In the book “Last Stand in the Carolinas” Mark Bradley tells the story of Federal troops that occupied Cheraw, South Carolina. The Confederates army left so much gun powder behind that the Union troops decided to dump most of it in a little creek. However, some of the Union soldiers were looking for some entertainment so they scooped up handfuls of the powder and carried it back to their cooking fires a few hundred yards away, where they exploded it amid much shouting and laughter. They so completely enjoyed this little sport that they kept going back for more. In doing so they left numerous crisscrossing trails of gun powder running back to the ravine.

Sergeant Theodore Upson of the 100th Indiana infantry division reported he saw “a little flash” of powder running along the ground.” Then there was a tremendous explosion. “The dirt and stones flew in every direction.” The ground shook for miles. The force of the blast destroyed several houses and shattered nearly every window in town.

It ignited the magazine depot and a storm of shells and shrapnel rained down for a half-mile in every direction. One officer and three enlisted men were killed as a result of the blast, and more than a dozen men were wounded.

Moral of the story is, “you don’t play with fire … of temptation. It may seem fun for a while but eventually it will blow up and burn you.

We all face the battle of temptation and how we deal with it… is the mark of legitimacy of our faith or the lack of it. Just how we learned to face trials in James 1:2-12 so it is a test of genuine faith how we deal with temptation. Every trial has the potential to become a temptation depending on your response.  So, James makes this shift from trials, which lead to growth and blessing to temptations in verse 13, which lead to sin and death. 

Temptation is an inward solicitation resulting from an outward test. Life is full of those kinds of tests. From the day we were born until we leave this physical world, we have a constant stalker called temptation.

Whether or not we sense its presence, temptation is always there stalking us like a lion stalking his prey. No matter how long you walked with God, temptation is always a potential danger in your life.

If I am going to face temptation all throughout my life, then I had better understand what it is and how it works. Only in doing so can I ever hope to control it and defeat it. Thus we must begin by discovering where temptation comes from and clearly defining it in our minds.   In James 1:13 we read… 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.

I. Temptation does not Originate from God. vv. 13.

1. This issue of who is to blame in temptation for sin is at the heart of this passage and it is an archaic fixation because it really is something as old as sin.  Look with me at Genesis 3:9 -13. The blame is placed on whom? – God and it’s been so ever since.  God made me, God made me with my sinfulness.  God made me with my circumstances.  God put me in the situation I’m in.  God gave me my surroundings.  God’s created the scene.  It’s not my fault. 

In Isaiah 63:17 hear this strange statement.  Oh Lord, why hast thou made us to err from thy ways and hardened our heart from thy fear.  What a terrible thing to blame God for our sin.  But that is the tendency of fallen flesh, to shirk responsibility for our behavior and even go so far as to blame God. Many people blame temptation on God. They act as though their enticement to sin comes from Him. I have actually heard people say, “Why did God tempt me to sin?” or, “Why did God bring this temptation into my life?” Temptation is an enticement to do evil but it is never an act of God.

2. God cannot tempt anyone to do evil because He is absolutely holy. The word translated “cannot be tempted” is “ä-pi’-rä-stos” a rare word which means “unable to be tempted or un-attemptable. God is absolutely holy. The word is used only here in the New Testament, it means, He has no experience of evil.  He has no capacity or vulnerability for evil.  So then what is the root of this problem what is …

II. Temptation has Multiple Sources (1:14)

1.) The appetites of the world and the flesh are powerful and addictive trappings and the devil knows how to use them. He appeals to our love for what satisfies our selfish and sinful desires and uses it to tempt, control, discourage, defeat, and destroy us. We can lust for power, money, drugs, alcohol or even sex. These endanger sacrificing our friends, our loved ones, and even our relationship with our Savior just to satisfy our sinful desires. God does not want this.

2) God allows for trials in our lives for our betterment. Satan uses temptation to try to provoke us to sin. But neither God nor Satan is the source of our temptations. God isn’t making you do it and neither is Satan. Look at verses 14 and 15; James explains it…James says: “a man’s temptation is due to the pull of his own inward desires, which greatly attract him” James explains: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” “Temptation is the pull of man’s own evil thoughts and desires.” Jerm. 17:9—The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

3) James uses two words from the metaphors of hunting and fishing. First he says each one is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. The phrase is drawn away (Gk: ek-se’l-kō) literally means “lured.” In fishing the idea is luring a fish. You know how it works. You go fishing to catch Mr. Bass. You bait the hook to make it look appealing and cast it into the water near Mr. Bass, who is safely minding his own business. The bait is so attractive that Mr. Bass stops what he is doing, comes out of his place of safety, takes a look at the bait, and thinks how good it would taste. To draw him away is to get his attention.

4) The word enticed (Gk: del- a-la -zo) comes from a word that means “to bait” or “seduce.” Now, Mr. Bass goes a step farther than just looking at the bait. He watches for a moment, and then something inside him just takes over so he can no longer resist. He gobbles up the bait, only to find there is a sharp hook in it. In a moment Mr. Bass is flopping on the bank, and in a few more moments he is dead. That’s how you “draw away” and “entice” a fish.

Illustration

Jim Bamford wrote the book “The Puzzle Palace” all about the National Security Agency, America’s Most Secret Agency. He said, “Once you’ve sold one secret you’re usually hooked. They don’t start by asking you to get a top secret document. They usually ask for something innocuous, like a telephone directory. Once a person starts, they’re hooked at that point.” Isn’t that the way Satan operates? He tempts us to make little compromises that seem insignificant and end up ensnaring us in sin. We need to response in the spirit, for example.

Adam Clarke was once a sales clerk in a store that sold fine silk to people of the upper classes in London. One day his employer showed Adam how he could increase sales and profits by stretching the silk as he measured it out. Clarke looked his employer straight in the eye and said, “Sir, your silk may stretch, but my conscience won’t.”

5. Now James shifts metaphors away from hunting and fishing to childbirth as he comes to verse 15 and discusses the nature of lust. Most people think of sin as a solitary act or a series of acts or behaviors.  God is saying here that sin is not an act that sin is the result of a process.  It starts with desire, epithumia or lust. 

Paul said, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16). James told us as he concludes this section very simply, “Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…That’s all God ever sends.

III. Temptation has an Escape – 1 Corinthians 10:13 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 the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

1. Isn’t that a wonderful passage! God knows us so well that He knows all the trials and struggles we are going to face in life. Whatever the case, God can help us overcome it. Next week we look at this next verse that every good gift comes from God and His Word is good and comprehensive to stop fleshly temptations.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, there can be no victory over temptation if you have not surrendered your life to Christ. Jesus died on the cross for you and paid the penalty for your sins. Until you give your life to Him, you will have no real power over sin. If you already are a Christian, but you are struggling with temptation, turn every area of your life over to the Lordship of Christ. Stop trying to win the battle by your own self-effort. Let God take full control of your life.