The Source of Temptation
James 1:13-18
October 5, 2014
As you know we’ve been working through
This tremendous book of James.
James is writing to persecuted Christians,
And his desire for them above all is that they BE REAL.
He isn’t interested in sentimental faith
He isn’t interested in hypocritical claims
He wants to see people who claim to follow Jesus to live like Jesus.
And this desire is true even in the midst of suffering.
Scriptures says that Jesus “learned obedience through the things which He suffered”
He most certainly didn’t shy away from them.
Suffering had a specific role, even in the life of Christ.
Hebrews 2:10 “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”
Suffering had a role in the life of Christ just as it has a role in your life.
It also is there to bring about perfection in you.
• This is why James said to “count it all joy when you face various trials”
• This is why James said to “glory” in your “humiliation”
• This is why James said to persevere in your trials
Don’t shy away from them, learn from them
Persevere through them
Let them have their perfect result in you
Peter said:
1 Peter 2:21 “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps,”
1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
Suffering is not pleasant, trials and temptations are not fun,
But they do serve a specific purpose in making us more like Christ.
Last week we talked a little bit more about the
TYPE of trials James has been talking about.
The word for “trials” in verse 2 and “trial” in verse 12
Is in fact the same word that is translated “tempted” in verse 13.
PEIRASMOS (pay-ras-mos) in the Greek
• It is the word used of what Satan did to Jesus in the wilderness
• It is the word used of what Satan seeks to do to believers
It is a word that is most commonly translated “temptation”
So James is not just talking about any and every trial,
But predominantly the trial that tempts you to sin against God
Or to fall away from God.
This is more than just our everyday hardships,
This is the spiritual battle we face against sin day in and day out.
And last week we learned that
The man who perseveres through them is blessed,
Because his perseverance proves that he has a genuine love for Christ,
And his genuine love for Christ will end in reward.
So endure.
Now the question James is going to deal with TONIGHT
Is the source of those trials, or the source of that temptation.
• If God says we can learn from it
• If God says they can be used to perfect us
• If God says they are a test that can prove us
Then it only stands to reason to ask whether or not
God is the One who sends them.
Is God setting me up for a fall just to see if I love Him or not?
That is the question.
And it is an important one because it is an issue
That penetrates all the way down to the very character of God.
• How can we say God is for us, if God does in fact tempt us to sin?
• How can we say God is holy, if He does in fact tempt us to sin?
• How can God judge sin, if He pushes people toward it?
And so James, after talking a great deal about temptation,
Now sets out to show you where it comes from.
Tonight we talk about the source of temptation,
And the main answer James wants you to come to is this;
Whatever the source, it IS NOT GOD.
And there are three reasons James gives
As to why we know God never tempts us to sin.
#1 TEMPTATION IS CONTRARY TO GOD’S NATURE AS HOLY
James 1:13-15
Just to make sure you perfectly understand where James is going here,
He spells it out for you right off the bat.
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”
Whenever that temptation arises:
• Temptation to cuss
• Temptation to gossip
• Temptation to commit adultery
• Temptation to be greedy
Whatever it is, James says,
“NEVER let your mind assume that God is bringing this to you.”
GOD DOES NOT TEMPT
And there are two reasons James gives for why God will never tempt us.
1) GOD CAN’T BE TEMPTED
2) GOD DOESN’T TEMPT
“for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”
One of the reasons God is not the origin or the author of our temptation
Is because God has not fallen prey to the temptation to sin.
God has never been tempted to sin.
• He has never seen sin as something worthwhile.
• He has never seen sin as anything that has any merit at all.
• There is nothing in sin that He would even for a second claim was beneficial or worthy of desire.
God holds such a low view of sin, that He is not tempted to try it,
And therefore has no interest that anyone else try it either
I like to watch movies (Action, sports, comedy)
And I might even recommend one to you.
But you’ll never catch me recommending to you a foreign musical.
I frankly don’t see the point.
That is sort of like it is with God and sin.
There is nothing in God that thinks any part of sin is the least bit good,
So why would He tempt us to try it?
And so “He Himself does not tempt anyone.”
Now we know He does allow temptation
If He didn’t, it wouldn’t happen.
But He doesn’t do it.
Remember Job, God didn’t do those things to Job, but He did allow Satan.
Remember King Ahab in the Old Testament?
God wanted him deceived, but God didn’t do it.
1 Kings 22:19-23 “Micaiah said, “Therefore, hear the word of the LORD. I saw the LORD sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by Him on His right and on His left. “The LORD said, ‘Who will entice Ahab to go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?’ And one said this while another said that. “Then a spirit came forward and stood before the LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ “The LORD said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ “Now therefore, behold, the LORD has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the LORD has proclaimed disaster against you.”
God can’t lie
God can’t tempt
But that does not mean it is forbidden completely
After all, these can be valuable tools in the growth of our faith
As we have already seen.
But the point James wants you to know is that
When you are tempted to sin, you cannot blame it on God.
