1:12
When we persevere it is a sign that we are blessed by God. Blessed does not just mean some general favour from God, it is much stronger than that. It means that we have great well being. We are in the heart of God’s plans. It means that we have overcome the world in the battle we have just endured. It means, as James says here, that we will receive the crown of life. Knowing Christ, believing the gospel, means going God’s way, not the world’s ways. Those individuals and churches that seem to think we must follow the ways of the world really haven’t got a clue.
1:13-15
We now get advice on what particular aspect of perseverance, that is resisting temptation. The advice here fits well with Paul’s words in 1 Cor 10:13. We should not blame God for temptation. And temptation is not just about wrong overtly desires, such as sexual or financial temptation. It goes deeper than that. When Jesus was tempted it wasn’t to do anything overtly sinful in two of the temptations, but it would have gone against God’s plan. The root of the problem lies in wrong desires. We need to resist these, both when they are overtly sinful, and when they are things that would stop us following God’s plan, such as desire for safety. Sinful desires when fully developed lead to death.
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