HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION Research James 1
"HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION"
JAMES 1:12-18
F.B. Meyer said, "The bitterest experience with most believers is the presence and power of sin. They long to walk through this grimy world with pure hearts and stainless garments, but when they would do "HOW TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION"
JAMES 1:12-18
F.B. Meyer said, "The bitterest experience with most believers is the presence and power of sin. They long to walk through this grimy world with pure hearts and stainless garments, but when they would do good, evil is present with them.. They consent to God's law that it is good; they approve it; they even delight in it after the inward man; they endeavor to keep it, but notwithsanding all, they seem as helpless to perform it as a man whose brain has been smitten with paralysis."
How can a Believer overcome temptation? James is one of the most practical books in the whole Bible, so it should not surprise us to find that early on, he addresses the subject of temptation.
There are several things I want you to note about overcoming temptation, and they all start with an "F" so maybe you can remember them better.
I. FACE THE REALITY
EXP: You will be tempted. When you become a Christian, it doesn't mean that there will be no more temptations. In some way, it will seem that your temptations have just started.
Many of us want to live in a dream world that when we become Believers that we will no longer, or should no longer be tempted. And as long as you are living in that kind of a delusion you will continue to be disillusioned! For the fact of the matter is, "You will be tempted."
You are no greater than your master, and Your master, Jesus, himself, was tempted by Satan. And you know, Jesus didn't call time-out and complain, and say, "Father, you never said I'd have to be tempted!" No the scripture says that in "all points he was tempted as we are, yet without sin."
Notice it doesn't say, Blessed is the one who "escapes" temptation...because you cannot escape it. Americans seem consumed today with living a "Risk-free" life. We want no risk on our purchases...No risk for our children...No risk with our investments...No risk with our relationships...so we have "Fault-free" divorces, and on and on...Listen, you cannot eliminate risk from this life. and you cannot eliminate temptation from this life.
You will be tempted...And I want to say to you...the time to decide what your going to do is right now. Not in the heat of the battle. That's too late. Decide right now...What's it going to be when temptation comes? Because I want you to know, you will be tempted.
Kids...You are going to be tempted to drink...Decide now, "Are you going to do it?" You are going to be tempted to be sexually immoral? Face that reality. What will you do about it?
Christian. You are going to be tempted to backslide. Tempted to sleep in instead of pray. Tempted to get mad...Tempted to hold a grudge...It is inevitable that they come...and the sooner you accept that reality and decide to deal with it, the better chance you will have of winning the fight.
You will be tempted and we are told to endure...There is constantly coming down the pike some new teaching on how the Christian life can be lived easily, effortlessly, in three easy steps...which to the chagrin of the Church over the last 2000 years, no one ever figured out before...More often than not, the new "secret" includes knowing the magical words to get Satan to stop bothering you. If you can just bind him up, cast him out, and make him say his name, then you, too, can live without temptation, goes the thesis...but nowhere in the Bible does it tell us we can escape temptation...It is here to stay...Nowhere are we told that we can cast out the territorial spirits and make our region safe for Christianity...Instead, we are told to endure.
"Endure" means to "bear up courageously" to bear bravely and calmly. To patiently and triumphantly endure, to show constancy under. It is not the patience which can sit down and bow its head and let things descend upon it and passively endure until the storm is passed. It is the spirit which can bear things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope.
Some people say, "Oh, well I would endure...but you just don't know how bad I am tempted." "If Satan tempted you, like he does me, then you'd give in, also."
John 16:33
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
II. FATHOM THE DYNAMICS
EXP: In the New Testament, there are two words for "temptation." One word is used to refer mainly to tests that God allows into our lives. It's the word dokimon. Sometimes dokimon can be used to refer to Satan's enticement to sin, depending on the context. The other word, pyrasmon. Pyrasmon is used only to refer to Satan's enticement toward evil.
ILL: Alexander MacLaren distinguished the two words this way, "Pyrasmon conveys the idea of appealling to the worst part of man, with the wish that he may yield and do the wrong. Dokimon means a n appeal to the better part of man, with the desire that he should stand. Pyrasmon says, 'Do this pleasant thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is wrong.' Dokimon says, 'Do this right and noble thing; do not be hindered by the fact that it is painful.' The one is a sweet, beguiling melody, breathing soft indulgence and relaxation over the soul; The other is a trumpet call to high achievements."
