The Steps to Sin

Understanding Adversity  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  43:47
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Introduction - How did we end up here?

I travel a good bit for Walk Thru the Bible Now that we all have GPSs at our disposal it’s easier to find the churches than it used to be. Some years back I had a Walk Thru event in Michigan with Dr. Bill Marty from Moody Bible Institute. We flew into Detroit and rented a car. The church had sent us directions on how to get to the hotel. It was late at night and snowing. We followed the directions looking for an exit. After driving a long time we saw a sign that said, “Flint Michigan” ahead. The church was in a suburb of Detroit. We missed the exit.
It’s a common experience. Sometimes directions aren’t clear. Sometimes we misread them. Sometimes we’re distracted and miss a turn. When that happens it can cost you time. Or, if you are in a city like Chicago or New York you can end up in a very bad place.
Today we’re going to be talking about a path that leads to a bad place. It’s a path all of us have been on that we wish we had not taken. It’s the path to sin. We’re going to see there are various factors involved, choices we make, and steps we take along the pathway to sin. Our goal today is to understand the steps that lead to sin so we don’t take them.
We are in a series entitled “Understanding Adversity.” People are often confused and sidetracked in their faith by adversity. God allows and at times brings adversity to our lives for our benefit. There is a kind of adversity that is not from God. It is the adversity we face from our spiritual enemies that has as its goal of leading us away from God, leading us to sin, and even destruction. It is adversity of spiritual attacks. The bottom line for today’s message is:

Bottom Line: When we understand the steps that leads to sin and death, we can choose instead the path that leads to godliness and life.

Our main passage today is James 1:12-16.
James 1:12–16 NIV
12 Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. 16 Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters.
First notice that these verses refer to trials, tests and temptations. Let’s consider first

1. The difference between trials, tests, and temptations.

In many languages the word for “trial” and “temptation” is the same word. That’s true in Greek, the language James used to write this passage. The way you can tell the difference in meaning is from the context. James uses the words “trial” and “test” in verse 12 and “tempt” in verse 13.
A trial is a random, unfocused negative event. Luke 22:28
In Luke 22:28 Jesus commended his disciples of staying with him in his trials, opposition, no home, frequent travels, all the difficulties he faced during his 3 1/2 years of ministry.
INTERACTION: What’s an example of a trial in your life? Who can tell me?
A test is specific opportunity to trust God. Genesis 22:1, 2 Chronicles 32:31
Genesis 22:1-2 and 2 Chronicles 32:31 describe specific tests of faith God gave Abraham and Hezekiah as opportunities to grow in endurance and faith.
A temptation is when a desire becomes an enticement to do evil. James 1:14-15
Temptation is to get us to do a sinful act, not like trials and tests that try to get us to grow in our faith. James says
James 1:13–15 NIV
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Let’s look closely at what James says about how it is we sin. The first thing James say is

2. God doesn’t tempt us to sin.

James 1:13 NIV
When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;
God is sovereign, in full control of everything. Some might say that temptation is God’s fault. It isn’t. God never tempts us to sin nor can He be tempted by sin. In fact, rather than tempt us,

A. God provides a way for deliverance from sin.

He did this did this when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to pay for our sin.
God gave His Son to die on a cross
What’s amazing about this is that God did this even though we didn’t want Him to do it. Here’s what the scripture says.
Romans 5:6–9 NIV
6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
The good news is Christ died for you and me even though we were weak, ungodly, sinners and God’s enemies. Out of pure love the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay for our sins. He did everything for us and He wants us to believe in Jesus’s death on our behalf. Romans 3:23 says:
Romans 3:23 NIV
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Because we have fallen short of God’s glory we’re all condemned to spend an eternity separated from Him. But we don’t have to if we believe Jesus paid for our sins.
Have you trusted in Him? If not you can do so right now by speaking to God. You can do it this very moment. You only have to turn from your sin. You may have heard the word repent. It means to turn away from. If you say, “Father, I know I’m a sinner. I know that you hate sin and sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay for my sins. I believe He died, was buried and rose again for my sins.” If you will believe that, tell God you believe that and He will save you from an eternity of punishment and welcome you into His family.
James says God can’t be tempted with evil and won’t tempt anyone to sin because sin separates us from Him. God wants us to be with Him, not separated from Him. God is never going to tempt you or me to do something that He sent His Son Jesus to give His life to pay for our deliverance.
As great as our salvation is, that isn’t the only good that God does for us.

