TEMPTATION AVENUE
John 1:13-18
I think it is very clear that when we face trials, they are for are own good? Anybody question that? Because if you do, you will not face them the way God wants you to face them and the result is that you will never be the kind of mature Christian He wants you to be. But did you ever stop and think that there may be another kind of trial that is not for our good? As a matter of fact it is for the very purpose of getting you to depart from the will of God. I’m talking about temptations. A temptation is something, or someone who’s very purpose is to try to get you from not trusting and following God’s will for you.
I was facing one as I was working on this message yesterday; I got sleepy and wanted to sleep for a couple of hours. I’ll wait until I finish this message before I sleep.
Let me give you some examples of temptations. You’re a student and you have a report due next week. You haven’t worked on it at all. You are writing a report on 777’s. OK, you’re on the internet, and you find one of the informational websites that gives you all the information you need on a 777. It is excellently written. It might even get you an “A” in that class. Nobody will know, you think. So you download the article, copy it and turn it in for your report.
Or you’re a student and you have a test. You really haven’t studied like you know you should. A friend who is in your class comes up and says, “I have a copy of the test. I’ll let you have it for $100.00.” You need to make an “A” in that class so why not. Or better yet, you decide to sit next to the student where you can see his paper and copy his answers.
This one is just for men. You’re on the internet and you see an advertisement for a pornographic website. You’re home all alone and no one will know.
I know, because I’ve faced every one of these situations I just described. These are not trials designed for your personal growth. Well let me put it this way. You can grow if you respond to them in the right way. But what you are facing is not something intended for your growth. If you give in to the temptation and go against God’s will, then you have yielded to temptation.
Let me say it again. Temptation is anything or anyone that will try to get you to go agains the will of God and sin. It is important that you can distinguish between a trial and a temptation. When you are faced with a temptation (and we all are), there are 2 things we need to remember.
First we need to remember that the temptation is not of God. Verse 13 tells us this.
James 1:13 When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
The problems is that we often think it is of God. For example have you ever heard this one? Often you’ll hear these words from a married man. “God must want us together. He would not have put us in the same office if He didn’t.” Or, “It must be OK, if I steal that iPod Nano from Yamada Denki. No one is looking.
Whenever you feel this way remember this. The temptation you are facing is not of God. Let me say it again. The temptation you are facing is not of God. You know why? Because God is not capable of being tempted. I’ll show you why later. But for right now, remember God cannot be tempted and He Himself does not tempt anyone. Who is the one who does tempt you?
Let me give you little anatomy course and explain exactly what happens when you are tempted.
James 1:14 but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
All of us have evil desires lurking within us. They are not of God. They are a result of living in a world tainted by sin, and having an evil nature that does not want to please God. There is another word for evil desire. Does anyone know what that word is? It’s lust. It’s wanting something you know you can’t have. For example I have to walk by 7-11 on the way to and from church. Often in the windows I see magazines with pictures of very beautiful women on the front. If I spend time looking at it, I find myself wanting it, so I go into 7-11 and buy it. Nobody from church is here, I’ll say after taking a quick look around. So I get the magazine, go home and read it, and it gives me some websites, I go looking at on the internet. Or I’m in Akihabara. I walk past several video stores with pictures and videos of beautiful women. I want to go in and see them. Again, nobody is with me, nobody will know, it’s my holiday anyway.
If this is you, have been tempted and like James says, you have been dragged away and enticed. When you drag something, it is because it is too heavy for you to carry. So you have part of it still on the ground and you pull it behind you.
Or because I like 777’s let me give you a little lesson on airplanes. There are 4 forces acting on an airplane. Gravity pulls the airplane down and lift pulls it up. Thrust from the engines pushes the airplane forward, drag tries to hold it back. For an airplane to fly lift needs to overcome gravity and thrust needs to overcome drag. Otherwise the 777 will not be able to fly. This is what lust or evil desire does. It drags you away from following God.
James describes this as being baited. You know if you go fishing, you will need something to make the fish want to bite. So you cut some bait and put it on the end of the line. The fish sees it and it looks good. So he decides to bite it. What he doesn’t know is below the bait, there is a hook and if bites it he is caught. We often use the expression, “she fell for it hook, line and sinker.” That is she saw the bait, it drew her and dragged away. Because if you have a fish biting on the end of a hook the fish cannot get away. Same with sin. It is a deadly trap.