The word used in verse 12 translated "temptation" is the word pyrasmon. It speaks about Satan's enticement to sin...and verse 13 tells us that we need to understand that, "God never entices a person to sin..."
Deut 8:2 says God will test us to see what's in our heart, but he never entices us to sin.
So what are the dynamics? When you feel tempted to sin, that is Satan enticing you to do evil...to sin against God, and he does it to attempt to destroy your life. Now he will tell you that he just wants to give you what is rightfully yours. He will tell you that he wants to add to your life. He will tell you that this is a way to have what God has unfairly withheld, but you need to know that the devil never talks without lying. He may tell part of the truth, but he will never tell the whole truth.
So his purpose in temptation is to destroy.
But guess what...Even though God does not "entice a person to sin," when Satan tempts a person, he can do it only because God has allowed it. And God allows it because He, also, has a purpose. Satan's purpose is to destroy...God has a purpose. and God's purpose doesn't change whether the word is dokimon or pyrasmon. What is that purpose?
God's purpose...is to test what is in your heart, so that you can receive His stamp of approval. He allows you to be tempted toward evil because His purpose is for you to endure it, and he never lets it be too hard for you, so that He can place his stamp of approval on you.
Well, it isn't hard to see Satan's purpose...But what about God's? Why does He do that anyway?
ILL: Oranges...
But take another look at verse 12...What does God say about the one who endures?
"Blessed..." When you are tempted, you need to know, there is a blessing coming when I've endured it..."
Calls it a "crown" It is the reward of accomplishment...It doesn't say how or when except that after you've endured...You will be recognized and rewarded by God for having done it. God says "There will be a blessing..."
But also, notice that He equates resisting temptation with love for Him...He says "When you resist temptation, I know you love me."
What does God promise to those who love him?
Ex 20:6 says God shows mercy to those who love Him
Deut 7:9 says God keeps covenant with those who love Him
Rom 8:28 says God causes all things to work for good for the person who loves Him
John14:21 says God reveals himself to those who love Him
Gal 5:6 says that what God really cares about is whether or not we love Him
So, when you're facing a temptation to sin, tell yourself, "PTL! This is a chance to show God that I love Him by not giving in, and when He sees how much I love Him...He's going to shed more love on my life than ever!"
So what are the dynamics? 1. Satan is trying to destroy your life...2. God has allowed it so that, you have the chance to prove that you love Him, and when you have shown that, then...He's going to give you a blessing of being approved by Him.
When you are faced with temptation...you need to know that Satan wants to destroy you, and God wants to bless you...which one will have its way....depends on your response.
III. FORESEE THE FUTURE
We've already talked about that some in relation to enduring...but what's the future if I succumb? Oscar Wilde said, "The only sure way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it." But what are the consequences?
V14-15 give the progression...It starts with a hint...Like a fisherman that draws his prey out of his normal resting position...Then he entices it with specific bait...then it leads to sin...then eventually that seemingly innocent sin...results in death.
ILL: Jim Bamford author of The Puzzle Palace, a book about the National Security Agency, talks about the incredible reality that during the Cold War, the KGB was so effective at making inroads into agencies, such as the FBI, even though FBI employees were carefully screened. He says, "Once you've sold one secret, you're hooked. They don't start by asking 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."
That's so much like how Satan works, don't you think? He does not at first, ask for anything major...just a series of small steps ultimately leading to spiritual disaster.
And when you're being enticed to sin...one of the ways you resist it is to foresee...what's going to happen if I give in? What will I feel like inside? How will this affect my family? What will this lead to? Will it bring joy?
ILL: Leonardo Da Vinci
IV. FOCUS ON YOUR NEW NATURE
EXP: James warns us against blaming temptation on God...and He reminds us that to the contrary of tempting men...God gives good gifts...the best of which is salvation...That's what v18 is speaking about...
God didn't make you to continue in sin...He made you to be a triumphant creature...a victorious saint...Dead to Sin, but Alive to God...
Remember who you are...That's the greatest gift...He gave us an incorruptible seed.
I'll tell you...Winning over temptation isn't a matter of just resisting...It is resting on the Living Lord who lives inside of you...
