James 1:12-18 - Trials and Temptations
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction:
If you have been with us for the past three weeks, we have seen James really expound upon what a true and mature believer looks like. In fact, that will be the theme of his book. He is going to compare and contrast the mature believer with the immature believer. He will continue to call us up to a higher way of living - namely living like Christ.
This week, he switches gears from the external to the internal. He has mentioned trials in the first 11 verses. He has talked about how we are to respond to these trials.
However, now he looks at our hearts.
Trials comes from the outside. Things like physical illness, cancer, job stresses or loss, losing a loved one, a difficult child, a marital issue, persecution for your faith, among others. These trials are external and create disruption and difficulty in our life.
Temptation is different though. As we will see in a bit, it comes from within us. Temptation often comes in the midst of trials. When we are tired, beat down, stressed, and struggling - that is when temptation is usually at fever pitch. Though the enemy of our souls certainly has his hand in striking while the proverbial iron is hot, we will find out today that there is an enemy within our camp… and unfortunately, that enemy is impossible for us to avoid… because that enemy is our flesh.
Let’s read our Scripture for today and see what James has for us to learn…
Read Full Scripture:
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.
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.
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
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.
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
Prayer
Brothers and sisters, I don’t think that I am overstating this - but this message today might be one of the most important messages you have ever heard. I don’t say this because of my amazing preaching ability.
But I say this because this Scripture is just that applicable to each one of us. All Scripture is beneficial. All Scripture is God-breathed. But there are few weeks that have a passage that has more direct application to each person in the church than this one.
I pray that as we move forward today, that we can be ready to fight against the temptations that arise within us day by day. I pray that we are able to face trials and temptations in the power of the Lord.
This brings us to our first point for today…
I. We Resist Temptation Because of Our Love for God (v. 12)
I. We Resist Temptation Because of Our Love for God (v. 12)
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.
After giving a few admonitions to remain joyful in the midst of trials, to seek wisdom in the midst of trials, and last week as we saw to seek true and eternal riches in the midst of trials - we now come to the climax of this teaching.
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial.
It is important to understand that the word blessed does not refer to an emotion. Some have understood this word to mean happy. However, I don’t think it is normal or natural to be happy that a trial has come your way. Being blessed is far greater than emotion. It is a state of approval and right relationship with God. It is a state of joy and peace and contentment with God.
Why is this man blessed?
He is blessed because he has stood the test and will receive the crown of life.
But what exactly is this crown of life?
The crown of life speaks to eternal life as we are exalted with Christ on high.
God has made a promise to all of those who love Him and have repented of their sins and placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. And that promise is that they will have eternal life in heaven.
This phrase is used elsewhere as well.
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Here we see the crown of life promised to faithful believers in the persecuted Church of Smyrna. They were about to persecuted - many even unto death. Yet they were to be comforted as they had the crown of life coming their way!
This crown is also mentioned in Revelation 3:11, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Timothy 4:8, and 1 Peter 5:4. In these verses we see references to the crown of righteousness or crown of glory or sometimes just crown.
However, each time it appears to be looking forward to something to come in eternity.
This promise of eternal life and the rewards that God has for us in eternity is of paramount importance.
Frankly, there is no more important truth than this, my friends.
If we don’t get this then Christianity makes no sense.
The miracles of Jesus and the healings of Jesus were great - don’t get me wrong.
But without the resurrection power of Jesus, we have no hope for eternity.
As we mentioned last week - because Christ rose from the dead - we know that He will raise us as well to eternal life with Him.
But how does this understanding help us battle temptation? How does loving God and believing in His promises keep us from giving into temptations?
Friends, when we consider the work of Christ on the cross. When we consider the suffering He endured on His journey to the cross - the beatings, lashings, verbal abuse, physical abuse. When we consider the pain He endured as the nails went through his hands and feet. When we consider the scorn and shame and reproach He experienced on the cross for us. When we consider all of our sins being placed upon Him - the wrath of the Father placed upon the Son in our place - we cannot help but love Him.
We are told in 1 John 4:19 that we love Him because He first loved us.
Church - we must remember that…
Love demands action.
For us, our love for Christ means that we will endure and persevere in the face of trials and temptations. It means that by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will stand firm in the midst of the pressures to give into temptations and lose heart in the face of trials.
One of the most effective ways to avoid losing heart in the midst of a trial and temptation is to rightly understand God. Right theology - a right understanding of Who God is - is key to helping you persevere and endure.
