We have all dealt with today’s topic. Many of us have had so much experience in it that we should be really good at dealing with it. Yet other times, how we have dealt with it has just become a part of who were are, or at least that is what we believe.

We are talking about dealing with life in trials, being tested and the thoughts of being tempted.

In your mind, what is the difference in being “tested” vs being “tempted”?

The mature person is patient in trials. Sometimes the trials are testings on the outside, and sometimes they are temptations on the inside. Trials may be tests sent by God, or they may be temptations sent by Satan and encouraged by our own fallen nature. It is this second aspect of trials—temptations on the inside—that James deals with in this weeks session.

¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. – James 1:13-18 ESV

We may ask, “Why did James connect the two? What is the relationship between testings without and temptations within?” Simply this: if we are not careful, the testings on the outside may become temptations on the inside. When our circumstances are difficult, we may find ourselves complaining against God, questioning His love, and resisting His will. At this point, Satan provides us with an opportunity to escape the difficulty. This opportunity is a temptation.

There are many examples throughout the bible where God begins with a test and the evil one comes in with an escape plan. The nature of the flesh succumbs to the escape plan (temptation), and we respond to the temptation (sin) and go our own way. God does not give up on us but comes after us to give us mercy, and grace to return to the classroom with Him.

Do you have any examples where you were facing a trial and the enemy came in with an escape plan, that you have now learned was merely a temptation to lead you away from God it the trial? 

How did God chaten you and bring you backe to the place of obedience and blessing?

God does not want us to yield to temptation, yet neither can He spare us the experience of temptation. We are not God’s sheltered people; we are God’s scattered people. If we are to mature, we must face testings and temptations. There are three facts that we must consider if we are to overcome temptation.

• Consider God’s Judgment (James 1:13-16)
• Consider God’s Goodness (James 1:17)
• Consider God’s Divine Nature Within (James 1:18)

Consider God’s Judgement

¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. ¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. – James 1:13-17 ESV

Considering God’s judgement during trials of testing and temptations is a negative approach, but helpful to understand God.

We should not blame God for temptation. He is too holy to be tempted, and He is too loving to tempt others. God does test us, as He did Abraham and others; but He does not and cannot tempt us. It is us that turn occasions of testing into temptations.

A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a bad way.

It is not bad to want to pass a test, but if we cheat to pass the test, then we have sinned. The temptation to cheat is an opportunity to acomplish a good thing (passing the test) in a bad way.

4 Stages of Sin

We think of sin as a single act, but God sees it as a process. Adam committed one act of sin, and yet that one act brought sin, death, and judgment on the whole human race. James described this process of sin in four stages.

Desire

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. – James 1:14 NKJV

The word lust means any kind of desire, and not necessarily sexual passions. The normal desires of life were given to us by God and, of themselves, are not sinful. Without these desires, we could not function. Unless we felt hunger and thirst, we would never eat and drink, and we would die. Without fatigue, the body would never rest and would eventually wear out. Sex is a normal desire; without it the human race could not continue.

It is when we want to satisfy these desires in ways outside God’s will that we get into trouble. Eating is normal; gluttony is sin. Sleep is normal; laziness is sin.

Deception

No temptation appears as temptation; it always seems more alluring than it really is. James used two illustrations from the world of sports to prove his point. Drawn away carries with it the idea of the baiting of a trap; and enticed in the original Greek means “to bait a hook.” The hunter and the fisherman have to use bait to attract and catch their prey. No animal is deliberately going to step into a trap and no fish will knowingly bite at a naked hook. The idea is to hide the trap and the hook.

Temptation always carries with it some bait that appeals to our natural desires. The bait not only attracts us, but it also hides the fact that yielding to the desire will eventually bring sorrow and punishment. It is the bait that is the exciting thing.

In the enemies tackle box, what are some of his lures and traps that he continues to entice you with? Do you see God’s desires and the enemies desires to lust for something less, to draw you in the wrong direction?

When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He always dealt with the temptation on the basis of the Word of God. Three times He said, “It is written.” From the human point of view, turning stones into bread to satisfy hunger is a sensible thing to do; but not from God’s point of view. When you know the Bible, you can detect the bait and deal with it decisively. This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.

Disobedience

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. – James 1:15 ESV

We have moved from the emotions (desire) and the intellect (deception) to the will. James changed the picture from hunting and fishing to the birth of a baby. Desire conceives a method for taking the bait. The will approves and acts; and the result is sin. Whether we feel it or not, we are hooked and trapped.

Christian living is a matter of the will, not the feelings. Often we hear believers say, “I don’t feel like reading the Bible.” Or, “I don’t feel like attending bible study.” Children operate on the basis of feeling, but adults operate on the basis of will. They act because it is right, no matter how they feel. This explains why immature Christians easily fall into temptation: they let their feelings make the decisions. The more you exercise your will in saying a decisive no to temptation, the more God will take control of your life.

For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. – Philippians 2:13 ESV

Death

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. – James 1:15 ESV

Disobedience gives birth to death, not life. It may take years for the sin to mature, but when it does, the result will be death. If we will only believe God’s Word and see this final tragedy, it will encourage us not to yield to temptation.

We see numerous times this process. From the Garden fo Eden to our own lives. Whenever you are faced with temptation, get your eyes off the bait and look ahead to see the consequences of sin: the judgment of God.

For the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23

Consider God’s Goodness

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. – James 1:17 ESV

One of the enemy’s tricks is to convince us that our Father is holding out on us, that He does not really love us and care for us. We see it in the temptations in the garden, we see it in the temptations in the wilderness and we see it with our own situations.

The goodness of God is a great barrier and defense of yielding to temptation, The goodness of God is a great barrier against yielding to temptation. Since God is good, we do not need any other person (including Satan) to meet our needs. It is better to be hungry in the will of God than full outside the will of God. Once we start to doubt God’s goodness, we will be attracted to Satan’s offers; and the natural desires within will reach out for his bait.

So, my very dear friends, don’t get thrown off course. Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle. He brought us to life using the true Word, showing us off as the crown of all his creatures. – James 1:16-18 MSG

Consider God’s Divine Nature

In verse 15, James used birth as a picture of desire leading to sin and death. He also used it to explain how we can enjoy victory over temptation and sin. God says, you can have a new life and be born again. To be what you could never be on our own. This new life has some characteristics that we can have as truth and defenses.

It is divine. It is the work of God. Just as we did not generate our own human birth, we cannot generate our own spiritual birth. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, it was God who performed the miracle.

It is gracious. We did not earn it or deserve it; God gave us spiritual birth because of His own grace and will.

It is through God’s Word. Just as human birth requires two parents, so divine birth has two parents: the Word of God and the Spirit of God.  We must remember that our awareness of His Word is what provides truth, and it is that truth that sets us free.

Trails, Tests & Temptations

No matter what excuses we make, we have no one to blame for sin but ourselves. Our own desires lead us into temptation and sin. God is not to blame. But God has erected these three barriers to keep us from sin. If we heed the barriers, we will win a crown…

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. – James 1:12 ESV

This week be wise in your decisions. Take every thought captive. Discern if the next thing you do is out of emotions, or truth. Is the trial you in being diminished by the lure of temptations.

Also this week, be aware of those in your life. Realize everyone is in the trials of life. Some may be tempted by the emotions and on the brink of giving birth to sin. Connect, listen, and encourage by sharing the truth of God’s Word, your crown is waiting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 341). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Jas 1:13–18). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The New King James Version. (1982). (Jas 1:14). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Jas 1:16–18). Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress.