A. The term “TEMPTATION” brings to mind different connotations for each of us.
ILLUSTRATION:
For some, the word CONJURES up a delicious HOT FUDGE SUNDAE with whipped cream
and nuts dripping off the sides. (SORRY! …I ZONED OUT FOR A MOMENT!)
For others, it’s the man or woman who has become the focus of secret FANTASIES at work.
For the BUSINESSMAN who works under RELENTING pressure, it may be the CORNER
BAR.
For the TRAVELING SALESMAN, temptation may mean the STRIP CLUB down the street from his HOTEL.
For the TEENAGER, the term TEMPTATION may bring to mind a can of BEER or a pack of
CIGARETTES or a member of the OPPOSITE SEX who has been declared OFF-LIMITS by parents.
Maybe TEMPTATION has something to do with certain WEBSITES that you VISIT when on the INTERNET.
1. When you hear the word “TEMPTATION,” what FLASHES into your mind? What PICTURES and
EMOTIONS are CONJURED up in your THINKING?
COMMENT:
We are TEMPTED by different things. Some are able to overcome TEMPTATION more easily than others. There are some TEMPTATIONS that were more INTENSE in years past than they are now. There are things that TEMPT us NOW that were no PROBLEM at all YEARS ago.
2. TEMPTATION is merely the means by which Satan tries to cause us to SIN- James 1:13-15 (READ and COMMENT)
B. TEMPTATION is mankind’s OLDEST PROBLEM. It goes all the way back to Adam and Eve when
they were TEMPTED by Satan in the Garden of Eden.
1. James talks about two different kinds of testing in this chapter. One he calls “TRIALS” (vv. 2, 12),
and the other “TEMPTATION” (vv. 13-14)—from the NIV.
a. Both are the same word in Greek, and the meaning can most often be determined by the context.
b. But sometimes it’s no so clear as in v 12, which may refer to either “trial” or “temptation.”
COMMENT:
The reality is, sometimes a situation can be both a TRIAL and a TEMPTATION. But to distinguish them, REMEMBER THIS: TRIALS are situations designed by GOD in order to help us GROW. TEMPTATIONS are designed by the DEVIL to cause us to SIN.
c. But one thing we know for certain, God does not leave us to face TRIALS and TEMPTATIONS alone. HE WILL PROVIDE ALL THAT WE NEED TO BE VICTORIOUS
2. Paul, in writing to the Corinthian church, warns all believers that “IGNORANCE of Satan’s schemes would allow the devil to take ADVANTAGE of them”- 2 Corinthians 2:11. WE NEED TO BE ON OUR CONSTANT GUARD!!!
C. The question is, “How? How do I WIN over TEMPTATION?” James, being the PRACTICAL TEACHER that he is, gives us FOUR PRINCIPLES.
MESSAGE:
I. BE REALISTIC- “When tempted…”- v. 13
A. You and I will be TEMPTED, no matter how SPIRITUALLY MATURE we think we are.
1. TEMPTATION is not confined only to the SPIRITUALLY WEAK.
a. Are you ever AMAZED to hear about someone whom you consider to be a SPIRITUAL
GIANT struggle with TEMPTATION and SIN?
ILLUSTRATION:
As a boy, I greatly admired our PREACHER—Roy Jackson—who PREACHED for the
Barnes Church of Christ just outside of Oklahoma City. I truly believed he could do no wrong.
Then one Sunday morning after extending the invitation, he called one of the elders to come up. They sat on the front PEW and TALKED for what seemed like an ETERNITY, but was really just a few minutes. Afterwards, the ELDER stood and said that Brother Roy Jackson had
CONFESSED sin and wanted the PRAYERS and FORGIVENESS of the congregation.
At first, I was STUNNED and DISAPPOINTED. I just couldn’t believe that he actually struggled with SIN—not the PREACHER! Now, I look back and deeply APPRECIATE his COURAGE for coming before the CONGREGATION confessing WRONG in his life. I ADMIRE him even more.
2. Somewhere we have gotten the ERRONEOUS idea that our ULTIMATE goal as Christians is to
come to a place in our lives where we are never TEMPTED.
COMMENT:
Ironically the very OPPOSITE is true. The more SPIRITUALLY MATURE we become, the more of a THREAT we are to Satan. Then he WORKS even HARDER to bring us down.
3. Do you think that Satan TEMPTED Jesus only three times in the wilderness and never tried again?
a. Luke 4:13- “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left Him (Jesus) until an
opportune time.”
b. Hebrew 4:15- “. . . Jesus was TEMPTED in every way just as we are, yet without sin.”
COMMENT:
BEFORE, DURING, and AFTER the WILDERNESS experience, Jesus was TEMPTED. You can’t get any more SPIRITUAL than Jesus. Yet, He couldn’t escape TEMPTATION.
B. TEMPTATION will always be a part of a BELIEVER’S LIFE, no matter who you are.
1. It is not a SIN to be TEMPTED, only to GIVE IN to the TEMPTATION.
2. Spiritual MATURITY only causes Satan to INCREASE his ATTEMPTS to bring a BELIEVER
DOWN.
