"The Devil Didn’t Make You Do It"
James 1:13-18
A mother told her son not to go swimming. However, when he came into the house his mother noticed that his hair and bathing suit were wet. "Johnnie," his mother scolded, "I told you not to go swimming." "I couldn’t help it mom," he defended himself. "The water looked so good." "But why did you take your bathing suit with you?"
"In case I was tempted."
A 4 year old was caught by her mom standing in a chair eating cookies, after she had been told not to, here is how she explained the situation, "Mom it’s not my fault, I just climbed up to smell them, and my tooth got caught."
Mark Antony was know as the "silver-throated orator of Rome." He was a brilliant statesman
magnificent in battle, courageous, and strong. And he was handsome. As far as personal qualities are concerned, he could have become a world ruler. But he had a very vulnerable and fatal flaw of moral weakness, so much so that on one occasion his personal tutor shouted to his face, "Oh, Marcus, oh colossal child! Able to conquer the world, but unable to resist temptation."
Last week we talked about overcoming hardships (about standing up and standing firm under the pressure of and onslaught from life’s circumstances - we talked about turning all trials into triumphs).
This week we are also going to talk about overcoming struggles, but not the struggles from without - rather the struggles from within -- today we want to talk about winning over temptation.
Here is a definition of temptation; "the act of enticement to do wrong by the promise of pleasure or gain..." Now isn’t that just like the devil, getting us to do wrong by promising us something good.
Now as we talk about this today don’t limit (as we are prone to do)don’t limit temptation to just sensual sins, because temptation, just like trials, comes in a variety of packages; we are also tempted to: lie, cheat, gossip, over eat, to hold grudge, to steal, to not give the Lord the first fruits of our treasure, time & talents.
Our goal is this study is to come up with some practical ways that will help us overcome temptation. But before we deal with how to handle it, it will be helpful for us to discuss what temptation is.
Understand we are in a war, a very real battle not against flesh & blood, but against spiritual forces of this dark world, and like any good general, it is both necessary and beneficial to understand our enemy and his tactics, therefore we must understand temptation if we are ever to defeat satan and be victorious for God.
In our text James reveals to us 4 facts about temptation;
FOUR FACTS ABOUT TEMPTATION
1) Temptation Is Inevitable
It’s going to happen, notice what James says as he begins verse 13; "When tempted no one should say..." James didn’t say if, he said when....
Now it would be wonderful if we could live life without facing temptations. But the simple fact is we can not. Just as hardships are an unfortunate reality of life, so is temptation. AND if you think you’ve found some place, some unique Christian victory secret, some perfect location, some uninhabited island, some ideal church, some area where there is no chance for temptation, may advise to you is -- "don’t go there." Because when you do, you’re going to spoil it!
You see, when you go you will take with you your mind and your thoughts - which are the vehicles of temptation. We will never be in a place on earth where there is no temptation.
As long as we live in this flesh and on this world we will face temptation.
The monk who lives in a monastery in the Swiss alps, the businessman in Atlanta, the house wife in Poduck Mass, the student in Gwinnette Co., the professor in bible college, the preacher in the pulpit -- all face temptations...
Question What did we talk about last week? Trials, hardships..etc,
Understand that it is not an accident that James right after talking about trials talks about temptation.
Writer & speaker Joni Erickson Tada was paralyzed from the neck down in a diving accident. In her book Secret Strength, Joni wrote about facing temptation.
"I was in my late 20’s, single, and with every prospect of remaining so. Sometimes lust or a bit of fantasizing would seem so inviting and so easy to justify. After all, hadn’t I already given up more than most Christians just by being disabled? Didn’t my wheelchair entitle me to a little slack now and then?"
Joni went on the ask her readers;
"When God allows you to suffer, do you have tendency to use your trials as an excuse for sinning? Or do you feel that since you’ve given God a little extra lately by taking abuse, that He owes you a "day off?"
Hard times can often lead to temptation... In our suffering the evil one is quick to come to our aid and offer one of his solutions; pursuing pleasure to numb the pain, coping an attitude, becoming bitter, getting even, feeding anger...
A powerful illustration of trials leading to temptation can be seen by observing the time when God’s people were wondering in the wilderness, many times the difficult times faced by the Israelites led to temptation..
The first fact about temptation is, it is inevitable, you can’t get away from it..
2) Temptation Is Never Directed By God"
"When tempted no one should say, `God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone..."
