James 1:12-18
Key verse 12
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
In 1977, George Lucas came up with a brilliant idea that helped him to make over 2 billion dollars. It was his two sets of Star Wars trilogies. The main idea was focused on a word called “The Force”. The force was an omnipresent form of energy that allowed users to perform a variety of supernatural feats. While the force could be used for good, it also had a dark side. This dark side tempted people to use the force for their own evil desire. So why did Star Wars become such a box office hit that spanned 4 decades from the 1970s to the 21st century? Was it because of the fat Jabba the Hutt, the bounty hunter Jango Fett, the evil Darth Vader, or the Jedi master Yoda? Perhaps. But mainly it was the idea of the force and the dark side. Lucas however is not the original creator behind these two words. Actually, these words are the same words that James wrote about 1,960 years ago. They go all the way back to Adam and Eve. And they have defined and will define who we are and what we can and will become. What are they? They are - “Trials” and “Temptations”.
Trials and temptations come from the same Greek word – “peirasmos”. Peirasmos can be translated as “trials” and at other times as “temptations”. It doesn't really matter because a situation can sometimes be both a trial and a temptation. But to distinguish them -- trials are situations designed by God in order to help us to grow. Temptations on the other hand are designed by the devil in order to cause us to sin. Today we’re going to look closely at the word “temptation” and see how we can overcome it.
James begins this lesson by saying, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” (12). The KJV says, "Blessed is the man that endures temptation.” Temptation is probably the hardest thing in the world to overcome. Oscar Wilde, a late 1800’s playwright, once said, "I can withstand anything except temptation." However James says when we overcome temptation, then we are blessed and we will receive the crown of life. But if we don’t, we’re as good as dead. Here, the word “blessed” is the same as happiness. And in Greek, “crown of life” literally means “life itself.” Happiness and life don’t come when we give into temptation, like most people today think. For my birthday, my mother-in-law took my family out to a Mexican restaurant. Behind us were a group of men who were drunk. They were having a good time. But I bet the next day when they woke up, they weren’t having such a good time anymore. Happiness and life come when we have our life under control, when we don’t give in, when we don’t say, “I just couldn’t take it any longer. That donut just kept calling my name,” but when we do say, “no!” to temptation. James says when we overcome temptation, then that’s when we really begin to live. In high school, Jared Fogle weighed 425 pounds. In college, his father, a physician, told him that he might not live past the age of 35. So, Jared decided to turn his life around. Immediately he began eating Subway sandwiches, doing his best to avoid McDonald’s. In 3 month’s time, he lost 100 pounds. In the end, he lost over 240 pounds. Shortly after this, he was hired by Subway to be their advertising spokesman. How did Jared handle temptation? How can you handle temptation? How can you say “no!” to temptation when you really want to say “yes”? In verses 13-18, James, gives us five practical principles on how we can handle and overcome temptation. May God help us to learn from James how to do so, so that we may be blessed and receive the crown of life.
First, Be realistic. The first thing we need to do in order to overcome temptation, is to be realistic. The reality is, we are all tempted. Everyone of us – pastors, fathers, mothers, praise band members, babies, even I’m tempted. Many people think that once they become a Christian, then their temptations will suddenly go away. But when they don’t, they fall into despair thinking, “What happened?” Others think, “Wow, I thought that guy who goes to church every Sunday was a Christian. How could he be tempted like that?” 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man." Look at those words, "Common to man" -- that means we're all tempted. So, it’s not a sin to be tempted. But sin comes when we “give into” the temptation. King David was the second king of Israel and he was known as a “Man after God’s own heart.” However, one day, the day when all kings were supposed to go out and battle, David decided to stay home. But he couldn’t sleep very well. So he got up and walked around on the roof of his palace. While up there, he noticed a woman bathing and he was tempted by her beauty. At this moment, David should have walked away. But instead, he kept looking and looking until he finally gave into his temptation and slept with her (2 Samuel 11).
