Read:
James 1:13-18
Learning to
overcome temptation is critical for believers, so, James gives us a strategy to
overcome temptation. First, we must
agree that temptation never comes from God therefore we cannot blame Him for
tempting us (v. 13). James tells us that
temptation comes from our own evil desires (v. 14). We can’t blame God, we can’t blame the devil,
we can’t blame our circumstances, and we can’t blame our friends. We can only blame ourselves and take full
responsibility when we sin. You will
never conqueror sin until you fully acknowledge that you are to blame for your
sin. Although it is true that the devil does tempt us (just as he tempted
Jesus) we must remember that we have sinful hearts that are prone to sinful
thoughts and attitudes and that all these wrong desires come from our sin
nature. This sin nature is not
permanently removed when we become Christians.
Our fleshly nature still has the power to lead us into sin after we are
saved. To overcome sin James tells us to
recognize that the initial thought comes from the evil desires of our
flesh. It is only when we pursue these
desires that we fall into sin.
Then, we are
to recognize that the flesh (evil desires) drags us away and entices us (v.
14), bringing destruction. The word
“entice” means to attract or lure by offering pleasure or advantage. There is a deceptive element working
here. Temptation makes us feel like
sinning but we must obey God, no matter what we feel. To overcome temptation we must recognize that
its source is our own sinful nature, that it entices us deceptively so that we
have the desire to sin and then once we sin, it leads to death (v. 14-15). The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). At first it doesn’t seem that a little sin
can lead us to death. Temptation promises us excitement and
fulfillment but it never reminds us that sin will ultimately destroy us. Of course, there is forgiveness in Christ
when we truly repent and get back on God’s path of righteous living.
In verses
16-18 we learn how vulnerable we are to deception when facing trials. A common lie that many Christians believe
when facing suffering is that God is not good or loving or that He is not powerful
enough to do something about it. James
reminds us here that God is good and He is Sovereign. God gives good gifts to His children (v. 17)
and sends trials to accomplish His own loving purposes. God’s good gifts may include extremely
difficult trials. James does not want us
to be deceived into doubting God’s goodness.
This is one reason why it is so important to spend much time reading
God’s Word and meditating on God’s character.
We must know God as He is, as revealed to us in the Bible, and not how
we wish Him to be. Then, when trials
hit, we can interpret our circumstances in light of who He is.
When we face
suffering the enemy tries to deceive us into believing that either God isn’t
good or He isn’t sovereign. To stand
firm we must cling to His goodness and trust in His Sovereignty. Verse 18 says that He chose to give us birth
or provide a way of salvation for us, and that we are a kind of firstfruits of
all He created. Since He bought us with
Christ’s blood He is free to use us as He pleases in order to bear much fruit
for Him through loving and serving Him wholeheartedly. Even in trials, our goal should be to bear
fruit and bring Him glory!
Prayer and Journaling
1. Learning
to overcome temptation is a key part of walking with the Lord. Ask the Lord to show you where you are
vulnerable to sin. Ask Him for a strategy to handle these situations.
2. Evaluate
your heart for the Word. Do you delight in it? Do you long to pour over
it? What is your attitude when the Word
is preached?
3. Ask
the Lord to show you one practical way that you can apply today’s scripture
passage to your everyday life.
