James: A Faith That Works (5)
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(Mom baking cookies)
(Son playing in the neighbor’s yard)
None of us is immune to the appeals of temptation…
None of us can say that we have never been tempted… or that we have never fallen to the mesmerizing appeals of temptation…
Mark Antony — one of Rome’s greatest military minds, one of its strongest leaders — on the outside, was powerful and impressive, but on the inside…
He was so weak that it caused one advisor to shout at him: “O Marcus! O colossal child, able to conquer the world, but unable to resist temptation!”
Is that us? Is that you?
Do you look strong, powerful, like you have it all together… on the out side, but… on the inside… you are torn apart by temptation time and time again?!
Temptation is not easy to resist… It lures us… It draws us in with its beauty and promise!
Temptation is like the “Siren’s song” in ancient lure… Luring us away from the safety of the sea of God’s presence, and into the rocky shore of sin’s destruction…
Noone is immune to it… It affects adults, children, professionals, pastors…
And it is deadly!
“In our members there is a slumbering inclination towards desire which is both sudden and fierce. With irresistible power desire seizes mastery over the flesh.
All at once a secret, smoldering fire is kindled. The flesh burns and is in flames.
It makes no difference whether it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money…
Joy in God is in course of being extinguished in us and we seek all our joy in the creature.” - - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Greek mythology tells us that the crew of Odysseus’s ship escaped the lure of the Siren’s song by plugging their ears with wax.
Resisting the temptation of life that Bonhoeffer speaks of will take more than wax!
12 Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.
13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.
14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it;
15 then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved.
17 Every generous act of giving, with 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 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
James tells us: “Temptation is inevitable”
13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.
James doesn’t say “IF tempted...” He says, “WHEN tempted…”
Just like trials and tribulations… Temptation is a part of life.
Let’s face it — The Christian Life is a life of conflict, amen?
We are in a spiritual battle — between the Spirit and the Flesh!
12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
There are opposing forces constantly trying to draw us away from God.
Everyone is wrestling with temptation! Noone is immune.
(Take a look around you) No matter how well someone looks… no matter how “together” they appear… everyone struggles with temptation!
But remember - - Temptation is not sin!
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
How?! How did Jesus “not sin”?
— He didn’t “give in” to temptation…
— He stood against it… He resisted it… and He fled from it…
(I know I know) But Pastor… Jesus was God! Of course He didn’t sin!
— Understand… in His temptation, Jesus was in His humanity… Scripture tells us that He was “severely famished”… His temptation was purely in the weakness of His humanity!
Temptation is an invitation to sin.
You see… Jesus knew the Father’s plan… He knew why He was here… He knew what we needed… He knew who He was…
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.”
4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
— He was hungry and weak — “Feed yourself from this world”
6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please.
7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.”
— “You’re the King of Kings… take it for yourself”
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here,
10 for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’
11 and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’ ”
12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”
— “You’re God’s chosen… use His protection and provision selfishly”
Jesus was invited by satan to sin… BUT… He refused the invitation.
Temptation is real… it is dangerous… and it WILL come!
If we want to resist it like Jesus did, then we must “Give credit where credit is due.”
We must realize who God is, and what temptation really is — where it comes from…
Let me ask you:
What are trials? Conflict from outside sources.
What is Temptation? Where does it come from?
13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.
14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it;
Have you ever noticed that we ALL tend to BLAME someone else when we fall short?
James tells us: “Assume personal responsibility!”
13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one.
We… humans… have a tendency to want to blame someone else when we fall into temptation.
The comedian Flip Wilson coined the phrase: “The devil made me do it!”
Now… it is true that satan is an active agent in temptation, but we give him way more credit than he deserves.
— satan is not creative… he is incapable of creating anything… he merely mimics, tricks, whispers, gossips… he takes simple truths and the thoughts we already have, and he twists them… in order to lead us into sin…
The ultimate source of temptation is within!
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die;
5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
Eve’s temptation came from her own desires…
James says: We must not blame anyone else…
Temptation does not come from God… AND, it’s not God’s fault when we give in to it!
3 One’s own folly leads to ruin, yet the heart rages against the Lord.
HEAR THIS: “God does send us tests… He does allow us to face trials… to strengthen our faith, BUT… (listen)… God is NEVER involved with tempting us to sin!”
Look back at Adam and Eve’s story…
When they gave in to temptation… when they ate the fruit… God confronted them, and asked them, “What did you do?”
Do you remember what they said?
12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.”
Adam is saying… “You’re to blame.” “That woman YOU gave me...”
Every since then, man has been trying to blame God.
“If God created everything, then He created sin, so… It’s His fault.”
James confronts that!
James declares, “God cannot be tempted to evil and He never tempts anyone else to evil.”
That would be contrary to His nature… God is Love…
James says:
17 Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
To place “temptation” in our path… to “tempt” us to sin… goes against everything that God is… God is not the Author of evil!
