The Reality of Trials in the Christian Life

 

COLERAINE EVANGELICAL CHURCH

SERMON NOTES FROM SUNDAY 7 DECEMBER 2025 am – MR GARETH McINTYRE

JAMES 1 VERSES 1 TO 4

Whenever we come to the book of James it is the evident burden of the writer to remind us not to put off our faith until times get better. That our trial is not the time to rejoice less, that during our sickness it is not the time to pray less and amidst our loss is not to love others less but rather now is the time to practice that love, that joy, that peace that can be evident and overflowing in the Christian life even in the midst of difficult circumstances. It is one thing to say we have faith, another to show faith. James tells us that true genuine faith in Christ will always show up in character and conduct of a person’s life even in times of trial. When it comes to the professing Christian, if there’s no evident change there must be something very strange. Whenever we come to the book of James, that’s what it is all about. Really James is a practical guide to Christian living and conduct. It is the most practical of all epistles. Some have even called it the proverbs of the New Testament. James is filled with moral precepts and it states the ethnics of the Christian faith. We are to practice in our lives what we proclaim with our lips. In other words we are to put in a shoe leather what we claim to believe. We should have a faith that works. When those around us watch our lives, when they weigh up and assess our daily attitudes in any given situation, do they see a faith that constantly waivers or do they see a faith that consistently works?

The 5 chapters of James instruct us as Christians on many practical things. We are to act wisely, treat people equally, control our tongues, produce harmony and we are to pray effectively. And we are to wait patiently. The first 4 verses of chapter 1 show us a faith in the fire. In verse 1, James the author of this book, who is the half brother of Jesus picks up his pen around the year 43 AD and he writes “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus.” Here James as he writes displays great humility. He refers to himself not as James the pillar of the church, not as James the brother of the Lord. He doesn’t say “I’m James the just.” No he simply says “James the servant of God.” James calls himself a bond servant. A bond servant was one who had given up their own will and yielded it to another. And isn’t that how a true man of God should be? Regardless of how high their position in the church, they should always regard themselves as servants of Christ. One commentator writes “A servant or a doulos was a slave who had completed their time of service and could have been set free from their master’s control. However after considering everything in this world and all its opportunities, the slave concluded that he was far better of with his master and he became a bond servant by choice. This servant’s earlobe was placed against a doorpost and pierced to signify his new standing. As he would walk down the streets people would see him and they would exclaim “what a wonderful master that man must have.” He could have been set free, but he chose to stay with his master.” You see true freedom is this world is only found in being a slave of God. Absolutely  nothing this world has to offer can compare to this great honour. Then we’re told in verse number 1 who the letter is to – “to the 12 tribes scattered abroad.” This letter was written to the 12 scattered churches. It was to be read to multiple churches. The reason for this letter was to minster to the suffering Jewish believers. These people were going through great trials, great troubles, through immensely difficult circumstances and their faith was being put to the test. These believers were reading about their faith that was in the fire.

