SERMON TITLE: The Purpose of Trials
SCRIPTURE: James 1:2-4 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 1-11-26
Sermon Discussion Guide
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As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time — if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus or are with our friends in Bucyrus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re continuing our series in the book of James this weekend. And — as I mentioned last week — I have a personal fondness for this book because it was the first book of the Bible that I memorized from beginning to end. And James is a great first book to memorize because it’s essentially a book of mini-sermons. It focuses on one topic — then goes on to another topic — then another — and so on. Our brains — or at least my brain — appreciated the kind of focus James offered me in my first attempt at memorizing an entire book of the Bible.
So give it a go — I dare you to try and memorize James. You’ll be doing yourself a favor — and all of us, too — because I can’t think of a downside of more of us putting God’s Word to memory.
Last week was an overview of the book and its author and — today — we’re going to dive into the text itself. So — if you have your Bible — please turn with me to James chapter one. We’ll be in James chapter one today — looking at verses two through four. Here’s what we read in James chapter one — beginning in verse two.
James 1:2–4 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
In these verses we find a call to joy, an explanation of the trials we face, and we learn the purpose of the trials we experience. A call to joy. An explanation of what trials are. And the purpose of the trials we experience in life.
We’ll begin with a call to joy. We’re in verse two.
James 1:2 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
James begins by calling us to joy in our trials — and this is a command. We’ll get to the specific kinds of trials we face in a moment — but know that most trials include some form of suffering. James knows this — and yet — he begins his letter by calling his readers — and us — to joy.
So right away — we’re faced with a seemingly impossible scenario — at least impossible if you’re a mere mortal like me: For the scenario we’re called to is one of joy in the midst of suffering. So how is that possible? How is it possible to have joy while facing trials in life? That’s the question we’ll be answering in this sermon.
But — before we get to our answer — I want to ask you: When you suffer — or if you’re in the midst of suffering right now — how’s your joy? James isn’t saying don’t grieve. He’s not saying don’t pretend as if you’re not experiencing sorrow — he’s not negating those kinds of emotions. But he is saying that — for the person who follows Jesus — in the midst of trials, sorrow, and suffering — there will be joy.
So — I’ll ask again: How’s your joy?
Now — if you’re not a Christian — I can imagine the idea of joy in the midst of trials and suffering seeming absurd to you. Trials are something to avoid — at least that’s what we’re told by culture — so who’d expect to have joy?
And — for those of us who believe in God — James is challenging the false idea that God never wants you to face trials, or moments of discomfort, or challenges, and so on. But — remember — James is Jesus’ younger brother. And James is well aware of what his older brother went through. And if Jesus experienced trials and sufferings in life — why would we think that we won’t?
And — even more than this — instead of just accepting that we’ll face trials and suffering — James takes us a step even further — a step that’s in the footsteps of Jesus our Savior. For we…
Hebrews 12:2 ESV
2 look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
And — in looking to him — the One who looked at and past the cross — to the joy that was set before him — the eternal love and pleasure of his Heavenly Father — in looking to Jesus we’re able to — imperfectly, yes — but we’re able to look past the trials and sufferings we face in this life to the joy that’s set before us — the eternal love and pleasure of the One who created us and who died for us. Thus we can count it all joy when we face trials in this life.
But what kinds of trials is James referring to? We’re back in verse two.
James 1:2–3 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith…
A great question to begin with is: What would James have meant by the world “trials”? The word that James uses — which we translate as “trial” in English — has the sense of “being examined” in our verses. Where something — or in this case, someone — is “examined closely for potential flaws or mistakes or opportunities for growth.” The specific opportunities for growth — that James may’ve been thinking of — would fit the broad category of trials and suffering due to persecution that his readers would’ve experienced.
In history — the experience of persecution has had a variety of effects on Christians. Some Christians — due to persecution — find themselves faced with strong temptations. Some denied Christ in order to not experience physical pain. Others gave in to the temptation to not speak out against something that went against God’s Word in order to keep their job. Often these Christians will live the rest of their life with a guilt that they can’t shake.
But there’s another response to persecution that results in a different kind of trial. One that John records for the church in Smyrna.
Revelation 2:10–11 NLT
10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The devil will throw some of you into prison to test you. You will suffer for ten days. But if you remain faithful even when facing death, I will give you the crown of life. 11 “Anyone with ears to hear must listen to the Spirit and understand what he is saying to the churches. Whoever is victorious will not be harmed by the second death.