Claiming His character...You'll never win unless you do that..."Lord, I claim your peace. Your patience...Your purity.
Listen, the only person who can do that is the one who has Jesus living inside of him. Religion won't help you. Attendance won't help you... THere must be Someone inside.
The Jews were fond of using the word blessed (makarios). Both in the New Testament and in extrabiblical literature the word is common. For example, in the New Testament it occurs fifty times.34
Who is the man the Bible calls “blessed”? He is the person who finds complete happiness in God. He may be poor, meek, hungry, or persecuted—but he is happy. This appears to be a contradiction. From a worldly perspective only the rich and those who are secure can be happy. But Scripture says that “the man who perseveres [endures] under trial” is blessed.
b. Test
God tests man’s faith to learn whether it is genuine and true. For instance, we test the purity of a bowl made of lead crystal by lightly tapping the outer edge. Immediately we know its genuineness when we hear a reverberating, almost musical sound. We also know that the lead crystal bowl went through the fire when it was made.
Similarly, God tests the faith of man as, for example, in the case of Job. Faith that is not tried and true is worthless. God wants the believer to come to him in a time of trial so that he may give him the strength to endure. God is not interested in seeing the believer falter and fail; he wants him to endure, overcome, and triumph.
See how Peter encourages his readers to persevere: “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (I Peter 2:20).
c. Promise
Why is the believer who perseveres during a time of testing happy? Because “he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
After his period of testing has ended, the believer will receive the crown of life. No one competing in games receives a crown until the race is over, and then only one person gets the crown (I Cor. 9:24–25). The phrase the crown of life, it seems, was a well-known idiom in the first century. It occurs in the letter addressed to the church in Smyrna: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Writes R. C. Trench, the crown of life “is the emblem, not of royalty, but of highest joy and gladness, of glory and immortality.”35 The phrase, then, suggests fullness of life that God grants to those who endure the test of faith. God has promised this gift “to those who love him.”
Man cannot earn the crown of life, for God gives it to him full and free. God asks that man place his complete confidence in him and love him wholeheartedly. To love God with heart, soul, and mind, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself constitutes the summary of the Ten Commandments. Interestingly enough, James returns to that royal law, as he calls it, in the next chapter (2:8). However, James teaches that God chose man who then began to love him (2:5). John says the same thing when he writes, “We love because he first loved us” (I John 4:19). God comes first, then man.
[1]
The Jews were fond of using the word blessed (makarios). Both in the New Testament and in extrabiblical literature the word is common. For example, in the New Testament it occurs fifty times.34
Who is the man the Bible calls “blessed”? He is the person who finds complete happiness in God. He may be poor, meek, hungry, or persecuted—but he is happy. This appears to be a contradiction. From a worldly perspective only the rich and those who are secure can be happy. But Scripture says that “the man who perseveres [endures] under trial” is blessed.
b. Test
God tests man’s faith to learn whether it is genuine and true. For instance, we test the purity of a bowl made of lead crystal by lightly tapping the outer edge. Immediately we know its genuineness when we hear a reverberating, almost musical sound. We also know that the lead crystal bowl went through the fire when it was made.
Similarly, God tests the faith of man as, for example, in the case of Job. Faith that is not tried and true is worthless. God wants the believer to come to him in a time of trial so that he may give him the strength to endure. God is not interested in seeing the believer falter and fail; he wants him to endure, overcome, and triumph.
See how Peter encourages his readers to persevere: “But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God” (I Peter 2:20).
c. Promise
Why is the believer who perseveres during a time of testing happy? Because “he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
After his period of testing has ended, the believer will receive the crown of life. No one competing in games receives a crown until the race is over, and then only one person gets the crown (I Cor. 9:24–25). The phrase the crown of life, it seems, was a well-known idiom in the first century. It occurs in the letter addressed to the church in Smyrna: “Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Writes R. C. Trench, the crown of life “is the emblem, not of royalty, but of highest joy and gladness, of glory and immortality.”35 The phrase, then, suggests fullness of life that God grants to those who endure the test of faith. God has promised this gift “to those who love him.”