Firstly, the reality of trials in the Christian life. These Jewish believers were suffering persecution. They were living in poverty. Many lost their homes, businesses and families. Verse 1 tells us they were scattered abroad. After Stephen was martyred in Acts 4 these Christians came under heavy persecution from the Roman empire. They refused to confess Caesar as Lord and instead they said there’s only one Lord and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. These believers had taken their stand. They were being stretched and squeezed but the sovereign God who saved them was still in complete control. James here writes this letter to instruct these scattered believers in the midst of their trial. And he says this strange word in verse one – “greetings.” That word means to rejoice. In verse 2 he says “my brethren count it a joy whenever you fall into various trials.” What a strange thing to say to someone who is suffering. How could any of us rejoice and count it a joy in the midst of trials? The truth is we can because the God who pours abundant and sufficient grace into our lives, he tells us clearly in his word that we can. We can rejoice. God tells us we can triumph in the midst of the trials of life. Verse 2 “when you fall into divers temptations.” That means trials. Notice it does not say “if you fall into” but rather “when you fall into.” There is absolutely no doubt about. Trials are unavoidable. Trials are inescapable. Thomas Martin once said “As the way to Canaan lay through a howling wilderness and desert, so the path to heaven lies through much affliction.” J C Ryle wrote “The grace of God exempts no one from trouble.” This is the reality. It says here in God’s word “When your trials will come.” They are spontaneous. These trials can arrive at any given time without warning. None of us knows the day. None of us knows when they are coming. None of us knows the minute when a trial could suddenly come into your life. Warren Wiersbe puts it in his commentary “the believer who expects the Christian life to be easy is in for a big shock.” We are God’s scattered people. We are not God’s sheltered people. We can’t be naïve as Christians. We must experience trials. Every day is not going to be easy. Every day is not going to see sunshine and hear the birds singing. Every day our plans are not just always going to go exactly the way we had planned them. The word of God teaches us nothing of the sort. Acts 14 verse 32 reminds us we must go through much tribulation to enter the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus warned his disciples in John 16 verse 33 “In this world ye shall have tribulation.” Jesus tells his disciples again in the upper room “You are they who have continued with me in my trials.” It is believed every one of the disciples except for one went to their death by way of martyrdom. The Lord Jesus Christ knew better than anyone about trials, troubles and suffering in life. He endured the greatest trial on the cross as he suffered and died at the hands of wicked men. These trials are spontaneous but also numerous. The Christian will face many trials in life. It’s not just one trial, then it is all over. There is no suggestion in the bible at all that life gets easier as the man gets better. We can say it is actually the opposite. Paul makes it clear in 2 Timothy 3 verse 12 that everyone that wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. Whenever we look back at church history many of the old saints of God who lived the most radiant lives and were used mightily were men and women who endured many of life’s greatest trials. C H Spurgeon the greatest preacher of the 19^th century, known today as the prince of preachers. It is estimated that Charles Spurgeon preached to over 10 million people in his life. He was a man used mightily of God in his day and in his generation. He saw many souls saved and won for Christ. He was a man with great talents, abilities and gifts. His life, his ministry, his sermons influenced so many right up to day but although this was a man with great gifts he was a man who endured numerous trials. He suffered many assaults from without, from critics and from those who hated the gospel. Whenever Spurgeon was alive many people made fun of him. But even worse of all he suffered greatly from within. He suffered from deep depression and discouragement. I am sure many times he felt like giving up. It is said that in Spurgeon’s bedroom he had a plaque on his bedroom wall with the words from Isaiah 48 verse 10 “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Whenever he went to bed each night he would gaze upon those words and when he would open his eyes in the morning again he would gaze on those words. On time Spurgeon was asked to explain why God led him to put these particular words on his wall. He said this “It is no mean thing to be chosen by God. God’s choice makes chosen men to be choice men.” Then he goes on to say this “We are chosen not in the palace. We are chosen in the furnace. In the furnace beauty is marred, fashion is destroyed, strength is melted and glory is consumed. Yet here in the furnace, eternal love reveals its secrets and declares its choice.” What was he saying? He was telling us that God takes the trials of life and he melts us and he moulds us and he shapes us so that we become more choice instruments in his kingdom. Trials are spontaneous. Trials are numerous. But also trials are various. Look again at verse 3 “when ye fall into divers temptations, when you fall into divers trials.” Divers means various. 1 Peter 1 verse 6 it says “In this you greatly rejoice though now for a season if need be ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations.” What does manifold mean? It means many kinds or it means various trials. You see, the trials in life are not all the same. It is like a weaver as he takes the various colours of yarn to make a beautiful rug. So too does God as he takes us and arranges the mixes, the colours and all the experiences in our lives that he brings forth a final product of something beautiful. We face various trials. Maybe we are facing trials in our family and we don’t know which way to turn. Maybe it is a trial at work this morning and you are holding on by a single thread. Maybe there is a trial in your own home. Maybe a difficulty within your marriage. Maybe it is a financial difficulty or a trial of health. But the word of God says in 1 Peter 4 verse 12 “Beloved think it not a strange thing concerning the fiery trial which is sent to try you as though some strange thing happened to you. But rejoice.”

