Intro: Yungas Road of Bolivia is the world’s most dangerous side road; built by prisoners in 1930s; 200-300 annual deaths since it opened in 1935. It is only 10 feet wide but over 60 kms. long. It passes thru heights of 4,000-15,000 feet from La Paz.
I. THE BEGINNING OF TEMPTATION (Jas. 1:13-14)
A. Temptation Defined: To tempt someone is “to try or test him.” To tempt someone is not always evil, but in our passage it is evil for it is dealing with enticement to sin (cf. Gen. 22:1-2).
B. The Lord is Not Responsible (Jas. 1:13). The Lord is never capable of being tempted with evil, let alone sin.
C. Our Own Lust is Responsible (Jas. 1:14). No one is tempted to do something that they are not interested doing. Temptation to sin is only possible if you want to do the thing.
II. THE PROGRESSING OF TEMPTATION (Jas. 1:14-15)
A. The Drawing Away of Lust (Jas. 1:14)
B. Temptation starts as a distraction from what is right.
C. It is a tug at the heart to pull you from the road you are on (Deut. 30:17-18). It is an INVITATION to do wrong and sin.
D. It is Lust’s drawing vs. the Lord’s drawing (Jer. 31:3).
E. Then there is no more appearance of evil (I Thes. 5:22)
F. The Way of Escape (I Cor. 10:13). The temptation will not be above what you are able to bear. The Lord will provide a way of escape so you do not have to sin.
G. The Enticement (Jas. 1:14). “Entice” is a term in Fishing which means “to lure.” No longer is it just a distraction from what is right, but now a DESIRE to go in the wrong direction.
H. The Product of Lust (Jas. 1:15a) = LUST.
I. The Product of Sin (Jas. 1:15b) = DEATH.
III. THE WARNING ON TEMPTATION (Jas. 1:16)
IV. THE OVERCOMING OF TEMPTATION (Jas 1:2-4)
A. The Joy of Finding Temptation (Jas. 1:2)
B. The Fruit of Victory (Jas. 1:3-4)
CONCLUSION: Have you been drawn away from God’s will for your life, by the appeal of the side-roads? Have you been led down the path of sin or disobedience to the perfect will of God? It will surely end in serious loss, mischief, maybe physical death, but worse in the second death (Rev. 20:14-15).
