The Price Of Temptation Series

The Price of Temptation

Victory Temple A/G

Po box 911

Waco Tx, 76703

Pastor Danny Williams

James 1:13-18

Last week we discovered that whenever you encounter a trial, you are to count it all joy.

Not because of what is happening, but because you know why it is happening…. Amen

And that is that God is taking you to the Next level of Spiritual maturity.

So when you encounter Trial’s and Life Falls apart, God is up to something….

And if you miss that you will develop the wrong attitude toward trials, you will become bitter, angry and get made at other people.

But you need to ask God what are you up to take me to the next level.

Now having addressed the purpose of trials, James brings us to vs. 13 to now address the Price of temptation.

The hinge vs. is vs. 12

He says when you have responded correctly, and passed the test, God will give you the blessing that goes along with passing the exam.

If you fail the test, you get to retake it…. So as long as you rebel against testing…you will get tired…and you will, before he does

Now look at Vs. 13 let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God.

So lets look first of all at the Substance of Temptation

When he uses it in a negative way in vs. 13 as opposed to a positive way in vs. 2,

Vs. 2 dealing with your growth

Vs. 13 dealing with your destruction

Example: It is good to pass a test, but it is wrong to cheat on the test you are trying to pass.

Your test may be a trial, but your decision to cheat is a sin!!!!

And in Vs. 13 he is making a distinction between the trial that is to grow you and the test that is to destroy you.

Now listen to me:::::

Satan seeks to take the trials of God to grow you and to turn them into the temptations of Satan to destroy you.

Here’s the catch …

And it maybe the same event…

You remember that Job was tested by God and Tempted By Satan all at the same thing.

Example: Testing of a car…by Ford and G.M.

If you buy a G.M. They test the car, to let you know that this car is drivable; it will stand the test of Roadwork.

But, If G. M. Test the Ford car, it is testing to show its inferiority, it cannot stand the test, of a G. M. car.

The test their cars to prove their worthiness.

They test other cars to show their weakness.

God test you to show his Glory in you, Satan temps you to show weakness and to bring you to defeat.

So the substance of temptation is the attempt to bring evil in your life.

Now understand this, if you don’t know how to love God in testing, you will be angry with God and that will lead to sin.

Put another way, if you don’t learn VS’s. 2-12 you will inevitably enter into Vs. 13…

That is what Israel did, God tested them and they grumbled, Instead of using it as an opportunity to grow, they turned it into an occasion for sin.

Now lets look at the

Source of Temptation

Vs.13 for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

If you are sinning, don’t blame God for your sin.

And don’t say, “If God didn’t want me to do it he wouldn’t have put it in front of me”.

Food, lust, gossip,

When you are tempted to do things out side of his will don’t blame God.

God does not lead people into sin…

Listen: There is nothing in God that can receive sin, and nothing in God that can send sin.

That’s what Vs. 13 is saying.

So if you sin, blame someone other than God,,,,,And I will show you who to blame in a moment….

YOU and I sin because we chose to.

Not only can you not blame sin on God, You can’t even blame sin on Satan.

Now unlike the famous “”The devil made me do it”””

The devil cannot make you sin. A lot of people don’t know that…….

He is not dragging you into sin…

YOU SIN because you want to……

^^^^^ But let me tell you what the Devil can do,,,,,

He can place things in front of you that he knows you will respond to.

SEE: he can’t make you do it, but he can get you to like it, so that you want to do it….

Sin is born out of our own desire,,,,,, we have the receiver for sin….

AND it is CALLED The Flesh!!!!!!

And even when you get saved you do not eradicate the flesh.