Secondly, the reason for trials in the Christian life – verse 3 “Knowing this that the trying of your faith worketh patience,” That word trying means testing. It means to be put to the test. There is a reason why God allows trials to come into your life. God has a goal in mind and that goal is to prove you or improve you. I read that when it comes to making aeroplanes it starts off by designing a new plane on the drawingboard. Blueprints are made up and models are made. And after the models are tested, then construction begins. After 2 years the first plane will roll off the assembly line. But the question remains, will it fly? Will it pass the test? Well to prove that plane, the test pilot must take it through its paces in the air. When that plane has proven to be all that the maker promised it would be, then there is confidence in the plane and the airlines will buy it. In the same sense when precious metal is heated, it will become liquid and all the impurities will rise to the top and be scraped off and only the pure metal will remain. As one anonymous writer once said “The darker the night, the brighter the stars. The hotter the fire, the purer the gold.” And likewise God puts our faith in the fire to test and to prove that it is genuine. 1 Peter 1 verse 7 says “that the trying of your faith being much more precious than gold that perisheth though it be tried with fire might be found onto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” There is a reason for trials in the Christian life. Trials can produce something beautiful. Trials can produce something wonderful. The story is told of a little girl who came across a beautiful flower growing in the garden. As she stood admiring the flower, her eye followed the stem of the flower down into the soil and the dirt in which it grew in. This young girl deciding that the flower was so beautiful and it shouldn’t really be planted in such dirt, she pulled it out by the very roots and she began to wash it under the running water. Whenever the gardener came and saw what was happening he yelled “what are you doing you have destroyed my most beautiful flower.” The young girl was obviously shaken. She said, “I’m sorry, I just didn’t like it stuck in the dirt.” The gardener replied “young lady, do you not understand? The dirt is the very reason why that flower grew to be so beautiful.” Some times we complain of the circumstances. Sometimes we complain about the dirt we find ourselves in. Yet God the gardener places us in the very dirt where he knows that we can grow to be our best. Look again at verse 4 “But let patience have her perfect work. That you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing.” Trials are for our perfection. We all know that none of us are ever going to be perfect this side of eternity. But the word perfect here means to be fully grown and mature. It is nice to enjoy the good times in life. It's nice when everything’s rosy and when everything in life is going so well but you know the truth is that most of our spiritual growth,  most of our progression happens during difficult times in life whenever we feel hopeless and we feel torn and we don’t know where to turn. And when those times come, we turn to God and we trust him and we lean on him and we seek his sufficient grace. Trials are for our perfection but trials are also for our correction. Proverbs 3 verse 12 says “My son, despise not he chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth. Even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Again in Hebrews 12 verse 16 “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” Chastening literally means child training. And sometimes the Lord allows trials to come into our life as a way of correcting us. And what he does he does for a purpose because as a father he loves us. Sometimes we experience trials because of our own sin. Sometimes because of disobedience, because of bad choices, we can invite trials to come into our life. But you know whenever we feel the pressure of the trial, often it should bring us to an end in ourselves that we might flee back to God. You can think of the Prodigal Son. He left his father’s presence and he selfishly left that home and pursued his sinful desires. Whenever all the money was spent and squandered, he found himself poor and eating with the pigs. It wasn’t until a difficult and trying circumstance came into his life that he was moved and prompted him to run back to his father who graciously welcomed him home with open arms. Think of Jonah after his disobedience to God. God told him to go to Nineveh and he ran in the opposite direction. He ended up in the belly of a big fish. This trial was a result of his own sin but God used it to correct Jonah that he might submit himself back to God’s will. Trials can be for our perfection but also trials can be for our direction. Think of the apostle Paul. He was shipwrecked as he made his way along the Mediterranean ocean in Acts 27 and 28. What a trial that must have been, he barely survived and instead ended up on the shore of Malta But Paul knew very well that all things work together for good to those who love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. And on that island God used Paul mightily. Maybe you find yourself in a situation or find yourself going in a direction that’s not by your choice. Maybe it brings pressures and challenges into your life that you’re finding difficult. Maybe uncertainty is weighing you down today. Remember, nothing is outside of God’s control. And whatever the reason is, it’s for God’s glory and for your good. The reality of trials in the Christian life. The reason for trials.