That brings us right into our next point…
Scripture References: Revelation 2:10, Revelation 3:11, 1 Corinthians 9:25, 2 Timothy 4:8, 1 Peter 5:4, 1 John 4:19
II. We Reject Blaming God for Temptation (v. 13)
II. We Reject Blaming God for Temptation (v. 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.
After this Gospel-based climax of chapter 1, James gets right back to difficult teachings.
Now he is going to spend time discussing the heart of temptation.
In verse 13, James makes it a point to teach us that God does not tempt us. God has no evil within Him. He can do no evil.
Though God allows trials and temptations to come our way - He is not the direct causer of any temptations that come our way.
He allows the enemy and his demons to be used to test and tempt. He takes the evil that they do, and He turns it to good for us. Genesis 50:20 states this very clearly in the account of Joseph.
Another great lesson we learn about testing and temptations comes from Job.
Satan needed approval from God before he could harm Job.
Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, God has placed a hedge of protection around you.
Listen to this hedge around Job:
Then Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
This understanding of a hedge of protection can be further understood in Psalm 3:3:
But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
and Psalm 91:1-2:
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
God is our refuge, our fortress, our hedge of protection. This should bring us great peace as we live in this world.
We hear many pray for a hedge of protection around their loved ones. This prayer is perfectly acceptable and good - though we must avoid some of the hyper-spiritual charismatic practices that seek to create this hedge. God sovereignly manages this protection over us - not us.
However, as we consider this understanding, we also know that God sovereignly allowed the hedge to be removed from Job for a time. And during that time - Job suffered great loss.
Friends, bad things that happen come as a result of the evil within this world. Though God is sovereign and has allowed it - and we cannot always explain or understand His plan - we hold fast to Romans 8:28 knowing that He will use everything for His glory and our good.
Yet, we know the character of God. He does good and not evil. He loves us and cares for us. The trials and temptations that come our way are meant to strengthen us and grow us.
We must always remember that temptation is not in the nature of God. Instead, it is in the nature of man.
… as we will clearly see in our next point.
We need to reject any blaming of God when it comes to temptation. Again, good theology is key in our fight against temptation. Our God is for us not against us.
In fact, with the Lord on our side Paul says…
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
This rhetorical question is meant to contrast the amazing power of our Lord with the evil of this world. What is man in comparison to God? Who is Satan or his demons in comparison with God?
The rhetorical question is to be answered with a resounding nothing! Everything pales in comparison with God. He is good and holy - righteous and perfect.
May we reject the temptation to blame God in the midst of our struggles.
Next we see that instead of blaming God, we need to…
Scripture References: Genesis 50:20, Job 1:9-11, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 91:1-2, Romans 8:28, Romans 8:31
III. We Recognize the True Source of Temptation (vv. 14–16)
III. We Recognize the True Source of Temptation (vv. 14–16)
But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
After speaking of the good character of God, James now turns to the not-so-good character of us.
He reminds us that we are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desire.
Some of you all are fishermen. You understand what a lure is (see picture). A lure is something that is used to attract a fish in order to capture it. When fishing, one might use bait such as a nightcrawler on a hook or a lure that looks like a small fish that has hooks built in. Both of these are not what they seem. The fish sees the lure and is enticed and tempted to go after it.
The fish is so focused on the lure that it misses the fact that there is a hook right there.
Friends, we would like to think that we are more intelligent than fish in this way, but sometimes we react with about as much intelligence as a fish when it comes to temptation.
How many times have you given into temptation? The answer for us is probably innumerable.
Maybe you are trying to eat more healthy foods but there is that certain food that you just can’t resist. You make a plan to avoid that food but someone has it at work and before you know it, you have already consumed it!
Or maybe there is a pop up ad that popped up on your phone. Before you could scroll off, you caught yourself clicking the ad and regretting that move almost immediately.
Or maybe you are on a shopping website to look for a certain article - but before you know it, your cart is full of stuff you “need” and you have already checked out before you have even considered whether you had the money to cover it.
Friends, we can be lured and tempted so easily.
We see an important teaching here, though.
We are lured and tempted by our own desire.
A common expression among many who make bad decisions is ‘the devil made me do it.’
Brothers and sisters, Satan and his demons can certainly tempt you - no doubt about that. But they can’t make you give into the temptation. That is your fault and my fault.
I often use this example when describing temptation and desire.
If someone put out a bowl full of veggies on the snack table before church - and I had determined myself to not eat veggies that day. I can just about guarantee you that I would pass over that bowl without a problem. I like vegetables, but they aren’t a strong temptation for me. I eat them because I should - not because I crave them or have a strong desire for them!