How are you at accepting responsibility for your actions? When you do something wrong do you admit it, or do you blame someone else?
You get a bad grade in school -- it was the teachers fault....
You get angry and lose control -- it was their fault.... (they made me do it)
There is an epidemic in our society of people failing to take responsibility for their actions, and inactions.
Right now there is a trial going on against talk show host Jennie Jones... about a man who killed a gay man who had a crush on him... Though I don’t like those kind of shows -- this man made the choice to kill...
Everyone blames everyone -- it really wasn’t my fault - but would anyone really blame God?. They were hiding, as soon as they heard the sound of God walking in the garden, they took off and hid.
"But the Lord called to the man, `where are you?’ He answered, `I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.’ And God said, `Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man said, `The woman YOU put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.’ (Adam is here blaming God).
God permits temptation to be sure, but he never directs it. God does not direct us into sin. Remember the words of 1 John 1:5, "God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all." What that means is that God can not fellowship with sin. He cannot tolerate it, nor does he direct us into it. We sin by our own choice.
When the angels surrounded the throne of God in Isaiah 6:3, they cried, "Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty...." Holy means "totally separated from sin."
An James in the last 3 verse of our text tells us that we should not be deceived about temptation - God is not the source -in fact God is the source of all the good things in our life.
JAMES 1:16-18
3) Temptation Is An Individual Matter
"but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed..."
Back in the garden, after God questioned Adam, He turned to Eve and asked her,
"What is this you have done?" The women said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate." Who is Eve trying to blame? "The devil made me do it..."
Circle "each one" "own."
Question Where does temptation come from?
We might expect James to say from the devil... but he doesn’t James says that the source of temptation is our own evil desire. James places the responsibility for temptation squarely on the individual.
When you & I choose to yield to temptation (and we’ll talk about the process in just a minute), it’s an individual matter. You cannot blame anyone else....
Nothing outside of ourselves is strong enough - to cause us to sin -- not even satan.
4) Temptation That Leads To Sin Always Follows The
Same Pattern
Verse 14 begins the process, and verse 15 carries it out. Pay close attention:
Step 1: The Bait is dropped
Step 2: The inner desire is attracted to the bait.
Step 3; Sin occurs when we yield - when we bite the bait.
Step 4: Sin ends up in tragic consequences - we end up cooked and fried.
"...but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full-grown, gives birth to death...."
James 1:14,15
The word "dragged away" carries with it the idea of the baiting of a trap, and the word "enticed" in the original Greek meant "to bait a hook."
When you fish you have to provide a bait that interests and entices the fish.
Breem - worms/ Crappy & Bass - minnows
Trout - corn/Catfish - shrimp
Here is this fish, safe casual doing what ever fish do, then the bait is dropped. And the fish thinks "wow, that sure looks great...I’d like to have me some of that" Now at this point the fish has a decision to make, he can stay in his safe hiding place or he can go after the bait. And, if he chooses the later we all know where he ends up....
That’s exactly the way temptation works with us - the bait is dropped and it is something that looks good to us, appeals to us, interests us,. And we have a choice to make as we look at the bait dangling on the hook.... To bite or not to bite....
Now notice when sins occurs - it occurs at step 3, we can cut off before then and we are okay... For you see, to be tempted is not a sin..... (Heb 4:15)
In the Old Testament we find 2 men (2 fish) who both had bait dropped right in front of their eyes; a bait that looked good to them, interested them, appealed to them.......one saw the danger and swam away, the other bit the bait and ended up in the frying pan.
2 Samuel 10:1-4
In Genesis 39:1-12
1-8; the bait is dropped. Here is a single man, alone in Potiphars house. And sh wants him Nothing subtle about Mrs Potiphar! But Joepseh refused
9-12
I like that! He took off. He ran like mad. She got the garment and he (eventually) got his reward. By the way there is a name for folks who linger and try to reason with temptation - VICTIM.
It can be done. Sometimes it seems like we have made resisting temptation some mystical, unreachable, unattainable talent reserved for the very old or the very pious, baloney! Saying no is something all of us who belong to Christ can do. There’s nothing magical about it. You simply put Christ at the helm of your life and say NO!
