Lesson 2 David Young

THE LETTER OF JAMES God’s View of Temptation James 1:12-18 Lesson to be taught in class on Sunday, April 11, 2021

INTRODUCTION In the last lesson, we learned that as Christians we will have our tested by a variety of trials. We are to consider these to be joyous times because we are to know that these trials produce endurance, and endurance will result in our being perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James opens this section of verses by mentioning trials again and then moves into temptation.

I. PERSEVERING UNDER TRIAL Read verse 12 • Blessed in Greek means “supremely blest, happy.” o Everyone wants to be happy. Most people would say that they are, but here, there seems to be a contradiction because the does not say that the rich or the secure are the happy. ▪ The Scripture says that the man who perseveres (endures) under trial is the man who is blessed! o This word occurs 50 times in the and is a reference to the person who finds complete happiness in God and His Scriptures. ▪ That man is the man who will persevere. The fact that he is in supreme bliss as he is persevering in his trial leads to him being approved both in this life and the life to come when he will once again in fact receive the crown of life which the Lord had promised to those who love Him. ▪ It is that promise that gives the blessed the hope to persevere and will carry them all the way to the crown of life! • The phrase, been approved, can be phrased “passed the test.” o We saw this same idea in James 1:3 with the phrase, the testing of your faith. QUESTION: Why does God allow our faith to be tested? ANSWER: For our own good and His glory!  Psalm 119:71…It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes.  Proverbs 17:3…The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests hearts.  :3-7…Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the Christ from the dead, 4to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6In this you greatly

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rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  1 Peter 5:10…After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

II. CARRIED AWAY INTO TEMPTATION Read verses 13-15 • The when of verse 13 is similar to the when in verse 2. • Just as Christians can be sure that they will encounter various trials, they can be equally sure that they will be tempted. o James is simply saying that when it does happen, don’t try to blame it on God! o He is literally saying that because God is holy, He is far above evil and cannot be influenced by it. Therefore, He cannot be tempted by evil. • James goes on to say…and He Himself does not tempt anyone (v. 13c). QUESTION: Then who does tempt man? ANSWER: The Scripture is clear on this point…Satan! ⬧ When he (Satan) came to Christ in the wilderness after He had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he (Satan) is called by that name…  Matthew 4:3…And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” ⬧ And again, by the Apostle Paul…  1 Thessalonians 3:5…For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain. • Satan is the tempter of man…but man is responsible for his sin! • Some love to say, “The devil made me do it,” but James gives us the real picture.  James 1:14…But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. ⬧ Notice how individual/personal this verse makes the failure when one falls into temptation… 1. But each one 2. When he 3. By his own • The real enemy here is not temptation; it is lust (desire). o Not another’s lust but your lust. o We are carried away and enticed by our own lust… ▪ John MacArthur says, “The fault is entirely within us, in our unredeemed flesh.”

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▪ Surrendering to temptation and being carried away and enticed by our own lust is not only serious, it begins a dangerous downward spiral. Read James 1:15 • Notice the progression…. 1. One is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust (desire). 2. When lust has conceived (literally to become pregnant with), 3. It gives birth to sin; 4. And when sin is accomplished, 5. It brings forth death! ⬧ In today’s society, being put in a position to be tempted is easy. Not resisting the temptation leads to being carried away by lust. When lust conceives, it gives birth to sin. When sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. • No matter what our society says…sin is no laughing matter! QUESTION: If a physician informed you that you had cancer in your body that would shortly destroy your life, would you be aggressive to address the problem? ⬧ Sin is of much greater danger to us than any physical illness. ⬧ Some physical illnesses can be cured by modern medicine, but sin always brings forth death! • Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Beware of light thoughts of sin. It is sadly true, that even a Christian may grow by degrees so callous, that the sin which once startled him--no longer alarms him in the least. We palliate and excuse our sin; we throw a cloak over it; we call it by dainty names. “Sin, a little thing? Is it not a poison! Who knows its deadliness! “Sin, a little thing? Do not the little foxes−spoil the grapes? Does not the tiny coral insect−build a rock which wrecks a navy? Do not little strokes−fell lofty oaks? Will not continual droppings−wear away stones? “Sin, a little thing? It girded your Redeemer’s head with thorns−and pierced His heart! It made Him suffer anguish, bitterness, and woe! Could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity−you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor the least appearance of evil. Look upon all sin as that which crucified your Savior−and you will see it to be ‘exceeding sinful.’” • Sin is the cause of great suffering and grief and always leads to destruction and death. • Sin is very serious!

III. UNDERSTANDING GOD’S GOODNESS James begins this section with a warning followed by an exhortation. Read verses 16-18 • In verse 16, James warns these scattered Christians to not be deceived. As a pastor, James knows that they might be hearing strange things about their God. He wants his beloved

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brethren to know that there is a real possibility that someone could be deceiving them concerning their Heavenly Father. o He wants his readers to know that God has absolutely nothing in common with evil, for He is holy. o Yet, some Christians who are tested and go through trials might lose their perspective and question the providence of their God, and therefore lose sight of God’s goodness. • James says in his counterattack that every good thing given and every perfect gift is from God (v. 17). • Then he follows that with a beautiful truth about God… with whom there is not variation or shifting shadow o God never changes! Everything about us and this world changes with time or circumstances, but God never changes! ▪ He is immutable = unchangeable/changeless o Notice that James calls God the Father of lights. Light is always changing; even the largest of all earthly lights, the Sun, is in a constant mode of change. ▪ Then he contrasts that by saying that with God there is no shifting shadow. o Not only is He the Father of heavenly lights, He is also the light that never changes and never shifts, and who casts no shadow as if turning. ▪ He literally does not change! Verse 18 In the exercise of His will ⬧ Not anything that we have done… He brought us forth ⬧ Greek meaning “to birth.” ⬧ God is, by His very nature, the Father of everything that was ever created. His greatest act of Fatherhood was Jesus Christ, and through Christ, God is our Father. ⬧ James even tells us how we were brought forth…by the word of truth. QUESTION: When was the last time that you, as a Christian, thanked God for His Word? That we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures ⬧ What an honor! God has chosen us from among all His creatures to be a kind of first fruits for His glory! ⬧ We belong to God! ⬧ Therefore, we are holy as He is holy. Because of this truth we should never believe that God would ever lead us astray.

Take sight of God’s goodness toward us in Christ Jesus, and be encouraged…He never changes!

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