COMMENT:
So, if you feel the PRESSURE is on like never before, PRAISE the Lord! That could be an INDICATION that Satan sees you as a THREAT to his WORK in this world! Just don’t allow him to TAKE YOU DOWN.
II. BE RESPONSIBLE
A. We have a tendency to BLAME other people and things for our MISTAKES, FAULTS and SINS.
1. We blame SOCIETY, blame the GOVERNMENT, blame the ENVIRONMENT, blame GENETICS, blame your PARENTS, blame your SPOUSE, blame the DEVIL…
a. We even BLAME God: v. 13- “When tempted no one should say, ‘God is tempting me…’”
ILLUSTRATION:
Yet, I have heard people assign to God some of the most horrific EVIL actions by saying,
“It must be God’s WILL, or He wouldn’t have let it happen!” That’s BLAMING God.
I heard a preacher say one time at a preacher’s convention, “God wants me to be HAPPY. That’s why I knew it was okay to LEAVE my WIFE and MARRY my SECRETARY.”
b. That is called “BLAMING God”!
2. James goes on to say, “…God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone.”
a. Let’s not BLAME God for the MESS that we get OURSELVES INTO because of our BAD
DECISIONS and ACTIONS
b. Let’s not JUSTIFY our sinful CHOICES by reasoning, “This is what God wanted for me.”
B. GOD DOES NOT TEMPT US!
1. He NEVER contradicts His Word.
a. God is NOT going to tell you one thing and have the Bible to say something different.
b. If you ever think that God is giving you PERMISSION to SIN, you are WRONG!!!
2. From the very first TEMPTATION of man and woman in the Garden of Eden to the TEMPTATION you felt this morning when you didn’t want to get out of BED and get ready for CHURCH, Satan has been BEHIND them all.
a. But if we can say that our TEMPTATIONS come from God, then, somehow, that EXCUSES
us when do GIVE IN.
b. Isn’t that what Adam and Eve tried to do?
ILLUSTRATION:
Adam and Eve broke the one COMMANDMENT that God gave them: “Do not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden”- Genesis 2:17. Then Satan comes along in the form of a SERPENT and tempts them to eat of the FORBIDDEN
FRUIT, and they both GIVE IN and DISOBEYED God.
When God confronts them Adam begins pointing fingers at His CREATOR, “Well, God this woman YOU PUT HERE with me, gave me some FRUIT from the tree and I ate it”- Genesis 3:12. “It’s all your fault, God! You shouldn’t have given me such an evil person
to tempt me like that.”
Eve BLAMED the SERPENT—“The DEVIL made me do it.”
C. You and I are RESPONSIBLE for our ACTIONS and for our WORDS.
1. No BLAMESHIFTING or EXCUSE will be acceptable to God.
2. It didn’t work for ADAM and EVE, and it’s not going to work for YOU and ME.
III. BE READY
A. Knowing that Satan is SCHEMING against us and uses TEMPTATION as a means to cause us to SIN
against God, we are to be PREPARED for it.
1. God wants us to understand how the devil OPERATES.
COMMENT:
So, God inspired James to lay out for us the step-by-step PROCESS of TEMPTATION that Satan uses against us. It’s the very same PROCESS that he used from the BEGINNING of TIME. It worked on Adam and Eve, and Satan has been extremely SUCCESSFUL with it ever since.
2. God just wants us to be READY for whatever TEMPTATION Satan is going to use against us.
COMMENT:
Satan will not WARN us in ADVANCE. He’s going to try to pull-off a SURPRISE ATTACK. We may not know when the devil is going to STRIKE, but we do know the PROCESS he is going to use.
B. So, let’s study the FOUR-STEP PROCESS of TEMPTATION that James outlines in vv. 14-15:
1. It begins with our DESIRES. “Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desires...”- v. 14a.
a. Most DESIRES are okay, and are actually GOD-GIVEN.
COMMENT:
With HUNGER and THIRST comes the DESIRE to EAT and DRINK. When you are TIRED, there is the DESIRE to SLEEP. God has placed within us SEXUAL DESIRES. There’s
the DESIRE for ACCOMPLISHMENT and RECREATION.
These DESIRES are GOOD—they are GIFTS from God for our ENJOYMENT as well as our SURVIVAL, as long as we fulfill these DESIRES within God’s PERIMETERS.
b. But Satan comes along and takes these God-given DESIRES and PERVERTS them.
COMMENT:
We become CONSUMED, OBSESSED by it: FOOD, WORK, HAVING FUN, SEX, MONEY. We no longer fulfill our DESIRES the way God intended and commanded, but in ways that are HARMFUL to us and to OTHERS.
2. Second step: DECEPTION. “…he is dragged away and enticed…”- v. 14b
a. James borrows a couple of terms from the sports world.
-The word for “dragged away” is a hunting term that literally means “snared in a trap”.
-The word “enticed” is a fishing term that means “lured by bait”.
