The Devil SUGGESTED It;
He Didn¡¦t (and Can¡¦t) MAKE You Do It!
(Christian Survivor Series; Living Godly in a Godless World)
James 1.12-18 January 21, 2001
I¡¦m not thrilled with Fox TV Network. They promised to clean up their act after the prime time fiasco, Who Wants To Marry a Millionaire? They didn¡¦t! That tasteless denigration of marriage has now been followed by Temptation Island. Contestants try to seduce each other in front of a national TV audience. In a recent commentary, Chuck Colson said that
Temptation Island bears a superficial resemblance to other so-called ¡¥reality television¡¦ programs, like the Survivor series¡K. But what distinguishes Temptation Island from shows like Survivor is its premise. Not content to merely outlast each other, these contestants will actually try to seduce each other¡K. Temptation Island trivializes courtship¡KIt makes light of one of the most important promises we can make. The promise to be faithful and honor our commitments is turned into fodder for soap-opera dramatics: ¡¥Will she or won¡¦t she be true?¡¦
It is difficult enough for any of us to deal with our own temptations. Now Fox has made it possible for us to watch the real-life temptations of others like so many voyeurs, peeping in a bedroom window. They have taken the preamble to marriage (courtship) and turned it into a lurid contest, which will be fit discussion for Oprah or Jerry Springer. Heaven help us if our young people start taking their dating tips from Fox!
As I studied this text, and concluded that the Bible long-ago addressed Temptation Island, I also thought about our family of believers that meets in this place. I want to say this without the slightest hint of patronizing, or braggadocio; as a group we are honest and knowledgeable; you exhibit a healthy spiritual appetite, and are a bunch of sinners¡Kjust like me. We all need help with our temptations.
James gives us help with understanding why we do what we do, even when we don¡¦t want to do it ¡V and the spiritual strength resources we have to help overcome in our times of temptation.
Consider four aspects of the believer¡¦s struggle with temptation:
1. The Believer¡¦s Warfare
The Christian life itself is warfare. The ¡§battle songs¡¨ in our hymnal echo the Biblical posture that we are at odds with a world system that is hostile to Christ. People that were thrilled with Jesus would not have crucified him! When it comes to temptation the word ¡§warfare¡¨ is almost too mild. Let¡¦s dig a little deeper.
THE DEFLECTION OF SIN
13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: James 1.13 KJVƒt
Blaming our sinfulness on God is as old as the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). Adam and Eve fell, and when confronted by God, Adam said, It was Eve, that woman YOU gave me, Lord! Adam was deflecting the responsibility for his sin onto God¡¦s shoulders. Now, that¡¦s ultimately the way we get saved ¡V God¡¦s son, Jesus died on the cross so He could take away the sin that condemns each of us. But we have to confess it first! God never forgave an excuse, and that¡¦s what Adam was offering. Confession and accepting responsibility for our sin is a hard thing for people in the 21st century to accept.
John MacArthur, in his book The Vanishing Conscience, addresses this blame switching, and refers to it as the "victimization of America." No one is responsible for what he does anymore. "What, you killed three people? You¡¦re not responsible because you were abused as a child." "What, you murdered your husband? You¡¦re not responsible, you were under the influence of PMS." "What, you burned down your own house? You¡¦re not responsible, you are simply mimicking what you have seen on TV." "What, you shot your mom and dad? You¡¦re not responsible, you have MPD." The blame is always shifted. In fact, MacArthur states that, "Victimism has gained so much influence that as far as society is concerned, there is practically no such thing as sin anymore. Anyone can escape the responsibility for his or her wrongdoings simply by claiming the status of a victim."
Deflection for responsibility ¡V that is seen in every walk of life. To include the imagery from Harry Truman, there doesn¡¦t seem to be a place anymore where the buck stops being passed.
THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN TEMPTATION AND SIN 14But every man is tempted¡K James 1.14a KJV ƒt
It is important to say that being tempted is not sin. Temptation is the seed of sin, and Satan plants it. We cannot control the thoughts that enter our minds. However, as Martin Luther pointed out, though we cannot prevent the birds from circling over us, we can stop them from nesting in our hair! Satan may plant the seed as a temptation. We don¡¦t have to grow it to a bumper crop!