Yet, if someone puts out a plate full of chocolate chip cookies - and I had determined myself to not eat any sweets that day. I am going to struggle to pass by that table Sunday morning! My desire is to have one of those in my mouth ASAP!
What is the difference in these two scenarios? Desire.
Although we need to set good boundaries in our lives to seek to avoid temptation - we need to realize that the actual problem isn’t the cookie - isn’t the phone - isn’t the online shopping site - it is our hearts, friends.
As many have said in the past - the heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.
James continues in verse 15 to discuss this in more detail.
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
Once the desire for sinful things has conceived, it gives birth to sin.
As most of us know:
Sin is anything that we think, say, or do that disobeys God. It includes sins of omission and commission.
Sins of commission refer to sins that are an active choice of the will that violate God’s commands.
Sins of omission refer to sins that are a result of failure to do what is right.
The continued practice of sin leads one to death. For unbelievers, unrepentant sin leads to an eternity in hell. It leads to eternal death.
The Scriptures teach us that true believers do not remain in unrepentant sin.
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.
Note here that this doesn’t mean that believers don’t struggle with habitual sins. We all have sins that tempt us and trip us up more than other sins. Some sins seem more like the chocolate chip cookie while others seem more like the vegetables! Our flesh may struggle with certain desires that are stronger than others.
However, true believers are convicted by the Holy Spirit when they sin. They repent and turn from it. They seek help in fighting against temptation. They long to be right with their God.
This is an important test in our lives. Are we living in unrepentant sin and not convicted about it? Can we continue in sin and feel nothing? If that is you, you are in a very dangerous place, my friend. Please turn to the Lord, and ask Him to save your soul. Make sure that you are right with Him. Be sure that your eternity is truly secure.
Jesus warned us that many will say Lord, Lord - and He will reply depart from me I never knew you (Matthew 7:21-23).
In fact, some of these who will find themselves in hell might have done amazing things in His name. Listen to these verses…
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Church, be sure that the truest desire of your heart is for your Savior above everything else. Be sure that you are fully committed to the Lord. God looks on the inside and not the outside. Some of these that Jesus speaks of might have looked pretty sparkling clean on the outside. Yet, their heart’s desire was not for their Savior.
Listen to James give a similar warning…
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
James then teaches us about the deception of sin. Don’t be deceived and lulled to sinful sleep by the deceitfulness of sin. Sin does lead to death. The world revels in their sins of the flesh. Immorality, greed, selfishness, drunkenness, and other immoral behaviors are not seen by the world as dangerous. Yet, these sins lead to death - eternal death for the unbeliever.
Don’t be like the fish who refused to see the obvious dangers of temptation and bit into the lure because of its desire for food. Be sure that you truly see the sinfulness of our fleshly desires.
Be sure that you are in Christ - that you are a true believer.
And if you are a true believer, remember Paul’s teaching about this…
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Even for us who are saved - even for us who are filled with the Holy Spirit - we still have a flesh that desires the sinful things of this world. We have this enemy without our camp. How do we avoid temptation?
We avoid temptation by walking by the Spirit.
This means living day to day in constant prayer to our Father. This means regularly reading the Word of God and walking in obedience to that Word. This means allowing the Holy Spirit to guide and direct your paths each day. This means responding to the conviction of the Holy Spirit quickly and completely as He leads, guides, and even disciplines.
Brothers and sisters, may we resist temptation because of our love for God, may we reject blaming God for temptation, may we recognize the true source of that temptation - which as we have just seen - is us - and finally may we…
Scripture References: 1 John 3:9, Matthew 7:21-23, Galatians 5:16-17
IV. We Rest in the Goodness of God Despite Temptation (vv. 17–18)
IV. We Rest in the Goodness of God Despite Temptation (vv. 17–18)
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.
After warning us of the deceitfulness of sin and temptation, James reminds us of the goodness and kindness of God.
Temptations are a result of us not being content.
Whatever the temptation - the real issue is contentment in what God has already given you and contentment with God Himself.
Temptation screams at us that we will be more happy if only we have what we want. It promises that we will feel better or more fulfilled if only we have a certain something.
Yet like all sin - it always over promises and under delivers.
Sin always leads to shame and regret and a distance between us and God.
Yet, James wants to remind us that God is a good God. He isn’t out there holding back good things from you.
In fact, we are told here that every good and perfect gift comes from God!
He never changes. He has been gifting His children good gifts since the beginning. Food, clothing, shelter, breath in our lungs, needs, and even many wants.
He is called the Father of lights. In Him is no darkness. He is perfectly good. He is perfectly holy.
