Tempted

Until last year, I hadn’t been fishing since I was young. Fishing was boring to me as a kid, and I rarely caught anything. Now, I enjoy the time with my husband out in our kayak, and I savor the fish tacos that our friends make when we catch fish. I am not an expert fisherwoman, but I do know part of catching a fish is having the desirable bait, and putting the bait on a hook that will snag the fish when he takes the bait.

James continues his teaching on trials in our text today, but he issues a warning concerning choosing the wrong response to trials. We previously looked at a right response to trials (faith) which produces steadfastness, then has its full effect in making us perfect, complete, lacking nothing, providing godly wisdom, and receiving the crown of life. Just as we traced the process of faith in trials, we will trace the process of succumbing to temptation in trials.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.[1]

James 1:13-18

I think we would all agree that when we are tired or hungry, we are more susceptible to temptations to be angry, impatient, unkind, or any number of ungodly responses, so it isn’t difficult to imagine how temptations would arise in our trials. If in trials, we look in faith to God, we remain steadfast, but if we are not looking in faith to God, then we open ourselves to temptation.

In the Greek, trial (vs 12) and tempted (vs 13-14) are the same word peirasmos. In the Greek, the context determines the meaning of peirasmos which is why in English it is translated two different ways. God does bring tests or trials into our lives for His good purposes, but James asserts that God does not tempt us, for He cannot be tempted with evil. God is perfectly holy. It is against God’s nature to be tempted by evil. And if God cannot be tempted by evil, then He will not tempt us with evil. As Douglas Moo states it, “But while God may test or prove his servants in order to strengthen their faith, he never seeks to induce sin and destroy their faith.”[2]

Let’s consider an Old Testament illustration. In the wilderness, when Moses and the Israelites were faced with hunger and thirst, Moses trusted God. He chose to remember God’s past and current goodness, faithfulness, and blessings. The Israelites, in the same situation as Moses, chose to see only trouble and to grumble about it. Moses and the Israelites had differing heart attitudes. It is not the external circumstances that determine our response. It is our internal desires. Thus, the failure is not God’s; it is ours.

James is clear that God does not tempt us, so how are we to understand the process of temptation and sin? James continues to instruct us: “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (vs 14-15).

First, James tells us each person is responsible for their own sin. He uses the phrases each person and own desire. James does not allow for blame shifting. As we noted with Moses and the Israelites, the problem is internal. There is no circumstance or person that can make us sin. Circumstances and people may present the temptation to sin, but as we continue through the process James is outlining, it is evident that it is our choice born out of our own desire.

Second, James says we are tempted when we are lured and enticed by our own desire. Lured is a forceful dragging away. Enticed in the Greek is a fishing image of baiting a hook. It also depicts the seductress “folly” in Proverbs 9:19. Desire can be used to describe something good like Paul desiring to see the Thessalonians, but most often the Greek is associated with bad desires.

Think of a fish swimming around in a lake. He sees the shiny lure and is drawn in. He sees the worm. He doesn’t see the hook. He just sees something to eat. Temptation is dangling. However, if the fish didn’t have a desire to eat, if he didn’t have an affinity for worms, he would simply swim away, but in our illustration, he doesn’t. He opens wide and clamps down on the worm. But what comes with the worm? The hook, and as soon as the fisherman feels that tug, he starts reeling in, dragging that fish against its will. What started as a tasty meal has turned into a painful hook.

James continues: “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” When the fish succumbed to his desire of a delectable worm, chomping down on the worm, he went from a temptation dangling in front of him to choosing to act on his desire. In other words, he chose to sin. James doesn’t end with the choice to sin and being on the hook. That fish ends up in my fish taco, and he is dead, dead, dead.

James’ illustration in verse 15 is that of a woman conceiving, going through the process of pregnancy resulting in the birth of the baby. Desire is the mother, sin is the child, and the full-grown child is death. Temptations and desires come together to birth sin.

I know this is sounding a little dark and dismal. Thankfully, James and God do not leave those in Christ with this horrible ending. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (vs 16-17).