THE DIRECTION TEMPTATION TAKES TO BECOME SIN There are dozens of examples in the Bible of this pathway ¡V however, David¡¦s sin with Bathsheba is striking. Allow me to use that as our roadmap to compare it with what James is teaching us about the way sin defeats believers.
a. Desire14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. James 1.14 KJV ƒt
David (2 Samuel 11) saw Bathsheba, a very beautiful, but married woman. God created desire in us. It is necessary that we be interested in the opposite sex if our species is to continue. However, just like fire, which is a good thing ¡V if you handle it in a way God didn¡¦t intend, you will suffer the consequences. This was the crisis point for David, and that hasn¡¦t changed. What you do with the temptation defines whether it will become a sin.
Desire is stimulated by the senses, and generally begins with the eyes. A little boy was watching his Mom bake some fresh cookies. She placed them on the counter to cool. The little boy made the comment to his mother about how good the cookies smelled. The mother told him he was not to eat any of the cookies. A few minutes passed and the mother walked back into the kitchen and caught the little boy eating one of the cookies. She asked for an explanation to which the little boy replied. "I climbed up on the counter to smell the cookies and my teeth got caught on one." Desire happens, but we don¡¦t have to stand there and drool all over it. Someone once said that lust is what develops with the second look.
b. Decision 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: James 1.15a KJV ƒt
Once the decision is made in the heart to abandon what is known to be right (that which is approved by God), the line is crossed between Satan¡¦s work, and our receiving sin into our lives. David saw Bathsheba, and it was only a temptation. The minute he began inquiring about her, wanting her, (knowing she was married, and therefore outside of God¡¦s approval), the desire was intensified to lust.
There is a play on words here in verse 13 ¡V ¡§lust¡¨ is like the cravings of a pregnant woman. They are exceedingly strong, as any husband and father who has ever made a 1am trip to Winn Dixie can tell you! A woman great with child can exert great control over a man of average intelligence and reasoning.
It is that way with our God-given desires. If Satan places a temptation before you ¡V something outside of God¡¦s approval ¡V and if you stay, lingering, wondering, the lure has a hook attached, and you are very close to being reeled-in! The hand¡¦s disobedience is only a thought removed from the heart¡¦s disobeying!
c. Disobedience 15Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: James 1.15a KJV ƒt
The ¡§conception¡¨ of verse 15 is a military word. It means take prisoner. The long look created lust, the lust carries you away and you are prisoner. Satan¡¦s work is successful. He handed off the temptation ¡V and you accepted it, and are now running down the field.
Carrie and Shannon have a couple of dogs. Actually ¡§Annie¡¨ is a bulldog/lab mix. She is only about 65 pounds, but when the bulldog mentality in her takes over, she has the strength of Samson! ¡§Magnum¡¨ is a young Rotweiler who outweighs Annie by a ton and a half. Last month when we stayed at their apartment to dog-sit, I was told to walk the dogs. Just like an unsuspecting child, I accepted the leash from that temptress I¡¦ve lived with for almost 34 years. Bulldog and bad-dog in tow, I accepted my temptation¡K.er, assignment.
Once outside, I never saw the lady coming ¡V the one with the two Huskies; the ones Annie really doesn¡¦t like! When she took off after them I was dragged off like a sack of dirty laundry. Magnum decided to join Annie¡¦s attitude. I couldn¡¦t have held them back with a brigade of Storm Troopers.
Now, the analogy is clear. I accepted the leash ¡V it was offered to me. But once I had the leash it was mine! Or so I thought! Sin is always like that. You start off thinking,
Man this is great, I will¡K
Then, the hook sets, and you get dragged along. You get reeled in¡Kand scaled and cooked! Desire, Decision, Disobedience, and¡K
d. Death! and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1.15b KJV ƒt
It¡¦s the payoff! David¡¦s payoff for his sexual affair was the blowing-apart of his family. His kids lost respect for him. The kingdom God entrusted to David¡¦s leadership became divided and a civil war erupted. It was chaos. The leash led him to the place he never intended to go!