It is contrary to God’s nature as holy.
Well, where does temptation come from then?
Some would say – THE DEVIL
Now, no doubt the devil is a tempter.
• He tempted Eve
• He tempted Jesus
• He’ll tempt you
Satan was in fact first tempted by evil,
And so he has no problem tempting others.
HOWEVER, EVEN SATAN IS NOT THE ORIGIN OF YOUR TEMPTATION.
The greatest tempter you face on a daily basis is not Satan
IT IS YOUR OWN CARNAL FLESH.
(14) “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
We’ve talked about this verse so many times I fear getting redundant with you, but it is important that you understand this.
So let me see if I can put it to you this way.
“I’ve never been shot by a deer rifle”
Do you know why?
Because I have no urge to eat from a deer feeder.
Think about it, those traps are everywhere.
Deer hunters put them up all over the place as a temptation to deer.
The temptation is that when the deer comes to the corn – POW!
So in one sense you can call the hunter the tempter,
But there is only one reason why the hunter’s temptation works
And that is because the deer wants the corn.
If deer didn’t love corn,
Then deer feeders would not be a successful temptation.
So really the temptation doesn’t come from the hunter,
It comes from the stomach of the deer.
And that is what James is saying.
“each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.”
Oh sure, Satan is setting up feeders all over the place.
• He has greed feeders
• He has porn feeders
• He has money feeders
• He has power feeders
• He has gossip feeders
• He has food feeders
• He has liquor feeders
He has all sorts of feeders he sets up,
But they only work because he is offering something you already desire.
Your temptation begins in your heart.
Matthew 15:19 “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.”
All Satan does is offer you what your heart already wants.
“carried away” is EXELCO in the Greek.
It means “to draw out”
And it isn’t Satan that draws you out, it is your lust that does that.
Satan isn’t there saying, “Yoo hoo, come on out”
It is your heart that does that.
Remember the garden?
Oh sure Satan argued with Eve and told her to eat the fruit, but do you remember why Eve ate it?
Genesis 3:6 “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.”
It is your heart that feeds the temptation.
Now here is the problem with following that temptation.
“Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin;”
“conceived” is SULLAMBANO
Literally it means “to take together”
What James is saying is that when you go ahead and accept that lust,
Or take that lust, or consent to that lust, “it gives birth to sin”
We are called to “walk by the Spirit”
So that we do “not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
James is referring to the person who just went ahead and consented.
He took it.
Listen, it is not a sin to be tempted, it is a sin to act on it.
I’ve always like Adrian Rogers definition of temptation:
“Temptation tries to get us to fulfill an acceptable desire in an unacceptable way.”
Sex for example
• It’s not bad, God created it
• He even created the confines and the boundaries for it
• But you step outside of those boundaries and it is sin
And LUST ALWAYS LEADS TO SIN
There is never a time in your life when you will give in to your lust
That it won’t lead you to sin.
“when lust is conceived, it gives birth to sin;”
And that is problematic because:
“when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
Sin has only ever wanted to take you one place.
John 10:10a “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;”
So, think about that deer.
• It’s alive, it’s well, but Satan the hunter has filled a feeder with deer corn.
• If the deer will decide to simply be content with the food that God has provided, he’ll be safe.
• But if the deer follows the impulse of his flesh, he’ll head out to that feeder and – DEATH
It’s just the same for you and me.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
You have got to make sure you do not follow the impulses of your flesh,
It will certainly lead to sin and eventually lead to death.
But the main point James is making is that
Your temptation to sin did not come from God.
It is contrary to His nature as Holy.
Because He is holy, and because He hates sin,
He will never tempt you to try it.
As a side note for us as we seek to be like Christ.
Don’t ever directly or indirectly, encourage another person to sin.
God would never do that.
• He doesn’t set traps
• He doesn’t say it’s ok when it isn’t
• He doesn’t coerce just to get you in trouble
God doesn’t want you to sin so He will never tempt you
Adopt that same attitude with others.
God doesn’t tempt because it is contrary to His nature as holy.
#2 TEMPTATION IS CONTRARY TO GOD’S ROLE AS FATHER
James 1:16-17
Here is another reason that we know that God doesn’t tempt us to sin.
• All sin ever brings is death
• All sin ever brings is a curse
• All sin ever does is promise fun and end in despair
And God never wishes that for His children
James says, “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.”
In other words, don’t let anyone fool you here.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights”
What was the first lie Satan told Eve?
Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?”
There he was telling Eve how stingy God was.
“God just won’t give you what is good will He Eve?”
And of course that wasn’t at all true.
• It was God who created the garden…
• It was God who placed them in the garden…
• In fact the only reason Eve was even there is because after creating Adam, God saw that he needed more.
There was nothing stingy about God at all.
And that has always been true.
In this life, if you ever received anything was truly good or genuinely perfect, do you know where it came from?
It came from your heavenly Father.
“Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above”
Satan never gave you a single good thing
Every good thing came from God.
