For the next few weeks I would like to talk about temptation. What is it that tempts you? Is it food? We all have a favorite food. We get a whiff of it, and our mouth starts watering. It's so tempting. The urge to take a bite of cake may not necessarily be a bad thing, but we're often tempted to indulge ourselves in other ways. Temptation is that ultimate bait and switch. It promises something good, but it delivers something harmful, and sometimes even deadly.
Fish discover that the hard way. We bait our hook, place it in the water, and watch the fish go crazy, hopefully. We might catch the smaller fish and use them as bait to catch the bigger fish. It's exciting to drop the bait in the water and see if you can lure a bass to bite. It's fun for us, but not for the fish.b And it's definitely not fun for that worm or that shrimp or that minnow that's used as bait.
The sermon title asks, What is the Source of Temptation? Just who is it who lures us into sin? We immediately want to say Satan and blame him. We say, “the devil made me do it,” but the answer is a bit closer to home. Thankfully, the solution is as close as prayer.
Let's take a look at what James wrote and see if we can’t find the answer for the source of temptation. Prayer.
********
James used words that referred to trials, tests, and temptations, but in the original language he was using words that came from the same root word. So, when was he referring to a trial or test and when was he referring to a temptation? If we look at the context around the word, we will find the answer.
In the opening verses of James 1, James was clearly talking about trials. Trials are difficult hardships that lead to suffering. They're called trials because they are hard to face, and yet, if we are to remain faithful, we endure through them. While trials test how genuine our faith is, God uses trials as a means for our endurance. A temptation, on the other hand, leads us to do something wrong and simple.
James 1:13 – “ No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone.”
Let's face it, temptation is around us every day. Whether it be food, or maybe a drink, or possibly a cigarette, or a seductive glance in the wrong direction. Temptation is everywhere. Many times, we say that Satan caused us to be tempted. One thing we know for sure from this verse is that God never tempts anyone. We can never blame temptation on God. And God doesn't place you in a situation so that you will be tempted. So, we can't blame temptation on God.
Trials are hard, and we tend to blame someone for what we're going through. When we can't find someone to blame, we may even blame God. During trials, we may also be tempted to doubt God. We doubt either God's goodness or his sovereignty. But not all trials are the same. Some trials are only an inconvenience. Others can be debilitating, like the loss of a loved one. Those who have experienced such a loss can often feel devastated.
Sometimes as we work through grief, we want to question God. We remember that He's sovereign, all powerful, and all loving, and we may wonder, “God, since you love me, why didn't You spare me this pain? Since You can do all things, why didn't You prevent the death? This is where the book of James helps us.
We have to remember that because God is good, He will never lead us to sin. James gives us two important truths about God to help us as we battle the temptation to sin.
1. First, he says God is not tempted by evil. The Bible tells us that God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in Him. (1 John 1:5). By nature, God is good . In his holiness and goodness, He will have nothing to do with sin and evil. So, evil has no pull on God. Everything God does is good. When He created, everything He made was good. And because God is good and is the Creator and source of all that is good, He cannot be tempted by evil. Are we clear on that?
2. Then James says that God Himself does not tempt anyone. That's good news! It's true that God tests us to strengthen our faith. God tested Abraham to prove the genuineness of his faith when God asked Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. In the process, Abraham's faith was strengthened. Tests strengthen but temptations harm. God’s purpose is to strengthen our faith, not destroy it. He is not a deity who plays with our lives. He's a good God that provides the means we need to endure in faith.
So don't ever think that God is tempting you to sin. He never will. Instead of looking to blame God whenever we face trials, we need to remind ourselves, God is not doing this to tempt me into sin. He is good and wants my good as well. He is not a destroyer of faith but a builder of faith. The psalmist reminds us:
Psalm 145: 17 – “The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all his acts.”
So is God letting us experience trials and difficulties in order to tempt us? The answer is no.
James 1:14 – “But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire.”
So what is the source of temptation? Temptation begins with our own sin nature. We've already seen that the source of temptation and sin is not God. But neither is it the devil. The source is our own sinful desires. This does not mean the devil or other people can't be involved, but the desire to sin is firmly rooted in ourselves. The devil tempts us by working on those evil desires. We're tempted when we are drawn away and enticed by our own evil desires.
