The Book of James Chapter 1:13-18
James 1: [13] Let no man say when he is tempted,
I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: [14] But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed.
There was an overweight man on a diet, doing great in his commitment until he
went around the block
of
the bakery 8 times praying “If it’s your will GOD for me to go in then let a
parking spot open up
beside
the front door.” Sooner or later, the spot did open up and he blamed GOD for
his backsliding.
(vs2) “temptations”
& (Vs13) “tempted”
TESTED & TEMPTATION TO SIN
The Greek Word can mean either BUT the context
of the verse reveals the meaning
God NEVER tempts a person to sin BUT He does test us
to build us up
The Devil uses temptation to produce sin in order to
tear us down
A Doctor takes the blade of a knife to cut and
produce healing
1) Temptation is just as strong
and subtle as it was years ago
2) We are just as weak as we
ever were and just as prone to failure.
3) 1 Cor 10:12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall
Temptation
is exposure to the possibility of doing the wrong thing (prospect it will make
me happier)
A person may be tempted to commit a certain sin but
not have the opportunity to fulfill their temptation.
A person may have opportunity to commit a certain but not be tempted.
It is when the two get together that you have
trouble
Notice
the text doesn’t say “if” but “when.” It is not a matter of if temptation will come, but when
"But every man is tempted James speaks of "every
man."
1 Cor. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such
as is common to man
You will be tempted. You are not an exception
The kinds of temptation may change. Candies for
kids, sensuality for the young, riches for the middle-aged, and power for the
aging…As long as you live, you will be tempted
Abraham tempted to lie, Noah tempted to drink, David
to lust & Peter to cuss and deny the LORD
Robert Burns wrote:
Thou
knowest Thou hast formed me
With passions wild and strong
And
listening to their witching voice
Has
led me often wrong
Burns suggests that God was responsible for the wild
and strong passions of man.
OR that God put him in bad circumstances. Mr. Burns
has the wrong opinion.
Adam blamed “the woman which thou gavest
to be with me”
Adam blamed the woman, the woman blamed the serpent
& the serpent didn’t have a leg to stand on
It seems everybody is a victim,
nobody is responsible for behavior anymore
A man murdered mayor of SF a let off on manslaughter
charge.
His defense “he ate too much junk food & he
acted irrationally”
Some blame Smith & Wesson for
murder, McDonalds for obesity & coffee burns
Some blame God for homosexuality
GOD is HOLY. He can’t be tempted & neither does
He tempt others
I Cor 10:13
[13]There hat no temptation taken you but
such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to
escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
B. Look Inward to Desire (14)
We must all understand that we all have certain
desires and longings.
James speaks of these as our "own lusts."
One thing may be a temptation to one person but not
a problem for someone else
All temptation could be placed into one or all of
these categories.
John speaks of the "lust of the flesh.” This
describes a consuming passion to do.
Secondly, he speaks of the "lust of the eyes.”
This describes a consuming passion to have.
Lastly, he speaks of the "pride of life,” which
describes a consuming passion to be.
Usually temptation begins on the inside
Mk 7:21-23
[21] Out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries,
fornications, murders,[22] thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness:[23] all these evil
things come from within, and defile the man
James 1: [14]
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
2)
The
Process of Temptation (14)
Lets see
how we are tempted.
A. Entrapped
James uses the picture of a hunter
"Drawn away" speaks of a hunter setting a
baited trap
To draw the prey to the trap, the hunter puts
something inside the trap to appeal to the desires
The world & the flesh is continually seeking to
draw us away and interrupt our fellowship with God
James uses the picture of a fisherman to describe
the process of temptation.
The word "enticed" is a fishing term that
speaks of baiting the hook.
The fisherman knows that a bare hook will not be
attractive to the fish.
So he puts a nice juicy worm on the hook
Mr. Fish comes swimming
along and the bait is too attractive to resist
He takes the bait, but in the bait is a hook. So he
is drawn away and then drawn in.
It may be vanity, sex, revenge, greed BUT there is a temptation the devil
has designed for you
James 1: [15]
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth
forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth
forth death.
A) Conception
It is not a sin to be tempted. It is
a sin when we yield to temptation.
This conception speaks of a person yielding to
temptation in their heart and mind.
David and his sin of adultery with Bathsheba ( 2 Sam. 11).
We read in verse 2, “he saw.” A naked woman bathing was the temptation.
We read in verse 3 that David
“sent and enquired.” It
was at that moment that sin was conceived.
David begin to think about
the woman he saw.
Whenever sin is conceived it is only a matter of
time when there will be a birth to sin.
We read in verse 4 that David “took her.”
He yielded first in his heart and mind, and it was
not long before what was conceived was born.
We may not be able to avoid temptation, but we can
prevent its conception.
B) Conclusion
We see that once lust is conceived it "bringeth forth sin." You can’t stop it.
When the sin has been yielded to, James tells us the
fruit and result is “death.”
Like a bad roller coaster, what starts out as fun
winds up in terror, it will run its course
Sin will take you further than you want to go
Keep you longer than you want to stay
And cost you more than you want to pay
King David’s sin of adultery caused horrific events.
Uriah was murdered, the baby they conceived died,
daughter was raped, son kills son
A son rebels against father, son hung up in a tree
by his hair and dies, betrayed by friends
James 1: [16]
Do not err, my beloved brethren. [17] Every good gift and every perfect
gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
[18] Of his own will begat he us
with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits
of his creatures.
4)
The Prevention for Temptation (16-18)
There is nothing you can do in this life to make temptations go away
for good but you can Resist
Is it no wonder that James says in verse 16, “Do
not err.” The words means, "don’t be
pulled away." James is telling us not to let Satan's bait pull us away.
The devil used this deception on Eve
that God was withholding something from her
“for God doth know that in the
day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as
gods”
Don’t be deceived and think wrong
thoughts
God is good and He is not
withholding form you
It may seem to you that the sun is not shining for
all you see is clouds
BUT the sun is shining beyond the clouds
God saved you, He gave His
Only Son for you, a sinner.
When God has been so good to you, how can the devil
tempt you and be successful?
Concl: It seems as though the closer your relationship with God, the greater
the temptation
When you flee temptation, be sure you don't leave a
forwarding address
Matt 26: 41
[41] Watch and pray,
that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh
is weak.