When Temptation Comes

James 1:13–18 NASB95

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. 18 In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.

INTRO: Have you ever been tempted to do something wrong? Of course you have!

ILL: I remember when I was in middle and high school, there was a huge emphasis on resisting temptation. We had programs like DARE at school and initiatives in our youth group at church to be able to identify temptations and resist them. “Just say NO!”

I don’t know if that same emphasis is present today- it seems like our society has taken a different stance that encourages people not to resist temptation, but to indulge, experiment, live it up.

Now, as Christians we ought to recognize that we are called to live a life that is pleasing to God.

Jesus instructed his disciples, in Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

That does not mean that we have to earn our salvation nor does it mean that if we stumble that we are no longer a Christian. The point is that God’s standard is perfection, and as followers of Christ we are to seek to live out our identity as children of the perfect, holy God.

The challenge is that we often do stumble… I know I do. Sometimes we get sucked into sin and find ourselves frustrated and maybe even a bit defeated. Does that happen to you?

Well, the reality is that temptations will come. James says, “Let no one say WHEN he is tempted...” (13a) - Not if, when.

You may have been tempted this morning- perhaps you were tempted to stay in bed instead of coming to worship. You might have been tempted to mistreat your spouse, family member, or your dog because you didn’t sleep well last night. You might at this moment be tempted to scroll through social media posts on Facebook instead of engaging with the proclamation of God’s Word.

Temptation comes in all shapes and sizes, but the bottom line is that temptation will come. And if we hope to be victorious, we need to be equipped to deal with this temptation. Thankfully, we have the instructive wisdom of God’s Word to guide us.

As we continue our study in the book of James this morning, we see that the author has moved from talking about tests in general to temptations specifically.

Remember that tests can be positive teachers and even assurances for us. Temptations are a type of test that we can prepare for so that we can be confident of our ability to resist them when they come. In fact, let me point us again to Jesus words in Matt. 26:41

Matthew 26:41 (NASB95)

41 “Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

This was spoken on the night before Jesus’ crucifixion and is applicable to us as we seek to keep watching and praying.

The message is titled “When Temptation Comes.” We will be looking at 3 factors that enable us to resist temptation. I invite you to use the sermon guide in your bulletin as we examine God’s word together.

The first factor that aides in resisting temptation is knowing:

The Source of Temptation (13-14)

(READ 13)

Now, you might find it odd that James’ first admonishment here is that Christians ought NOT blame God for leading them into temptation.

James says, quite frankly, God cannot be tempted nor can he tempt others. Why? because evil has no appeal to God- he is repulsed by it! God is not the source of your temptation.

Do Christians really blame God for their temptations? Yes.

Actually, we see this blame all the way back in Gen. 3, when Adam essentially blamed God for the whole temptation and sin in the Garden of Eden.

Did God place a tree in Eden that was off limits to Adam & Eve? Yes. Did he allow Satan to bring the temptation to them? Yes. BUT, God did not entice nor endorse their disobedience. No.

They knew the rule. They broke the rule.

No doubt the Christians James wrote to struggled with a number of temptations - idolatry, sexual perversion, false teaching, favoritism, gossip, slander, laziness, etc.

Evidently they too would blame God for these temptations. The reason, we can speculate, is that it is much easier to do that than to admit the truth that we are the source of our temptation.

Look again at v. 14 - (READ)

The language here is the language of fishing… Have you ever been fishing?

Well, you see, the idea of fishing is that we are trying to lure the fish out of its normal hiding place- out of its normal rhythm and method of hunting for food and entice them with a big juicy worm or shiny jig.

Ok, so listen - That fish knows that this is not normal, but they have a selfish hunger that gives way to this temptation. And when they bite, BAM! They are hooked and carried away.

You see, those temptations we face would not be tempting if we didn’t have some desire for them.

You might desire to be rich, and are tempted to lie, steal, or cheat… That is not from God.

You might be tempted to fulfill your sexual desire outside of a godly marriage- friend God will not endorse your perversion.

Before we leave this point, some have noted that the model prayer that Jesus taught the disciples might argue otherwise, for he taught them to pray “… lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil..”

I heard a short story that might help us understand that piece of the prayer: a mother takes her young children grocery shopping with her and comes to the candy aisle. She knows that her children are tired and that taking her children down that aisle will only stir up greediness in their hearts and lead to bouts of whining and pouting.

In wisdom, she takes another route—whatever she may have needed down the candy aisle will have to wait for another day. In this way the mother averts unpleasantness and spares her children a trial. Praying, “Lead us not into temptation,” is like praying, “God, don’t take me down the candy aisle today.” It’s recognizing that we naturally grasp for unprofitable things and that God’s wisdom can avert the unpleasantness of our bellyaching.

The first factor in resisting temptation is understanding that the source of temptation is us. This means that we must take ownership and responsibility for our actions. The second factor necessary in resisting temptation is acknowledging:

The Seriousness of Temptation (15-16)

(READ)

James uses the language of childbirth here to demonstrate that temptation, when given into, results in sin. And this sin leads to death.

