in the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.” (Daniel 4:35)
For example, you may get a flat tyre at a very inconvenient moment.
It may be no one’s fault – it is just one of those things.
Or maybe someone was to blame –
some fool at the service station didn’t fix it properly last time.
Or again, maybe the fool was you –
you didn’t fix it properly last time.
So whether you are mad with yourself, or someone else or no-one in particular, this trial is still included in God’s plan for you.
It is a “gift” to you from Him, no matter who delivered it.
There is a big mystery here which we can never fully understand. Our own stupid mistakes are included in the plan of God – although God is not responsible for our sins and blunders: we are.
Therefore we may be “patient in adversity… and with a view to the future may have good confidence in our faithful God and Father that no creature shall separate us from His love, since all creatures are so in His hand that without His will they cannot so much as move.” (Answer 28).
- THE PURPOSE OF TRIALS
Another verse that says much the same thing as our text is Romans 8:28-29:
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son..!”
Paul says, “We know…!”
Apparently the Romans were well aware of this as well as he himself.
But do WE know that?
Do we know that God is causing all things to work together for good for us, and that by “good” is meant God’s good purpose that we become conformed to the image of His Son?
Our text in James is saying basically the same thing.
God is behind it all, and has a good purpose in it all.
To use the words of the Catechism again, this time in Lord’s Day 9,
“Whatever evil He sends upon me in this vale of tears, He will turn to my good.”
There is an increasing attitude of pointlessness in the lives of many these days. What a joy that those who are in Christ can know that the Lord is taking them somewhere.
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Let us remember that it is to believers that James is writing.
Question: What is “fellow-brothers”? Is “brothers” not beautiful enough?
James identifies with his readers as fellow-brothers in Christ. “Consider it all joy, MY BRETHREN, when you encounter various trials.”
Not only does he have a relationship with Christ, in being, “a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.” (verse 1) but they are all brothers together, and all have a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus.
It is to them and us who are brethren, and to brethren only that he speaks.
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Martin Luther had a problem with this letter of James, for some time! He regarded it as “an epistle of straw” and felt it should not be in the Bible. His problem was he couldn’t find the doctrine of justification by faith clearly taught in the epistle.
Hardly anyone would agree with that these days.
Our text, as well as the letter as a whole, is really full of Christ, and also of justification.
This is true of our text even though the name of Christ is not mentioned in it. This IS part of Scripture and as Christ is in all the Scriptures we can expect to find Him here too.
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God is in control of all things, even in sending trials.
And in those trials he has a good purpose for His children.
That is indeed grace!
It is grace that good should come out of it for we deserve it not.
It is grace given to us who are IN CHRIST.
James is writing to those who have FAITH and whose FAITH is being tested by these trials.
They are believers who know Christ and who by faith have been justified through him.
Their sins are no longer counted against them for His sake.
But when you are in that position of grace in Christ you know that is not the END of your Christian experience – it is only the beginning isn’t it?
Now God is at work in your life continuing to work out His purpose, which is more and more bringing you away from the experience of sin and its effects, and to establish you more and more in steadfastness, endurance and maturity.
From Romans 8 we saw that the purpose of the Lord is to so mould us that we become more and more like the Lord Jesus himself.
Here we find a similar thing:-
“The testing of your faith produces ENDURANCE” (verse 3).
Tested and tried faith enables a maturity of steadfastness;
which is steady in honouring and trusting Christ as King and Saviour.
Verse 4 speaks in the same vein:-
“That you may be PERFECT (MATURE) and COMPLETE, lacking in nothing.”
This is the goal of Christian growth.
This is the purpose God has in our trials.
If you are an unbeliever and trials come, you have problems. They are not something to rejoice over, for you have no promises to go with them. For you such trials are a warning to turn to the Lord.
But when trials come when you are a believer, there is no need for you to worry. You shouldn’t be rattled or bewildered.
A Christian has HIS LORD in charge of all things, and even those trials are sent as part of His love.
It is because of the mercies of Jesus that God has a favourable purpose then, to turn all things to a good outcome: to increase your Christlikeness, endurance, steadfastness and maturity
- OUR ATTITUDE TO TRIALS
Already it has been implied that our attitude to trials must change.
This will happen when we realise the facts of the case:-
― that God is in control
― that God has a good purpose in them.
But now James specifically gives us something to DO.
Verse 4: “And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
The point is this: when trials come along what are you going to do?
Are you going to fight them?
― get uptight about them?
― get angry at them?
― blame other people for them?
No.
Rather, seeing the purpose in them, you are to rejoice in them, and in that way “let endurance have its perfect result” of maturity.
You are to actively and consciously exercise your faith.
You are to believingly remind yourself:-
― that God is in control;
― that God has a good purpose in this.
You are to consciously and deliberately thank God and regard the trials with joy. Not as a bad thing, not as a mixed blessing, but with all joy.
Of course, in themselves trials are a bad thing.
They are not something that anyone looks forward to.
The joy comes in seeing the purpose and the value of them.
Again we have to ask, “What is the most important thing in life?”
There are many things which are pleasant, but what is the most important?
It is surely that we become mature and complete Christians.
That is what the Lord wants most of all, so that should be our desire too. The Lord organises and arranges the circumstances of our life so that His purpose may be achieved.
It is fitting that we should be aware of what He is doing, and also be willingly involved in that programme of His.
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Conclusion:
We won’t arrive at that place of maturity overnight.
It will be a life-long process of growing in familiarity with the Lord’s purposes for us.
Indeed each time we find ourselves in a particular trial we will need to familiarise ourselves again with what is going on.
We will need to meditate all our life long on such scriptures as these.
We will need to time and again go through the experience of the testing of our faith.
So let us remember that those trials come from the hand of the Lord, and that He has a simply marvellous purpose in them
And knowing that, “let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
AMEN: