Trials>Temptation
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Intro
Intro
This week we will finish the first section of James which seems great until we realize that this is the first of 14 sections. so one down 13 left to go, we might just finish James before the next presidential election!
so in this section we have been talking about trials in our life and walk with God. we have learned to count it all joy when we go through trials because they produce endurance and that endurance will bring about maturity and perfection in our lives so that we will lack nothing, but in order to get to that point while we are in the midst of these hard times we will need wisdom which is ours if only we ask for it in faith without doubting, we also need to go through these trials without a dependence on wealth we need to trust that God will provide for us in our trials because we cant trust money as it will fade away.
this all leads us to a simple yet very important question!
does God tempt us?
and what then is the difference between trials and temptation?
these are the questions that our verses cover tonight.
let us stand in honor of the reading of God’s holy word
Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
given everything that we have said about trials so far until now we havent been told that we are blessed for going through them, until now
in the HCSB “A man who endures trials is blessed”, but why? we get another reward here! “because when he passes the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.”
when we think about trials and tests we rarely think of it positively, but here in James so far every time He mentions trials He has something good to say about them or more correctly about their result their consequence
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
here he says that we will receive the “Crown of Life” if we complete our trials! now the crown of life is a odd reward as it is only mentioned one other time in the Bible
Blessed is the one who endures trials, because when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
No one undergoing a trial should say, “I am being tempted by God,” since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone. But each person is tempted when he is drawn away and enticed by his own evil desire. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully grown, it gives birth to death.
“Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last, the one who was dead and came to life: I know your affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days. Be faithful to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life.
“Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.
the crown here is mentioned also as a reward for completion of a trial although it is a more difficult trial. you will be thrown in prison and beaten and tortured for 10 days and if you are faithful until death you get the crown of life. that is a pretty harsh requirement for this reward and yet it is the same reward that we are offered in James.
Opening Up James The High High (v. 12)
The crown of life! What does it mean? James was obviously drawing on something with which all his readers were familiar, namely, the realm of sports. Here are some runners preparing for a race. They strip off everything that would weigh them down and step up to the starting line. Every muscle is taut and every nerve ready as they await the signal. And they’re off! Each puts every ounce of strength and energy into the race, straining for the finish line. What does the winner receive? He or she is crowned with the victor’s wreath.
Through this imagery James was affirming that Christians are running a race that will end in glory. That is where the finish line is!
But there is a difference. All Christians are winners as they cross that finish line. There the Lord God himself will greet them and will crown their efforts with eternal life.
And in glory there will be no rich Christians and no poor Christians. There will simply be believers in Jesus who are astonished and amazed that the God of glory was gracious enough to forgive them their sins.
The key for us in this life is to keep our eyes trained on the finish line in glory. How very easy it is for us to get our eyes on the wrong things! How very easy it is for us to look with disfavour on fellow-Christians because they are lower than we are, or because they are higher!
James: An Introduction and Commentary d. Trials and Temptations (1:12–18)
Mitton aptly says, ‘the rewards are of a kind that only a true Christian would be able to appreciate’.7
Moreover, as C.L. Mitton aptly says, ‘the rewards are of a kind that only a true Christian would be able to appreciate’.
so here James is saying that we need to strip off everything that is going to slow us down in this race and go to the finish line.
Moo, D. J. (1985). James: An Introduction and Commentary (Vol. 16, p. 74). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.
now I hate the nobody is a looser culture that we have in society today I have always felt that if there are no losers then how can there be winners also why should anyone try when you will receive a prize if you give everything or if you do nothing. that is not what is being said here
Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
and
Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.
so this crown can only be won if we run to win!! and we cant cheat either we need to run according to the rules.
now I want to warn you this prize might not be for you ‘the rewards are of a kind that only a true Christian would be able to appreciate’ that means that the reward is wonderful to someone who values it.
lets say I won a cruise that would be cool, but there is a catch the boat will be hosted by Bill Belichick and only Patriot fans will be on the boat I would not have much fun on that boat beacuse I am a seahawk fan .however if the boat had only 1 person other than the crew and I and that person was Daisy it would be an amazing cruise that I could never forget!
our prize in heaven is not gold streets though they will be there its not even eternal life even though that’s a big part. no our prize is Christ!! and Christ forever! yes we will be surrounded by people who love Christ and it may take us 1 million years to even notice them because we will have Christ!! so I will say this if you dont love Christ. than everything else I have for you tonight is useless to you, you might as well go across the street and have a beer until 7ish and then come back for dinner because looking forward to trials wont get you anything if you dont want the reward
now that we have covered the first verse we have the question does God tempt?? NO!!
here is the definition of
Tempt: entice or attempt to entice (someone) to do or acquire something that they find attractive but know to be wrong or not beneficial.
