James 1
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
James communicates some essential truth to us regarding the issue of sin and temptation. It is very important for each of us to have a working knowledge of this truth. James gives as clear a description of how sin unfolds in the life as is found anywhere in the Word of God.
He begins talking about temptation by telling us about the blessing that comes when we overcome temptation.
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
When it comes to temptation our goal is to endure. We want to make it through temptation without being defeated by it.
Here is the reward: You will receive the crown of life! For enduring temptation you will be crowned.
Next James begins to explain to us how temptation works, and the first thing he wants you to know is that temptation does not come from God!
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
Man’s second reaction has always been to blame someone else for his sin. His first reaction is to hide! But once he gets caught, he blames. Let me take you back to the original temptation and sin that happened in the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 3
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;
3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.
5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?"
10 So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself."
First reaction sew fig leaves and Hide!
11 And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?"
When you can’t deny…blame! Watch out woman it is coming your way.
12 Then the man said, "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
Did you catch that Adam blamed God because He was the One who gave the woman to him? James doesn’t want you to make that mistake and think that the temptations you have are been sent by God. Let’s read the rest of the story, because it is not only the male of the specie that blame.
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
The was the original “The Devil made me do it” line. Flip Wilson a.k.a. Geraldine, did not originate that line, that was Eve’s line.
God is not responsible for your sin, and God has not put you in a position where you have to sin.
In fact during temptation God stands ready to help you.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
God is faithful to you even during a time of temptation! If you will call upon Him, He will assist you is getting through the temptation. Listen to two things that the writer of Hebrews taught us about Jesus helping us during our times of temptation.
Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 2:18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
He sympathizes, He understands, He relates to it and He helps us during out times of temptation.
Look at verse 13 again.
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
James gave us two reasons for never saying, “I am tempted by God.”
1. God cannot be tempted by evil -- The very character of God as One who is absolutely holy eliminates any possibility that He could be enticed to do evil. God is the God of truth.
Deuteronomy 32:4 He is the Rock, His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice; righteous and upright is He.
There is no possibility that God could ever do anything immoral or evil.
2. He Himself does not tempt anyone -- Tempting someone to do evil would imply a delight in evil which is impossible for God. God always acts consistently within His character.
This means that God never in any way, directly or indirectly, entices or leads us into sin.
Now we face the question, “Where do temptation and sin come from?”
I am so glad you asked, James has the answer for us.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
He did not say that each one is tempted and drawn away by Satan. You cannot blame God and you cannot blame Satan. You and I are personally and individually responsible for our own sin! The temptation which leads to sin comes from within us.
James uses two words which are probably drawn from the realm of fishing to describe the process of temptation:
The idea of the first word is "to be drawn away" or "led aside." The bait, or a type of lure, catches the attention and draws the fish away from its course.
Isn’t that the way it happens to you? You are on the course to serve God and to please Him, and then this lure passes by…
The second word James uses means “to beguile or entice”.
We are the fish, we see the bait, it catches our eye, we turn to go after it. It is our own lust which is the fisherman! God isn’t holding the pole and Satan isn’t holding the pole. Our attention is caught by the lure and we are deceived by our lust to strike at the bait and indulge the flesh. It gets worse…
15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
Look at the first word in verse 15.
That word 'then,' with which our verse begins, is very significant. Remember where we are before then. We are the fish, we see the bait, it catches our eye, we turn to go after it. WE ARE NOT HOOKED YET! There is still time for us to come to our senses. If we don’t stop at this point. If we don’t say “no” at this point we will be hooked, landed on the deck of the boat, and put in the frying pan to be served as dinner. Or, the way James describes the process…
DESIRE(LUST) . . . SIN . . . DEATH
Those desires that come from within us and incredibly persuasive, and we either proceed with the fulfillment of the desire, or somehow we overcome it. If you don’t stop it, it is
DESIRE(LUST) . . . SIN . . . DEATH every time!
Destruction is always the end result of sin.
Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
As a believer, when I sin my name is not removed from the book of Life. God doesn’t cast me out of His presence, but I can cause myself to suffer great loss and ruin.
When Paul was writing to Timothy, he gave a really good example of how this works. Listen as he makes a practical application of what James is talking about.
1 Timothy 6
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
That lust which is harbored in the mind and heart will break out in time. Do not be deceived. Some of you listening to these words today are already in the path of ruin. You have lust in your heart – an seed of evil desire has already been planted, it may be a lust for riches, fame, power, carnal satisfaction, a plan to walk away from the moral course you have been on, the lure has already passed before your eyes, you are now following it, the hook is almost in your mouth… it will cost you your marriage, the respect of your children, your reputation, your Christian testimony, and if you bite on that lure, things will never be the same…and no one but you and God know what you are contemplating right now.
But, you need to know that that there is strength and power available from Him. Listen to God’s word one more time,
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
15 Then, STOP RIGHT THERE AND STOP RIGHT NOW! YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GO TO THEN! DON’T LET THE NEXT WORDS BE FULFILLED IN YOUR LIFE
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.