B. God gives us good things all the time.

The good He gives is the opposite of the evil that leads people to sin. He gave His Spirit to fill us with the good gift of godly desires.
Romans 6:23 NIV
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Eternal life Romans 6:23
Eternal life is good. James says there is even more good that God gives us. James says,
James 1:16–18 NIV
Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
Every good thing that happens to us is from God. James 1:16-18
INTERACTION: What is one good thing that happened to you this week? Would you share it with us? (Listen for responses).
I have an example of something good God does for us. He gives us good desires when we walk with Him. These good desires are listed in Galatians 5.
Galatians 5:22–23 NIV
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Did you experience the peace of God this past week? That was good! How about joy in your heart? That is good, too!
The good, godly desires from the Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23
God doesn’t force these good desires upon us. We were created in His image with choice. It is as we choose to love, obey and trust God moment by moment that He gives us these good desires.
Transition: But we don’t always have these desires, do we?
Sometimes our hearts are filled with things like those mentioned in the verses just before listing of the fruit of the Spirit. In Galatians 5:19-21 we have what are called the works of the flesh!
Galatians 5:19–21 NIV
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
At times we can be loving, kind, peaceful and joyful, and at other times filled with anxiety, discouragement, anger, hate, bitterness and the like! How does this happen? No one in their right mind would give up peace and joy for bitterness, hatred and strive. So does that mean we’re all crazy? Maybe? But that isn’t the answer we’re looking for.
What happens is we get on the wrong path, a path that takes us away from God and leads to sin and death. The allure of sin is powerful enough to trick us to give up the wonderful joy and peace of the Spirit!
Unfortunately we don’t see the allure of sin as a spiritual attack and we let the attack defeat us. Then the allure of sin is quickly replaced by guilt, shame and all kinds of other ugly emotions.
Sin doesn’t just happen out of the blue! It’s not like we are filled with the Spirit one second and then mysteriously filled with sinfulness the next. There is no mystery here. There is a process, a path we take that leads to sin. Sometimes we race down this path. Sometimes we know we shouldn’t be go on that path but we allow our desires to drag us there. There are specific steps that happen every time we go from spiritual to carnal. James gives us a clear description of

3. The Steps that lead to Sin and Death

Let’s look again at what James says.
James 1:14–15 NIV
14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
James doesn’t say use the words, “step one, step two, step three, etc.” but we can figure them out. He first mentions temptation but temptation doesn’t come first. He says you are tempted “when” something else happens. That something else is that

A. You’re attacked with an evil desire.

First let’s look at the word desire.
The Greek word for desire is ἐπιθυμία - epithumia
It is a neutral word that means a strong desire, craving, to long for something. It is neutral because we can have good or evil desires.
There are good desires. Luke 22:15
An example of a good desire is ice cream. Would you agree that is a good desire? Unless you’re on a diet or lactose intolerant or you once worked in an ice cream shop and ate so much ice cream every day that even the thought of ice cream makes you sick. Is that any of you? No, okay, we’ll say ice cream is a good desire. However,
There are evil desires. Romans 6:12
An example of a bad desire is to steal someone else’s ice cream. We know when a desire is good or bad. The focus of the desire is what identifies it as good or bad.
INTERACTION: Show photos and ask if it is a good desire or bad desire.
Lie - bad
Get revenge - bad
Get drunk - bad
Buy a new dress - good
Go on vacation - good
Spend time with someone you love - good
The first step in the path to sin is you are attacked with an evil desire. What do you think the second step is? It isn’t temptation, not yet. Something has to happen for the desire to become a temptation.

