The two words every student in all the history of student-hood absolutely loathes is final exam. In one of my language classes in school, our teacher encouraged all the students not to worry if we miserably fail a test here or there in the semester because the final exam was the most important. The flip-side to this "good news" was that if we failed the final exam, it didn't matter how may other tests in the class we aced, we'd be back next semester! In the book of James, the half-brother of Jesus teaches us a similar concept related to our spiritual lives. The believers James wrote to knew about tests of faith and were in the middle of them on a regular basis, so James challenges them to have the proper perspective as they encounter these tests and not to become confused about who God is because of the difficulty of these tests. James also reminds these believers that life is full of tests, but the most important test is the one that spans from our conversion until the day we die.
James 1:12-18 reads, "Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trail, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 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. 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 starts us off at the finish line of our faith. He fast-forwards to the day when the race is over and the runners are congratulated. Those who have persevered through the difficulties of the race are given a crown, but this crown is no ordinary crown…this crown symbolizes eternal life. Notice the one getting the crown is the one who "stood the test" (lit. has been approved), and not the one who gave up when the race got difficult. James also states that eternal life is given to those who love God. So essentially, those who "love God" are those who "remain steadfast" and "stood the test". There are a lot of people who claim a love for God, but see no problem with the fact that they haven't regularly attended a church service in 25 years and don't have an active and persevering love. There are thousands of "runners" showing up at this race who have quit halfway through and are expecting a crown still. Can you imagine this? If anyone who starts off well gets a crown, then what in the world is the point of James stressing perseverance to the end? Friends, those who will receive the reward of eternal life are those whose love for God is an active, persevering love. I'm afraid that, as Jesus said, many who currently claim a love for God will not be receiving eternal life on Judgment Day because they did not "remain steadfast" through the tests of faith in this life (Mt. 7:21-23). I am not saying that eternal life is given to those who say no to temptation or those who don't curse God when things get hard. Scripture teaches from cover to cover that eternal life is given to those who realize that they cannot live up to God's commands, but cast themselves wholly upon Jesus Christ, who bore their sins and failures on Himself so that they might have His perfect track record. So what about the tests of our faith that regularly come into our lives? Those who are trusting solely in Jesus for their right-standing with God, will have His Spirit's power within them to enable them to persevere through the tests of this life. One of my favorite passages in Scripture, because of its promise of Spirit-living power for every Christian is 2 Peter 1:3, which reads, "His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us to His own glory and excellence". There it is. There is the power to persevere…a power that is given to those who have realized they are powerless to live up to God's standards and totally cling to Jesus' Person and Work on their behalf.
So we've seen the finish line banner for those who've remained steadfast and it reads, "Blessed"…but what about the one who doesn't remain steadfast? Well, their banner reads, "Deceived". James says the "deceived" blame God for the difficulty of the test. They are perhaps struggling to make ends meet and are being tempted to think God is manipulating their circumstances for their hurt instead of desiring them to succeed. Nowadays, people are saying things like, "God made me this way, so how could He expect me to live any other way?" Whether the issue is homosexuality or being born with a debilitating illness that makes every day a painful struggle or having an unfaithful spouse or whatever it may be, blaming God is the path that the deceived take. James shares with us something quite remarkable about pointing the finger at God. James says that it's not God's fault and it's not always the devil's fault…it's our own fault. We have an "enemy within", as one author put it. When we're faced with a test of our faith, there is a spy living inside us that craves our disobedience. Paul calls this spy within the "old man" and says that we must put it to death (Rom. 8:13). The trail of the deceived starts with obeying the evil desires within us, which leads to sin, which leads to death. Temptation is not the sin, but heeding this temptation leads to sin. But it doesn't have to be outward and visible. Undressing a woman with your eyes is adultery in your heart and choking your enemy with your mind is murder in your heart according to Jesus (Mt. 5). But the Christian who is clinging to Jesus and gives into a temptation is not instantly condemned…rather it is those who habitually obey their sinful desires instead of remaining steadfast who are to fear. On the flip-side, the believer should not forget that playing with temptation is playing with fire that could take us very far from the Lord. In Proverbs 7, Solomon looks at the one who gives in to this desire…the result? "As an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag is caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into snare; he does not know that it will cost him his life".
So the problem is not God, it's us. Then what about God? Well, James says, He does have a role in all this, but He doesn't bring things into our lives to make us fail…rather, He is the source of everything right, true, good, and holy. Exhibit A: your conversion. James says that God started this "of His own will". He not only doesn't want us to fail, but He wanted us to be saved before even we were. God is the One who put you on the race in the first place and He intends for you to finish this race with flying colors. In fact, James says, He gives us the wisdom we need to endure the trials and temptations we face so that we will remain steadfast (1:5). James says there is not one shadowy corner in God's character, not one ounce of evil at all! So we do not serve a God who desires our eternal downfall, but we serve a God who works in us toward our ultimate victory. What a good God we serve! Giving us the gas to keep going and filling us with the strength to press on in faith. So the question for us is: Are we ready for the final exam? No tutor can help us, but we need someone to ace the test for us. Are you trusting in the One who aced the test on your behalf by dying on the cross? If so, know that this Teacher wants you to ace every test with flying colors and celebrate with you on Graduation Day.
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