Man cannot earn the crown of life, for God gives it to him full and free. God asks that man place his complete confidence in him and love him wholeheartedly. To love God with heart, soul, and mind, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself constitutes the summary of the Ten Commandments. Interestingly enough, James returns to that royal law, as he calls it, in the next chapter (2:8). However, James teaches that God chose man who then began to love him (2:5). John says the same thing when he writes, “We love because he first loved us” (I John 4:19). God comes first, then man.
[2]
Greek Words, Phrases, and Constructions in 1:12
δόκιμος—this adjective has its origin in the verb δέχομαι (I receive, accept) and means “accepted.” It refers to something that has been tested and is genuine, for example, coins and metals. The word occurs seven times in the New Testament (Rom. 14:18; 16:10; I Cor. 11:19; II Cor. 10:18; 13:7; II Tim. 2:15; James 1:12).
[3]
“God cannot be tempted.” James is not interested in explaining the origin of evil, for he knows that not God but Satan is called the tempter. Therefore he writes, “God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” He means to say that God, who created all things, is not the cause of evil. In his holiness God stands far above evil and cannot be influenced by it. James puts it this way: it is impossible for God to be tempted. Because of his perfection, God has no contact with evil, and evil is powerless to bring God into temptation.
Moreover, God does not tempt anyone. God hates evil and therefore does not lead anyone astray. “Do not say, ‘Because of the Lord I left the right way’; for he will not do what he hates. Do not say, ‘It was he who led me astray’; for he has no need of a sinful man” (Sir. 15:11–12).
In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches the believer to pray, “And lead us not into temptation” (Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4). Of course, in this petition Jesus does not say that God is tempting us, because that is impossible. Jesus teaches us that we must ask God to keep us from falling into temptation.38 Who, then, tempts man? Scripture is plain on this point: Satan. To be precise, Satan has the name the tempter (Matt. 4:3; I Thess. 3:5). And Satan is amazingly successful in leading man into temptation and sin.
b. “Each [man] is tempted.” Some people try to excuse sin by saying, “The devil made me do it.” But this excuse does not hold, for man himself is responsible for his own sin. Temptation is universal; not one person escapes confronting it.39
“Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.” James uses an illustration taken from the art of fishing. A fish sees the lure and is tempted to strike. When the fish takes hold of the bait, it is suddenly dragged away and pays with its life for its innocence and ignorance.40 But man cannot claim innocence and ignorance. James puts it pointedly: “Each one is tempted … by his own desire.” He deprives man of any excuse to place the blame on someone or something else. He says, in effect, that the cause lies within ourselves. Note that James speaks of one’s own desire. Our desires lead us into temptation, and if we are not controlled by the Spirit of God they lead us into sin.
The heart of man is deceitful, as Jeremiah prophesied (17:9). Jesus repeats the same thought when he describes the human heart in these words: “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt. 15:19).
Is there an escape from temptation? Certainly. God has not forsaken us. He still hears and answers our prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matt. 6:13). And Paul writes these reassuring words: “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 stand up under it” (I Cor. 10:13).[4]
“Perfect” (teleios) was an extremely important word for James, occurring in 1:4 twice (cf. KJV, “Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect”) and in 1:17, 25; 3:2. It has three aspects: the character of individuals in all their acts, a divine model or purpose that is under construction or in process, and the ultimate realization of that purpose in the eschaton or the last things.27 The use of holoklēros (“complete”)28 along with teleios (“perfect”) implies a gradual process of adding virtue upon virtue29 until one is “not lacking anything.” Thus faith becomes complete in the fullest sense, ready to stand before God in the judgment, which is faith’s goal. For the promised reward James used the exceptional term “the crown [stephanos] of life” (cf. Rev 2:10).63 The present life is characterized by the testing of every child of God. This testing is much like the disciplining to be endured that is described in Heb 12:7–13. According to James the poor endure the troubles of their poverty; the rich endure their temptation to trust in their wealth rather than in God alone and therefore to be double-minded; those between the two extremes are tempted by their desires and rationalizations to imitate the wealthy. These lifelong tests are relieved at the end of life with the reward of divine life. In the meantime each is to pursue genuine love for God that issues in the true religion (v. 27).[5]
For the promised reward James used the exceptional term “the crown [stephanos] of life” (cf. Rev 2:10).63 The present life is characterized by the testing of every child of God. This testing is much like the disciplining to be endured that is described in Heb 12:7–13. According to James the poor endure the troubles of their poverty; the rich endure their temptation to trust in their wealth rather than in God alone and therefore to be double-minded; those between the two extremes are tempted by their desires and rationalizations to imitate the wealthy. These lifelong tests are relieved at the end of life with the reward of divine life. In the meantime each is to pursue genuine love for God that issues in the true religion (v. 27).[6]
The self-tempting process is inseparably tied74 to the doing of sin itself.75 Desire conceives its offspring, sin. James used the metaphor of conception for describing the development from temptation to sin. What is always so difficult for the believer, for any sinner, is the truth about one’s own sin. No matter how extraordinarily destructive sin is discovered to be, the believer can never find a source of sin outside of himself. Desire is like a creature with a reproductive life of its own. Desire has become pregnant, and sin is now alive within the self. Again, unlike the external trials that come from God, this entire movement from temptation to sin is internal to the self. Temptation, self-induced by the power and appeal of desire, is now producing sin on the way to death.76 Unrestrained evil desire then engenders a process of three closely connected stages: temptation, sin, and death.
