<p>1:12 <i>Blessed is the man that endures temptation. For when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to them that love him</i> - Now James is giving us supreme encouragement in those moments when the decision between flesh and spirit looms large. When we endure spiritual temptation, hanging on to the spiritual side of our minds, we will at that moment receive a crown for overcoming in Heaven. Because of this, we will be given the crown of victory at the judgement (2 Tim. 4:8), which has been developed as a result of our moment by moment spiritual victories in this life. Therefore each temptation we face is like a mini-judgment seat. This idea of there being some recognition in heaven the moment we achieve a spiritual victory is perhaps based on Mt. 5:11,12. So much of James is rooted especially in the Sermon on the mount. &quot;Blessed are you, when men shall revile you...rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great<i> is</i> (present tense) your reward in Heaven&quot;. Our eternal life &quot;is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory&quot; (Col. 3:3,4) Similarly Rev. 3:11 implies we do now have the crown in a sense: &quot;Hold fast that thou hast (your reward you have in prospect?) that no man take thy crown&quot;. Through our trials, God &quot;scourges every son whom he receives&quot;, and therefore we can be spoken of in the continuous tense as &quot;receiving a Kingdom&quot; through our continued correct response to trials (Heb.12:6,28).</p>