Instead of giving in to the trial — there’s the man or woman who doesn’t deny Christ and is killed for his or her faith. He experiences the trial of facing death head on — while his wife and children experience the trial of no longer having a husband and father. There’s the follower of Jesus who chooses to speak up for truth and experiences the trial of losing her job for not giving in to the expectations of her employer or co-workers. She then may face a testing of her faith — because — there’s no guarantee that God will make sure she gets another job just because she stood faithfully for him.
What are some of the kinds — or categories — of trials we face today?
We experience relational trials — whether it be parenting, in our marriages, a friendship at work or in the church. But as James will later warn us…
James 4:1–3 ESV
1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.
And what’s our response? We want to say to James, “Well that’s not true when I’m the one in the conflict! I’m standing for the truth. I’m standing for what’s right. I’m, I’m, I’m…” It’s amazing how — though quarrels and fights are abundant in our world today — no one seems to take James at his word: That quarrels and fights among people in the church — by the way — come from passions and desires that are at war within us. We murder to get what we want — James says. We covet and fight with one another.
We face physical trials. For many — these are medical situations. The number of people on my prayer list who are facing physical trials usually hovers just over twenty — and those are just the situations I’m aware of. And physical trials can’t help but influence our walk with God. Waking up in pain every day — is painful! Yet some of the most joyful and joy-filled people among us face physical trials every day. Deb Oman and Lyn Loewen come to mind.
For others of us — it’s the physical trials of those we love. Where you long for news like what Paul wrote to the Christians in Philippi about their friend who was ill.
Philippians 2:25–30 ESV
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. 29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Oh what joy — did you see it — joy! — when someone we love finds healing from the physical trial they’ve been facing. Yet there’s joy to be experienced in and during the trial as well.
There are emotional trials. The violence we see in the news — the comparison trap of social media that we’re all strangely addicted to. We love to be outraged — to be shocked — to be angry. And every now and then we need a break and just need something pretty stupid to laugh at — my personal favorite has anything to do with people tripping and falling.
And both the news and social media have figured out how to control us all like puppets on a string. I know — you’re the exception to the rule. “The algo hasn’t gotten its claws in you,” the pastor said facetiously.
And there are trials of temptation. As the apostle Paul writes…
1 Timothy 6:9 ESV
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
There’s a temptation — the same word translated as trial in James — when one’s desire to be rich ensnares them: It leads to ruin and destruction. Of course — the danger of this kind of trial is that we never think we’ll be ensnared by it, right? Only “those” kinds of people get trapped by it — not people — well — like me. I’m above being trapped by money, or porn, or power, or alcohol, or — fill in the blank. This kind of thinking is the first step in the direction of the “senseless and harmful desires” that lead people to ruin and destruction.
The age of information in which we live and consume ideas — is an age of good ideas and bad ideas — of godly ideas and ungodly ideas — it’s an age with teaching that honors Christ and teaching that’s promoted as Christianity but dishonors Christ. It may not seem like a trial but every day people are — instead of having their faith tested — are having their faith destroyed by lies that seem so clever that they sound like the truth. Paul warns us of this when explaining the importance of being part of a local church when he writes…
Ephesians 4:11–16 NLT
11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
In the midst of this world that’s like waves of the ocean — that keep going back and forth — into the shore, back out to the ocean — instead of getting tossed around by the winds and waves of culture — we’re to be steady — anchored — built on a firm foundation that’s a solid rock. And this steadiness only comes by rooting oneself deeply in one’s faith. Knowing what you believe, why you believe, and — most importantly — living as if you actually believe it.
For some of us it would be a big step to start focusing on what you should believe as someone who follows Jesus. If you don’t know where to begin — I’d suggest starting with the Essentials of our Faith statement. You can find it on our church website — gatewayepc.org — on the “who we are” page.
But I’ll do you a favor and read them to you now — it’s always good for us to be reminded of the Essentials of our Faith.
All Scripture is self-attesting and being Truth, requires our unreserved submission in all areas of life. The infallible Word of God, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, is a complete and unified witness to God's redemptive acts culminating in the incarnation of the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible, uniquely and fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, is the supreme and final authority on all matters on which it speaks. On this sure foundation, we affirm these additional Essentials of our faith:
1. We believe in one God, the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinitely perfect and eternally existing in three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To him be all honor, glory and praise forever!
