JAMES A FAITH THAT WORKS-HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION

INTRODUCTION.

Good morning, church! As we enter into into the festive season, many of you may face temptations, especially in the marketplace and with some family members.

But I want you to know: God is setting you up to bless you and turn your trials into triumphs—so you can be a powerful witness of His goodness!

However, we must remain vigilant.

The enemy seeks to entrap us and destroy our testimonies, especially during difficult times.

James highlights a critical truth: when we face external trials, we must guard against allowing them to become internal temptations.

When circumstances get tough, it’s easy to question God and seek an escape—an opportunity that may lead us away from His best for us and end up destroying us.

There are many illustrations of this truth found in the Bible. Abraham arrived in Canaan and discovered a famine there.

He was not able to care for his flocks and herds.

This trial was an opportunity to prove God; but Abraham turned it into a temptation and went down to Egypt.

God had  to bring him back to the place of obedience and blessing

Today, as we carry on with our series in the book of JAMES, WE GOING YO LOOK AT HOW TO DEAL WITH TEMPTATIONS.

James 1:13–27 (NIV)

13 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 person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.

15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.

17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

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 dealt with in this section.

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.

If we are to mature, we must face testing and temptations.

There are 3  facts that we must consider if we are to overcome temptation.

Consider God's judgment

Consider God's  goodness.

Consider God's divine nature with in us.

1.Consider God's judgment.

James 1:15 (NIV)

15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

This is a negative approach, but it is an important one. James said, “Look ahead and see where sin ends—death!”

Do 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 (Gen. 22); but He does not and cannot tempt us.

It is we who turn occasions of testing into temptations.

A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a bad way, out of the will of God. Is it wrong to want to pass an examination? Of course not; but if you cheat to pass it, then you have sinned.

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 4 stages.

2.1. Desire (v. 14).

James 1:14 (NKJV)

14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

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.

Some people try to become “spiritual” by denying these normal desires, or by seeking to suppress them; but this only makes them less than human.

These fundamental desires of life are not wrong .

The secret is in constant control. These desires must be our servants and not our masters; and this we can do through Jesus Christ.

1.2.Deception (v. 14).

James 1:14 (NKJV)

14But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

No temptation appears as temptation; it always seems more alluring than it really is.

James used 2  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.

Lot would never have moved toward Sodom had he not seen the “well-watered plains of Jordan” (Gen. 13:10ff).

When David looked on his neighbor’s wife, he would never have committed adultery had he seen the tragic consequences: the death of a baby (Bathsheba’s son), the murder of a brave soldier (Uriah), the violation of a daughter (Tamar).

The bait keeps us from seeing the consequences of sin.

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 we know the Bible, we can detect the bait and deal with it decisively. This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.

2.3Disobedience (v. 15).

James 1:15 (NKJV)

15Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

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. The baby is born, and just wait until it matures!

Christian living is a matter of the will, not the feelings. I often hear believers say, “I don’t feel like reading the Bible.” Or, “I don’t feel like attending prayer meeting.” 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 which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13).

2.4Death (v. 15).

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.

Whenever we  are faced with temptation, get our eyes off the bait and look ahead to see the consequences of sin.

2.Consider God’s Goodness (James 1:17)

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.

When Satan approached Eve, he suggested that if God really loved her, He would permit her to eat of the forbidden tree.

When Satan tempted Jesus, he raised the question of hunger. “If Your Father loves You, why are You hungry?”

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.

James presented four facts about the goodness of God.

God gives only good gifts.

Everything good in this world comes from God. If it did not come from God, it is not good. If it comes from God, it must be good, even if we do not see the goodness in it immediately.

The way God gives is good.

We can translate the second clause “and every act of giving.” It is possible for someone to give us a gift in a manner that is less than loving. The value of a gift can be diminished by the way it is given to us. But when God gives us a blessing, He does it in a loving, gracious manner. What He gives and how He gives are both good.

He gives constantly. “Cometh down” is a present participle: “it keeps on coming down.” God does not give occasionally; He gives constantly. Even when we do not see His gifts, He is sending them. How do we know this? Because He tells us so and we believe His Word.

God does not change. There are no shadows with the Father of Lights. It is impossible for God to change. He cannot change for the worse because He is holy; He cannot change for the better because He is already perfect.

The first barrier against temptation is a negative one: the judgment of God. This second barrier is positive: the goodness of God. A fear of God is a healthy attitude, but the love of God must balance it.

We can obey Him because He may discipline us; or we can obey Him because He has already been so generous to us, and because we love Him for it.

God’s gifts are always better than Satan’s bargains.

Satan never gives any gifts, because you end up paying for them dearly. “It is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich, and He adds no sorrow to it” (Prov. 10:22, nasb).

The next time you are tempted, meditate on the goodness of God in your life. If you think you need something, wait on the Lord to provide it.

Never toy with the devil’s bait.

his own coronation, but he resisted the temptation and waited for God’s time.

POINT 3 Consider God’s Divine Nature Within (James 1:18)

James 1:18 (NKJV)

1 8Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NKJV)

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

In the first barrier, God says, “Look ahead and beware of judgment.” In the second barrier, He says, “Look around and see how good I have been to you.

But with this third barrier, God says, “Look within and realize that you have been born from above and possess the divine nature.”

James used birth as a picture of desire leading to sin and death (James 1:15). He also used it to explain how we can enjoy victory over temptation and sin. The Apostle John used a similar approach in 1 John 3:9, where “his seed” refers to the divine life and nature within the believer. Note the characteristics of this birth.

It is divine. This birth is not of the flesh: it is from above (John 3:1–7). 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 of salvation for us.

Gods  gracious hand came upon us to save us. We did not earn it or deserve it;  No one can be born again because of his relatives, his resolutions, or his religion. The new birth is the work of God.

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. “ Since the Word of God is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12) it can generate life in the heart of the sinner who trusts Christ; and that life is God’s life we need the Holy Spirit to help us.

IN CLOSING.

Allow God to turn trials into triumphs and temptations need to be a springboard into seeking God for His goodness to be poured upon you.