Sermon Tone Analysis

“Can’t Stop the Feeling?

Yes, You Can.”

Yes, I did get the sermon title from a Justin Timberlake song!

And yes, I may have rocked out to this song like many of you in my car!

But I can’t help but correlate this song with where we are in chapter 1 of the book of James.

James begins to describe this dance, so to speak that we do with trials and temptation that can lead to sin and death.

Like the song “Can’t Stop the Feeling”, we often times just push off the desire that we have for sin as a feeling, and that we can’t kick it, because we say it’s “just who we are”.

However, James makes it pretty clear that... if you’re a believer, you have some tools at your disposal and you CAN stop that feeling- that causes us to act on desire and lead to sin, and as he describes ultimately death.

So now let’s pick up where Josh left off from last week.

Verse 12 is the verse that connects 2-11 and 13-18.

James doesn’t drop the subject of trials to talk about temptation.

Instead, James wants his readers to understand that we must resist the temptation that comes with the trials.

Every trial begins with a temptation.

Let’s Pray

Often in our lives, financial problems can tempt us to question God’s will in our lives; the death of a loved one can cause us to question God’s love for us; when watching the poor suffer and the rich get richer can make us angry and even question God’s justice and existence at all.

But hey, it’s in our nature to blame others.

Look no further than the beginning:

We make excuses, it’s technically in our blood!

But the real answer is that, God can not tempt anyone.

It’s impossible because it’s not in His character.

First temptation of sin didn’t start with God.

Holiness started with God.

Holiness means to be set apart from evil.

Holiness means you don’t have the ability to be affected by evil nor the ability to cause evil.

And if God is the standard of holiness, which He is, then He can’t be tempted or tempt anyone.

Do a simple google search on “verses about God’s holiness” and it will be overwhelming how many that come up.

Let’s just take one:

God is holy and we must understand this to understand that God can not tempt anyone.

The question, “is God tempting me?” needs to leave our mind and James explains next why.

The apostle Paul describes this struggle in a confusing but to the point way.

READ ROMANS 7:14-25

The word that James uses in verse 14, dragged away, is actually a fishing term.

Picture this:

You’re a fish.

It’s a beautiful day, everything’s going your way, and then off in the distance you spot this really shiny thing.

I mean who can resist at least going to check out this bright shiny object, right?

You’re not going to entertain taking it, you just want to look, right?

Well as you get closer it becomes more apparent that you have to have this shiny object to feed your own cravings and obsession with shiny objects, or whatever.

So you weren’t going to take it, but you entertain the idea of having it, soon enough it’s in your hand.

But you didn’t intend to take it, right?

To be clear; the lure is not sin, taking the bait is.

See where James is painting the picture for his audience?

READ THE QUOTE FROM BOENHOFFER IN SWINDOLL’S BOOK (PAGES 35-36)

So what we’ve learned so far is that God is holy and can’t tempt anyone and that James does not drop the subject of trials but continues talking about temptation.

So, this leaves us to ask the question: What is the difference between a trial and temptation?

A trial is an outward circumstance that can pose difficulties to our faith.

A temptation is the inner enticement of sin.

James is making sure that his readers understand that his readers should not confuse the two.

and attribute temptation to God.

Temptation is always present and no one is exempt from experiencing it.

Even Jesus was lead into the wilderness and Satan tried multiple times to tempt Him.

Now.

What we do know is that God DOES test His people or put them through trials like Genesis 22:1

But God doesn’t tempt His people as verse 13 explains.

He doesn’t entice people, he’s not up there with a fishing pole and a shiny lure.

He has no desire for people to sin or desire that they fail.

In fact 1 Corinthians 10:13 is proof of this.

If anything, God helps us with a way out of temptation!

So to sum verse 13-14 up we could say:

When there is an attractive lure mixed with our inward desire, it leads to disaster.

This disaster is spelled out in verse 15.

When we let temptation stick around, we eventually sin.

When sin continues to happen in our life, without repentance to God (which is asking for forgiveness from that sin and turning away from it) it results to death.

But here’s the interesting thing.

James is not talking about a spiritual or physical kind of death.

According to Jewish tradition, death was seen more as a trajectory than destruction.

To them, to be dead was often meaning a poor quality of life.

Jewish Christians saw people either walking in the path of life, which is walking with Christ by the Spirit) or the path of death (walking apart from Christ in the flesh).

Walking in the flesh would be the opposite of John 10:10 where is says...

In this kind of death, the sinner can’t live out true life in the Spirit.

In fact, it is impossible.

Life by the Spirit would be Galatians 5:22-23.

So, basically what James is saying to us is that those who walk in death, have no spiritual vitality.

They are dead to Christ and dead in sin.

Rather it should be as Paul describes in Romans 6:11-12.

This is the kind of death that James refers to in verse 15.

We might ask the question; if James later mentions Satan in 4:7, why doesn’t he mention Satan at all in this section on temptation?

Do you know why?

Because James is making the point that sin is connected and committed by an individuals choice, regardless of whether Satan is tempting you.

If sin happens in our life, it is because we’ve allowed it.

We are responsible.

It starts as temptation, then moves into sin as we take part in it and eventually grows into death.

It’s like a cancer or disease that eats away at us.

Have you ever experienced being in this kind of sin?

And then you’ve experienced walking by the Spirit in Christ?

James moves from verse 15 into what becomes and endearment to his audience.

He is literally concerned for them.

He says:

He cares for these people.

James 13-15 and verses 17-18 is connected by verse 16.

He appeals to their minds.

See temptation thrives on inconsistent thinking.

Someone who is not in God’s Word is easily led astray.

James is basically saying not to let your thoughts stray from the truth toward deception.

The process of temptation starts in the mind and works to the heart.

We as believers, must force ourselves to face facts, apply truth and review the consequences of our desires before they happen.

If our philosophy in life is; it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, you may want to check your heart.

Because in that way of thinking and living your life, there isn’t much room for walking in the Spirit.

He truly wants his fellow believers to not be led astray and so he continues saying:

How many of you grew up with getting the big gift last?