Knowing the Origin of Trials and Temptations

James 1:13-18

Last 3 weeks: Over the course of the last two weeks, we’ve discussed and understood,

what it means to be a bondservant of Jesus Christ

The attitude we need to face trials/temptations (joy)

The way to conquer trials/temptations (God’s wisdom)

This week we discuss the necessity of knowing the origin of trials and temptations, where they come from, so that we know why we joy and why we need God’s wisdom. (if you don’t know the source of the problem-it cannot be fixed)

People are constantly looking to find the source of their pain, their trials and temptations, their hardships and struggles. Man is always on the lookout for who to blame, what to blame, or where to blame. So many people, professing believers in succumbing and falling into their trials/temptations, fall short in knowing and recognizing the source, so they resort to the blaming, the shifting, and the justifying of their wrongdoing. Yet many people know the source of their trials and temptation, and rather than face the truth (which we will talk about), they shift and slither b/c they know and don’t want to face the truth. But the hard truth is, we must face a hard truth, because the answer to the question “where do trials and temptations come from,” hits a lot closer to home than many think.

Temptations can be reduced to one simple statement: The desire and craving for wrong things, things that God forbids and hard harmful to our bodies, our spirits, and harmful to others.

We desire and crave such things as:

having our own way

doing one’s own thing

food (to take the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th bite/go back for 3rds

immoral sex—to satisfy lust

possessions-to gather/to hoards

recognition of authority-we promote ourselves

alcohol

cigarettes/tobacco-

pornography

clothes-lack of modesty/finding worth in appearance

position or advancement-doing things with your eyes up to see who’s looking at you

And as stated earlier, for many if not most, their tendency is to look anywhere but in the mirror to find the source of the temptations and trials they face—, but in the mirror is right where we need to be looking

Even further, so many people, professing believers included, go to such lengths as to justify wrongdoing;

We justify

by taking God’s truth out of context

in saying God’s truth applies to others and not ourselves (“Oh, that was for those people, not me.”)

is conforming God’s Word justify our decisions, instead of lining up our decisions with God’s Word

2. We justify in saying things like:

“I’ll just ask for forgiveness later.”

“It’s just this once, God will understand.”

“God knows I love Him, He’ll excuse it for me.”

“God knows I’ve had a hard day.”

THE LIST GOES ON

The simple truth which we must know, is knowing, recognizing, and facing up to the origin our temptations. We are helped tremendously in conquering and overcoming trials and temptations, when we face up to the truth.

Here we go!

I. (v.13) Temptation is not of God—(be aware of Who you are actually blaming)

James 1:13 NKJV

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

Again, people are ALWAYS blaming someone/something else for their temptations which cause them to sin

Adam and Eve

Genesis 3:12 “Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.””

Genesis 3:13 “And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.””

Aaron

Exodus 32:3-4 “So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!””

Exodus 32:23-24 “For they said to me, ‘Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ And I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.””

Mankind today

We blame

Man blames woman and woman blames man

Spouse blames spouse

Child blames parent, parent blames child

We joke and make light of it

“If it hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have done it.”

“If so-and-so hadn’t said this or hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t have responded this way or that way.”

“The responses we give our spouses or others, when they contain anger or frustration, have nothing to do with what they say, but everything to do with what’s already in your heart”—(Paul Tripp paraphrased)

***What we do is justify our behavior and try to quiet or conscience by blaming our spouses, children, the drug, the alcohol, the internet—anything and everything—so long as it isn’t ourselves, but know this

Here’s what is really happening: what we have really done is blamed God

By wondering why God ever let such a thing happen to us, marry such a person, have such a terrible accident, and so on and so on

By thinking that God created us with desires and passions—therefore, when we slip here and there, He understands and forgives us

By thinking that God made the world as it is—everything in it, therefore if we indulge in the world, partake of things of this world, He will understand and forgive and overlook the indulgence

***Truth is we have desires and cravings—He created food for nourishment—He created woman for man and man for woman to marry and multiply, keep the human race going, but know this---The desires God has given us are to used to bring glory to Him, not to our flesh!***

In blaming others for our sin and wrongdoing, reveals a heart that wants nothing to do with accountability and conviction of our sin, and everything to do with feeding yourself excuses to continue living in your sin.

Problem is---in all the ways and excuses you make in avoiding confronting your sin, you miss out on God’s greatest gift and your greatest need—His grace.

Grace and mercy go hand-in-hand; is asking for mercy (which is confronting your sin), God withholds what you deserve and gifts you what you don’t deserve—grace

In the refusal to confront your sin, you stand to miss the comfort of God’s grace

God is NOT the Person who arouses our wicked thoughts and desires—listen to the verse again

God cannot be tempted

God is holy, righteous, and pure

God’s nature can have absolutely nothing to do with evil or temptation

to tempt is an evil thing to do

to tempt requires a selfish, lustful, craving, self-seeking, and evil person to entice others to do forbidden and wrong things

God’s holiness does not allow Him to be tempted to evil

Not only can God not be tempted by evil, God does not tempt any person

God loves, cares, and seeks to save man—not to damage or destroy him, so why would He operate contrary to His nature in tempting us?

God desires us to turn and flee temptation, not to crumble and succumb to it, but rather to turn and flee towards Him and His grace.

So if God’s not the source, who is?

II. (v.14-16) Temptation is of man, of his own lust or evil desire

James 1:14–16 NKJV

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

Three steps involved in temptation and sin—and we must grasp and understand these: (Thoughts, Attitudes, and Actions)

There is lust and enticement

Every man—without exception—is tempted when he drawn away by his own lusts and enticed.