Here is the full portrayal of the self moving against itself in the divided mind and heart of believers, represented in the metaphor of two births. Desire gives birth77 to sin. Sin,78 the offspring of desire, grows up, matures, and is ready for fertilization and conception. Finally, sin gives birth to death.79 Desire is the alien opponent within the self. But once the self has acquiesced to desire, sin is its offspring, owned by the self.
The awful image of the parasite is suggested by this text. The parasite, desire, has found its hospitable environment. When sin has been birthed, the new parasite, nurtured by the life of the self, is tightly intertwined with it. Sin engenders death. The full growth of sin issues in the slaying of the host. This juxtaposition of birth and death, with death arising from birth, is one of the most powerful statements about sin in the New Testament. The progression toward death is rather complex.
• Temptation to sin is not a divine activity but an evil one.
• Temptation begins with the potential of the believer’s own desire to satisfy self or God.
• Evil desire is a powerful attraction.
• Temptation is effected within the self.
• Sin lives within the self.
• Sin in the self grows to maturity.
• Sin slays the host—the self.
(3) The Element of Deception (1:16)
16Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers.
1:16 The complexity of temptation and sin in the Christian life requires the warning against self-deception80 (cf. 5:19). If the great temptation of the sinner is unbelief, then the great temptation of the believer is misbelief. The believer may have a very rudimentary faith in Christ but has adopted falsehoods about the life of faith. Some among James’s audience had adopted the idea that God is the cause of temptation. And yet, in no case can a role be assigned to God in relation to evil, temptation, and sin.[7]
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34 Friedrich Hauck, TDNT, vol. 4, pp. 367–70. Consult Oswald Becker, NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 216–17.
35 Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 80.
[1]Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary (Page 46). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
34 Friedrich Hauck, TDNT, vol. 4, pp. 367–70. Consult Oswald Becker, NIDNTT, vol. 1, pp. 216–17.
35 Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, p. 80.
[2]Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary (Page 46). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
[3]Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary (Page 47). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
38 Herman N. Ridderbos, Het Evangelie naar Mattheüs, 2 vols., Korte Verklaring der Heilige Schrift (Kampen: Kok, 1952), vol. 1, p. 136. Also consult F. W. Grosheide, Het Heilig Evangelie volgens Mattheüs, Commentaar op het Nieuwe Testament series (Kampen: Kok, 1954), p. 101; William Hendriksen, Matthew, New Testament Commentary series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973), pp. 336–37.
39 D. Edmond Hiebert, The Epistle of James: Tests of a Living Faith (Chicago: Moody, 1979), p. 105.
40 Consult Joseph B. Mayor, The Epistle of St. James (reprint ed., Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1946), p. 54; A. T. Robertson, Studies in the Epistle of James, rev. and ed. Heber F. Peacock (Nashville: Broadman, 1959), p. 52. Also see R. V. G. Tasker, The General Epistle of James: An Introduction and Commentary, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 46; and Curtis Vaughan, James: A Study Guide (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1969), p. 31.
[4]Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. Accompanying biblical text is author's translation. New Testament Commentary (Page 48). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.
