What is the Truth about Trials and Temptations?
Am service July 13th 2008
1 Peter 1:6-9
Introduction
As I began preparing this message I began to really think deep into the thought the “Truth about Trials and Temptations”, and I thought this about life.
Life should come with a list of side effects. There should be a tag on every newborn baby saying life can be full of fun and adventure and excitement and joy, but there are side effects. There’s illness . . abuse . . . broken relationships. . . betrayal . . . sorrow . . . loss . . . injuries. . . disappointment . . . heartache . . . crime . . .and death.
Actually, life did come with a warning. Jesus said in John 16:33 “that in this life, there will be trouble.” But why? Why these side effects? Why is there suffering and evil and pain?
That “why” question goes back thousands of years. It was asked in the Old Testament by Job and the writers of the Psalms, and it was especially relevant during the 20th and 21st century, where there were two World Wars, the Holocaust, devastating famines in Africa, the killing fields of Cambodia, the emergence of AIDS, the genocide in Rwanda, the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo, and the attacks of 9/11, the hurricanes of 2005, the flooding of this spring. Why all of this if there’s a loving and powerful God? Why do bad things happen to good people?
Before we get down on God about the trials and temptations, we should also ask the question “Why?” when it comes to blessings, because we definitely don’t deserve that from the hand of God.
Today from this passage the Apostle Peter is going to tell us the truth about trials and temptations.
Read Scriptures: 1 Peter 1:6-9
I. I need to know that Life is full of trials and temptations.
Vs. 6 “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”
Any thinking person can look around and see that life is bombarded with trials and temptations. We have trials such as sickness, desease, suffering, sorrows, death, disappointment, and loneliness.
We have temptations such as greed, immorality, anger, drugs, alcohol, backbiting, gossip.
The list of trials and temptations could go on and on. For every act there can be the sin of too much or the sin of too little. Life is full of trials and temptations.
This is especially true for genuine believers, because as believers we should stand in opposition to the selfish, immoral, greedy, and unjust ways of the world. We can see the world’s cursing of God, and its flaunting of sex even for advertising purposes. That shows us the world’s opposition to Jesus. We know that we live in a world that is full of trials and temptations. I want you to see two things that is said in this passage about trials and temptations.
1. Trials and temptations are only for a season. They are for a little while, for a short time. The ideas is that our salvation is at hand; we will all soon be delivered from the suffering of this earth. Since that is the case, there is nothing that we cannot endure.
I think of Jesus enduring the cross with its suffering and shame for my sake. When I think of Jesus and what He has done for me, then there is nothing that I cannot endure this side of heaven.
2. Trials and temptations cause heaviness within us. The words “suffer grief” means to be grieving; to suffer sorrow, stress, pressure, and mental anguish. We all know what it is to feel heavy and weighed down with grief; to suffer stress and pressure; to mentally in anguish, wondering, questioning, and suffering under the weight of trials and temptations.
What we need to understand is that temptation is not sin, Jesus was tempted but He didn’t sin. Every temptation that we are faced with God gives us a door of escape before the temptation is acted upon then it becomes sin. So often we feel the heaviness of trials and temptations because whether you believe it are not, or whether you know it or not you are under attack from you enemy satan and his desire is to destroy your life.
The more that you try to live for Jesus, the more he will attack you until he sees that he is wasting his time. The problem is that some of us give in, therefore satan is not wasting his time and he continues the attack until he is successful and wrecking your witness for Jesus, and ruins your life and your family.
The fact is life is full of trials and temptations and you cannot get around it as long as you are alive on this earth. They are only for a season, and they also cause heaviness within us.
II. I need to know the purpose for trials and temptations.
Vs. 7 “These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
When a person is saved, why does God not just go ahead and give that person a trouble-free life? If God loves us and cares for us then why would He allow terrible things happen to us? Why do trials and temptations fall on us especially with such heaviness and sorrow? Scripture teaches us that there are two reasons why the believer is tried and tempted.
1. As a believer my faith must be tried. The world “refined” means to prove; to test; to strengthen; to show your faith genuine. Faith is just like gold. Gold has to be put through the fire in order to clean out the impurities and make it pure and clean. The verse says “we are much greater than gold”. Gold perishes, but believers don’t. If gold has to be put through the fire to make it clean and pure, how much more do we?
Don’t miss this point, God uses the fire of trials and temptations for a good purpose. When we go through trials and temptations it should push us closer in our walk with Jesus. We should become stronger trough trials and temptations. When the world sees that we don’t crumble under the pressure of trials and temptations then it will draw them to Christ.
2. As a believer my faith is refined in order to show and bring praise, glory, and honor to Jesus Christ. Why do we endure, why is it that we should crumble under the pressure. To bring glory to Christ. Everything that we do in our lives, that should be our basis, to bring glory, honor, and praise to the Lord Jesus Christ.
III. I need to know how to Stand during trials and temptations.
Vs. 8-9 “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
The trials and temptations of life are not to defeat or discourage us. On the contrary, we are to stand through them. We are to use them as stepping stones to become stronger in life. But how? How can we stand through trials and temptations when they are so devastating, destructive, powerful, damaging, and threatening? Scripture gives us four ways.
1. We can stand through Trials and temptations through our love for Christ. The verse says “we have not seen Him, but we love Him.” Jesus does not have to be standing over our shoulder for us to stand against trials and temptations. We love Christ therefore, we obey Him, we keep His commandments, we turn away from temptations, we walk through trials. It is our love for Christ that stirs us to stand up for Christ against all the trials and temptations of life, no matter how severe or ferocious they are. We stand during trials and temptation first by our love for Christ.
2. We can stand through Trials and temptations by our belief in Jesus Christ. The verse says “we do not see Jesus, but we do believe in Him.” The word believe is the present active tense, the same tense that we study on Sunday night. Present active tense. That is continuous action, continuous belief—a belief that continues on and on in believing and trusting Jesus Christ. The point is this, if we are continuing to believe Jesus, then we will do what He says, “rejecting and turning away from all temptations”, by “standing firm and relying on His presence and power” in order to stand and to carry us through all trials.
3. We can stand through Trials and temptations by rejoicing and by an inexpressible joy that fills our hearts. Joying and rejoicing in the Lord and His presence will stir us to stand against temptations and trials. Joy and rejoicing will help us to focus on Christ and His glorious power.
4. We can stand through Trials and temptations by keeping our eyes focused on the salvation of our souls. This is the end, the very goal we are moving toward in our lives as believers. As with in any work or task, we must keep our eyes on the goal. The more focused we are on the goal, the stronger we become to stand against all obstacles. The more we focus on the salvation of our souls, the stonger we become to reject and turn away from temptation, and to conquer the trials of life.
Conclusion
We need to know the truth, the truth about life, we will face trials and temptations, the question is will you face them in your own strength or in Christ.
(Excerpts from introduction borrowed from Sermon Central contributor)