Trial: 1. a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings.
2. a test of the performance, qualities, or suitability of someone or something.
Test: a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something, especially before it is taken into widespread use.
God will test us he freely says this to us its in “1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.””
Test: a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, or reliability of something, especially before it is taken into widespread use.
The Offering of Isaac
this is the story about Abraham offering Isaac on the altar now was God enticing or tempting Abraham here?
1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
NO he didnt want to kill his son there was only one reason that he went to the altar, he was obedient in it says
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
it was he to whom it was said, “In Isaac your descendants shall be called.”
He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
now please note I did not and never will say that God says to kill anyone especially your children this was a specific test for only ONE person EVER if you think that God is telling you to do this come and talk to Pastor Mike or Rafa or others here because that is NOT God saying that.
that all is to say that God TESTS us he does not and will not ever TEMPT us! how do we know this?the Bible says so first off in (NASB95)
“... for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.” and also it is not in His Character nowhere in the bible will you find God tempting anyone!! so then whose Character is it in?? thats right ours!
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.
according to this verse we cant even blame the devil for it
this is not to say that we are not tempted by the enemy, but before you put the blame on him remember there are more fingers pointing at you when you point at someone else.
as I read in another commentery
The Epistle of James The Epistle of James
‘THERE is a popular belief respecting evil sprits,’ says Scott in a note to the fifteen chapter of The Abbot, ‘that they cannot enter an in habitated house unless invited, nay, dragged over the threshold.’
temptation comes mostly from ourselves! wait a minute I hear you say, what about when Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness?
Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness
yes the tempting there was coming from satan there and I believe that because Jesus had no sin nature (beacuse He is God) he needed to be tempted externally.
Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness
I believe that because Jesus had no sin nature he needed to be tempted externally.
so when we start to want things that we shouldn't or something catches our eye we start lusting after these things. lust its self is already a sin, but it dosnt stop there lust never lessons it only ever increases, until you give in, and then that lust is immediately replaced with guilt and shame!! the only time you enjoy that lust is right when you give in its only a second of pleasure, but that pleasure is surrounded before and after with agony as Hebrews calls it “the passing pleasures of sin”() this lust is not worth it ever and we all know it.
these are not worth it
now on the other hand we have the testing of God how long is that joy with you when you ace a test? I bet you just felt a little surge of that joy just now when I said that. isnt that so much better that the guilt we live with from lust? if we look back on our life and look for the tests that God had for us we can see how He has made us better! we can realize that we have passed some of those tests! and even when we fail a test we know that we just need to study harder and retake the test to pass that is not guilt or shame that is disappointment! disappointment can be fixed! just do better, study harder, ask for help and you will pass!! His goal is not that we fail His goal is to give us that crown its to make us perfect!!
(NASB95)
(NASB95)
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
If you remember way back to verses 3 and 4 I said that James made a ladder
testing->Endurance->maturity->perfection lacking nothing
well here at the other bookend of this passage about trials he makes another ladder going down this time
temptation->Lust->sin->death
so then trials lead to perfection and temptation leads to death
One is from God and the other is not.
now how do we deal with temptation?
first RUN!! run away you know where it leads dont even go there!!
also we have the Lords prayer
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
“But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
that last part “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil”
we can, no we should pray this every day
New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
He does not want us to fall into temptation in fact the more trials we experience and pass the better equipped we will be to avoid temptation. and yes I think avoidance is the best option we don't need to fight it just don't go there it is easier to not go somewhere than it is to go there and fight temptation the whole time you are there.
so than you should count it all joy when you are blessed with a trial because when you pass the test in that trial you will be rewarded by your Father in Heaven the Father of Lights who cannot be tempted and will not tempt you. put your trust in Him not in things that will fade away and ask Him for wisdom when you need it, He is waiting to give it to you because His goal is not just that you pass the test! NO His goal is that you will be perfect just like He made you so that you can live happly ever after with Him in a paradise that puts all of creation to shame
let us pray