“The Book of James 1:12-18

Pastor Mike Barnett

    ¹³When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. ¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

    ¹⁶Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. ¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created.

 James 1:12-18

• James tells us: “When tempted, no one should say, God is tempting me”.

• James knows the origin of temptation. It is not God, nor is it Satan alone.

• The source of temptation is a personal ___________________(desire) born of _______________ __________________(self-interest) that renders us susceptible to the evil inclination inside of us and around us. V. 13

• We may wrongly seek to blame others, Satan, or even God, but ultimately, we are responsible.

Gen 3:10-15 says:

 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

 11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"

 12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."

 13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
      The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

 14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
       "Cursed are you above all the livestock
       and all the wild animals!
       You will crawl on your belly
       and you will eat dust
       all the days of your life.

 15 And I will put enmity
       between you and the woman,
       and between your offspring ^[a] and hers;
       he will crush ^[b] your head,
       and you will strike his heel." Genesis 3:10-15

• When confronted by God in the Garden of Eden, Adam pleads innocence and blames Eve..

• Eve in turn blames the serpent.

• Neither takes responsibility for his or her actions.

• How human they are, and how quickly they prove themselves willing to place their relationship to each other and to God in Jeopardy in the name of self – interest.

• Just as common to man being tempted, it is also common for him to _____________________(blame) someone else or something else, not only for his being tempted but also for his succumbing to it.

• From the beginning, one of the chief characteristics of sin has been the propensity to pass off blame, and every parent knows that children are born with this very evident propensity.

• THE BIBLE IS CLEAR: THE SOURCE OF TEMPTATION IS THE EVIL DESIRE __________________(BORN) INTO __________________(EVERY) PERSON – THE “YESERHARA”.

• God is Holy

• But man is born with a _______________ ___________________(sin-nature).

·        Before salvation, all people are slaves to ______________________(lust).

·        THE BIBLE IS CLEAR, ALL PEOPLE ARE BORN WITH A SIN NATURE.

Eph 2:1-3 says:

 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.  Eph 2:1-3

• We are dragged away and enticed by this evil desire that lives inside us.

• James uses _______________________(fishing) and __________________________(hunting) analogies to describe this evil desire that entices us to sin.

Ecclesiastes 9:12 says:

   ¹² Moreover, no man knows when his hour will come:
       As fish are caught in a cruel net,
       or birds are taken in a snare,
       so men are trapped by evil times
       that fall unexpectedly upon them.  Ecclesiastes 9:12

·        “Carried away and enticed” both translate participles that describe closely related but different aspects of the temptation process.

·        Exelko which has the meaning of dragging away, as if compelled by an _______________(inner) desire. V. 14

·        “Exelko” (inner desire) was used as a hunting term to refer to a __________________ __________________(baited trap) designed to lure an unsuspecting animal into it. V. 14

·        The second term (enticed) is from deleazo, which was commonly used as a ___________________(fishing) term to refer to bait, whose purpose was also to lure the prey from safety to capture. V. 14

• Animals and fish are successfully lured to traps and hooks because the bait is too attractive for them to resist.

• It looks good and smells good, appealing strongly to their senses.

• Their desire for the bait is so intense that it causes them to lose caution and to overlook or ignore the trap or the hook until it is too late.

• In exactly the same way, we succumb to temptation when our own lust draws us toward evil things that are appealing to our fleshly desire.

• Sin can look ________________________(attractive) and pleasurable, and is at least for while……otherwise it would have little power over us.

NOTE: There would be no attraction for sin were it not for man’s own sinful lust, which makes evil seem more appealing than righteousness, falsehood more appealing than truth.

• Satan, the world and our flesh tries to make sin as ______________________(attractive) as possible.

• The Bible is clear…We must take _____________________________(responsibility) for our sin - We cannot blame the Devil or other people.

·        Our modern culture does not like to face that fact that humans have a tremendous capacity for evil.

·        Our World teaches that humans are basically good.

·        These beliefs may make us feel better, but such beliefs in no way change what is.

·        JAMES TEACHES WHAT IS!

·        There are forces is us and around us that are opposed to God, and within us exist a bent to oppose God, to hide from God, to disobey God.

·        We may not like the fact that we have the capacity to sin. We may not like bearing responsibility for our actions.