2. Jesus Christ, the living Word, became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He who is true God became true man united in one Person forever. He died on the cross, a sacrifice for our sins according to the Scriptures. On the third day, he arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven, where, at the right hand of the Majesty on High, He now is our High Priest and Mediator.
3. The Holy Spirit has come to glorify Christ and to apply the saving work of Christ to our hearts. He convicts us of sin and draws us to the Savior. Indwelling our hearts, he gives new life to us, empowers and imparts gifts to us for service. He instructs and guides us into all truth, and seals us for the day of redemption.
4. Being estranged from God and condemned by our sinfulness, our salvation is wholly dependent upon the work of God's free grace. God credits his righteousness to those who put their faith in Christ alone for their salvation, thereby justifying them in his sight. Only such as are born of the Holy Spirit and receive Jesus Christ become children of God and heirs of eternal life.
5. The true Church is composed of all persons who through saving faith in Jesus Christ and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit are united together in the body of Christ. The Church finds her visible, yet imperfect, expression in local congregations where the Word of God is preached in its purity and the sacraments are administered in their integrity; where scriptural discipline is practiced, and where loving fellowship is maintained. For her perfecting, she awaits the return of her Lord.
6. Jesus Christ will come again to the earth-personally, visibly, and bodily-to judge the living and the dead, and to consummate history and the eternal plan of God. "Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev. 22:20)
7. The Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world and to make disciples of all nations. Obedience to the Great Commission requires total commitment to "Him who loved us and gave Himself for us." He calls us to a life of self-denying love and service. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Eph. 2:10)
If you have any questions about the Essentials — please stop by the Resource Center before you leave. Someone will be available to either answer your question or take down your info so someone can follow up with you this week.
If you’ve got the Essentials down and want to dive deeper into what you believe — I’d suggest studying the Westminster Confession of Faith and the Catechisms — also available on our “who we are” page. If it interests you — we did a whole series on the Westminster Confession of Faith on our church podcast.
Know what you believe and know why you believe it. For it’s not enough to know the “Bible answer” as if you’re studying for a test — you’ve got to know why you believe there’s only one God or why only those who put their faith in Christ alone are saved or why we’re to proclaim the gospel until Christ returns.
And — finally — we must live like we believe what we say we believe. Think about it — when it comes to politics — what you believe dictates how you behave. You vote for a certain candidate — don’t vote for the other candidate — or don’t vote altogether — because of something you believe about politics. What you believe leads to how you behave.
If you’re a parent — your belief about education — public school, private school, or home school — influences what your family does.
If you believe that Pepsi tastes better than Coke — or vice versa — you probably prefer to drink the one you think is better. Just like if you believe that Nike makes a better shoe than Reebok. What you believe affects what you do.
And then we come to the beliefs of the Christian faith. For example, to be a Christian means you believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the only way a person will spend eternity in Heaven — and that those who die without faith in Jesus will spend eternity in Hell. And — that means — you can’t be a Christian and be apathetic about sharing the gospel. For sure — you may not be the next Billy Graham — but neither can you ignore Christ’s command to go and make disciples of all nations. But according to a recent study by the Barna Group — more and more Christians in the US aren’t sharing the gospel. We say we believe these things about salvation, heaven, and hell — and yet — sharing the faith is increasingly becoming optional to Christians in the US. Why?
Because we’re giving in to trials instead of allowing their purpose to be fulfilled in our lives.
Which leads to the purpose of trials. Now — if we’re honest — most of us wish this wasn’t in the Bible. Trials are never fun — but that doesn’t mean they’re not for our good. And that’s what James is telling us. We’ll start in verse two one last time.
James 1:2–4 ESV
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
I want to read our verses in another Bible translation to help us better see what James is saying.
James 1:2–4 NLT
2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
So trials — or troubles of any kind — come into our lives so that our faith is tested — remember — James is specifically speaking to those of us who follow Jesus. And — when our faith is tested — its ability to endure has an opportunity to grow. Like muscles — which only grow and get stronger through the enduring activity of regular exercise — so too our faith must be tested so that it grows stronger and stronger in its ability to endure the trials of life. And this continues throughout our life until our faith reaches its God intended goal: perfection and completion — which doesn’t happen in this life — but in the life that’s to come.