See temptation is not from God. Because it is not to get you to do good, it is an enticement for you to sin. So remember when you find yourself facing a temptation, it is not from God. And there’s more.
James 1:15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Which of you women have ever given birth to a child? There is a process. The child is conceived in your womb and in 9 months the child is born into the world. People live long lives in Japan, so there is a good chance of the child living into his or her 80’s. But what happens in the end? Death. It is so interesting how James gives the anatomy of yielding to temptation; desire, birth and death. Desire for something other than God’s will gives birth to sin, and sin gives birth to death. Notice there needs to be birth for death to happen. But think of it. You have to be born in order for you to die. If you had never been born you will never die. Remember James often describes things this way. So get used to it. But it is serious. Because he writes that sin, being full grown gives birth to death. If you are here today please remember that the result of sin is death. Remember what God promised Adam after falling into sin?
I’ll include all of God’s curse to Adam, but pay attention to the last part.
Genesis 3:17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ’You must not eat of it,’ "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
Genesis 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
Genesis 3:19 By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
In other words, Adam, you will die. Now if you look at Romans 5, and we won’t turn there because of time, the result of sin is death.
Romans 5:12 ¶ Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
I haven’t sinned, you might tell me. Gomennasai, all have sinned. You might use this verse when you share Jesus with someone.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
That does include you and me. And let’s look at the result of sin in another verse you might use when you share Jesus with someone who does not believe in Him.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sin does have a payoff, death. Now if you are here and you do not believe in Jesus Christ, you will face physical death one day. And more than that, you will face spiritual death, which means you will spend eternity separated from Jesus Christ. Not a good place to be.
Now if you are here and you believe in Jesus, you’re not off the hook either. Because while you might not face spiritual death, sin will destroy your relationship with Jesus where you don’t have close fellowship with Him. Only way to take care of that is to confess it to Him.
For a believer who keeps on sinning and does not confess, God might choose a premature death. I remember the man who led me to believe in Jesus fell away a year later because of immorality. He turned his back on God and wanted nothing to do with Him. About 5 years later he repented and turned back to the Lord. And I remember my pastor telling me that he told this man, “I always knew that God would either bring you to your knees or call you home unless you repented.”
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you will never face spiritual death. But it can result in broken fellowship with God and with other believers and might even result in premature death.
So we need to remember that temptation is not from God; it is from our own evil desires lurking within us and that giving in to them results in sin and ultimately death.
Remember I said that James doesn’t mince words here. He is very direct and to the point. But remember he writes these words with compassion. Because look at the next verse.
James 1:16 ¶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
See, he writes these words with a heart full of compassion. And if you are a woman, this includes you too. James does not want us to be deceived. How can we not be deceived? Very easy, and this is my second point; remember who God is, and what He gives to us. Let’s look at the next 2 verses.
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. Is there something you do not have and you find yourself wanting it, or better yet, you have a lust for it? It’s something or someone you think you want and you need, but you don’t have it. You might be tempted to think God is withholding a good gift from you. But remember He is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
And He does not change. Last week on the retreat a group of us wanted to go outside at night to look at the stars. That’s one of the things I like about being away from the city, it’s easier to see the stars. Or better yet, I can watch them on a 777. Except last Sunday we were not able to see them because it was cloudy. There are more stars in the heavens than you and I can count on our 2 hands. I remember flying back from BKK to NRT in December. It was an overnight flight and it was very clear outside. No clouds in the sky. Also it was a moonless night so we were able to see the stars. I just watched them, because while it looked like I could reach up and grab them with my hand, they were millions of light years away. If you have never crossed the Pacific Ocean before there is a lot of water there. But if you compare that with the vastness of the universe there is no comparison at all. And I thought of the One who made all those stars. Soon the sun began to rise. It reminded me of the One who causes it to rise and set every day. And I remembered that the God who created this universe loved me and sent His Son to die for me. And He was just as concerned with me as He was with those millions of stars in the heavens. And He does not change. This is another facet of God’s character James tells us about. He is the giver of every good and perfect gift and He is unchanging. James uses the illustration of a shifting shadow. If you get up early on a sunny day, go out in the sun and look at your shadow. Then go out again at noon and look at it and see the difference. Wait a few hours until just before the sun sets and look at your shadow again. It changes. It has to do with the position of the sun.