“Lust” means to crave either “good or bad”

there are good desires and there are bad desires

“Enticed” means to “lure and bait,” as one would lure and bait a fish

It’s simple: (The beginning stage is the “thought” stage)

When we begin to think about or look at something—we very naturally desire it—this normal

Problems arise when the thing is forbidden or harmful

Man sees the wrong or harmful thing and begins to crave it, lust after it, or covet it

And this leads to the “attitude” phase:

There is the conception of lust and the birth of sin

When a person begins to look and/or think on the forbidden things—desire and lust are conceived in the mind

When desires and lusts are conceived, a person pictures the pleasure of what is lusted after

When this happens—sin is actually born

picturing, looking, or thinking about the desire—is sin

Matthew 5:28 “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”

The attitude “phase” if you will happens when we fail to turn away and flee from whatever the enticement is (suggestive music, suggestive movie or show, suggestive conversation or talk, toxic and sinful relationships)

1 Timothy 6:11 “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness.”

2 Corinthians 10:5 “casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

But failing to do so has a result:

There is the result of lust and enticement: death

man dies physically, spiritually, and eternally b/c of sin

man was not created by God to die (hell was not created for man)

man has chosen it (ouch) and he chosen to die by means of sin

Hebrews-James (King James Version) C. The Origin of Trials and Temptation, 1:13–18

William Barclay has a thought on temptation that should challenge us to turn our total being over to Christ. We have the statements in outline form for emphasis:

“Now desire is something which can be nourished or stifled. A man can … by the grace of God, eliminate desire if he faces it and deals with it at once. But …

• he can allow his steps to take him into certain places and certain company.

• he can encourage his eyes to linger on certain forbidden things.

• he can spend his life fomenting desire.

• he can use mind and heart and eyes and feet and lips to nourish desire.

“[However, a man] can so hand himself over to Christ and to the Spirit of Christ that he is cleansed of evil desire. He can be so engaged on good things that there is no time or place left for desire. It is idle hands for which Satan finds mischief to do; and it is an unexercised mind which plays with desire, and an uncommitted heart which is vulnerable to the appeal of lust.

“If a man nourishes and encourages desire long enough, there is an inevitable consequence. Desire becomes action. If a man thinks about anything long enough if he allows himself to desire it long enough, all the chances are that in the end he will do it. Desire in the heart in the end begets sin in the action”

III.(v.17-18) Temptation is not of God’s nature (three points to this)

James 1:17–18 NKJV

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

God is good and perfect—we are just going to use Scripture for this point)

Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, His work is perfect; For all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”

Psalm 18:30 “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.”

Ecclesiastes 3:14 “I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.”

Matthew 5:48 “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

Psalm 25:8 “Good and upright is the Lord; Therefore He teaches sinners in the way.”

Psalm 34:8 “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”

Nahum 1:7 “The Lord is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.”

Matthew 19:17 “So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.””

Romans 2:4 “Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?”

God is the Father of lights and He is unchangeable

Temptation is what leads men into darkness—the darkness of

guilt and shame

personal disappointment and accusation

hurting and damaging ourselves or others

destruction and death

secrecy and hidden things

the night and closed doors

Temptation is what leads us into a world of darkness…but not God

God is Who leads us into the light—His light

God is perfect and in His light there is no variation or turning—no hint of a shadow—He is unchangeable

God ALWAYS gives us the things that will stand in the light, things

which give us joy

which are good for us

which do not shame us

which build us up, perfect, and mature us

which give us assurance and confidence

which bring us love, joy, and peace

which show forth Christ and God

that reflect His very nature

God is the Father—and a good Father never

leaves us in the dark

leaves us groping, grasping to know the truth

hides the light of truth to us

refuses to give us every good and perfect gift

(WORSHIP TEAM)

God wills (His desire) ONLY is to see us born again

His will is that you would know the Word of truth

His will is that you would be born again

Every one of us has been born physically—the way of physical birth is death

Every one of us is set to die—but the Word of truth—God’s Word and God’s will is that you can be born again

You can experience a spiritual rebirth and live forever with God

You can become a new creation: a new creation with desires not towards your flesh but towards the Spirit, things of Christ and of heaven

You can become perfected and matured to look more like Christ

Note God’s will in 2 Peter

2 Peter 3:8-9 “But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Note what we must do

Romans 10:8-10 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

To get to this point—which is to say it is a posture of your heart—you have to be willing to take a look in the mirror and confront the reality that the source of your sin, the source of all your temptations/trials/hardships, is you. The enemy can and does bait you—but he baits the sinful nature you are born with

Of the many lessons and truth Jesus teaches in, The Beatitudes, the first two speak volumes:

Matthew 5:3 ““Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

Matthew 5:4 “Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.”

The first speaks to the truth that you must recognize your condition—you must realize and know you are spiritually bankrupt apart from Jesus Christ

The second speaks to the truth that you must acknowledge, confront, and mourn your sin. A person will NOT confess is their sin is not mourned/hated/abhored.

It all comes down to this: Our sin, the trials and temptations in our lives can only be dealt with at the heart level. No amount of blaming, shifting, or justifying can change this truth. And the “heart” is the thing which we can only be changed by Jesus Christ.

And to have the heart changed, you must be able to answer the question Jesus asked of His disciples in Mark

Mark 8:29 “He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.””