Sermon Tone Analysis

*Context: James shows that God is good, and we are not!*

* *

*Text: James 1 : 13-18*

* *

*@ Nelson Road on 26th August 2007*

* *

*Introduction *

 

Last week we had James discussing trials that originated from outward circumstances.

He concluded with the declaration that those who persevere faithfully under such afflictions would receive the crown of life that God promised to those who loved him.

Now this week he addressees trials that come from within, specifically, *temptation and sin*

 

And he reminds us of one the most the important things we need to keep in mind during times of trial

 

And that is we need a correct* view of God* for this will help us understand what is happening around and help us to make the right choices

 

Choices that will help us to grow and be the people that God want us to be

 

*A) Who is to blame?*.

So often the most natural response to being confronted by our failings is to not to deny it but* excuse ourselves *by blaming somebody or something else  

 

It is everywhere in human life

 

We say we are not really responsible, for God made me this way or allowed this to happen to me

 

Ultimately we are saying “God is to blame”

 

He is responsible for the bad things in my psychological make-up, my environment, my friends …..Everything

 

Its Gods fault

 

But James draws a line under this kind of thinking and says …no…no one should say that!

The word of God shows us any attempt to blame God for our failures is to be rejected, these are no more than attempts *at self-justification*

 

And by doing so they are denying the prefect righteousness of God….because the fact is *he never ever does evil!*

And it is crucial for us to remember always that God tests people for good; *he does not tempt people for evil….he

does not want us to blow it!*

* *

Even during temptation we can see God's sovereignty in permitting Satan to tempt us in order *to refine our faith and help us grow* in our dependence on Christ *not* to encourage us to sin

 

As with the children of Israel in the wilderness…Gods desire was for them to learn to *cling onto him* and not to rebel….

Excuses for sin come right from the beginning…Eve blamed the serpent…Adam blamed the Eve   

 

.

Excuses can include:

            "It's the other person's fault."

"I couldn't help it."

"Everybody's doing it."

"It was just a mistake."

"Nobody's perfect."

"I didn't know it was wrong."

"The devil made me do it."

"I was pressured into it."

Like by the little boy who was caught eating cookies out of the cookie jar after having been told he could not have any.

His response to his mom; "I really wasn’t going to eat any mom, I just climbed up to smell the cookies, you didn’t say I couldn’t smell them, and while smelling them somehow my teeth got caught on several of them and the cookies wouldn’t fall off!"

* *

*I would like to read a Don Francisco at this point called “it’s your fault”*

* *

It’s your own fault-you went ahead and did

It’s your own fault-can't blame no one but y'self

It's your own fault-you went ahead and did it

No matter how you wanna you can't blame nobody else

 

Everyone's an expert at passin' the buck

Blamin'society, parents and luck

We're pointin'our fingers.

Blamin’our tools

Somebody else is gonna look like the fool

 

The devil made me do it:'

I heard somebody said

Or maybe it was God himself, instead,

Even John Calvin's turning over in his grave

Hearing all our excuses for the way we behave

 

Now I hear you been wondering' why the heaven's turned to brass

Well, there ain’t no point in looking for that snake in the grass

Don't yell at your wife and don't kick the cat

Just tell God the truth you know He'll listen to that

 

Say.

It’s my own fault.

I went ahead and did it

It's my own fault-can't blame no one but myself

It's my own fault.

I went ahead and did it

No matter how I wanna I can't blame nobody else"

 

*A Christian accepts responsibility for his or her wrongs, confesses them, and asks God for forgiveness.*

* *

James stands against the pagan view of god where good and evil coexisted.

And says our *God is totally good!*

 

*And because God is totally good,* he cannot be the author of temptation.

God does not wish evil on people; he does not cause evil; *he does not try to trip people up*.

Our failures are not God's fault.

God may test believers in order to strengthen their faith, but he *never tries to induce sin or destroy faith*.

God does not want us to fail, *but to succeed*.

At this point, the question may be rightly asked: "If God really loves us, why doesn't he protect us from temptation?"

 

Well a God who kept us from temptation would *be a God unwilling to allow us to grow*.

In order for a test to be an effective tool for growth, it must be *capable of being failed*.

God actually proves his love by *protecting us in temptation* instead of protecting us from temptation.

He provides a way to resist: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.

But when you are tempted, *he will also* provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor 10:13)

 

*B) Its your fault*

* *

To answer the idea that since God allowed trials, he must also be the source of temptation.

* *

James says temptations *come from within*.

James highlights individual responsibility for sin.

Each one is tempted *by his own evil desires, desires that are contrary to Gods will for your life *

 

*These desires can be either fed or starved.*

The longer *you think about it*, the more likely you will move toward fulfilling your desire.

If desire is nourished it will grow until it is birthed into existence!

Stop feeding it if you want it to die!

As someone has said, "There are two dogs within us; one is white and one is black, and they both try to bark through the same mouth, the secret is the one you feed the most is going to be stronger

 

We overcome temptation by letting God renew our minds as we feed on him through his word.

A transformed mind produces a transformed life.

God works from the inside out.

*It is up to us we can either *encourage our desires, and they will soon become actions or with Gods help *we can resist them*  

 

We must continually place ourselves under God's protection

 

We must reject the enticement or temptation by *recognizing it as a false promise.*

* *

We must bring into our life those activities that we know God has provided for our benefit -- knowledge of Scripture, fellowship with Christ and other believers, good music, appreciation of all God has made -- activities that expand our awareness in life.

But the blame for *sin is ours alone.*

For years scientists were puzzled about apples that had worms in them but had no breaks in the surface of the apple!

How did they get inside when there did not appear any outward signs of entrance?

What they discovered was that a certain worm lays its eggs right on the apple blossom in spring, and as the apple develops it encases the egg right from the beginning.

Later when the apple nears it complete maturing process so does the insect egg, it hatches and eats its way out from the inside!

*The seed of sin was planted in us by Adam and Eve*, ever since then it has been found in the heart of each human at birth, eating its way out in our thoughts and actions as we grow!