“TEMPTED”
I
was tempted to begin this sermon with a humorous illustration regarding
temptation. It would have been easy to talk about my cholesterol issue and the
fact that I finished off a big wedge of birthday cake followed by two more
hunks of awesome chocolate cake at a get-together later that night.
But as I reflected on my own
understanding of temptation, chocolate seemed frivolous.
In a culture of indulgence we can
joke about being tempted by chocolate and cheating on our diets and miss the
truth about our temptations. The reason we joke about temptation is that we
really don’t feel tempted. We have erased the lines forbidding ourselves of the
decadent, the alluring and even the naughty, so that very few things are off
limits anymore. Commercials shout “treat yourself” and the age of legalistic
prohibition has given way to the age of permissive extravagance.
So temptation is really just a sales
technique. And if we do happen to fall to a serious temptation it is due to
circumstance and external pressure. It is not our fault. Others will affirm us
that we couldn’t help ourselves.
James has something to say about
temptation that flies in the face of our state of denial. He writes in a few
short verses that when it comes to temptation that it is real, it finds its
source in the heart and mind, and it has a terrible consequence. It is not a
joke. It is not a sales technique. And it threatens your life.
Brothers and sisters, James says, we
need to take temptation seriously. Christians need to respond to temptation by
confessing to God that the source of temptation lies within us. Temptation is a
sin-trap; big or small, temptation can be deadly.
C.S. Lewis said it well in his book The
Screwtape Letters, where we read the story of an older demon counseling a
younger demon. At one point in the book the older demon says:
"You
will say that these are very small sins, and doubtless, like all young
tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But do
remember, the only thing that matters is the extent to which you separate the
man from the Enemy [God]. It does not matter how small the sins are, provided
that their cumulative effect is to keep the man away from the Light.… Murder is
no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed the safest road to Hell
is the gradual one—the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings,
without milestones, without signposts."
Let’s see what James has to say
about this in his letter.
1.
God may test us but He doesn’t tempt us
a) The Blessing
of being tested
– James has written previously about the trials of life and how we ought to
face trials with joy because God uses them to mature us.
Verse 12 stands on the edge of two
themes. It could conclude 1-11, or begin the section on temptation 13-15. It is
important to review v. 12 because of the promise that it gives in relation to
enduring trials. James says, “Blessed is
the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person
will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love
him.”
The formula is important to
remember. In verses 2-4 James gives this formula: testing – endurance –
perseverance – maturity. Verse 12 is like it: testing – endurance –
perseverance – life. The key here is life.
Eternal life is the reward for those
who love God and show it by faithfully enduring the trials of life. Enduring
trials faithfully proves our love for God. The Apostle Peter says this very
thing in 1 Peter 1:6-7 (read).
I read recently that when ocean
liners like the Queen Mary or the Queen Elizabeth were built they didn’t leave
them in dry dock and get big hoses on them to see if they would leak. They got
those ships out into the open ocean to put them through sea trials. These trials
were not intended to sink the ship. These trials were to prove that the ship
was seaworthy.
Does God send the trials and test us
to see if we are worthy? Yes and no.
b) Why God won’t
tempt you
– When I studied the Greek words for “trial” and “temptation” I found that the
words have a similar root. The fork in the road is very subtle but gets clearer
when you make a decision to follow one way or the other. What can change a
trial into a temptation is the attitude with which we meet it. We fail the trial
when we turn to blaming God for the results.
If we understand that God sends
trials to test us and correlate that with the Newtown Connecticut School
shooting, we’re on the wrong track. God does not send shooters to kill
children. But in that situation is a trial: how do we respond faithfully to
tragedy?
In verses 2-4 and 13-15 we have one
set of circumstances and two responses. In 2-4 we understand the trial in terms
of testing, which leads to maturity. In 13-15, we experience the same trial as
temptation, which leads to death.
What we need to grasp in our pain is
that God does not allow this stuff to happen so that we will fall and sin.
James says, “When tempted, no one should
say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt
anyone…” (1:13). God is never the source of evil. God never tempts anyone.
James is not saying that God does not allow temptation into our lives, or that
God never tests his people. James does deny that God tests people with an evil
intent – to make them sin.
Philip Yancey, in his book
"Reaching for the Invisible God" describes the way God get’s blamed
for things in this way. When Princess Diana died in an automobile accident, a
minister was interviewed and was asked the question “How can God allow such a
terrible tragedy?” And I loved his response. He said, “Could it have had
something to do with a drunk driver going ninety miles an hour in a narrow
tunnel? Just How, exactly, was God involved.”
