Temptation Leads to Sin which Leads to Death

James 1:13-15

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

Today we will conclude our study of James 1:13-15 by covering then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

I like the way James puts it – then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. It is not a sin to be tempted – we will all be tempted.  It is a sin when we allow temptations to dwell in us – to be nurtured in us – so that sin is conceived.  We give birth to sin when we harbor temptations within us.

We have all heard or read this passage many times I bet – Romans 6:23a – For the wages of sin is death. We earn death when we sin.  That smacks me hard – because I have been working since I very young – cutting grass – officiating sports – working as a Soda Jerk (no puns) – etc. – earning a wage.  Apparently – I have been working since before I can remember – to earn death!  I was born with a sin nature and that nature has been working overtime – and the wage for my sin – is death.  To read it as James puts it – sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

I don’t want to leave us here – with sin and death – so I have to give us some Good News.  Let’s go back to Romans 6:23 and read the whole verse. Romans 6:23 – For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Thank you Jesus – for paying my debt of sin – the wage I earned.  Your death on the cross has paid my debt in full!

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

Monday we will begin to look at 1 Corinthians 1:25 – For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength.

We Are Tempted By Our Own Evil Desires

James 1:13-15

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

Today we will continue to look at the above passage zeroing in on but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

We’ve already read that our righteousness is like filthy rages.  Isaiah 64:6 – All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

I remember a comedian from my youth – Flip Wilson – who had a character (Geraldine) who had a line that she repeated often – The Devil made me do it! The good news today is that the devil can’t make us doing anything.  The bad news is that it is our own evil desires that cause us to yield to temptations and fall to sin.

Remember – God has promised us a way out of every temptation – 1 Corinthians 10:13 – No 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.

Remember – God has not only promised we can avoid sin – God has given us protection – the armor of God – Ephesians 6:10-18 – 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

I know these are repeat Scriptures – but they need to be driven home.  We do not need to sin – we are not forced to sin – we sin because we put something before God in our lives.

We are called to love Jesus more than anything – Mark 12:30 – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

Tomorrow we will finish the study of James 1:13-15 by looking at Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

God Cannot Be Tempted by Evil

James 1:13-15

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

Today we will continue to look at the above passage zeroing in on for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.

We typed a little Monday about all of us being tempted.  Yesterday we typed about God not tempting us – while God is all about protecting us from temptation (Ephesians 6:10-18 – the Armor of God).  Today as we move forward we will type a little about God not being tempted by evil and again about God not tempting anyone.

1 Corinthians 10:13 – No 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.

The first part I want to highlight in this passage is that God is faithful.  God is good – God is trustworthy – God is good to God’s word.  God cannot be good and fall to temptation.  I am using good in the Biblical sense here – perfect.

Luke 18:19 – “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good — except God alone.

Isaiah 64:6 – All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.

God is good and so God cannot be tempted – but we can be tempted.  So God provides not only the armor of God to protect us – but God provides a way out of any temptation – 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.

I love this promise from God.  I don’t always avail myself of this promise – but I love it.  A good and faithful God has promised to protect me from temptation and has promised to give me a way out of any tempting situation.

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

Tomorrow we will continue the study of James 1:13-15 by looking at but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.

God Does Not Tempt Us

James 1:13-15

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

Today we will continue to look at James 1:13-15.  Today we will look at – no one should say, “God is tempting me.”.

We will be tempted.  We saw that in yesterday’s devotion.  I see that often on my blog page on occasion.  People are tempted to push their ideas and agenda as if they have all the answers or have the only answer that a reasonable person could hold.  Recently I asked the question – Gay Marriage – Should the Christian Church Take a Stand – on Either Side?  Although there were some thoughtful responses, there were also responses I had to erase because they were filled with hate.  Even some I posted were not as love filled as they should be.  Shouldn’t we be able to discuss a subject, even one that is personal or that we are passionate about without name calling and hate filled responses?

We will be tempted.  Yet when we are tempted, we should not say that God has tempted us.  Adam tried it when he said to God – The man said, “The woman you put here with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” Genesis 3:12

As a matter of fact – God does everything in His power to keep us from being tempted and from falling to the temptation.  God gives us the armor of God to thwart all of the devils attempts to attack us.

Ephesians 6:10-18 – 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

Tomorrow we will continue the study of James 1:13-15 by looking at For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone;

When Tempted!

James 1:13-15

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

Today we will begin to dissect James 1:13-15.  We will begin with the first words of this passage – when tempted.

What temps you?  Now there is a question that could keep us talking all day and into tomorrow.  But what is it that temps you?  Really?

Temptation is understood as the enticement of a person to commit sin by offering some seeming advantage. The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary

James writes when tempted not if tempted.  We will be tempted to desire something that we should not have – to do something we should not do – to say or think something we should not say or think.  But God doesn’t leave us with this truth – God gives us ways beyond the temptations so stay tuned this week as we search the Word for help when tempted.

Just something to think about today as you go on your way.

Tomorrow we will continue the study of James 1:13-15 by looking at no one should say, “God is tempting me.”