Psalms 84:11 “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
Psalms 21:1-6 “O LORD, in Your strength the king will be glad, And in Your salvation how greatly he will rejoice! You have given him his heart’s desire, And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah. For You meet him with the blessings of good things; You set a crown of fine gold on his head. He asked life of You, You gave it to him, Length of days forever and ever. His glory is great through Your salvation, Splendor and majesty You place upon him. For You make him most blessed forever; You make him joyful with gladness in Your presence.”
Psalms 103:1-5 “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits; Who pardons all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases; Who redeems your life from the pit, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion; Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”
God gives good gifts.
He is generous.
I’ve always loved what Jesus said:
Matthew 7:9-11 “Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? “Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!”
And that is James’ point as well.
All of the truly good and perfect gifts
Come “down from the Father of lights”
It is not in God’s nature to tempt you to take something that is junk.
• God only gives good gifts.
• He would never give you a counterfeit
• He would never offer less than His best
God doesn’t buy “Best Choice” or “Great Value”
God gives the best, not the knock off
When God gives it, it is the best, and that is why James knows God would never offer you some second rate piece of sin.
It’s not in His nature as a Father.
James even goes on to speak about our heavenly Father and say, “with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”
Carrie and I went garage sale shopping in Abilene yesterday.
And it wasn’t long before we came across a pair of roller skates for Zech.
But those of you with more than one kid know you can’t have “variation”.
You can’t do for one and not the other.
Well with God “there is no variation”
(He doesn’t only give good to certain children, and off brand to others)
James also said there is no “shifting shadow”
That is to say there is no “slight of hand” going on.
When we were in China several years ago, Tommy and I each bought mp3 players. The lady at the counter assured us that they were “4GB”, so we bought them.
We got home to realize they had been loaded with a virus that caused them to say they had 4GB, but once you pulled the virus off you realized they would only hold about 20 songs.
That was a “shifting shadow”
God doesn’t do that.
• You don’t ask for a fish and get a snake
• You don’t ask for a loaf and get a stone
God gives only good gifts and He is the giver of every one of them.
So James knows that God isn’t offering
Some cheap knock off temptation.
Namely because:
• Temptation is contrary to God’s nature as Holy
• Temptation is contrary to God’s role as Father
#3 TEMPTATION IS CONTRARY TO GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION
James 1:18
We talked about it this morning,
But here again is a reference to God’s sovereignty over salvation.
When James says “He brought us forth by the word of truth”
James is referring to salvation.
He is referring to the fact that God opened our blinded eyes, pierced our darkened heart and brought us out of death into life.
The “word of truth” was the tool He used to do this since
“the gospel is the power of God for salvation.”
So God saved us.
DID YOU CATCH WHY?
“In the exercise of His will”
There it is again – God is sovereign over salvation.
• He willed it to happen
• He wanted it to happen
So clearly James has pointed out that God’s will
Was to bring you out of darkness into light, out of death into life,
Out of sin into holiness.
“In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word”
WHY?
“so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”
What were the “first fruits”?
They were the first produce of the crop.
More than that, they were a symbol of things to come.
They were a picture of what was on the way.
And James says, of all of God’s “creatures”,
He is holding us up as the “first fruits”
He is holding us up as the example
He is showing us off as what they should be
That means that God saved us in order to demonstrate in us
What He desired from all humanity.
That is His plan of salvation.
Well if God wants to use us a holy example for everyone else, why would He work against that by tempting us to sin?
And the answer of course is that He wouldn’t.
SO LET’S SAY IT PLAIN AND CLEAR
IT IS NEVER THE WILL OF GOD OR THE WORK OF GOD THAT YOU EVER SIN
• He is too Holy to tempt you
• He is too Generous to tempt you
• He is too Focused on His plan of salvation to tempt you
Temptation does not come from God
So here you are, in the midst of your trials
A temptation comes your way
HERE’S WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
1) This temptation did not come from God
2) This temptation is a test to see if you love Christ
3) Resisting this temptation will make you happy
4) Enduring this temptation is part of the process of perfection
5) You should rejoice that you are found worthy to suffer and you are being perfected
Those realities were a far cry from what James was seeing
From those who claimed to be Christians.
He saw people blaming God for their temptation
He saw people giving in to that temptation
He saw people complaining and asking why
And James saw such a difference between that and Jesus,
Who was intentionally tempted in all things as we are.
He saw such a difference between that and Jesus who never failed to demonstrate a love for God and a denial of the flesh.
Think about the temptation of Jesus.
Think about what He said to Satan
Turn the stones into bread
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
That is denial of flesh and love for God
Throw yourself off the temple
“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test”
That is a contentment that God knows what He is doing,
And a refusal to ask why or to force God to prove Himself
Bow down and worship me
“You shall worship the Lord and serve Him only”
Wow, Jesus had a handle on temptation didn’t He?
James wants you and I to handle it just like He did.
He wants us to be Just Like Jesus
So go out, and face temptation like Jesus did!