·        BUT OUR DISLIKES DO NOT CHANGE WHAT IS!

·        James knows that as human beings we possess a tremendous capacity to fool ourselves and to believe certain things simply because we wish to believe hem, even against overwhelming evidence.

·        We are going to sin…but how will we respond to it?

·        Well we Blame God, others or take responsibility like King David in Psalm 51:1-10:

  ¹ Have mercy on me, O God,
       according to your unfailing love;
       according to your great compassion
       blot out my transgressions.

    ² Wash away all my iniquity
       and cleanse me from my sin.

    ³ For I know my transgressions,
       and my sin is always before me.

    ⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
       and done what is evil in your sight,
       so that you are proved right when you speak
       and justified when you judge.

    ⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
       sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

    ⁶ Surely you desire truth in the inner parts ^[a] ;
       you teach ^[b] me wisdom in the inmost place.

    ⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
       wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

    ⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
       let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

    ⁹ Hide your face from my sins
       and blot out all my iniquity.

    ¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
       and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

 Psalms 51:1-10

• Unfortunately, we do not take seriously enough the corrosive power of sin within us.

• Lures are not effective if they appear obvious, they are only effective if they appear as something they are not, or at least as relatively harmless.

• JAMES WARNS US THAT THERE ARE NO HARMLESS, INOCENT SINS…THOSE THAT APPEAR HARMLESS IN REALITY ARE THE MOST POTENTIALLY HARMFUL!

THE THREE STEPS TO SIN:

1) ___________________(Lust) - We are directly carried and enticed by our own lust.

Jeremiah 17:9 says:

 9 The heart is deceitful above all things
       and beyond cure.
       Who can understand it?  Jer. 17:9

That’s why Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 26:41”

41"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41

NOTE: Just as one type of bait or lure works well with one kind of fish, but not with others, so one person’s _____________________(passion) is another person’s ___________________(repulsion).

NOTE: Our commonality is not in the particular lust but in the fact that we all have them, are susceptible to them, and have sole personal responsibility for responding to them.

THAT’S WHY THE BIBLE TELLS NOT TO JUDGE ONE ANOTHER _______________________(COMPARING) APPLES TO ORANGES!

 1"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

 3"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.   Matthew 7:1-5

·        We make the mistake of comparing our strengths with another person's weaknesses, or compare our weaknesses to another person’s strengths we get a ____________________ _____________(distorted view) of reality…that’s why the Bible tells us not to do it.

·        In 1:2-11”trials” are something to be endured, whereas in1:13-14 “temptations are something to be avoided.

·        Particular “trials” or “temptations” may have different origins, but to human eyes, difficulties, no matter their origin, are troublesome.

·        A “__________________” (trial) to one person may well be the arena of “____________________” (temptation) for another.

·        This double meaning of “peirasmos” implies the need for spiritual discernment

·        When we perceive them as opportunities for growth of character and spiritual maturity, they are to be endured.

·        God may be the author of trials by which he intends to strengthen us, but he is not to blame if we misconstrue them as temptations that lead to sin.

·        It takes spiritual discernment to see in difficulties the possibility for growth… Those who do not are more _________________________(vulnerable) to the lure of the evil desire within them.

·        When something unfortunate happens we usually call it bad or evil because that is the way it appears to us.

·        In practice, we tend to define good the same way we think God does, and that God wants only good things for us.

·        We also demand to know the answer to any misfortune immediately, but patience is needed, for time is a potent tool in God’s hands.

·        The stumbling block is that in our arrogance and ignorance, we demand the ___________________(right) to __________________________(define) what is good and what is bad.

·        God’s definition is often different from ours so we need wisdom and ___________(insight) from Him in order to see difficulties in their proper ___________(perspective).

IF GOD DOES NOT GIVE TEMPTATION, THEN WHAT DOES GOD GIVE?

·        James answers that God gives _______ ________(good gifts)….like ______________________(wisdom) to take the way out that God provides! V. 17

Psalm 94:12 says:

¹² Blessed is the man you discipline, O LORD,
       the man you teach from your law.  Psalm 94:12

·        GOD ALSO GIVES WISDOM TO KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHO WE ARE NOT!