When calling God the Father of lights, James likely has in mind here the heavenly bodies - the sun, moon, and stars. These change in the sky throughout the day. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west and then isn’t seen all night. The stars are at different places throughout the night - and even at different times of the year some can be seen and some cannot be seen.
Everything in the sky is always moving.
But God is immovable. The theological term used for this is that he is immutable.
God’s immutability refers to His unchanging nature.
Verses such as Malachi 3:6 say:
“For I the Lord do not change…
Hebrews 13:8 affirms this in the Person of Jesus Christ as well…
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
This same teaching is found in James 1:17. God never changes.
This helps us through our trials and temptations because we know we have a Solid Rock to lean on. We know that He will always provide us as way out of each temptation as He promises in Scripture.
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
He won’t allow a temptation that He will not give you the power and ability to resist. He will always provide a way of escape.
And we also can resist temptation because we know He understands our struggles up close and personal...
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Though Jesus never had a desire to sin - He faced all of the trials that we face. His only desire was to do the will of His Father as we read in John’s Gospel 3 times in John 4-6 (John 4:34, John 6:38, John 5:30).
But because He understands the difficulty and struggles that we face, we can trust that He will carry us through.
We can rest in the grace and goodness of the Lord when we struggle.
And finally, in verse 18 we see…
Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
We have learned that man’s greatest problem is actually within him. Our heart is the problem. We desire evil instead of good.
And James reminds us that there is only one way to change that - it is by the word of truth.
This word of truth likely refers to the entire Word of God - but specifically refers to the Gospel.
Paul used this phrase logō aletheias (Logo ah-lee-thee-ahs) at least three times in his letters (Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 1:5, 2 Timothy 2:15). In Colossians 1:5, he even goes so far as to restate it as meaning the Gospel.
It is by this Word of truth that we can be saved.
James then calls us the firstfruits of God’s creatures.
The firstfruits were the best of the crops. God required the first and best to be offered unto Him.
Proverbs 3:9-10 instructed Israel to honor the Lord with the firstfruits of all their produce. Exodus 23:19 commanded the Israelites to bring the firstfruits to the Lord.
James refers to himself along with his hearers when he refers to them as the firstfruits of God’s creatures.
He most likely means all of those who would be saved through Jesus Christ. He and his hearers were among the first believers who came to Christ - and there have now been followers of Christ extending to us and beyond! We are all firstfruits of His creatures if we have trusted in Christ’s finished work.
This beautiful reminder of God’s saving goodness and care for us should help us in the middle of our temptations. When our flesh or the enemy of our soul tries to make us believe that God doesn’t want what is best for us - or that God is holding something back from us - we can be reminded that God is great - that He cares for us and loves us - and that He gives us good gifts and saves us.
Scripture References: Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Hebrews 4:15, John 4:34, John 6:38, John 5:30, Ephesians 1:3, Colossians 1:5, 2 Timothy 2:15, Proverbs 3:9-10, Exodus 23:19
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I pray that today’s message has been encouraging for you. We all suffer temptations and trials. But what we do in the face of them is what truly matters.
And as we face these trials and temptations…
Remember your love for God. Remain steadfast in this as you remember His goodness and kindness to you.
Reject blaming God. He loves you and cares for you. Be sure that your theology about God is right theology - Biblically-informed theology.
And finally, be sure that you recognize the true source of temptation. Be sure that you recognize our sinful flesh that we continue battling with the power of the Holy Spirit. Be sure that you own up to your part in giving into temptation. It is first and foremost a heart problem. And may we pray that God renews and cleanses our heart of all sin. May our heart’s desire be like Christ’s - may it be to do our Father’s will and love Him above all else.
I want to leave you with one last practical teaching as we end today.
The 4 D’s of Temptation (Borrowed from John MacArthur)
1 - Desire
2 - Deception
3 - Design
4 - Disobedience (Sin)
1 - Desire
As we have already discussed, we need to understand the sinful desires within us - covetousness, discontentment, pride, among many others.
2 - Deception
The enemy can deceive us easily. However, we also need to recognize that when we desire something strongly, we can become even self-deceived into thinking that what we want is worth it - that it is even right and good.
3 - Design
This is where we are getting close to the edge of the cliff of giving into the temptation. This is where we start making plans to fulfill our desire. This is a time of rationalization and justification of ourselves. This is a conscious decision - an act of the will - in order to pursue our desire.
And finally…
4 - Disobedience
If the previous 3 steps are completed, desire will give birth to sin - namely disobedience to God’s Law.
I pray that you study these verses from today throughout this coming week. I pray that you understand more fully the steps of temptation and sin and that you fight against them with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit.