Thirdly, the response to trials. Verse 2 “My brethren count it all joy.” When it comes to trials we cannot control the type of trial. We cannot control the outcome of the trial but we can control how we respond to the trial. We can allow the trial to make us better. The verse tells us to count it all joy. Usually we count it all joy whenever we escape trials, sorrows or loss. But here we are told to count it a joy whenever trials come. What does this word count mean?  It means to calculate, evaluate or weigh up all the facts. Don’t rush into judgement. Don’t immediately assume and be led by your feelings and your emotions about what’s happening. Take time prayerfully to hold up the mirror of God’s word and evaluate the situation correctly. And you know, whenever you’ve done this you will realise that the trial has been permitted by a sovereign God for a sovereign purpose. And in the midst of the trial you can experience joy knowing that God is working everything for your good. You see, whenever we acknowledge Christ on the throne of our life circumstances shall not rob us of our joy. Remember Jesus was able to endure the cross. The bible says “because of the joy that was set before him.” All through the New Testament you can read repeatedly about the sheer joy that Christians experienced in the moments of their severest trials. Think of the apostle when they were flogged for preaching the gospel in Acts 5 verse 41 “And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Acts 16 verse 25 when Paul and Silas were in prison in Philippi in the middle of the night whenever everybody else would have felt sorrowful and downcast, Paul and Silas were able to pray and sing praises to God. Paul told the Corinthian believers in 2 Corinthians 7 verse 4 “I am exceedingly joyful in all our tribulations.” But how could they be joyful? Why could they be joyful in these circumstances? It’s saying they can be joyful because when these trials come, we can look at them through the eye of faith, knowing that the outlook determines the outcome. And to end with joy, we must begin with joy, knowing the results they bring. You could think of Job. He had the right outlook whenever he said “But he knoweth the way that I take and when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”  John Newton said through  because we need them. And he proportions the frequency and the weight of them to what the case requires. The reality of trials. The reason for trials, the response to trials.

Fourthly, the reward after enduring trials in the Christian life. James reminds us in verse 12 “blessed is the man who endures temptations. For when he has been approved, he will receive a crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.” There is an immediate reward. James says “blessed is the man”. Blessed means genuinely happy, signifying being happy over and over again. This kind of happiness is impossible if it depends solely on our circumstances. But it is a happiness that is always available to us all. Whenever we depend on the Lord, there is a happiness and there is a joy. Trials produce maturity, patience, prayerfulness in the Christian’s life. Not only is there an immediate reward but there is also an eternal reward – the crown of life. James here isn’t speaking about salvation because every believer is promised eternal life and those who possess it will never perish but James is speaking about the believers reward that is promised to those who endure grief for Christ. Those who remain steadfast to the end. In verse 12 there is a promise. It says he shall receive. It says the Lord has promised. There is a promise. There is also a prize. It says a crown of life. But don’t miss the procedure. It says the man who endures it. It says to them that love him. The crown of life is the reward for faithful endurance born out of a heart of love for the Saviour. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 78 tells you exactly what that enduring love looks like. It is a love that bears all things. It is a love that endures all things. It is a love that never fails. This crown is the martyr’s crown found in Revelation 2 verse 10 “Be thou faithful unto death and I will give you a crown of life.” There will come a time if it hasn’t already when your faith will be in the fire and whenever that time comes remember the bible says “do not think a strange thing. All things work together for good to them that love God.” Endure it, learn from it, mature from it. Don’t let it make you bitter. Allow it to make you better. And with joy in your heart allow the world out there to see that by God’s grace you can smile back at the storm. Always knowing that in every situation, no matter what life throws at you, you can sing like the hymn writer “there is hope in every trial. For I can trust the Lord. He will turn my heart towards him and help me bear the thorn. So in faith I follow Jesus for his glory and my good.”