The Epistle of James: Blame in Temptation
James 1:13-18; Philippians 4:8
“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.”
James 1:13-18 NASB1995
Temptation is all around us. And mostly we have only ourselves to blame, in our fallen state, when we give in to temptation. Temptation is not sin, but acting on it IS sin. God does not tempt us and He is not tempted by evil. He can give us trials to build our endurance in suffering, as noted in the earlier passage in James. The enemy can play a part in our temptations by making them readily available, but it is too easy to blame him and not take personal responsibility for succumbing to temptation. James uses the term “lust” for how temptation is conceived and gives birth to sin, but sin can also come from the other deadly attitudes like wrath, greed, envy, gluttony, slothfulness and pride. By thinking wrathful thoughts, for example, we are much more likely to act on that anger.
In reading some study guides and sermons for this passage, I was struck by a recurring theme that you will not make it as a Christian if you keep succumbing to temptations! That is a sobering thought and makes you take inventory of your predilections. I have been tempted, and succumbed in the not-so-recent past, to having an “extra” glass of wine beyond what was considered moderate drinking or to watching a movie or TV series with adult situations and sinful behaviors (aren’t most movies and TV shows these days glamorizing sin?). I have envied others for the things they own or have done and have taken excessive pride in something that I accomplished (I don’t accomplish anything without God’s help).
We recently watched the first few seasons of the popular TV series “Yellowstone” and found ourselves truly appalled by the situations and behaviors, but seemed unable to stop watching (the temptation to see more pulled us in, which we now realize was giving in to the lust for more forbidden fruit). We made a vow that we will not continue watching. This show has beautiful scenery, which is its only redeeming feature. It is filled with violence, vengeance, filthy language, and characters that gleefully commit murder and behave in ways that would make a sailor blush (I’m looking at you, Beth Dutton). Granted, a lot of those behaviors are also part and parcel of the plays written by Shakespeare, but at least in his plays, there was usually comeuppance for the villains and no one escapes their sins. I’m not trying to be a legalist and wag my fingers at folks for getting caught up in the entertainment that’s tossed our way, but I hope, at least for for myself, to think more and more like the Apostle Paul asks in Philippians 4:8:
“Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
Philippians 4:8 NASB1995
I also really like the four-step plan for avoiding acting on temptation from a sermon by Pastor Steven Cole on this passage in James, which I found doing research on this Epistle:
(1) Study and know yourself. Know where you’re vulnerable and devise strategies to protect yourself. Others may be able to handle situations where you will fall. Don’t go with them if it is a source of temptation for you. Develop a deep distrust in yourself that drives you to a desperate clinging to the Lord.
(2) Avoid tempting situations. If you are vulnerable to lust, don’t rent videos that are rated R or even PG-13 because of sex. Don’t go into bookstores where there is pornography. Don’t have unaccountable access to the internet. If you do, you’re just pouring gasoline on the fire.
(3) Have a predetermined commitment to follow Christ and to flee temptation. You have to decide this before you get into a tempting situation, because when temptation hits, your emotions and the deception factor kick in. As we saw in our last study [and my last devotional}, those who receive the crown of life love the Lord. Keep your love for Christ fresh and the lure of the flesh and the world will not seem so attractive.
(4) Keep before you the gruesome end of temptation—death. The world glamorizes sin. Movies and magazines portray beautiful people enjoying illicit sex or living in selfish luxury as the ultimate in pleasure. Skeletons or rotting corpses would be a more accurate picture! I’ve counseled with many that have fallen into adultery, but I’ve yet to find one that is really happy. But even if they professed to be happy now, they won’t be when they stand before God!
James goes on to tell us to not be deceived. Every good and perfect gift that we receive comes from God, who is the Father of Lights, in whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (and He gives no temptations). I thought about an illustration about temptation for this devotional, but I loved this photo of “perfect light” in a small confessional chapel in a church. God brings us His light and His truth to wash away our sins and mold our minds to reflect His will and avoid temptations. James called his readers the “first fruits” of salvation, indicating that he likely realized that this grace from God was meant for all people, not just the early Christian Jews. We can all have death or we can have the Crown of Life. Choose wisely!
My next devotional will examine James 1:19-27 Response to the Word
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer: Heavenly Father, we beseech you to guide us away from temptation in our thoughts, which can lead to sin and to death. Lead us into the fruits of the Spirit and to recognize that only the gifts we need are from You and are perfect and come from your Light. Let us dwell and set our minds on those things that are true, right, honorable, pure, lovely and full of excellence.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
Sermon from Steven J. Cole on Bible.Org Copyright 2005 All Rights Reserved