STUDY PART 5
“The Source of Temptation”
James 1:13-16 “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone. (14) but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. (15) Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (16) Don’t be deceived , my dear brothers.
Intro: This evening as we look at this passage, James exposes one of human natures most glaring faults, that of blaming others for one’s own failures. From childhood to older age, there is a very strong tendency in each of us to place the blame of failure on something other than ourself.
A.) As human beings, one of the most difficult things for us to do is to honestly look at ourselves. How quick we are to condemn others and excuse ourselves. This is seen in the lives of our children where parents are quick to condemn others while excusing the same actions in their children. In matters relating to sin, all to often we are hard on some brothers and sisters in Christ but let the same things be done in our own families and we will find a way to excuse it. (ROM. 2:3). And when it comes to dealing with ourselves, the whole problem is simply amplified. “I have sinned, I was wrong” are some of the most difficult of admissions. WHY? The way to true understanding of self and thus of others is the willingness to place ourselves before God.
B.) As human beings, when we can find no other person to blame, there seems to be a tendency to then blame God. We blame God for financial reverses, sickness, family or other relational problems, death of a loved one such as a mother, a father, or a child. Others make even a more serious charge charge in that they blame God for their sin. This evening, James takes issue in this passage with this type of thinking.
C.) Temptation is NOT from God (Vs. 13) “When tempted, no one should say “God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” James declares “Let no man say-God is tempting me” in the King James version. No person should ever charge God with tempting him to do evil. Many unsaved blame God. Unfortunately, some believers do as well. Blaming God is as old as Adam. “The women whom thou gavest tob e with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat- GEN. 3:12. Adam figured God gave him the woman, she gave him to eat from the forbidden tree, so all was God’s fault. How often do we reason the same way. God cannot be tempted with evil. There is nothing in the nature of God that responds to the temptation of evil . “God’s only delight is that which is good.” (JAMES 1:17). Satan thought that when the Lord Jesus was a man as well as God He might be tempted in the wilderness. Satan was wrong. *Adam was a man without sin had everything in his favor and failed. Christ had everything against Him and yet stood for “He was not able to sin” as stated in the scriptures.
D.)
(Vs. 13) “For God cannot be tempted by evil, NOR DOES HE TEMPT
ANYONE
Evil is foreign to God and it is inconsistent to the concept that He would tempt
a man to commit evil. He never has, nor ever will lead any man into sin. Satan
is allowed by God to tempt various ones. However, to the person who yields to
Satan’s allurements, there is no excuse. To him who commits a moral evil, to him
it is chargeable. For the Lord leads us in the right paths “He leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for His name sake (PSALM 23:3). The Lord is only capable
of leading us in the path of righteousness and holiness.
E.)
Look at the source of temptation (Vs. 14) “But each one is tempted
when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.”
Every man is tempted, but every man need not yield to temptation. God
promises us strength to the one tempted. (I COR. 10:13). Read an
illustration of a little boy who’s father was loading his arms up to carry some
items. A stranger asked him “don’t you have enough to carry?” The boy replied
“no, my father knows how much I can carry." God allows us to only go through as
much as we can handle and always provides a means for escaping temptation. He
does not promise to save us out of our temptations, but to give us strength to
endure them.
F.)
(Vs. 14) “he is dragged away and enticed or another version drawn
away of his own lust and enticed.”
Satan’s suggestion do not cause lust until we make them our own “Of his own
lust.” The heart is the springboard of our sin (Mark 7:20-23) (JAMES 4:1).
When Satan comes and declares he would satisfy your desires for pleasure with
sin, always remember (Hebrews 11:24-28.)-Moses who refused so many things
including the pleasure of sin for a short time. Lust and enticement comes from
within and without. Lust comes from the human heart and causes a battle from
within. At the same time, lust comes from enticement from without and Satan is
busy enticing Christians to sin. As long as lust is kept under control in the
inner life through Christ, enticement will not bring destruction.
G.)
(Vs. 15)
the cycle of Sin (Vs. 15) “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
We have before us the progression of sin and its reward. Like an
incurable cancer, death (physical death) is its reward. Lust is the bud, sin is
the blossom, death is the fruit. (ROM 6:23). As believers, we must refuse
to meddle with it an any way. Scriptures document a vicious cycle of lust, sin,
and death. Gen 3:6-Where it started with Adam and Eve. II Sam. 11-David and
Bathsheba, when David slept with Bathsheba ordered her husband into battle to be
killed. Acts 5-Annias and Saphaire lust for money, lied about it,
the sin, death was a result.
H.)
(vs. 16)
“Do not be deceived, my dear brothers”
Some versions us “do not err my beloved brethren”. Here, we need to be very
careful about having false ideas about God. To blame God for our sin is a
serious error and no well taught believer would think of charging God with their
sin. The thing we must do once we do sin and we will, is to face it, confess it
before God that He will forgive it and cleanse it (I JOHN 1:9)
Conclusion: Beware of the error of blaming God for your sin. Face yourself and your sin asking forgiveness, not excusing one’s self as the answer. As Christians, let us nip sin in the bud and not be caught in the vicious cycle of lust, sin, and death which is a result: The result is physical death for the Christian and eternal death for the unbeliever.