·        A KEY DEFENSE AGAINST TEMPTATION IS TO ________________(KNOW) WHO YOU ARE AND KNOW WHAT _____________(VALIDATES) YOU – KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU ______________________(PASSIONATE).

·        It is therefore his _____________ __________(own lust) that each believer should be most concerned about, because those are where he is vulnerable to temptation.

·        Shifting from the metaphors of hunting and fishing,  James now uses the process of childbirth to illustrate his point. V. 15-16.

James 1:15-16 says:

¹⁵Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

    ¹⁶Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. James 1:15-16

The next step into sin is…

2)____________________________(deception), which deals with the _________________(mind).

• When we think about a desired object, our mind begins to ________________________(rationalize) a ______________________(justification) for getting it.

• We don’t have to tell our minds to rationalize our lust, because they are already predisposed by our sin nature.

• Like the animal or fish that goes after the bait, the desire to have what we want is so strong that we are inclined to ________________________(discount) possible _______________________(dangers) or harm.

The final step into sin is…

3) ______________(Design) – We make ___________(plans) to ____________(fulfill) the emotional ___________(desire) that we have _______________________(rationalized) and justified with our _________________(minds).

• This stage involves our ______________(will), our conscious decision to __________________(pursue) the lust until it is ____________________(satisfied).

• What has been longed for and rationalized is now consciously pursued as a matter of choice.

• Because the will is involved, this is the stage where the most guilt lies.

• It should go without saying that the _____________________(earlier) in the process we determine to _______________(resist), the greater the likelihood we will ________________(avoid) the sin.

• Conversely, the longer we delay resisting, the more likely we commit the sin we __________(thought) about.

• The battle must be fought in the __________(mind), where it is conceived.

• The truth (God’s Word) which engages the _______________________(conscience), (the soul’s warning system), must be ________________(heard) and not ignored.

• To lose the “battle for the mind” moves one into the design stage, in which the actual execution of the sin is planned.

• The Bible clearly teaches that God test the Christian, but does not tempt the Christian to sin….THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!

Luke 4:1-13 says:

 1Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

 3The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."

 4Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone.'^[a]"

 5The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7So if you worship me, it will all be yours."

 8Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'^[b]"

 9The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. 10For it is written:
   " 'He will command his angels concerning you
      to guard you carefully;
 11they will lift you up in their hands,
      so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'^[c]"

 12Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'^[d]"

 13When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

• Jesus himself was tempted by the Devil.

• If Jesus was tempted by the Devil to sin, then we can surmise that we all will be tempted to sin.

• Jesus did not blame anybody.

• Jesus did not negotiate with the Devil.

• Jesus countered the Devil’s lies, by _______(quoting) God’s ______________(Word). Matthew 4:1-11

• Some Christians suggest that the Lord can lead us into temptation if he wants to so we should pray instead that “He would deliver us from evil” in the Lord’s Prayer.

• The idea behind this passage is that we should ask our Heavenly Father not to lead us into a testing of our faith that, because of our immaturity and weakness, could become unbearable temptation to evil.

• THE BIBLE IS CLEAR, GOD DOES NOT TEMPT US AND DOES NOT TEST US BEYOND WHAT WE CAN _________(BEAR) AND ALWAYS ______(PROVIDES) A WAY OUT.

1 Corinthians 10:13 says:

13No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it.  1 Corinthians. 10:13

• IF YOU WIN THE BATTLE OVER THE _____________________(MIND), THEN YOU WIN THE BATTLE OVER SIN – THE BATTLE ALWAYS STARTS BETWEEN THE EARS!

• But since none of us is successful in resisting every temptation by immediately rejecting wrong desire, we need to understand ways for dealing with sin at every stage.

• We must ________________________(train) our __________________(minds) to keep watch over our emotional desires.

• Instead of rationalizing temptations, we prepare in advance to oppose them with God’s ______________________(Word) just as Jesus did in the wilderness.

Romans 12:2 says:

2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom 12:2

Col. 3:2 says:

2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  Col. 3:2

NOTE: If we lose the battle over the mind then it is a matter of _______________(time) before the cycle of temptation is ______________________(completed), sin is accomplished, and it brings forth death.

Romans 6:23 says:

23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in^[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.  Romans 6:23

• Through his faith in Jesus Christ, a Christian is saved from spiritual and eternal death…but if he persist in sin, he may pay the penalty of physical death (such as lung cancer)
• What comes from God is not sin, but only every good thing and every perfect gift.