This week a high-profile leader hit us in the face with yet another moral failure. Rev. Jesse Jackson¡¦s admission to an extra-marital affair, fathering a child ¡V in the midst of counseling President Clinton concerning his sexual sins ¡V are an acute and timely reminder that no one is immune! It is war! And we have not a leg to stand on¡KThe Devil may SUGGEST sin, but he cannot MAKE us sin. That is our choice.
The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust. Lust gets pregnant, and has a baby: sin! Sin grows up to adulthood, and becomes a real killer. James 1.14-15
2. The Believer¡¦s Weaknesses
16Do not err, my beloved brethren. James 1.16 KJV ƒt
To ¡§err¡¨ is to make a mistake. We do that with sin. We trivialize it to the point of saying, and believing, it¡¦s no big thing, I can handle it. We can¡¦t!
There are several ways that our weakness shows-up when it comes to temptation. We ¡§err¡¨ with:
a. Underestimated Strength
„« We underestimate our strength to resist temptation¡K
Some drug dealers went to the captain of an oil tanker that regularly made trips from South America to Los Angeles. They offered him $10,000 if he would bring in a load of cocaine. He refused. They came back again and upped the ante to $50,000 for just one load. He again refused.
Finally they came and offered $150,000. This time he said he would think about it, but he called the FBI. The sting caught the bad guys. One of the federal agents asked the captain why he waited until they offered $150 grand before he called them. His answer: They were getting pretty close to my price, and I was scared!
It is always that way with our strength. You have a price! That¡¦s why the Lord Jesus had to die. Everyone¡¦s got a price. Don¡¦t underestimate your strength ¡V it is just strong enough to fail when the right price is reached.
„« We also underestimate Satan¡¦s strength to convince¡K
„« We underestimate the strength of the lure itself¡K
A man was in the Indianapolis airport checking on tickets to Chicago. He was not aware of the time difference. The ticket agent said, This flight leaves at 1pm and arrives at 1:01pm. Do you want to make a reservation? The man replied, No¡Kbut I think I¡¦ll just hang around and watch that thing take off!
Hanging around is a good way to describe what gives the lure time to make a pretty good connection with your appetite! Sin may be fascinating ¡V but don¡¦t underestimate what it can do to you ¡V remember the end is death! Underestimated strength, and¡K
b. Unguarded Moments
Nobody is on guard like ¡§Annie the bulldog¡¨. Especially when the vacuum cleaner is on the prowl. Paul warned Timothy about ¡§youthful lusts¡¨. He said to flee such things. Annie must have read Paul¡¦s writings. When that machine is about, Annie is 65 pounds of I wanna be anywhere that machine ain¡¦t!
Unguarded moments describes what happened to King David on the rooftop. He should have been about king-stuff. He was unguarded, and he underestimated the lure of sin. There are also¡K
c. Unsuspected Blindspots
We all have ¡¥em¡Kwe never see it coming. Sometimes it is
„« people we thought we could trust, or count on;
„« places we thought weren¡¦t so bad
„« things we thought wouldn¡¦t take over our life.
In slaughterhouses they know sheep will follow. The sheep mill around nervously. Then, a trained goat is introduced. He walks up the gangway towards the slaughter room. He stops mid-way, turns and looks to the sheep. They begin to follow. He continues. At the last second the goat turns left into an open gate, where he will be fed for his work, and live to ¡§work¡¨ another day.
The sheep, however, must go right ¡V and they walk right to the butchers. They call the leader a ¡§Judas goat¡¨. How appropriate!
Our weaknesses in the warfare¡KUnderestimated strength, unguarded moments and unsuspected blindsides. That¡¦s where temptation turns to sin. It¡¦s where we ¡§err¡¨.
Sin sounds so invincible. Is there anything we can do? Oh yes, we have¡K
3. The Believer¡¦s Weapons
17Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. James 1.17-18 KJV ƒt
There are at least four great weapons at our disposal with which we can fight temptation¡K
a. Truth
6Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Philippians 1.6 KJV ƒt
This is the truth of the Father¡¦s purpose in you. You know how Satan works. He hasn¡¦t changed methodology in 6,000 years! So, apply the truth to temptation¡K
13There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10.13 KJV ƒt
Satan can plant a temptation in your heart, but he cannot MAKE you sin. That¡¦s the truth! Keep that truth ever before you!
b. Word
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light for my path. 11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119.105, 11 New Living Translation ƒt
8I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your law is written on my heart. Psalm 40.8 New Living Translation ƒt
The fact is true that Satan can plant a temptation. But it is also true, that while he can plant, we also have the Word of God resident¡Kand we can apply the Word of God like a holy Weed-Be-Gone killer. Sin happens when we nurse the temptation in our hearts. The Word of God in your heart is a weapon against the weeds Satan plants.
