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In the New Testament, the word /temptation/ can have either a positive or negative meaning.
When used in a positive sense, it means *to test or prove*.
This is the result of /outward/ pressures and problems.
This kind of temptation tests our faith.
It is allowed by God to prove that He is real and that we can rely upon Him to meet our every need.
When used in a negative sense, temptation means *to lure or entice.
*It is the result of an appeal to /inward/ feelings or desires.
The aim of this kind of temptation is to lure us into sin – to entice us to satisfy God-given needs or desires in our own way instead of His way.
It is a tool used by Satan to disrupt our fellowship with God and destroy our lives.
One of the things made clear by James is that neither kind of temptation can be avoided.
We are going to experience trials of faith and temptations to sin.
However, this doesn’t mean that we are to throw up our hands in defeat and adopt a "whatever will be, will be" attitude.
To do this is to forfeit the *profit* that we can receive from our trials and the *prize* that God has for those who endure temptation.
I.
A Prize to be Won – Verse 12
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Our battle with temptation
#. *It requires endurance.*
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The opposite of enduring is to yield to the temptation, to give in.
* This produces guilt
* It causes us to doubt God’s ability to give us victory over sin
* It makes it easier to repeat the sin the next time the temptation is offered
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The fact that James speaks of those who endure tells us that the Christian can overcome every temptation.
See 1 Corinthians 10:13
* God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure
* With every temptation there is also a /way of escape/ – an alternative to the enticement that has been offered.
#. *It involves an examination *– /"when he is tried"/
The next verse states that temptations never originate with God.
However, that doesn’t mean that God is completely out of the picture.
God uses our struggles against sin to help us grow strong in our faith and identify areas in our Christian lives that still need development.
That is the concept behind the word /tried/.
Satan designs temptations to defeat us, but God uses those same temptations to develop more of His character into our lives.
Temptation, then, becomes a testing ground, a place where the quality of our faith is examined outside the sterile environment of the church.
Charles Stanley gives the illustration of a man going through the turbulent waters of a white-water river in a Kayak.
As the man paddles through the potentially destructive force of the river, the rapids are actually helping him to test and improve his skill.
When he passes the test of a lesser river, he will be ready for the challenge of a greater set of rapids.
However, if in the middle of his test he gives up and quits trying to fight his way out of the rapids, they will overcome him.
Stanley writes,
So it is with the power of sin.
As long as we take a stand against temptation, even if we fall momentarily, God will use the struggle to make us into the men and women He wants us to be.
But once we … give up and allow the forces of sin to dictate our behavior, it will only be a matter of time until we are swept away and our lives destroyed.
(Temptation by Charles Stanley, pages 18-19, published by Oliver-Nelson)
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The blessing of endurance
#. *The promise of reward – /"the crown of life"/*
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The New Testament mentions a number of crowns that can be earned by the believer.
Each refers to future rewards for those who qualify to receive them.
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Knowing about these crowns encourages us and motivates us in our struggle against sin and our service to the Lord.
#. *The prerequisite for this reward – /to them that love Him/*
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If we are not careful, Satan can use temptation to create resentment in our heart towards the Lord, causing us to doubt His goodness and question His motives.
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Once resentment enters a relationship, it becomes easier to do that which violates it.
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Thus, endurance is in part a by-product of maintaining our love for the Lord.
II.
A Problem to be Faced – Verses 13-15
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The source of temptation – Verses 13-14
#. *God is not responsible (13)*
Blaming God for our failures goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden.
There, when Adam was confronted with his disobedience, he tried to blame God.
He responded, /"The woman whom THOU GAVEST to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat."/
He was implying that if God had not brought Eve into his life, he wouldn’t have sinned.
James points out the foolishness of this argument.
First, God cannot be tempted.
Temptation has no effect on Him.
It is powerless against Him.
Second, God doesn’t tempt anyone.
He hates evil, He loves us, and He would never bring something into our lives designed to corrupt us.
#. *We are held accountable (14)*
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Satan’s immediate goal in temptation is to entice us to satisfy God-given needs or desires in our own way instead of God’s way.
The word /lust/ simply means /desires/.
God has created /within /us desires designed to help us survive in the world, enjoy our relationships with others, and recognize our need for God.
For example, if God had not given us the desire for food, we would all starve to death.
Because of our desires for love and acceptance, we seek to engage in relationships with God and other people.
Not only has God created our desires, he has also designed appropriate ways for them to be satisfied.
There is nothing wrong with having desires.
The error is in seeking to fulfill them in our own way.
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Temptation has no power over us except as we respond to some inner enticement and find the thing that is offered in some way desirable.
The word /enticed/ literally means /to lure with bait/.
It conjures up a picture of a worm dangling from a hook or a piece of cheese fixed to a mousetrap.
James is reminding us that temptation is always offered in some form that appeals to our natural desires.
If we didn’t find the thing desirable, then we wouldn’t be tempted.
That is why we are held accountable.
We respond to the lure dangled before us, choosing to satisfy a desire in a way that we know is not permitted.
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The seriousness of temptation (15)
#. *Yielding to temptation always results in sin.*
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The Bible has many ways of describing sin.
* It is going our own way (acting independent of God).
Isaiah 53:6
* It is missing the mark.
Romans 3:23
* It is the violation of God’s laws. 1 John 3:4
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When we act upon our lust and satisfy a need or desire in the wrong way, we have sinned (gone our own way, missed the mark, and broken God’s law).
#. *The end result of sin is always death.*
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Initially, sin brought /spiritual death/.
This meant that man was separated from the life of God and could no longer fellowship with Him.
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Sin is also responsible for /physical death/.
Many people die premature deaths because of their sin or the sin of others.
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Sin always results in "death" of some kind – "death" to relationships, to dreams and goals, to self-respect, and any number of things.
When sin is allowed to continue, something is always destroyed.
It is not a sin to be tempted, but it is dangerous to dwell upon the temptation.
Every moment we entertain the thought of satisfying a desire the wrong way, the potential for yielding increases.
The moment we yield and take the bait, we have sinned and invited death in some form into our lives.
That is why temptation must be recognized and rejected as quickly as possible.
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