B. You make it your own.

The NIV doesn’t do a good job of translating this verse 14. The word “evil” isn’t in the Greek text. What is in the Greek is the word that mean “one’s own.” A temptation doesn’t happen unless you make the attacking evil desire your own. We have desires pop into our minds all the time. Some are good, some are bad. Some are alluring and others not so. Sometimes you are attacked with an alluring desire but quickly put it out of you mind.
Let’s say you’re in line at the grocery store and the person in front of you accidently drops a $20 bill on the floor. No, let’s make it a bit more alluring than that. Let’s say it’s a $100. Could anyone here use an extra $100 right now? Me too. You see the person in front of you drop it but she doesn’t realize it nor does anyone else. Immediately you’re attacked with an evil desire. The desires is to have that $100. You want it something that is not yours. However, you immediately reject that desire and tell the woman she dropped the money. You didn’t allow the desire a place in your heart so it didn’t have a chance to become a temptation.
Let’s take this again from the top. You see the money on the floor, the desire for the $100 and what you could do with it pops into your mind. This time, you don’t reject it. You start thinking about how you could go out an enjoy a nice meal or pay that bill that’s late or buy those new shoes you need. You make the desire your own and allow it a place in your mind. Up oh! You just took the second step on the path. You made a choice to allow that evil desire a place in your heart.
This happens every time we’re attacked with an evil desire. It may be a desire to get angry, discouraged, or jealous. It may be an improper sexual desire. There are many evil desires. It is only when we make it our own that it moves to the next step. Which leads to the next step.

C. The evil desire tempts you to sin.

James 1:14 NIV
but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.
Now we’re tempted. The evil desire has become a focused plan to do something wrong. The lust attacked us. We made it our own and now it is dragging us to do something evil. We’re dragged away! That’s a vivid picture. Let’s go back to the money on the floor. When you make the evil desire it allures you. That’s temptation. It didn’t have any power until you made it your own. But you don’t have to give in. You haven’t sinned yet! Why not? Because you haven’t actually picked up the money and put it in our pocket! We can turn from sin at each of the three steps we seen so far. God even helps us in the midst of temptation.
1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
If we invite God into our thoughts and trust Him we can, with His help, resist the temptation. How does that work in this situation? Easy. As you stand there and think about the money and how badly you want it, start talking to God. Say something like this.
“Father, help me to steal money. Help me to be a cunning thief and not get caught. And by the way, help me not feel guilty for taking the money that belongs to someone else.”
Could you pray that? Of course not, not if you’re a Christian. The power of sin is broken when we understand our identity in Christ and invite God into our thoughts!. When we remember who we are and invite God into every thought process He helps us. We ask Him for help and pray, “Father, I need the money but I need to trust you for it, not steal it.”
This works and not just in this scenario. You can use this process to stop you from getting drunk, depressed, discouraged, dismayed, disheartened, defiant, depraved, despaired, defeated, or any other temptation to evil. Whatever the temptation may be imagine the Father is right there with you, which He is by the way, and ask Him how to think, feel and act. Trust Him for His good desires, self-control, peace and hope and you’ll get them.
But if we don’t seek God’s power and continue down the path then

D. Temptation gives birth to sin. James 1:15a

James 1:15 NIV
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
When you give in and do what you’re tempted to do by the evil desire you sin. The words used in this verse are the same words used to describe conceiving a child and giving birth. Only in our case it isn’t a beautiful baby,
IT’S A SIN!
Bummer. We have sinned but one of the good things God does is offer forgiveness for our sin. It is through confession. 1 John 1:9 says,
1 John 1:9 NIV
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
The word confess means to say the same thing as. When we say the same thing about our sin as God say, that it was wrong, that we shouldn’t have done it, God forgives us and our relationship with God is restored. But if we don’t, there is more bad news. James says that if we continue in sin,