In the account of Jesus¡¦ tempting, note that neither Jesus nor Satan ever raised any question as to the authority of the Word of God. All three phases of the temptation in the wilderness were Satan¡¦s attempts to place a seed of doubt. He (Satan) always began with ¡§IF¡¨. All temptation begins with a subtle doubt that what God said and promises is not true. Jesus used the Word of God to rebuke Satan, and crush the doubt before it had a chance to take hold!
The Word of God is your weapon! Keep yourself in the Word of God! Hide it in your heart. Truth, the Word, and another weapon¡K
c. Prayer
10 Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your gracious Spirit lead me forward on a firm footing.
Psalm 143.10 New Living Translation ƒt
We need a firm footing! Prayer is the ground floor of firm footing. Prayer is the essence of a current relationship with God. Are you up to date with Him? Scripture tells us that every time Jesus prepared to launch another phase of his earthly ministry, he spent concentrated time with God the Father in prayer. However, you will also note that it was Jesus¡¦ custom to always be in prayer.
A recent survey of believers indicates that most Christians find that temptations were more damaging when they had ¡Kneglected their time with God (81%) and when they were physically tired (57%). Truth, Word, Prayer, and one more¡K
d. Brothers
Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. James 5.16 TMNT ƒt
I could not stand without my brothers who help me, and hold me accountable. There is something about belonging to a church family ¡V where you know your failure will hurt others. It is like disappointing your Grandmother.
The great Redwood trees grow into the clouds. They are magnificent. However, you will never see one of them alone. They have no deep root, and so are dependent on the trees next to them to give them the strength to stand. God created us like that. Your weapon against temptation is your relationship to the others in this room.
A 7-year old girl was drawing a picture of her church. There was the building, steeple and cross. She drew the front door, wide open, with the preacher standing there, welcoming the folks in. They walked in line, all stooped over, like they were carrying a heavy weight. On the other side, the door was open, and the folks were filing out, bigger, standing straight, with smiles. That¡¦s the support!
If you are one who has no church family, but are a believer ¡V don¡¦t wait ¡V find yourself a church home now¡Kat the end of this service, come and join us. We support each other by the roots!
„« It¡¦s a war ¡V everyone needs support.
„« We have weaknesses ¡V everyone needs weapons
But, don¡¦t forget that in this war, if we faint not ¡V we will receive¡K
4. The Believer¡¦s Wages
12Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life,
which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. James 1.12 KJV ƒt
Everything pays its wages. Paul told us (Romans 6.23) that the wages of sin is death. But there is a second half to that verse ¡V the gift of God is eternal life.
But now that you¡¦ve found you don¡¦t have to listen to sin tell you hat to do, and have discovered the delight of listening to God telling you, what a surprise! A whole, healed, put-together life right now, with more and more of life on the way! Work hard for sin your whole life and your pension is death. But God¡¦s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master. Romans 6.22-23 TMNT ƒt
The payday now for those who fight and win over temptation are really simple, and simply wonderful. You get to be respected by others (including your Grandmother). And you get your own respect.
There¡¦s a lot of talk these days about poor self-image, and low self-esteem. I got a prescription here! Endure temptation and trials ¡V that crown of life is the respect of Jesus!
„« Be a man who loves his wife and children.
„« Be a decent, clean young person who saves his or her greatest expression of intimacy for that one lifetime partner.
„« Be a godly neighbor who dismisses the idea of coveting anything that belongs to his neighbor.
That¡¦s how to create great self-image, proper self-esteem.
And in the end, there will be another payday. It will be the moment you¡¦re ushered into the kingdom, welcomed by the Master himself¡KWell done, thou good and faithful servant!
I¡¦ll settle for that wage, any day!
