James 1:14

Context - Changed Into His Image

What did we talk about last week?

English Standard Version Chapter 14

12  There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

The flesh defies God.

The flesh defiles man.

The Flesh deceives man.

The flesh destroys man.

Total depravity.

What is depravity?

Why is man sinful?

What does Adam’s sin tell us about our hearts?

We are no longer slaves to sin’s reign, but we are still sinners by nature.

Part of that sin is temptation.

Context - James

Who was James?

In Matthew’s gospel, as we see Jesus being rejected by the people at Nazareth in chapter 13, we see Jesus identified.

English Standard Version Chapter 13

55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

James is also identified as the leader of the Jerusalem church in Acts 15.

Someone read James 1:1-18.

English Standard Version Chapter 1

Greeting

1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Testing of Your Faith

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

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. 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.

Tonight, we will focus on James 1:14

James 1:14 ESV

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

but first, let’s pray.

PRAY

As we just read, up to this point James has talked mostly about trials, faith, doubt, humility, and now he moves on to what we are talking about tonight: temptation.

Temptation

What does temptation mean? Dictionary.com

to entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong, or immoral.

to attract, appeal strongly to, or invite:

Both of these definitions combined can help us better understand the true meaning of what temptation is.

Why does James feel the need to address temptation?

Temptation leads us to things that are wrong.

What do we as believers call things that are wrong?

Sin.

Last week you all learned that our hearts are infected with sin. Sin is an inescapable part of our humanity. We can’t not be sinful. But we shouldn’t sin just because we can’t avoid it. Which is what Pastor James keeps reminding us of downstairs.

English Standard Version Chapter 5

20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

The equivalent of what Paul just said.

Imagine I’m trying to lose weight. You know this about me and I walk up to you and ask “Should I eat more cake?” What would your response be?

Me eating more cake so I can lose more weight doesn’t make any sense. Paul is saying the same thing about sin and grace.

If temptation leads to sin, why don’t we want to fall into temptation?

Because we don’t want to sin and drive separation between us and God.

What are the top 3 things that you see other people tempted by?

Gather responses.

We see all these things, we know they are wrong, yet we see people fall into this sin; why?

James 1:14 ESV

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

Because no matter how hard we try, we are still sinners full of sinful desires.

What are some things we desire?

Is me wanting and F-150 Lightning sinful?

No, if: it helps my family get around, it makes my life easier, it can be a generator for my house, it has a trunk and a bed.

Yes, if: I spend more than I can afford, I spend more time thinking about my desire than about things I need to be doing (believer, husband, father), it in some other way prevents me from being a devoted Christian in some other way.

That’s what James is saying in James 1:15

James 1:15 ESV

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

That’s what desire does, it sucks us in until we become absorbed by ourselves and our desire to appease our flesh. The flesh that we already know is sinful by nature.

We know that sinful desire produces death and has since the beginning of time.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;

in pain you shall bring forth children.

Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,

but he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife

and have eaten of the tree

of which I commanded you,

‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18  thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19  By the sweat of your face

you shall eat bread,

till you return to the ground,

for out of it you were taken;

for you are dust,

and to dust you shall return.”

How do we respond to temptation?

The book we’re using says there are three types of people in regard to how they respond to temptation.

THE ASSERTIVE REBEL

This is the person who says, "I won't obey. Nobody is going to tell me what to do." He may do the following: Abuse drugs or consume alcohol, smoke, steal, lie, or gamble

• Disobey, break curfews, behave disruptively or violently, bully others, or refuse to study

• Engage in premarital sex, pornography, or other sexual habits

• Display unacceptable dress or obnoxious behavior, use bad language, or indulge in fleshly music or movies

• Manipulate, argue, or act defiantly

The assertive rebel is usually not hard to spot. He is often outspoken, and there is no doubt whose way he is demanding. To some assertive rebels, the only evil is getting caught and the only right is getting their own way.

COOPERATIVE REBEL

This person is much harder to spot. He quietly decides, "I will obey since it gets me what I want." This mask has two variations. One type of cooperative rebel is compliant at best: he is obedient but drags his feet, dawdles, is intentionally inefficient, slams doors, punishes others by his attitude (pouting, sullenness), and thinks, "I'll do what I have to do to get what I want, but I don't agree with this and don't want to do it." Another type of cooperative rebel appears to be driven by a sense of duty: as a child he is often called a "really good kid," seems to go out of his way to be helpful, never seems to be a problem, is sometimes perfectionistic and legalistic, and thinks, "I’Il do my best because I have learned that life works best this way" or "I’Il do my best because I like image of being a great kid." Perhaps he has often seen a brother or sister who is an assertive rebel resisted by authority and doesn't want the hassle. He may even enjoy the limelight he gets when others compare him to his rebellious brother or sister. Surprising as it may seem, there are many of us who really try to be good, not because we are allowing God to work in our lives to produce His fruit, but because it seems that life has fewer snags when we stay out of trouble. We often achieve the accolades and image we want. We can become smug around others who aren't doing right and can become easily embittered during the times when we are being good and don't get what we want. As you can see, "being good" can be just our own way of making life work without God.

THE PASSIVE REBEL

Lastly, there are others whose own way is to passively play the victim. This rebel may say, "I can't obey," or "I forgot to obey," or "I didn't know to obey." Let's look briefly at three variations of the passive rebel. "I can't obey" implies powerlessness and shows up in indifference or resistance. He won't get a driver's license or a job. He won't try out, reach out, speak out, or move out. He often excuses himself with "I'm not feeling well" or "I have a disability" or "I'm a victim." He may say, "I’m hurting too much," or "My parents weren't good examples," Of "I’m too emotional." He is often stubborn and simply won't be put into a vulnerable position. While being laid-back seems to be a popular posture today, Proverbs calls it by another name- slothfulness. This is the man who should run to the problem (e.g., the lion in the streets) instead of away from it (26:13), lives in a snooze alarm mode of procrastination (26:14), gets very irritated if someone tries to "push" him (26:15), and is seemingly unteachable about the wrong direction of his life (26:16). The lack of productivity and the deterioration of his life are obvious to any onlooker (24:30-32), but he continues to make excuses (24:33) that will surely lead to disaster (24:34).

The second excuse, "I forgot to obey," is often an indication of laziness and shows up in untidiness and constant sleepiness. He conveniently forgets chores, responsibilities, and appointments. He often appears absent-minded. His mind isn't dysfunctional but is more likely distracted by some other obsession.

The last excuse, "I didn't know to obey," is often intentional ignorance. This passive rebel can claim he didn't hear the instructions or didn’t think the instructions applied to his situation. A further refinement of this is I just acted without thinking" He is not, however, acting without thinking. He is acting without thinking about the consequences. He is used to doing what he wants without consideration for others.

Rebellion is built into our us as humans. We can’t help but chase the temptations presented to us.

Take a moment, close your eyes. I am going to recap the three types of rebellious people I just read. Take a moment and think about which one you think you are most like?

Remind me, why do we resist temptation and rebellion against God?

We resist because we know the temptations we are fighting are wrong.

What happens when we resist temptation and rebellion?

James 1:12–13 ESV

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.

James 1:16–18 ESV

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.

God does not want us to fall into temptation, he didn’t create the temptation, as James said.

Practical ways to resist temptation:

Accountability (Friends)

Getting rid of the things that tempt us. (Cake, Computer, Apps on our Phone)

Spiritual Disciplines to remind of who God is and why he is greater than our temptation.

We resist the temptations because God desires for us to be like him, changed into his image.

PRAY