COMMENT:
The SECRET of great fishing is the BAIT. My son-in-law Jon Carson is an avid fisherman. When he goes fishing for a particular kind of fish, he uses whatever BAIT he believes is best to lure the FISH to the HOOK. He never uses a BARE HOOK. How many FISH can you catch with no BAIT on the HOOK?
b. That’s exactly what Satan does. He takes our DESIRES and uses it as BAIT to entice us to sin.
COMMENT:
He used a beautiful woman BATHING to entice King David to commit ADULTERY, and then he used David’s PRIDE to cover up the sin by having Bathsheba’s husband killed.
He used GREED and MONEY to entice Judas to BETRAY Jesus.
He used the DESIRE to PLEASE others to lead Pilate into agreeing to have Jesus CRUCIFIED.
c. Satan knows where we are most vulnerable and so do we, but we often set ourselves up to sin.
ILLUSTRATION:
Brian Hester invited his mother over for DINNER. During the course of the meal, Brian’s mother couldn’t help but keep noticing how BEAUTIFUL Brian's roommate, Angie, was. Mrs. Hester had long been SUSPICIOUS of a RELATIONSHIP between Brian and Angie. Before Angie moved in she WARNED her son about the TEMPTATION of having this GIRL move into
his APARTMENT, even though they had separate BEDROOMS.
Over the course of the evening, while WATCHING the two react, Mrs. Hester started to wonder if there was more between Brian and Angie, than met the eye. Reading his mom’s thoughts, Brian VOLUNTEERED, “I know what you must be thinking Mom, but I assure you
Angie and I are just ROOMMATES."
About a week later, Angie came to Brian saying, “Ever since your Mother came to dinner, I've been unable to find my beautiful silver GRAVY LADLE. You don’t suppose she took it, do you?” Brian said, “Well, I doubt it, but I’ll send her an e-mail just to be sure.”
So, he sat down and wrote:
Dear Mom,
I’m not saying that you “DID” take Angie’s GRAVY LADLE from the house, and I’m not saying that you “DID NOT” take the GRAVY LADLE. But the fact remains that it has been missing ever since you were here for dinner.
Love, Brian
The next day, Brian received a reply:
Dear Son,
I’m not saying that you “DO” share your BED with Angie, and I’m not saying that you “DO NOT” share your BED with Angie. But the fact remains, son, that if she was SLEEPING in her OWN bed, she would have found the GRAVY LADLE by now.
Love, Mom
COMMENT:
TEMPTATION IS MUCH TOO POWERFUL A FORCE TO PLAY AROUND WITH.
3. Third step: DISOBEDIENCE. “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin….”- v. 15a
a. What begins in your MIND results in an ACTION.
COMMENT:
Satan gets our attention by taking our DESIRES and putting out the BAIT in hopes that we will BITE. Our mind starts FANTASIZING over how great it would be to PUT our DESIRES
into ACTION…
…to take the neighbor’s WIFE into your BED, to CLICK on the PORNO SITE while no one is HOME, to grab the MONEY from the CASH DRAWER while no one is LOOKING, to get up in the middle of the night to RAID the REFRIGERATOR, to take the BOTTLE of PAIN PILLS from your grandmother’s MEDICINE CABINET.
b. Matthew 15:19- “For out of the heart (MIND) come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual
immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
COMMENT:
What comes from the MIND (“if not taken captive in obedience to Christ”- 2 Cor. 10:5), will eventually come out in your LIFESTYLE in the form of DISOBEDIENCE.
4. Fourth step: DEATH. “…and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” – v. 15b
a. There is a vast difference between STRUGGLING with sin and LIVING in sin.
COMMENT:
The warning that James presents here is not only for those who are “LURED” by Satan to commit sin (that’s the majority of Christians), but for those who unrepentantly continue in that SIN—“when sin is FULL-GROWN.”
b. Where there is no REPENTANCE there is no FORGIVENESS, and where there is no FORGIVENESS there is DEATH. “The wages of sin is death…”- Romans 6:23a.
c. When “SIN becomes FULL-GROWN”—when we REFUSE to REPENT and STRIVE to OVERCOME our SIN—we will eventually “turn away from God” - Hebrews 3:12-13
(READ and COMMENT).
COMMENT:
We can become so “HARDENED by sin’s DECEITFULNESS” that we will never come back to God. It’s not that we can’t COME BACK, but we simply won’t. That is when our “SIN
gives birth to DEATH.”
CONCLUSION:
A. God has INSPIRED James to write these words to help all Christians to UNDERSTAND that Satan is out
to GET US!
1. That’s why James writes in v. 16- “Don’t be deceived.”
COMMENT:
We will never reach a point in our spiritual lives where we will not be TEMPTED. Nor will we ever reach a point where we will not SIN. But we DO NOT have to allow our SIN to lead to DEATH. It’s just a matter of REPENTING and turning to God to help us OVERCOME our sin.
2. In the midst of your next TEMPTATION, remember that you are not confronting Satan alone. a. Jesus Christ is right there giving you all the STRENGTH that you need to OVERCOME.
b. Hebrews 2:18 (READ and COMMENT)