Second, Be responsible. Verse 13 says, "When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone." When tempted, we have to accept the responsibility that we were the ones who were tempted. We can’t blame others for our temptations. We especially can’t blame God. Many people like to blame others for their problems. They blame society, their heredity, their parents, their sisters, their spouses, their bosses, and even their genetic makeup. One man said to me once, “I’m this way because of God.” That’s not true. The truth of the matter is, we’re the ones who bring most of our problems upon ourselves. So if you ever want to overcome your problems and temptations, you first need to be realistic, and next you need to be responsible and not blame others.
Third, Be ready. Next, we have to be ready for temptation, otherwise we’ll give into it. How nice it would be if temptation came to us and said, “How’s it going? I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be tempting you in 3 weeks. So, you have a little time to get ready for me.” But it doesn’t. Rather, temptation sneaks up on us like a lion and attacks us. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” One of the most popular times temptation comes is when we have a tremendous success or great blessings in our lives. We think, “Ah, I’m doing good. Surely nothing will happen to me.” In 1911, Bobby Leach went over Niagara Falls in a barrel and came out unharmed. After this, he thought, “I’m invincible.” But a couple of days later, he slipped on an orange peel and broke his leg. James is telling us that we “must always be ready.” But how can we?
The best way we can be ready is by knowing how the devil operates, how he temps us. In 2 Corinthians 2:11, Paul teaches us that we must outwit the devil. During the Trojan war, the Greeks were trying to get into the city of Troy in order to destroy it, but due to its fortified walls they couldn’t. It seemed the Greeks had been outwitted by the Trojans. But one day, the Greeks decided to leave a gift for the Trojans. It was a huge horse. Thinking that the Greeks offered this in exchange for peace, the Trojans opened their gates and took the horse in and immediately closed the gates behind them. That night, while everyone slept, the Greeks who were hiding in the horse came out, opened the gates for the rest of the Greek soldiers and they burned down the city of Troy. Unlike the brilliant Greeks, if there’s anything good we can say about Satan, we can say that he’s consistent. Satan has been using the same old bag of tricks for 2000 years and longer. It's very easy to discover his process. In verses 14-15, James outlines the four steps that the devil uses in order to tempt us.
Step 1: Desire. Verse 14 says, “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire…” Of course, not all desires are bad. The desire to eat, sleep, drink, marry, and to be successful are good. But when our desires get out of control, that’s when they become destructive. The devil really likes to take our God given desires and turn them into evil. He says, “Ah come on. It won’t hurt to have that last piece of pie. You won’t die if you drink one more beer. Go ahead and go to that website, no one’s looking.” But when we give into our desires, that’s when eating turns into overeating, drinking turns into drunkenness, marriage turns into adultery, and purity is turned into lust. If the devil wasn’t there to tempt our desires, then we would never be tempted. But he is.
Step 2: Deception. The last part of verse 14 says, “he is dragged away and enticed.” How many like to hunt and fish? For the hunters, what does “dragged away” mean? It means, “snared in a trap”. For the fishers, what does “enticed” means? It means, “lured by bait.” Satan uses his bait in the form of deception in order to trap us. Deception is something that tricks us into thinking that something isn’t bad, when it really is. The strategy of a fisherman is to use the best bait that hides the hook and makes the bait look real. The fisherman knows how to wiggle the bait just right. As soon as the fish takes a bite, he’s snared in the trap and pulled up to be eaten. This is what Satan does. He uses the best bait. Satan knows our weaknesses. He knows what you’ll fall for. He knows your desires. Satan finds the tiniest hole in you. When he finds it, he uses his bait to wiggle his way right into you. And once he’s in, he pulls you up and then eats you alive.
Step 3: Disobedience. Look at verse 15. “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin.” Disobedience follows desires and deceptions. Desires and deceptions begin in our minds. Then Satan uses these in order to cause us to disobey God. Once we disobey, we have fallen into the very act of sin. Sin is defined as anything that displeases God. If you think it will displease God, then more than likely it’s a sin.