27 Cf. Matt 5:48; Eph 3:19; 4:13; Phil 3:1; Col 1:28; 4:12; 1 Cor 14:20; Heb 5:12–14; note especially how it is said that Christ was made perfect through suffering in Heb 2:10. The meaning of “perfect” is seen reflected in the life of Noah, who was said to be “righteous and blameless … walking with God” (Gen 6:9). Noah followed the pattern of righteousness marked out for him by God and did not waver from his way. This resulted in a “full-blown character of stable righteousness” (Davids, Epistle of James, 70) that forms the identity of the righteous person. Although for Paul perfection is reached only in the resurrection (cf. 1 Cor 2:6; Eph 4:13; Col 4:12; Phil 3:15), it also applies to the imitation of God/Christ theme in discipleship (cf. Matt 9:21).
28 ὁλόκληρος: “whole,” “complete,” as in the man who was healed in Acts 3:1 but also in the metaphorical sense of Wis 15:3; 1 Thess 5:23. Here it stands in relation to the necessity of keeping the whole law in 2:9–10.
29 The lack of wisdom in the believer’s life requires a constant striving for the maturity that will allow for greater faith as in 1 Cor 1:7; Phil 3:9. Cf. 2 Pet 1:5–8, where this linking of the parts of faith that will lead to a whole person are delineated (cf. Col 4:12; Matt 21; cf. F. Mussner, “‘Direkte’ und ‘indirekte’ Christologie im Jakobusbrief,” Catholica 24 [1970]: 117).
63 The expression refers to the life to come with God in his kingdom and includes the sense of reigning together with Christ in his victory and lordship; cf. 2:5; Dan 7:27; Zech 6:14; Luke 12:32; 22:28; Rom 5:17; 2 Tim 2:12; 4:8; 1 Pet 2:9; 5:4; Rev 1:6; 2:10; Wis 3.8; 5.16.
[5]Richardson, K. A. (2001, c1997). Vol. 36: James (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Page 77). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
63 The expression refers to the life to come with God in his kingdom and includes the sense of reigning together with Christ in his victory and lordship; cf. 2:5; Dan 7:27; Zech 6:14; Luke 12:32; 22:28; Rom 5:17; 2 Tim 2:12; 4:8; 1 Pet 2:9; 5:4; Rev 1:6; 2:10; Wis 3.8; 5.16.
[6]Richardson, K. A. (2001, c1997). Vol. 36: James (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Page 77). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
74 The connection between desire and sin is also made in such texts as 4 Macc 1:25–26; Philo, On Husbandry 22–25.
75 συλλαμβάνω: “conceive”; cf. 3:6; 4:7; Ps 7:14; T. Ben. 7; T. Reub. 3, commenting on Gen 6:2ff.
76 ἀποτελέω: “come to maturity,” here “complete.” The NIV translates “when it is full-grown.” In this sense sin itself is completely ready to reproduce.
77 τίκτω: “give birth to,” “bear”; cf. Matt 1:21; John 16:21; Rev 12:4.
78 In the singular “sin” becomes the personification of the dynamics of sin; cf. 2:9, 22; 4:17; John 1:29; 16:8; Rom 5:12–13; 1 Cor 15:56. James used the plural to indicate specific sins (5:15–16, 20); see also Rom 7:5; 1 Cor 15:3; Gal 1:4. Interestingly, Philo, in Leg. All. and De Prof., argues that desire is passive until reason or the mind takes hold of it. The mind then becomes the vehicle of the power of desire.
79 ἀποκεύω: “give birth”; in the metaphorical sense it means “engender,” “bring into being,” “produce.” Note how this verb is used to express God’s activity in 1:18; cf. Matt 7:13f.; Rom 6:21–23; Barn 18.1. Sin and death are often closely related in Scripture; cf. John 8:21; Rom 5:12, 21; 1 Cor 15:56; Eph 2:1.
80 πλανάω: “mislead,” “deceive,” here “do not be deceived” or “make no mistake.” Cf. Deut 4:19; 11:28; Matt 18:12–13; 22:29; Mark 12:24, 27; Luke 21:8; 1 Cor 6:9; 15:33; Gal 6:7; Ign. Phila. 3; Eph. 16.
[7]Richardson, K. A. (2001, c1997). Vol. 36: James (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; The New American Commentary (Page 82). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.