So some not so great news: Throughout this life here on earth you’ll continually experience trials. But — in knowing this — you can now view them as growth opportunities for your faith. For the only other alternative — which many people unfortunately choose to take — is to allow trials in this life to destroy your faith instead of strengthen it.
Now — you should know that James isn’t the only one who tells us that this is the purpose of trials. Notice how similar Paul’s words are on this topic. Paul writes…
Romans 5:3–5 NLT
3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Like James — Paul says, “Have joy when you find yourself facing problems and trials in life — for they help you develop endurance.” Paul then goes on to say, “And endurance develops your character. And character strengthens the hope of your salvation, which will never lead to disappointment because you will know that God loves you” and — as Paul says elsewhere — “is working out everything for the good of those who know God and are called according to his purpose.”
So the goal of these trials — their purpose — is to lead us on the path whose destination is our perfection. And here’s some encouragement from God’s Word that — I hope — will ignite an even greater desire in your heart to endure whatever trials you are — or may face. Elsewhere in the Bible we read…
Philippians 1:6 ESV
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
The good work that God began in you — a good work that began the moment you responded to the gospel by believing in Jesus Christ — God has guaranteed that he will bring his good work to completion — or perfection — in your life. And what is that good work? Your eternal salvation. Which means — for those who believe in Jesus Christ — you will endure this trial and every trial. You will pass the test — for God has guaranteed your success with the blood of his Son.
In the book of Genesis — we find the story of Joseph. He’s his dad’s favorite — and his brothers hate him for it. In fact — they hate him so much that they want to kill him. But — instead of killing him — they sell him into slavery to a group of people headed to the faraway land of Egypt. And for years Joseph experiences trial, after trial, after trial. And betrayals. And false accusations. And imprisonment. Nothing good. Nothing fun. Nothing pleasurable.
But God — being sovereign — which means he’s in control of all things — God was orchestrating all of these events in Joseph’s life to prepare him to be the one who would save Egypt — and many neighboring nations — from starvation during a devastating famine. By enduring trial after trial after trial — Joseph rises to become second-in-command in Egypt. And this former slave and prisoner — because his faith was strengthened through enduring all of those trials — was now ready for the responsibility he would be entrusted with.
Some of the people he saved were his family members — his father, his brothers, and their children. And at the end — here’s how Joseph summarized his many years of enduring trials. He said…
Genesis 50:20 NLT
20 You (his brothers) intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.
What his brothers meant to cause him harm — God used for Joseph’s good — all of those trials only strengthened his faith in his God. Similarly — but on a grander scale — what was meant to harm Christ — the cross and all of its evil and brutality — God intended for good. For he brought his Son to the cross — the trial of all trials — so that Jesus would be the one who saved the lives of many people for all eternity. And — as we saw earlier — Jesus endured the cross with joy.
Early on in this sermon I told you that I’d answer the question of how it’s possible to have joy in the midst of trials and suffering — the answer is this: By believing that God is sovereign — that he really is in control of all things — for that’s the truth we hold fast to — which leads to our endurance — which will lead us to our perfection and completion. For only a sovereign and in-control-of-all-things God can take what is meant for our demise and use it to lead us to our perfection in his eternal presence.
And believing that your God is sovereign — when you know in the depth of your soul that the God you believe in is in control of all things — can’t help but give you joy. For no matter what is set before you — you are looking to your Savior who loves you and endured the cross so that he might be your joy in all things. Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father, may you fix all of our eyes on your Son right now. And may Jesus be our joy.
Holy Spirit, comfort those who are suffering. For those who are lonely — may they have a sense of your presence. For those who feel unloveable — may they know your love. For the hopeless — give hope. To the joyless — give joy. Spirit, we ask these things not because we deserve them — but because we know it delights you to give them.
And — Jesus — for the joy set before you — you endured the cross. The joy you saw was eternity with your Father and with us — your people whom you love. Jesus — I don’t know who it is — but I know someone right now needs to know that you love them — that they were part of what you saw that gave you joy — would you tell them right now, “It was you — you gave me joy.” And may we have ears to hear and receive your sweet love for us.
We pray all of this in your name. Amen.
No matter the trials you are facing — or will face — may you endure them with joy — knowing that your loving God has guaranteed your eternity with him. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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