We’ve been working our way through the Book of James. The last two weeks, we have looked at how we can have joy when the trials and temptations of life come our way. Tonight, we are going to look specifically at temptation.
I ask you, “Where does Temptation come from”?
Sometimes the desire and craving for things are almost unbearable. We see something and we know that it’s wrong, that we shouldn’t have it or do it, but the desire and craving become so strong that we can hardly stand it. We crave things like:
• Having your own way. Did you realize that that in itself is temptation?
• Doing your own thing.
• Food
• Immoral sex
• Possessions in general
• Wanting recognition or authority is also a temptation.
• Alcohol
• Cigarettes
• Pornography
• Clothes
• Position or a craving for advancement in a career.
No matter what it is, even if we try to justify it and say that it is acceptable, it is sin if God says that it’s wrong and if it hurts our bodies or spirits. Is anyone here tonight, exempt from temptation? So, I ask again, “Where does temptation come from?” Take any of the things I just mentioned, why do we crave them? What causes the urge for them? Knowing the origin of temptation will help us tremendously in conquering the trials. So, let’s see what James tells us.
READ v. 13. Did you ever notice how people always blame someone else for tempting them and leading them into sin? For instance, when Adam and Eve fell into sin, God found Adam and asked him what had happened. Adam, trying to escape the guilt, did just what all of us are prone to do: he blamed the woman. In fact, Adam kind of made it sound like it was God’s fault. He said, “the woman who YOU put here with me tempted me.” (Genesis 3:12) Then, when God turned to Eve she said the serpent deceived her. The point is this: we seldom want to take responsibility for our own wrong doing.
• Man blames woman and woman blames man.
• Spouse blames spouse
• Child blames parent and parent blames child.
• Student blames teacher and the teacher blames the school.
We even have the tendency to joke about temptation and sin saying things like, “If it hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have done it.” It may be a second helping of food or an attractive woman or man but we seldom take responsibility for having taken it. What we do is justify our behavior and try to quiet our conscience by blaming others, even blaming God. How do we blame God?
• By wondering why God ever let such a thing happen to us. Why did God let me marry such a man? Why did God let me have such an accident?
• By thinking that God created us with desires and passions. So, when we slip here and there, He will understand and forgive us.
• By thinking that God made the world as it is so if we indulge here and there, He will understand. We excuse ourselves with the thought that indulgence is understood by God,
Of course, God did create all things in their raw form, and He created us with desires and cravings. God created food and He gave us a desire for food so that we would eat. God gave man to woman and woman to man to keep the human race going but God didn’t make us to desire and then to desire for more and more. Don’t blame that on God.
God isn’t the one who arouses lustful desires and cravings within us. Note again what verse 13 says. READ. So, first, God can’t be tempted by evil. By His very nature God can have absolutely nothing to do with evil or temptation. To tempt a person is an evil thing to do. It takes an empty, carnal, self-seeking, person to entice and seduce another person to do the forbidden thing. And God is not like that. He’s the opposite of that. His holiness doesn’t allow Him to be tempted to do evil. He can’t be tempted to tempt man to do such an unholy thing.
Second, not only can God not be tempted by evil but God doesn’t tempt any person. When a person is tempted to do something forbidden, it’s not of God.
READ verses 14-16. Ok. Let’s break these verses down. Temptation is of man, of his own lust. And these verses show us that there are three steps involved in temptation and sin. If we are going to consistently conquer temptation, we must understand these three steps.
1. There is lust and enticement. That’s what v. 14 is saying. Every person—and there are no exceptions—is tempted when they are drawn away by their own evil desire and enticed. Those words “evil desire” mean to crave either good or evil. There are good desires and bad desires.
The picture is this: man has good desires, natural and normal desires. So, when he begins to think about or look at something, he very naturally desires it. That desire is normal behavior. The problem arises when the thing is forbidden or is harmful. So, if he looks at and thinks about that forbidden thing long enough, he begins to lust and to be enticed or lured to go after it. This is the very beginning stage of temptation. Man takes his desire and focuses it upon the forbidden or harmful thing. He begins to pay attention to what he should not look at.
2. Then there is the conception of lust and the birth of sin. When a person actually begins to look at and think about the forbidden thing, desire and lust are conceived in his mind. He pictures the pleasure; that is, the sin is born. Picturing—looking at or thinking about the desire—is sin. That’s what Jesus was saying when He said in Matt. 5:28, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
The point is this: temptation begins with the normal and natural desires of man and with his thoughts. Instead of fleeing, the person allows his mind to conceive the thing. The person pictures the pleasure and begins to desire or lust after it. Sin is born; the wrong is committed right there in his mind. His heart is set upon that forbidden thing. That person may never do the act, but he would if he had the chance and courage.
3. Then there is the result of lust and enticement and that is death. That’s what James is telling us in verse 15. Man dies physically, spiritually, and eternally because of sin. When God created man, He didn’t create man to die. Man chose to die, and he dies because of sin.
So, the temptation or the desire can either be nourished or stifled. Persons can allow themselves to take the step into places and with certain company. They can encourage their eyes to linger. But that same person can hand himself over to Christ at that moment and be cleansed of that desire. It is idle hands and minds on which Satan has a field day.
If a person nourishes and encourages desire long enough, there is an inevitable consequence. Desire becomes action. If a person thinks about the desire long enough, chances are they will end up doing it in the end.
READ vv. 17-18. Temptation is not of the nature of God. There are three points made in these two verses about God and temptation.
1. God is good and perfect. He’s not God if He’s not good and perfect. When we say GOD, we mean the Supreme Being of the universe who is the source of all good and perfect gifts. Being good and perfect, God can have noting to do with temptation and sin. So, He’s not the One who tempts man. God is the One who gives man every good and perfect gift that man receives.
2. God is the Father of lights and He is unchangeable. Temptation leads men into darkness, into personal disappointment, into hurting and damaging others. It’s temptation that leads men into such a world of darkness, not God. God is light, perfect light. He is unchangeable. He’s the God of the heavenly lights. God always gives us the things that will stand in the light. Things like joy, things that are good for us and don’t shame us.
In verse 17 it refers to God as “the Father of lights.” He never leaves us in the dark, grasping to know the truth. He always opens up the light of the truth to us.
3. God just wants us to be born again. (v. 18) His will is for us to know the Word of truth. If we ever hear the word of error, it is not of God. All humanistic and false teaching about truth is not of God. It’s of some other source, some source that is out to tempt man away from God and His truth.
So, James is telling us that we can all become one of His new creations, a new person, a new self who is going to be perfected. We can all be like the first fruits of the vine, a new creature that is unlike the physical creature that we are here on earth. We can be made into one of God’s new creations—made into a perfect being who will live forever to worship and serve God in the new heavens and earth.
BUT THESE TEMPTATIONS ARE SO TEMPTING. This passage has shown us the way to overcome temptation and it’s twofold.
1. If a temptation attacks our thoughts, then we must push the wrong thought out of our mind, and immediately focus our thoughts on Christ and some passage of Scripture.
2. If the temptation comes from some attraction to our senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching—then we must turn our head or body away, turn our thoughts away and flee the temptation. Then immediately focus on Jesus Christ and prayer and again review some Scripture passage.
To answer our opening question of “where does temptation come from,” we know it’s not from God. It comes from within each one of us because of the Original Sin that was enticed by Satan. So, when the temptation comes along, look to Jesus. Jesus can back the devil out of the room every time.
1 Corinthians 10:13 New Living Translation (NLT)
13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.
