WHEN SIN IS FINISHED!
James 1:13-15
By Cleavon P. Matthews Sr.
August 10, 2003
INTRODUCTION
It is a small word with a powerful punch. It is deceitful. It is desirous. It is destructive. This word is the culprit in a calamity of consequential causative conditions. It lurks in the shadows of darkness only to expose the photos of anguish, agony, and abuse. It crushes strong men. It staggers intelligent women. It rewrites the history of teenagers. It ambushes senior citizens.
It has been victorious over all of humanity save ONE! It has caused wars. It has starved nations. It has unleashed unmerciful violence. It has ignited insurmountable injustices. It has packed courtrooms. It has increased hospital admissions. It has traveled the universe. It has messed up marriages. It has broken friendships. It has demolished fellowships. It has financed infernos. It has condemned countries. It has decomposed dreams. It has soiled souls. It has sunken spirits. It has hurt hearts.
It is only three letters but everybody knows him! He defeated Adam in the Garden. He captivated Cain. He eliminated Esau. He lacerated Lot’s wife. He jumped Judah. He foiled Pharaoh. He attacked Achan. He incinerated Nadab and Abihu. He contaminated the ten spies. He made friends with Ahab and Jezebel. He kept company with Athaliah.
He has defeated some of the best. He has triumphed over some of the greatest saints throughout history. He caught up with Abraham. He found Moses. He busted David. He smoked Solomon. He arrested Uzziah. He punched Paul. He smothered Samson. He followed the Pharisees. He distracted Demas. He deceived Diotrephes.
His name is SIN! He is not to be embraced. He is not to be received with welcome arms. He is everywhere. He is on the job. He is in the home. He is in the Church. He is on the streets. He is at the shopping malls. He is in the grocery store. He is ever present at the late nightspots. He is in the jailhouse. He is in the schoolhouse. He was in the Synagogues. He was in the Temple.
Be alert! Be on guard! Be on watch! He is an enemy of mass proportions. He must be dealt with! He must be handled with care. He is an invasive tormentor. James gives us insight into this spiritual terrain. In order to deal with sin we need to understand its origin, its nature, its process, and its conclusion.
I.THE INCANDESCENT TRUTH
James 1:13 “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
Man’s tendency is to blame others. James has already described the divers temptations believers fall into. But these are not identical with what James describes in this verse. In the previous verse the temptations were external but in this text they are internal. In the previous verse they worked perseverance and perfection. But in this text temptations work death and destruction. In verse two it means trial but in verse thirteen it means provocation to sin.
Those who were undergoing the trying of their faith had the potential to misunderstand the purpose of their trials. Some who were without wisdom could possibly begin to consider their trials as evil and not working toward their good. Let’s admit it. We can all understand this line of reasoning. It’s hard to comprehend the good in the midst of a crisis. It is difficult to remain objective and unbiased when you are the one who has fallen into divers temptations. It is a challenge to grasp and appreciate the value of experiencing unsolicited and unwarranted trials and troubles.
The potential is to use the difficulties of trials as an excuse to do evil! My parents don’t let me have my way therefore I’m going to rebel and become unruly. I’ve been mistreated therefore I’m going to mistreat others. My heart has been broken therefore I will turn to drugs and alcohol. My feelings have been hurt therefore I’m going to stop coming to Church. I don’t have nice clothes therefore God should understand why I don’t come to worship.
Notice the text. “Let no man say when is tempted, I am tempted of God!” God will allow our faith to be tried or tested. The Bible says God did tempt Abraham (Gen. 22:1). The law says in Deuteronomy 8:2, “And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments.”
The allowance or the testing of our faith is not a provocation to sin but a provocation to surrender and serve! God does not tempt us in the sense of provoking us to do wrong under any circumstances.
II.THE INCLINATION TOLD
James 1:14 “But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.
In this verse man’s inclination is told. James reveals the true source of temptation. God is not the origin of man’s enticement to sin. But a staggering reality is revealed. Man is his own source of temptation.
This is a universal inclination because James says ‘every man.’ Every man is provoked to sin or tempted by something within him. It is not God. It’s him! It is not the Devil. It’s him! It’s not his environment. It’s him!
The picture of the original language is graphic. It paints the portrait of a fisherman or a hunter luring and trapping its prey. The words ‘when he is drawn away’ are the Greek term exelko (ex-el’-ko). This means to drag forth or to entice to sin. It means to draw out or to lure forth! “The metaphor of hunting or fishing as game is lured from its covert, so man by lust is allured from the safety of self-restraint to sin.”
Don’t run over the text. Look at it slowly. James says this is individualized and personal. Watch what he says: ‘his own lust.’ Own is ‘idios.’ Idios means one’s own, private, or separate! Lust is epithumia (ep-ee-thoo-mee’-ah) or in other words a longing especially for what is forbidden!