PRACTICAL WAYS TO HANDLE TEMPTATION
1) Counteract Temptation, Don’t Tolerate It
"Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life, and offer your the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness..." Rm 6:13
I see this as an active thing. God does not only give us a negative command, "Do not offer the parts of your body to sin as instrument of wickedness..." but he also gives us a positive command, "present yourselves to God...offer the parts of your body to him!" Don’t just try to peacefully co-exist with temptation come out against it...
Let’s face it we all tend to play around with things that make us weak....
On the TV show "Hee Haw" (yeah I know it was before your time)... But in one clip Doctor Campbell is confronted by a patient who says that he broke his arm in 2 places... And Doctor Campbell had some simple but wise advise, "well then stay out of those 2 places..."
>>There are places we need to stay out of too...
An overweight businessman decided that it was time to lose weight. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however he arrived at work carrying a big gigantic coffee cake.
"This is a very special coffee cake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of warm goodies. I felt this was no accident so I prayed, `Lord if you want me to have on of those delicious coffee cakes, let me find a parking place directly in front of the bakery.’
"And sure enough," he continued, "the 8th time around the block, there it was!"
Again we tend to play around with temptation; hanging out near it’s edge, bringing our swimming suit, driving around the block 8 times.
Let me be more specific; if certain movies make you weak and bring withing you certain desires that you can’t handle, you’re not counteracting temptation, you’re tolerating it! Fertilizing it! Promoting it!
(Internet - pornography) a big problem today for many Christian men..
If you are weakened by relationships that you have with certain people - you need to avoid them. Young people & single people; if you place yourself in a vulnerable situation with someone of the opposite sex, alone in a house or somewhere, maybe with a few drinks, .etc and you think it is okay, no big deal you may be kidding yourself..
If you have a problem with gambling don’t hang out at a casino,
If you have a problem with drinking don’t go to certain parties
Temptation to sin is nothing to play around with - there are places, and situations you need to stay out of.
David didn’t counteract temptation he tolerated it - he knew exactly what he was going to see when he went up to that roof top (he even took his bathing suit with him in case he was tempted)- David played around with the things that made him weak.
Listen to the words of Dag Hammarskjold , Secretary General to the United Nations in the mid to late 1950’s;
You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal, play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth, play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn’t reserve plot for weeds.
You’re a fool if you know what weakens you but you feed on it anyway. By constantly bringing temptations before your eyes, by driving around the block and letting them sit in your mind, you are playing right into the hands of the devil.
Remember what Paul said in Romans 6:13; "present yourself to God..." Let’s not present our bodies to sin, leaving the door open, allowing sin it’s opportunity.
Years ago a Christian group sang a song that had these words in it;
When we walk everyday in the fullness of his love
When we constantly pray for the fullness of his love
There will be no time left, to stray in our minds
And there will be no time at all for the devil to play
No time at all to lead us away
When we’re constantly walking where we should be,
There’s only time, only room in our minds for the Lord.
2) Use The Right Resistance
Just as all sickness is not cured by the same medication, not all temptation is handled by the same resistance. We must fit the resistance to the attack.
When dealing with sensual temptation we are told to flee, run, to get out of there! That is what Joepseh did. If we stay and try to fight it, if we kid ourselves and say that we can handle it we will fall victim to it...
"Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body but he who sins sexually sins against his own body..." 1 Cor 6:18
"Flee the evil desires of youth..." 2 Tim 2:22
If we are tempted to gossip God has an answer for that too, don’t do it. You say, "well, that’s one way." No that’s the only way! A bridle isn’t an answer for gossip-you need a muzzle. Stop talking about them. Say nothing. Don’t kid yourself into saying, "we just need to do it so we can pray more intelligently" or because you are so concerned for them that you feel it’s your duty to tell someone about those awful things happening in someone’s life. No you tell the Lord. He will keep it a secret. If it’s confidential, if you can’t trace the source of the information, if you don’t have the okay from the person you are taking about, then keep your mouth shut!
Sensual sin --- run
Gossip --- hold your tongue
Laziness --- work
Bitterness --- forgive
Hold back and not give the Lord what is his ---- give
3) Remind Yourself That The Final Pain Will Soon Replace The Passing Pleasure Of Sin
That is exactly what Moses did when he choose life with God’s people over the luxury of life with the Egyptians;
"By faith Moses when he had grown up, refused to be know as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He choose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time...."
Heb 11:24,25
Circle "pleasures of sin," is sin pleasurable? You bet it is. So much so that people will risk their reputations, their careers, even their families just to taste it’s flavor. If the bait on the hook did not look like something good to eat then the fish would never bite the hook. Sin is fun - does feel good.
