God Does Not Tempt With Evil Series

A Life Of Works Produced by Faith

Part 5

“God Does Not Test With Evil”

Date: September 22, 2002

Place: Allendale Baptist Church

Text: James 1:13-15

Introduction

This is the 5th message in of series “A life of works produced by faith”, a study of the book of James. I have said this is a very practical book not on the great doctrines of Christianity, but on daily living of the Child of God.

 I have read over my notes and “God does not test with evil”, seems to be a repeative theme of this message so that is what I entitled it.

 The first four messages in our study dealt with the theme of the Christians attitude during the midst of the trail or trying time.

 We have seen this, which is actually the same word, temptation, used in two senses; testing under trials, as we have seen in verse 12, and now solicitation to do evil in verses 13 & 14.

 People often say that God tempted them to do evil when it was not God at all.

 As we will see in just a moment God cannot be tempted by evil, and He never tempts us with evil.

 There was a teaching in James time, which said all temptation came from Satan or the fallen angels, which is not entirely true.

 Some Rabbis taught that since God was the creator of all things, He must have created evil.

 Strangely to say, there was a teaching in those times, which I believe is still an idea today, that to fully understand sin, one must completely indulge oneself in sin.

James deals with a subject, very practical, that every child of God needs to understand. Because all of us, saved or unsaved, blame God for things in our lives that He is not responsible for.

It is from this kind of thinking that James addresses the subject, rebuking the idea that God is the source of enticement to evil.

In our text today first let’s look at …

I. A Distinct Reality

A. “Let no one say when he is tempted”

B. Certainly every one of us can bear witness that temptation and enticement to evil is ongoing, it is daily.

C. The reality is we are all tempted.

1. Sometimes during the midst of the storms, we are tempted to turn away from God. That’s sin

2. Sometimes our lack of faith in God causes us to doubt and trust Him. My friend that is sin.

3. Every one of us faces the temptation of anger, dishonesty, resentment, bitterness, immorality and impurity.

D. Even our Lord Jesus was tempted, Hebrews 4:15 tells us; “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”

Temptation will come upon each of but we should not have …

II. A Distorted Reasoning

A. “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 ”. Verse 13

B. Listen to me real good: God by His holy nature has no capacity for evil or vulnerability to it.

1. Speaking of God, Habakkak 1:13 says; “You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.”

C. Let me stop and ask this question; Why is it wrong to sin?

1. How many of you say its because its wrong

2. How many of you say because the Bible says its wrong to sin

The correct answer is because it is against the very nature of God.

God is holy. He cannot sin nor will He ever tempt you to sin.

And everyone said Amen…

Now let’s see …

III. A Direct Responsibility

A. Verse 14 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

B. Notice where James says these temptation come from; our own desires.

1. The King James Version says “by our own lusts”.

2. The actual Greek word for lusts means a driving passion.

a. It can mean passion for something good, but here it implies a passion for evil; an uncontrollable rage or desire to get something that we believe will satisfy us

b. We will look closer at this in a moment, but although satisfying at times, sin is devastating; it is dangerous and also deadly.

C. But James tells here “Sin is your own fault.”

1. Notice James did not blame Satan.

2. Since the beginning of time we have been trying to blame everyone else but ourselves for the cause of sin.

3. Jimmy Draper says, “Too often we allow our minds to dwell upon things that we know are not right. We allow our minds to dwell upon things of pleasure, immorality, and dishonesty, until having dwelt upon these things, our lusts bursts into action and then consumes. We need to realize that lust, our own passions, is nurtured by the things our eye see, by the things our minds think, by the places our feet take us, by the things our hands do, by the fellowships that we foster in our relationships.”