James does not want us to be deceived concerning blaming temptation and sin on God instead of rightly blaming self. James presents us with the above warning and hard truths because this is a serious matter. James desires (good desire) for us to be the person who remains steadfast under trials, who looks to God in faith, who asks for godly wisdom.

Contrary to temptation, bad desires, luring, enticing, sin, and death, James declares that every good gift and every perfect gift is from God. It is absolutely NOT true that God tempts us to sin. It IS absolutely true that God is the giver of every good and perfect gift. These two descriptions demonstrate how comprehensive and complete God’s grace and goodness towards us are. The giving God of verse 5 is showering His good gifts on His children. John MacArthur characterizes these gifts as adequate, complete, and beneficial which brings us back to verse 4 where steadfastness has its full effect, that we may be perfect, complete, lacking in nothing.

I’d like to tie in a good and perfect gift that Paul shares with us specifically relating to temptations: “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Even when the shiny lure is catching our eye and our desires are waging war within us, God provides a way of escape. In other words, God in His grace, mercy, faithfulness, goodness, and love through the Holy Spirit at work in us provides for us to turn from temptation and choose not to sin, to look in faith to Him. If we are in Christ, we are no longer a slave to sin. And even when we do choose to sin, since our sin nature will not be completely vanquished until we are glorified, God’s mercy still triumphs (James 2:13).

Let’s keep going. These good and perfect gifts come down from the Father of lights. It is important for us to remember where the good and perfect gifts come from. We cannot earn anything. Our giving Father gives good and perfect gifts because He is good. This title Father of lights is “an ancient Jewish expression for God as the Creator, with “lights” referring to the sun, moon, and stars.”[3] – God’s omnipotence at work in His good creation. This reminds us that we must view trials as God’s good gifts and not snares.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29a). In trials, it is essential to understand that good is not how the world would define it. It isn’t even necessarily how we would define good. Paul defines good as being conformed to the image of Jesus which takes us right back to James 1:4. God may bless us with good earthly gifts, but the best good, lasting good is conforming us more and more to the image of Jesus until we are perfect, complete, lacking nothing.

The phrase “no variation or shadow due to change” is challenging in the Greek, but we can conclude that although creation is consistently changing, God is unchanging (immutable).

There is more good news: “Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (vs 18). It is God’s sovereign will alone that accomplishes regeneration (brought us forth). What an amazing good and perfect gift God gives in saving us, justifying us, regenerating us. God’s good gift is spiritual life instead of the death our sin would bring.

James tells us the means God used to regenerate us was the word of truth, the Gospel (Ephesians 1:13; Colossians 1:5b-6a; 1 Peter 1:23). Again, it is God’s unchanging kindness, mercy, grace, goodness, and love that brings us this good gift of the Gospel which regenerates us. We change all the time. We are unfaithful. We fail. We sin. We cling to our heart idols. It is the power of the Gospel that saves us and keeps us which leads us to our final point.

Firstfruits in the Old Testament were an offering of the first and best of the crops. They were offered as an act of faith that God would produce the rest of the harvest. James explains that believers are the first evidence of God’s new creation to come (MacArthur). God’s faithfulness assures our eternal hope.

God is good, and He gives good gifts even in our trials.

Reflection

1. Think of a time you blame shifted the responsibility of your sin. Who or what did you blame your sin on? Why did you blame shift? What were you avoiding or afraid of?

2. Think of a time you sinned recently. Describe the process of temptation, desire, and succumbing to sin. Be specific about each step of the process. What can you do to guard against giving in to a similar temptation in the future?

3. How have you seen God’s unchanging character at work in a trial? Be specific about which “God is…” truths you have seen and how that connects to what God did in your trial. How was it good?

[1] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Jas 1:13–18. [2] Douglas J. Moo, James: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 16, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1985), 74. [3] John MacArthur, James Guidelines For a Happy Christian Life (Nashville, TN: Nelson Books, 2007), 13.