The mature person is patient in trials. Sometimes the trials are testings on the outside and sometimes they are temptations on the outside. Trials may be tests sent by God or they may be temptations sent by Satan and encouraged by our own fallen nature.

James deals with temptations in this section. What is the relationship between testings outside and temptations on the outside? Simply this, if we are not careful the testings on the outside may become temptations on the inside. When our circumstances are difficult we may find ourselves complaining against God, questioning His love and resisting His will. At this point Satan provides us with an opportunity to escape the difficulty. This opportunity is a temptation.

Abraham arrived in Canaan and discovered a famine there. He was not able to care for his flocks and herds. This trial was an opportunity to prove God but Abraham turned it into a temptation and went down into Egypt. God had to chasten Abraham to bring him back to the place of obedience and blessing. See Genesis 12:10. God does not want us to yield temptation, yet neither can He spare us the experience of temptation. We are God’s scattered people, not God’s sheltered people. If we are to mature we must face testings and temptations. There are three facts that we must consider if we are to overcome temptation.

1 – Consider God’s judgment (vs. 13-16)

A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a bad way, out of the will of God. Is it wrong to want to pass an examination? Of course not, but if you cheat to pass it then that is wrong. We think of sin as a single act but God sees it as a process. Adam committed one act of sin and yet that one act brought sin, death and judgment upon the whole human race. James describes the process in four stages:-

• Desire (vs. 14) – The word “lust” means any kind of nature and not necessarily sexual passions. The normal desires of life were given to us by God and of themselves are not sinful. E.g. Hunger, thirst and sex. It is when we want to satisfy these desires in ways outside God’s will that we get into trouble. E.g. Gluttony and fornication.
• Deception (vs. 14) – No temptation appears as temptation. It always seems more charming than it really is. James uses two illustrations from the world of sports to prove his point. “Drawn away” carries with it the idea of baiting a trap and “enticed” means to “bait a hook”. The hunter and the fisherman have to use bait to attract and catch their prey. No animal is deliberately going to step into a trap and no fish will knowingly bite at a naked hook. The idea is to hide the trap and the hook. The bait keeps us from seeing the consequences of sin. When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He always dealt with the temptation on the basis of the Word of God. When you know your Bible you can detect the bait and deal with it.
• Disobedience (vs. 15) – James has changed the picture from hunting and fishing to the birth of a baby. Desire conceives a method for taking the bait, the will approves and acts and the result is sin. Whether we feel it or not we are hooked and trapped. The baby is born and we just wait until it matures! The Christian must exercise his or her will by saying “No!” to temptation and by doing this God will be able to take more control of your life. See Philippians 2:13.
• Death (vs. 15) – Disobedience gives birth to death. It may take years for sin to mature, but when it does the result will be death. These four stages in temptation and sin are perfectly depicted in Genesis 3.

1. The serpent used desire to interest Eve. See Genesis 3:5.
2. Eve was deceived by the serpent. See 2 Corinthians 11:3.
3. Eve disobeyed God by taking the fruit of the forbidden tree and eating it. See 1 Timothy 2:12-15 & Romans 5:12-21.
4. They experienced death. See 1 Corinthians 15:21-22 & Revelation 11-15.

2 – Consider God’s goodness (vs. 17)

One of the enemy’s tactics is to convince us that our Father is holding out on us, that He does not really love us and care for us. However, since God is good, we do not need any other person (including Satan) to meet our needs. Once we start to doubt God’s goodness we will be attracted to Satan’s offers and our natural desires will reach for the bait. James presents four facts about the goodness of God:-

• God gives only good gifts. Everything good in this world comes from God. See Mark 10:18.
• The way God gives is good. The value of a gift can be diminished by the way it is given to us. But when God gives a blessing, He does it in a loving, gracious manner. What He gives and how He gives is booth good.
• The phrase “cometh down” refers to the present. The phrase “it keeps coming down” tells us that God is constantly giving gifts, even when we do not immediately see them.
• God does not change. He is the “Father of lights” and with Him there are no shadows. God cannot change for the worse because He is Holy. He cannot change for the better because He is already perfect. God’s gifts are always better than Satan’s bargains. See Proverbs 10:22. Satan never gives any gifts because you end up paying for them dearly!

3 – Consider God’s divine nature within (vs. 18)

The Christian has been born-again from above and so possesses God’s divine nature within. Note the characteristics of this birth:-

• It is divine – Nicodemus thought he had to re-enter his mother’s womb to be born-again, but he was wrong. This birth is not of the flesh, it is from above. See John 3:1-7. We have a Father also in a spiritual sense when we are born-again. It is the work of God and it happens when we put our faith in Jesus Christ.
• It is gracious – He did not earn it or deserve it. God gave us spiritual birth because of His own grace and will. See John 1:13.
• It is through God’s Word – Divine birth has two parents, the Word of God and the Spirit of God. See John 3:6 & 1 Peter 1:23. The Spirit of God uses the Word of God to bring about the miracle of the new birth. Since the Word of God is “living and powerful” (See Hebrews 4:12), it can generate life in the heart of the sinner who trusts Christ and that life is God’s life.
• It is the finest birth possible – We are “a kind of first-fruits of His creatures”. James wrote to “Jewish” believers and the word “first-fruits” would be meaningful to them. The Old Testament Jews brought the first-fruits to the Lord as the expression of their devotion and obedience. See Proverbs 3:9. Of all the creatures that God has in the universe, Christians are the very highest and the finest! We share God’s nature. It is for this reason that it is beneath our dignity to accept Satan’s bait or to desire sinful things.

A higher birth means a higher life. By granting us a new birth, God declares that He cannot accept the old birth. Throughout the Bible, God rejects the first-born and accepts the second-born. He accepted Abel not Cain, Isaac not Ishmael and Jacob not Esau.

Categories: James