What role does God play in a boxer
beating his opponent to death, a teenage couple giving into temptation in the
back seat of a car, or a mother drowning her children?
Is
God responsible for these acts? To the contrary, they are examples of
incredible human free will being exercised on a fallen planet. And yet it’s in
our nature as mortal, frail, fallen people to lash out at one who is not, that
being God."
While God allows trials into our
lives to prove us faithful, God will not tempt us because that is not his
nature.
2.
Acknowledging the True Source of our Temptation
a) You are the
source of your temptation – Though Lewis identifies demons as the tempters in
his character’s life, James does not mention the devil as the source of
temptation. The battle begins within us, in our hearts and minds. Many sinful
actions begin as casual thoughts, but dwelling on them can turn minor
temptations into major transgressions.
James writes, “…but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own
evil desire and enticed,” (1:14). “Enticed” carries a word picture, “to
allure by bait,” like a fish eyeing a tasty worm on a hook. And while “desire”
can have good connotations, here it is seen negatively as one “sets their
heart” upon something that is off limits.
In a recent survey of Discipleship
Journal, readers ranked areas of spiritual challenge. They included
materialism, pride, self-centeredness, laziness, anger, sexual lust, envy, gluttony
and lying as the top challenges.
Survey respondents noted temptations
were more potent when…
they had neglected their time with God (81 percent)
and when they were physically tired (57 percent).
Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising
situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).[i]
they had neglected their time with God (81 percent)
and when they were physically tired (57 percent).
Resisting temptation was accomplished by prayer (84 percent), avoiding compromising
situations (76 percent), Bible study (66 percent), and being accountable to someone (52 percent).[i]
Being tired and rundown and
therefore susceptible to giving in to desire is a feeling that resonates with
me. It is at this moment in our lives when our defenses are low.
And note, we are tempted by our own desires. What one person
finds as intense temptation another person may never experience as even a faint
enticement. We must never belittle a brother or sister for struggling with
something we think insignificant. Each of us has our own battles and we need to
give and receive grace as we are tested. Our job is to flee temptation
regardless of how little it may seem to us.[ii]
b) The reason to
put the brakes on temptation – Now James comes to his critical
point. Remember the formula (testing-endurance-perseverance-maturity/life)?
Here is a dark replica in v. 15: desire – sin – death.
This is based on what James writes, “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death,” (1:15).
You can see the sin-process in these words and its end result.
Someone said that there are three
stages of temptation: the first is suggestion, the second is experiment, and
the third is consent. Once we reach the consent stage, we have carried away by
sin, we have willing left the path of discipleship, and we have separated
ourselves from God.
In the beginning, temptation always
promises excitement and pleasure. It never comes with the advertisement, “Would
you like to destroy yourself and your family? Would you like to disgrace the
name of your God?” Instead, it cries out, “This will be fun! This will meet
your needs! This will get you what you have been looking for. What does it hurt
to try it?”
If we bite, take the bait, James
tells us we are on the road to hell and death. There are many reasons to avoid
the temptations of life, but only one that really motivates us to watch our
conduct: desire + sin = death.
Show
me your faith
The
Apostle Paul said, “No temptation has
seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful, he will not let
you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also
provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Cor 10:13).
This is a very great promise in our
Bibles. It says that there is nothing new under the sun: your temptation has
been felt by many others. It says that God is faithful: there is nothing and no
one who can make you sin. It says that God has provided a way out: there is
always an escape hatch in tempting situations.
At the same time there are things
that we can do to keep ourselves from being overcome by temptation:
1)
Know yourself
– know where you are vulnerable and figure out how to avoid your weaknesses. If
you are with people who can handle situations that you can’t, don’t go with
them. Don’t trust yourself but entrust yourself to the Lord.
2)
Avoid tempting situations – If you are vulnerable to lust don’t rent R
movies; if you don’t trust yourself on the computer, put it in a high-traffic
area in your home.
3)
Have a predetermined commitment to follow Christ and to flee temptation – Decide now
before you get into tempting situations, because when it hits your emotions and
passions will overpower you. Love the Lord Jesus more than your own desires.
4)
Remember the end result of those who persevere – life with
Jesus. This beats out the pleasures of this temporal world.
Do you struggle with temptation? We
all do and you are not alone. Jesus knew temptation and did not sin, but he
died for those who do so that we could be forgiven.
AMEN
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