Let's think about the analogy of fishing again when it comes to temptation. The fisherman takes bait, throws it in front of some unsuspecting fish laying under a log. When the worm is dangled in front of his face, his desire is awakened, and he decides he would really like to eat it. So, he swims out from the safety of his log and in one giant gulp, swallows the bait. It's at that point that the fish realizes that he's been duped and he's no longer in control. He is being pulled against his will in the direction of the fisherman's boat, the net, the cooler, and ultimately the dinner plate. As I said, temptation has the ability to ultimately lead to death.
James says that each one of us is tempted when we are drawn away and enticed by our own evil desires. It would be great if we didn't have to deal with our own evil desire. But think about where those desires come from. Everything God made was good. Evil came into our world through Satan, and sin came to us through Adam. When Adam sinned, we all sinned with him. As a result, we have inherited Adam's sin, guilt, corruption, and we all die.
It was Jesus that said that all of our sins ultimately come from our own evil hearts. This is why we need new hearts. And yet even as Christians with new hearts, we have to continue to put off our old ways of thinking and renew our minds by putting on new ways of thinking.
Let's face it, when we face trials, we're tempted to act like we did before we were Christians, allowing our evil desires to arise and take control. The image that James gives us of temptation is our evil desires enticing us and dragging us away into sin. Those old, sinful, evil desires are like a fishing lure that dangles in front of us, and when we bite, we are pulled into sin.
James 1:15 – “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.”
In this verse, James shows us the course of sin. Once we bite the lure of our evil desires, we are dragged away. But now that biting of the bait turns into conception. He says that after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. But that's not the end of the process. Sin also conceives and gives birth to death.
So it's like this. When we allow our sinful desires to go unchecked, they entice us and drag us away into sin. We're not just burdened with our sin, we're burdened with sins offspring: death. And we have no one to blame but ourselves. But let's remember James's aim. He wanted to encourage us to endure steadfastly under trial, which is why he wrote earlier:
James 1:12 – “Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
So now James gives us some instruction.
James 1:16 – “Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.”
James cautions us, don't be deceived. This tells us that an important statement was coming. James issued a warning, loud and clear: don't be misled into thinking that God is the author of temptation when He is in truth and only capable of doing good.
In the original Greek text, this was written in the present tense, which suggests that the recipients of this letter had been actively participating in the very activity that James was prohibiting. So, the command might be translated: stop being deceived. Then James follows up his warning with this truth:
James 1:17-18 – “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18 By his own choice, he gave us birth by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.”
What is James doing here? He is encouraging us as believers to develop a whole-hearted trust in God and be careful not to fall into the trap of believing that God would intentionally put anything into our lives to lead us astray. We are to be on constant guard against deception. It can be said that the greatest temptation of the sinner is unbelief, while the greatest temptation of the believer is corrupted belief.
Trials will come. Temptation will come. God has an absolute right to test us. Through that testing our faith will be strengthened. But make no mistake about it: God does not tempt. He will never entice anyone to do evil.
It's our own evil desire that tempts us. For instance, we become distraught over something and eating might be our relief. Eating unhealthy food might be the temptation. Or maybe it's alcohol. We become distraught over something and we are tempted to take that drink. And that drink leads to another, and another, and another. That's how temptation works.
But James assures us that God's love for us is pure and enduring. In these verses, James was returning to the role of God in our trials and temptations. He turns our attention back to God's goodness. James highlighted God's goodness in two positive ways.
1. God provides all that is good. Everything good that we experience and possess is from God. Think about that for a moment. Run through all that is good in your life. There's nothing good that you have received that is not from God. James expresses it like this: “Every good and perfect gift is from above.”
2. God is unchanging. The lights can continually be changing, casting shadows as they turn in their orbits, but the one who created them does not change. He is the Father of lights. God is the sovereign Creator of the lights, and His sovereignty and goodness reflected in creation and is still present and active today. We're reminded of His goodness and love through them.
Psalm 136:7-9- “He made the great lights: His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule by day, His faithful love endures forever. 9 the moon and stars to rule by night. His faithful love endures forever.”
So the source of our temptation is not from the devil. Even though the devil might help in that, the source of our temptation comes from our own sinful desire. How do we overcome this temptation? It has to do with God's goodness. God's nature is absolutely good. Because of this, we can trust Him in our times of temptation and depend on His goodness to help us withstand our struggles.
Do you have that trust in God? Do you have a relationship with God? The only way that we can come to God is through His Son Jesus Christ.
Do you know Him? Have you asked Him to be your Savior? If not why not come to God today through Jesus Christ. We invite you to come and respond.
COME JUST AS YOU ARE