But God does not change like our shadows do. He is the source of every good and perfect gift and He does not change. Do you ever compare God with your earthly father? You will often find your concept of God is based on how you see your earthly father. Most of you know how much I love to fly 777’s. Would it surprise you if I told you I hardly ever flew when I was a child? That’s because we always went by car. My father always took us by car because he knew how much I loved to fly. If you don’t get it, I don’t get it either. And finally when I went to visit some friends I talked him into letting me fly. It was my first time to fly in a jet and this was back in 1965. We didn’t have 777’s then, we had 707’s. And I just found out that American Airlines is ordering the newest Boeing jetliner, the 787. Will I give up my loyalty to 777’s?
I often thought my father would not give me something I really wanted, so maybe God would not give me something I really want. And my father did not always keep his word so I thought God might not keep His word either. I remember once I was a college student and I went home for spring break. I was living in NJ and going to take the train into New York and stay at my aunt’s place overnight, then fly out the next day. It was my first time to fly on a 747. Dad was going to take me to the train station and I asked if I could drive. I got my things, went to the car and he was in the drivers seat. I told him, “You said I could drive.” He said he changed his mind. We got into a big fight over it.
You know, I don’t want to blame everything on my father. Because what are we supposed to do when someone gives us something we really want? We’re supposed to say thank you. I was not the most appreciative son. But if any of you were brought up in a home where your father was like this, it is easy to see God the same way. I know I do.
What James wants to remind us is who God is; that He gives good and perfect gifts and He is unchanging. He is not like your earthly father, He is your Heavenly Father. And He loves you. Because He also gave you and me a gift which is priceless. Look at verse 18.
James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James is not talking about physical birth, he is talking about the new birth. You first heard the gospel which is very plainly stated in God’s word.
1 Corinthians 15:2 By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
1 Corinthians 15:3 ¶ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
1 Corinthians 15:4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
And you remember what Paul said about the gospel?
Romans 1:16 ¶ I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
Romans 1:17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."
So through hearing the gospel, you believed in Jesus and you have eternal life.
James also talks about firstfruits. What exactly is a firstfruit?
In the OT a firstfruit was the first of any crop or offspring of livestock. It was consecrated to God before any of the rest was used. It’s like an offering. When I get paid, the first 10% goes to God.
James wrote this letter to first century Christians who were suffering. As we saw the last few weeks, he reminded them that if they persevere they would be blessed and receive reward from God. Today we are seeing James remind them that temptation is not of God, because He cannot be tempted and does not tempt anyone. He shows them the source of it, in contrast with God who is the giver of every good and perfect gift and does not change.
For many of us our lives are a firstfruit especially to those who do not believe in Jesus Christ. Do you want your life to be firstfruit? Then it means not yielding to temptation. It means taking personal responsibility because temptation is not from God. It is from Satan, who does not want you to grow and be mature and follow God’s will. If you do continually give in to temptation, you will never be the kind of Christian God wants you to be.
This passage doesn’t say specifically but what are some ways we can resist temptation? First, let’s recognize who it is not from and who it is from. Time does not permit me to give a message on this passage, but Romans 6 is an excellent chapter and how not to sin. Let me give you 2 points.
First remember who you are in Jesus Christ.
Romans 6:4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:5 ¶ If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection.
Romans 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--
And because of this, don’t make yourself a slave of sin. Make yourselves a slave of Him.
Romans 6:11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Romans 6:12 ¶ Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
Romans 6:13 Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness.
And remember, if you do find yourself being tempted, God will provide a way out.
1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.
And of course, when we blow it and yield to temptation there is the verse we all know so well. I didn’t say if we blow it and yield to temptation, I said when we blow it and yield to temptation. Because all of us do this including yours truly.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
We have this promise. God will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. A couple of weeks ago the Jews just finished celebrating the High Holy Days. It begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and concludes with Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement. The Jews do this every year. I remember going to services feeling pretty sure God forgave me my sins. But I did not have the same assurance that this verse gives us. This is a promise.
We all face trials and temptations. But God does want to bless us. If we respond to them like we have just seen, we’ll be better on both sides of the grave; we’ll be blessed in our earthly lives, and we’ll have eternity to look forward to being with Jesus. Let’s pray.