James 1:17-18 says:

¹⁷Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of all he created. James 1:17-18

·        As a capstone to his argument that God does not tempt anyone, James offers a brilliant picture of the character of God: He is the Father of the heavenly lights.

·        The “Father of lights” refers to God being the creator and sustainer of the Universe and He has power over everything He created.

·        James further describes God as one who does not change like shifting shadows.

·        God is __________________(holy) light, and in Him there is no dark sinful shadow.

·        God is stable and does not ____________________(shift) like shadows.

·        God is unchangeable and good and always will be the one who gives good.

• GOD IS GOOD AND ___________________(PERFECT) AND THEREFORE ONLY GIVES WHAT IS ___________________(GOOD) AND PERFECT!

• The perfect, flawless, holy goodness of God results in His doing and giving only what reflects His perfect holiness and truth.

• God’s character, power, wisdom, and love have no _____________________(variation) like shifting shadows that change!

Luke 11:7-13 says:

 7"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

 9"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

 Matt 7:7-11

13If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!"  Luke 11:7-13

NOTE: the implication of this passage is this: when we, as God’s children, are so abundantly and continually showered with the most gracious valuable, and satisfying blessings our heavenly Father can bestow, why should anything evil have the slightest attraction to us?

John 14:15-17 says:

If you love me you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever - the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be^[a] in you.  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”. John 14:15-17

• The spiritually dead have no _________(awareness) or understanding of sin, no desire to turn from it, so hey _______________________(succumb) to it and die by it.

1 Cor. 2:14 says:

14The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Cor. 2:14

John 3:19-20 says:

19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. John 3:19-20

• The only way a spiritually dead person can have spiritual life is to receive it as a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ.

NOTE: _____________ _______________(SPIRITUAL LIFE) THROUGH ___________________(CHRIST) IS THE ULTIMATE GOOD GIFT THE FATHER GIVES FROM HEAVEN!

Ephesians 2:4-5 says:

4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Eph 2:4-5

John 15:16 says:

16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.  John 15:16

• The ____________ ______________(new birth) is the good gift of God, implanted by his Holy Spirit in those who have come to Him by faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

HOW DOES GOD MAKE A PERSON “BORN AGAIN”?

ANSWER: BY THE WORD OF TRUTH. V. 18

HE CHOSE TO GIVE US BIRTH THROUGH THE WORD OF TRUTH, THAT WE MIGHT BE A KIND OF FIRST-FRUITS OF ALL HE CREATED”.  V. 18

1 Peter 1:23-25 says:

23For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24For,
   "All men are like grass,
      and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
   the grass withers and the flowers fall,
    25but the word of the Lord stands forever."^[a] And this is the word that was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:23-25

Isaiah 40:6-8

THE GOOD AND PERFECT GIFT FROM THE FATHER IS THE _____________(WORD) OF _______________(TRUTH)!

·        The agent God used in giving birth to us in the “Word of truth”

THAT WE MIGHT BE A KIND OF FIRST-FRUITS OF ALL HE CREATED”.  V. 18

• The first fruits were the first and best of the crops that were harvested and were usually an indicator of what the rest of the crop would be like.

• A Farmer would be inclined to take the early harvest and store it away in case the rest was lost to drought, locusts, or other calamities.  But the Lord required that it was to be that first and best which was offered to Him.

• Believers are the first installment on God’s _______________ __________________(new creation) that is to come.

2 Peter 3:10-13 says:

 10But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.^[a]

 11Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives 12as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.^[b]That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. 13But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  2 Peter 3:10-13

·        James calls “first fruits” all who are loyal to God, all who develop into what God has called us to be.

• For the Christian, Heaven is not the goal, it is the destination. The goal is Christ be formed in you.

• The teaching of James 1:12-18 might be summed up this way: Since you were created by God with the full potential for truth and life, avail yourself of it and do not foolishly squander it or trade it for the false lure.  If you stand firm in the midst of trial, if you do not capitulate to the evil desire to blame God and thus engage in sin, you will receive the crown of life in the age to come and its foretaste in the present. Remember that God is trustworthy and wholly good, and this will sustain you in the midst of any difficulty.