Statements like:
“I couldn’t help it”
“The devil made me do it”
“It’s my parents fault”
“It’s my spouse’s fault”
“It’s my children’s fault”
“It’s my boss’s fault”
ARE… NEVER… TRUE!!!!
Did you hear that?!
Temptation — and giving in to it — is never somebody else’s fault… and it’s not God’s fault.
God allows us to be “tested” by temptation, but… He does not send it… and He [God] always provides us an escape…
Now, here’s the truth…
We simply do not choose to use it.
James tells us the truth:
Temptation comes from our own hearts.
14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it;
Understanding this truth is vital to winning our victory over temptation.
Temptation is a process.
— it has a starting point, and follows a path…
It begins in us! In our hearts!
14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it;
15 then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.
14 The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust.
15 Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer.
Do you see the pattern?
It’s predictable!
Temptation — DESIRE coupled with SELF-DECEPTION leads to DISOBEDIENCE — sin, which ultimately leads to DEATH!
It begins with desire… with Lust… “I want it!”
Now understand… God created us with normal desires… they are not sinful.
— without desires, we could not function… many of these desires keep us alive and healthy… The desire for food, for shelter, for love… AND the desire for GOD!
BUT…
When we are tempted to satisfy those desires in ways outside of God’s will, then we get into trouble.
— That is what Jesus’s temptation was… and that is what ours is!
Eating is good, but it can become gluttony…
Sleep is good, but it can become laziness…
Sexual fulfillment in marriage between one man and one woman is good, but seeking sexual fulfillment in any other way is sinful.
Temptation begins with desire… then it couples with “self-deception”…
We convince ourselves that it is “OK”
No temptation appears as a temptation — it always seems more alluring… more “ok”… then it really is.
Look at Adam and Eve again...
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’ ”
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die;
5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
satan used Eve’s desires to convince her that she could get what she wanted in her own way… that she didn’t need God to give it to her… and THAT IT WAS OK!
Her self-deception was her downfall…
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate.
When we hunt or fish, we set a trap… we bait the hook… Animals do not deliberately step into a trap, or bite a hook… the bait lures them in…
14 But one is tempted by one’s own desire, being lured and enticed by it;
Bonhoeffer describes what happens when our hearts “lunge” for the bait of desire:
“At this moment God is quite unreal to us, He loses all reality, and only desire for the creature is real; the only reality is the devil. satan does not here fill us with hatred of God, but with forgetfulness of God… The lust thus aroused envelops the mind and will of man in deepest darkness. The powers of clear discrimination and of decision are taken from us.”
Temptation always carries bait that appeals to our natural desires.
Yielding to the desire will eventually bring sorrow and punishment.
Desire, coupled with self-deception, leads to sin.
15 then, when that desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and that sin, when it is fully grown, gives birth to death.
It starts in our hearts — our thoughts and feelings, if we allow it to “germinate”, it leads to action… and action ends in death.
There is no future in sin.
Uncontrolled desire becomes sin… unrepentant sin places us in an evil state… which leads to death.
That is why James says:
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved.
Seemingly innocent things can so easily imprison us!
We must guard our hearts, and flee from sin!
Temptation is CONQUERABLE
— because God is good!
17 Every generous act of giving, with 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 In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
We can win the battle against temptation and sin because of God!
— God does not change… He is the same “yesterday, today, and tomorrow”… We can trust Him!
Victory comes from dwelling on those “good things” — those “perfect gifts” — that God has provided.
James reminds us that God does not change like shifting shadows… We can trust Him.
God has given us life through the Word!
If we can trust God to give us spiritual birth… to give us eternity… then we can trust Him for deliverance in our daily struggle against temptation. Amen?
3 His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
13 No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it.
There is hope… everything we need to resist temptation is available to us in Christ.
Through God everything we need for Holiness is available.
God restricts the power of temptation… it cannot overpower us…
God promises to give us a way out… In Him, we can stand up under temptation!
The battle is winnable — temptation is conquerable.
If we are going to conquer temptation… If we are going to build A Faith That Works… then we must keep our eyes on God!
We have example after example of great men in the Bible who fell to temptation because they took their eyes off of God…
King David....
Sampson....
Moses....
Temptation cannot lure away a heart that is held by FAITH!
Let me close with this “GAME PLAN” for dealing with temptation:
Trust in the Lord.
Fight temptation with Prayer and the Word.
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
3. Rely on your brothers and sisters in Christ.
13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” so that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.
4. Run fro temptation.
— be like Joseph with Potipher’s wife — “Cut and Run”!
— Like the old doctor said to the patient who said his arm was broken in two places — “Well, Stay out of those places!”
Yielding to temptation has cost so many, so much… Let us be a people who hold tight to a Faith that Works… who flee from temptation… and situations that bring temptation… and into the arms of God!