Mar. 26, 2025
“ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD”
“HOW TO HANDLE TEMPTATION”
JAMES 1:13-18
Temptation has many faces- stealing, lying, gossiping, cheating, envying, striving for popularity, vying for power, and the list is endless.
Why did James connect the two? What is the relationship between testing from without and temptations from within? Simply this: If we are not careful, the testing on the outside may become temptation on the inside.
There are three things we must consider if we are going to overcome temptation:
- Consider The Judgement of God
This is a negative approach, but it is important one. James said, “Look ahead and see where sin ends- death” vs.15.
James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”
A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a bad way, out of the will of God.
We think of sin as a single act, but God sees it as a process.
James describes the process of temptation in four stages:
- First, There is Desire:
James 1:14 “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”
These desires must be our servants and not our masters, and this we can do through Jesus Christ.
- Second, Deception
vs.14 “… drawn away…”
James uses two illustrations from the world of sports to prove his point. “Drawn away” carries with it the idea of baiting a trap; and “enticed” in the original Greek means “to bait a hook.”
Temptation always carries with it some bait that appeals to our natural desires.
When you know the Bible, you can detect the bait and deal with it decisively. This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.
- Thirdly, Disobedience
James 1:15 “Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
We have moved from emotions (desires) and the intellect (deception) to the will.
The more you exercise your will in saying a decisive “No” to temptation, the more God will take control of your life.
Philippians 2:13 “for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
- Fourthly, Death
vs.15 “…and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”
Disobedience gives birth to death, not life.
Ezekiel 18:23 “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
These four stages in temptation and sin are perfectly depicted in the first sin recorded in the Bible:
The serpent used desire to interest Eve: vs.5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Paul described the deception of Eve: 2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Eve disobeyed God by taking the fruit of the tree and eating it: vs.6 “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
We have to make a choice:
Proverbs 12:28 “In the way of righteousness is life, And in its pathway there is no death.”
Proverbs 13:14 “The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.”
2. Consider The Goodness of God.
The goodness of God is a great barrier against yielding to temptation. Since God is good, we do not need any other person (including Satan) to meet our needs.
Moses warned Israel not to forget God’s goodness:
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
James presents four facts about the goodness of God:
- One- God Gives Only Good Gifts
- Two- The Way God Gives Is Good
- Third, He Gives Constantly- “comes down..” vs.17
- Fourth, God Does Not Change- “there is no variation or shadow of turning.” vs.17
2 Samuel 12:7-8 “Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your keeping, and gave you the house of Israel and Judah. And if that had been too little, I also would have given you much more!”
The next time you are tempted, meditate on the goodness of God in your life.
3. Consider God’s Divine Nature Within.
James 1:18 “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”
James uses birth as a picture of desire leading to death vs.15. He also uses it to explain how we can enjoy victory over temptation and sin.
John used a similar approach:
1 John 3:9 “Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.”
Note the Characteristics of this New Birth:
*It is Divine- Nicodemus; John 3:1-7- the birth is not of the flesh, it is from above, from God.
*It is Gracious- we did not earn it or deserve it, God gave us spiritual birth because of His own grace and will. The new birth is the work of God.
John 1:13 “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
*It is Through God’s Word-
John 3:6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
1 Peter 1:23 “having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever.”
*It is the Finest Birth Possible- James 1:18 “…a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.”- Christians are the very highest and the finest, we share God’s nature!
The Word of God is what gives you spiritual strength.
Matthew 4:4 “But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Live Steaming
Groups