E. Sin leads to death. James 1:15b

James 1:15 NIV
15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
As you continue down the path of sin, sinning over and over and over, you will end up dying physically because of your sin. I’m not saying this, God’s word says it. 1 John 5:16-17 says
1 John 5:16–17 NIV
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
There can be a point in each one of our lives, if we continue to sin and sin and sin, that God says enough is enough. There is a point of no return on the path to sin where God says “No more” and takes us home. God takes sin more seriously than we do. If we don’t stop sinning God will discipline us and that will include taking us home to heaven. 1 Corinthians 11:29-32.
These five steps art the path that each of us takes every time we sin. Sometime we run down this path as quickly as we can. Sometimes we see what is happening and turn to God. Other times we struggle and go slowly but the result is the same.
Now let’s consider

4. The sources of attacking evil desires.

INTERACTION: Take a quick look at the verses in James 1:13-16 and tell me what James says is the source of the evil attacking desires. What do you think?
It seems like the answer is “our desires” but where do the desires come from before we make them our own? What does James say about that?
He doesn’t say. Why doesn’t he say? Well, he doesn’t say why he doesn’t say. I think he doesn’t say because it’s obvious. The Bible tells us there are three sources of evil attacking desires.

A. The flesh attacks us with evil desires 1 Peter 2:11

B. The world attacks us with evil desires. Titus 2:12

C. Satan attacks us with evil desires. John 8:44

The word desire in each of these verses is the same word, epithumia, that James uses for desire. Three different spiritual enemies attack us with evil desires. In the next three messages we’ll take a closer look at how each one attack us and how to defeat them. I want to leave you with

5. Three important observations

I want to tie this all together by making three observations.

A. Every time you have an evil desire it’s a spiritual attack.

Stop feeling guilty about having evil desires. Too many feel guilty and feel they have already sinned because they begin to feel anger or anxious or jealous or have an improper sexual thought pop into their minds. Don’t feel guilty just because you have them. Do something about them! Don’t let them in.

B. Attacking evil desires don’t have to become sin.

Whatever the evil desire is, when it first comes into your mind it isn’t sin yet. It is like a wasp/mosquito that flies into the door of your house. Don’t let it stay! Get rid of it or it will sting you!
Whenever I teach on this I have people tell me I’m wrong, that all evil desire or lust is sin. After all, they say, isn’t that what Jesus said? Actually that isn’t what Jesus said. There are three points to my response to this question. We believe the Bible is God’s word and doesn’t contradict itself, right? Consider this.
James 1:15 says lust or desire when it is conceived gives birth to sin. I’m not saying that James is. Evil desire is gives birth to sin, it isn’t sin.
The Bible doesn’t tell us “don’t have evil desires.” It tells us to put them to death Colossians 3:5, flee from them 2 Timothy 2:22, don’t gratify them Galatians 5:16, don’t let them reign in your heart Romans 6:12, don’t be conformed to them 1 Peter 1:14, abstain from them 1 Peter 2:11, make no provision for them Romans 13:14, deny them.
Jesus didn’t say “don’t have evil sexual desire.” He said don’t make it your own and act upon it by looking at a woman as a sexual object.
Matthew 5:27–28 ESV
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
Don’t read Jesus’ words as “But I tell you that anyone with lust has already committed adultery.” This is a hard truth but it is consistent with James. Don’t give any evil desire a place in your heart. Kick it out! Evict it! Shove it out the door of your heart! Don’t let it settle in because it will lead to temptation. Which leads us to our final observation.

C. Temptation doesn’t have to become sin.

Even if you let the desire in, even if it becomes a temptation to sin, you still haven’t sinned yet. Keep fighting the battle and be an overcomer.

Discussion Questions:

Is it easy or hard to recognize evil desires as attacks? Why?
What can help you to recognize evil desires as the start of an attack?
What is the most significant thing you’ve learned from this message?
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