A couple weeks ago we celebrated Mother’s Day- moms, when you conceived, was there any doubt that what you would give birth to would be a human child?

You were not going to give birth to a puppy or dolphin. Nor was your baby going to be endowed with super powers.

Actions have consequences. Giving into temptation is like giving yourself in the marriage bed- You know what I mean, right?

If you have any questions on that, Josh Shelton told me he would be happy to draw you a picture.

When you give into temptation, the absolute certain outcome is sin. And Paul tells us that the wages of sin is death.

Now, the good news is that Jesus died to pay for our sins! But that does not mean that we are to continue to give into temptation. No, if you are a Christian, you have died to sin and therefore you live for Christ.

So we need to understand the seriousness of temptation because it leads to sin, every time.

Now, you might be thinking, “Pastor, you are kinda making a bigger deal out of this than necessary- temptations are no big deal.” Well, you aren’t the first to push back on this idea.

In fact, temptation is a multi-million dollar industry.

There is an ice cream that is named “temptation”, perfumes that are temptation-themed, there are even whole cruises and eve islands that are designed for perverse sexual temptation.

But friends, we need to wake up to the serious danger here! Instead of asking how close can we get to x,y, or z without sin, you and I need to flee temptation and instead ask how we can honor the Lord in our lives.

As Baptists, we can laugh about putting on a few pounds from someone’s tempting dessert, but how long before those few pounds turn into a real problem?

Looking back to our text, James says, in v. 16, “Do not be deceived beloved brethren!” Deception is the primary tool that Satan uses to draw people away from God.

Listen, temptations look alluring. They promise fulfillment. They promise life or freedom. But temptations are just juicy worms on a hook.

I’ve known professing Christians who allow themselves to be tempted through flirtatious interactions and soon enough this temptation gives birth to adultery. Marriages broken, families split, testimonies are lost.

I’ve known and you’ve known professing Christians who give into the temptation to gossip and soon enough they have created divide in the church and instead of the gospel going out, all the energy of the church is spent trying to wade through the wreckage of sin.

I tell you this in love- if you are toying with a temptation today, you are in grave danger! Do not be deceived! I’m pleading with you to realize the seriousness of that temptation and flee from it!

We’ve looked at the source of temptation (that’s us), the seriousness of temptation, now finally we will look at:

The Salvation from Temptation (17-18)

(READ 17)

Here, James points his readers to contrast the temptation of evil with the good gifts that come from God.

Now, if you remember, temptations are lures that promise great things, but are fakes.

Fake intimacy, fake reward, fake happiness… fake news (lol-just seeing if you’re listening!)

But, perfect contentment only comes from God.

Notice how James identifies God as the “Father of Lights” (17) God is above all - He created the stars, the galaxies- He created the sun and the moon.

Now, I love looking up at night to see the stars and the moon. In Haiti, you could go outside and there’s no light pollution, so it’s like the stars are so close- and there are so many!

But, even when there is a full moon, you’ve probably noticed, that there are shadows… and soon, you can only see part of the moon because it’s positioned in such a way that it deceptively looks like a crescent or an apple with a big bite taken out.

But God, he has not shadowy places- He does not change or turn. IOW, we can be confident that he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

In contrast, Satan is said to “masquerade as an angel (messenger) of light” 2 Cor. 11:14 - Here again you see that Satan attempts to deceive us, but God is truth.

If you are a Christian, the trick to resisting temptation is to desire God and His perfect gift more than the allures of the world. This is a test as to whether you truly love God with all your heart, mind, and strength.

You have to know what is true and real, and what is simply a shiny lure. That’s called discernment and it comes from knowing and loving God.

Look, we serve a God that has provided us a way out of temptation. 1 Cor. 10:13 says that God will give us an escape. That escape comes through our surrender - As J. Hudson Taylor famously said, Christ is either Lord of all or he not lord at all. To you I urge, surrender your desires to the Lord.

Now look at v. 18 (READ)

God, who is perfect, had begun a work in the lives of the early church. They were like ‘first fruits’ - the first part of a crop that served to represent the remaining harvest that would come.

Christ began a good work in these early Christians, rescuing them from sin and death! They were among the first to experience the grace of God through Christ... and you know something? He continues to offer salvation today.

Perhaps you are here this morning and you are frustrated- the sins of the world have entangled you and you feel there is no way out. Look here- Jesus is the answer.

Today, you have the offer to turn from your sins and trust in Jesus Christ, the son of God for salvation. Let him transform you and deliver victory over those temptations.

I want to invite you to respond to the Word of God right now by leaving your seat and coming forward to the altar. Someone will meet you there.

[PRAY]

Discuss: Why do we blame God for our temptations?

Discuss: What temptations do you tend to think of as ‘no big deal’? Why?

Discuss: How can you resist temptations this week?