One person’s forbidden longing may be different from another’s longing! All of us don’t have the same longings for what is forbidden! What lures you may be different from what lures your brother or sister.
Now the word enticed in English is deleazo (del-eh-ad’-zo) in the original. This word means to entrap! Man is entrapped by his own lust! The key appears to be somewhere prior to this point because once the prey is in the trap it’s too late!
Let me share this true story. “Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making the contractor said, I never dreamed when I built this prison I would be an inmate one day.”
Knowing and understanding what ‘draws’ you is very important. When you know what draws you then you are in a better position to pray about it. When you know what draws you then you are in a better place to put up some protective barriers. You are able to put up some boundaries. But always remember the primary problem is not the environment but it’s inside of you! You heart needs to be changed. Your spirit needs to be renewed. Your mind needs to be transformed. Your focus needs to shift. Your identity needs to be clarified. Your faith needs to be solidified. Your testimony needs to be verified!
But whatever is drawing you remember this! “There 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 temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:13). Jesus said concerning prayer: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:13). This is a prayer for God’s providential help in our daily confrontation with sin.
III.THE INDULGENCE TERMINAL
James 1:15 “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
The indulgence into sin is terminal. Sin will take you further than you want to go. Sin will make you stay longer than you want to stay. Sin will make you pay more than you want to pay!
If sin were better known, Christ would be better thought of!
The thing about little sins is that they grow up so fast!
One who has a light view of sin never has great thoughts of God, because God hates sin!
James says, ‘then when lust hath conceived,’ in other words when lust has arrested you, seized you, or clasps you the outcome is inevitable. Something is going to be brought forth or generated.
Sin is conceived and breed from within. Sin is an offence. Sin is a violation. Sin is a trespass. Sin is missing the mark. Sin is by commission! But sin is also by omission! That’s very important because some people are ‘doing nothing’ there way into a life of misery. James said, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (4:17).
Sin does not end with conception and birth. Sin continues. James says, ‘when it is finished’ or apoteleo in Greek. Apoteleo means to complete entirely. In other words, when sin grows up brings forth or leads to death!
Thanatos means death both literally and figuratively. The outcome of sin is death. The result of sin is death. Paul said the wages of sin is death. Sin kills. Sin crushes. Sin assassinates. Sin terminates. Sin and death go hand and hand!
CLOSING
Due to the internal origin and progression of sin we need a solution!
We need hope for our harmatia.
We need cleansing from our corruption.
We need redemption from our ruin.
We need justification from our condemnation.
We need sanctification from our situation.
We need to know that the wages of sin is death indeed, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Rom. 6:23)
Jesus the precious Lamb of God without blemish or spot that takes away the sin of the world.
Jesus a root out of a dry ground.
Jesus despised and rejected.
Jesus a man of sorrows.
Jesus who has borne our griefs.
Jesus who has carried our sorrows.
Jesus stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Jesus wounded for our transgressions.
Jesus bruised for our iniquities.
Jesus the cross bearing Savior.
Jesus the blood-spilled Messiah.
Jesus the forsaken Redeemer.
Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God.
When sin is finished it brings forth death but when Jesus said it was Finished He opened the door of eternal life!
• In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins
• If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness
When sin is finished it brings forth pain but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Pardon!
When sin is finished it brings forth betrayal but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Blessing!
When sin is finished it brings forth grief but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Grace!
When sin is finished it brings forth agony but when Jesus was finished he brought forth atonement!
When sin is finished it brings forth brokenness but when Jesus was finished he brought forth wholeness!
When sin is finished it brings forth alienation but when Jesus was finished he brought forth reconciliation!
When sin is finished it brings forth torment but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Truth!
When sin is finished it brings forth condemnation but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Justification!
When sin is finished it brings forth despair but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Deliverance!
When sin is finished it brings forth heartache but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Healing!
When sin is finished it brings forth misery but when Jesus was finished he brought forth Mercy!
Thank God for Jesus my Savior and Lord! Thank God for Jesus my advocate in the court of life.
Thank God for Jesus my Mediator between God and me.
Thank God for Jesus my bridge over troubled waters.
Thank God for Jesus my friend in the midst of foes.
Thank God for Jesus my joy in the midst of sorrow.
Thank God for Jesus my hope in a hopeless world.
Thank God for Jesus my peace in the midst of chaos.
Thank God for Jesus my refuge in the time of storm.
Thank God for Jesus my oasis in the desert of time.
Thank God for Jesus my rock in a weary land.
Thank God for Jesus my Lord in the land of the lost.
Thank God for Jesus my comfort in the time of confusion.
Thank God for Jesus my medicine in the time of sickness.
Thank God for Jesus my victory in the time of defeat.
Thank God for Jesus my assurance in the time of uncertainty.
Thank God for Jesus my fuel in the midst of the fight.
Thank God for Jesus my strength in the time of weakness.