Now circle "short time," you see, though pleasurable this enjoyment lasts only a short time - you have your kicks and then your kick backs. You sow and then you reap what you sow.
Committing adultery or having pre-marital sex may seem pleasurable at the time; but when the marriage is ruined, you see the kids just on weekends, OR you contract a STD, OR you have an unwanted pregnancy at 16, OR you are hooked up to life support in the final stages of aids... you find out that the pain sure has out weighed the pleasure.
Running around with you friends drinking or doing drugs may seem like a good time, "party on" but when you see the blue flashing lights, or wrapped you car around a tree killing your friends and the mother and the three children in the car next to you, or you are spending 2 months in a rehab center - the pleasure was not worth..
Have you ever looked into the eyes of someone behind prison bars - who had lost their freedom, their family and their life for a good time... I have and it’s tragic.
Do you think David experienced pleasure that night with Bathesheba? Sure he did, but do you think it was worth it to him when, his child died and the guilt ate him stealing his strength, energy and joy.
"Then after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown gives birth to death"
"Death" Have you ever seen someone slowly die from a disease, it is not pretty - that’s what sin does to you spiritually...
"It is your evil that separated you from God. Your sins cause Him to turn away from you, so he does not hear you..." Is 59:2
When sin looks so appealing to us - when it’s pleasure is tangling on a hook right in front of us we have to remind ourselves that the pleasure of sin is temporary. And we need to use this truth to help control the desire.
Dietrick Bonhoeffer a German Lutheran theologian was hung by the Nazi SS Black guards on April 9, 1945 at the ag of 39. He was devoted to Christ and a distinguished scholar. He wrote a manuscript on temptation and desire here he part of what he said;
"Once desire is kindled it burns like a raging fire and seizes mastery of the flesh. It makes no difference whtehr it is sexual desire, or ambition, or vanity, or desire for revenge, or love of fame and power, or greed for money or finally that srtage desire for the beauty for he world, at this point joy in God is extinguished in us and we seek only our own joy. Satan here does not fill us with hatred of God but with forgetfulness of God....
I think we all have been there more than once - with God on one side and sin with it’s pleasures on the other side... And we are standing smack dab in the middle... And we begin to yield to temptation and we forget about God... the scales are tipped and satan wins. We must at these times remember the pleasure of sin is temporary. AND the pain of sin is deadly..
Ask Adam & Eve, they desired the fruit because of what it could do for them and because it looked liked it tasted good... Was it worth it?
4) Control Your Thought Life Through The Memorized Word
When the devil launched his full scale attack on Jesus (Mt 4:4-11), Jesus withstood temptation by using scripture.. "It is written....."
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according your word....I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you..." Ps 119:9,11
These are familiar but strong words. When the Word of God is stored up in our minds, it stands ready to strike. No weapon can stand against the truth.
"Do not be deceived God cannot be mocked. A man reads what he sows.." Gal 6:7
"...each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not like the heathen who do not know God...for God did not call us to be impure but to live a holy life." 1 Thess 4:4,5,7
"For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Tim 6:10
If you struggle with a particular sin, find a verse that deals with it - memorize it and use it to quench the flames of temptation.
5) Claim The Promise
"The only temptation that has come to you is that which everyone has. But you can trust God, who will not permit you to be tempted more than you can stand. But when you are tempted, He will also give you a way to escape so that you will be bale to stand it."
1 Cor 10:13
God promises to provide an escape hatch for the Christian (the 1st 7 times around the block)
In a quaint little village north of Pittsburgh Pa., a shining new red brick building was built, designed to be the new city hall. It also housed the police and fire department. It was a small building, but the people loved it. In a matter of just a few months; however, the building began to show some obvious cracks. The windows would not close all the way. Before too many weeks, the doors were a jar and would not shut. The floor buckled. Finally, he sidewalk in front of the building cracked. In a period of less than a year the building had to be condemned.
A careful expensive investigation was made, and it was discovered that deep below the surface they had built to near too some mining work. The mining had weakened the foundation area, so that slowly but surely, this building was cracking, shifting, sinking, dropping and breaking into pieces because of a flaw underneath.
If you fool around with temptation long enough, playing with it, lingering near it’s bait over and over agin, then down in the heart and life of your character there will be permanent damage.