Step 4: Death. The end of verse 15 says, “and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” Death is the tragic consequence of giving into temptation. Like it or not, we all have to go to the grave someday because of our sins. But physical death is not the only thing James is talking about. What does death mean? It means the opposite of living. If you fall into temptation, then you are no longer living. Living is life itself. When people feel good, they feel alive. But when people feel bad about themselves or for something they’ve done wrong, they don’t feel alive, but rather they feel dead. They feel depressed, hopeless, and useless. This is not life. This is death. And this death does not come from our Heavenly Father. This death comes from Satan. We know this because Jesus said in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
To briefly summarize how to handle temptation, we first must be realistic and admit we have a problem. So, it’s always good to have an accountability partner. Next, we have to be responsible and not blame anybody else. Finally, we have to be ready for tempation by understanding how it works, so that we can learn how to avoid it.
Now look at verse 17. It says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” All of a sudden James switches gears. One moment he’s talking about temptation, and the very next moment he’s s talking about the goodness of God. It looks like James forgot what he was talking about. But he hasn’t. What James is doing is, he’s refocusing our attention on something else. He’s refocusing us on the goodness of God. But why? It’s because being refocused is the fourth step in overcoming temptation.
Fourth, Be refocused. If temptation begins with our inner thoughts, then changing what we think about is the key to overcoming it. This is the principle of replacement. Instead of looking at what’s tempting you, simply look somewhere else. Refocus. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” If you’re being tempted by something, get your thoughts and eyes off of it and start thinking about God. Why? Because the more you fight a feeling or a desire, the more it grabs you. Actually, when Satan puts a temptation into our minds, we don’t have the power to fight him. If we try, we’ll lose. But God has the power to fight Satan and has the power to win!
In Matthew 4, Jesus was brought to the desert by the Holy Spirit to be tempted by the devil. For 40 days and nights, Jesus hadn’t eaten a thing. Literally, he was starving to death. So, at his weakest point, when it was more than likely he would give in, Satan suddenly showed up. Satan said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus, being a human could have easily given into this temptation. And being God, he could have easily turned the stones into bread and ate. About eight years ago, our senior pastor challenged us to fast on Thanksgiving Day as our prayer not to eat turkey, but rather to thank God for all the good things He has done for us. So, all day long I hadn’t eaten a thing. But around 6pm, Dr. Ben Toh called me and asked if I would like to come over to his house for some turkey. As soon as I heard the word “turkey”, my mind went crazy. I began to think about the cooked turkey on the plate. I saw the steam rising from the delicious brown meat. I smelled the white meat and began thinking about the mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie. At that moment, I should have replaced my thoughts with something else, like the goodness of God, but I didn’t. So, I left my wife all alone to sit in hunger as I ran over to the Toh’s house and ate to my heart’s content. But what did Jesus do when he began thinking about the bread? He immediately turned his attention toward the goodness of God. He said to Satan, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’" (Mt 4:4) Jesus put into practice the key to replacement and won! If we are to overcome temptation, we must put into practice the principle of replacement. Are you a chronic worrier? Are you depressed? Are you being beaten up by the temptation to look at something you’re not suppose to be looking at? You’re this way because you're doubting the goodness of God. To overcome, you must replace your thoughts with the goodness of God. Focus on God’s word, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps 118:24). It's a choice. “I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.” (Ps 34:1). “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Phil 4:13). When you refocus, it may mean you have to physically remove yourself from the situation. If you don't want to get stung by bees, what do you do? You get away from the bee hive! So get up and leave the movie theater, turn you computer off, switch channels on the TV, hang up your phone. When you do, then you can win over temptation. But if you go closer to the bee hive…Ouch!
Fifth, Be reborn. Look at verse 18. “He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” The single most important principle in overcoming temptation and getting control of your life is to give your life, your problems, and all your temptations to the one who overcome them for us – Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was tempted and he overcame temptation. Jesus Christ, died on the cross for our sins. You need Jesus in your life. That's what it means to be reborn. It means you get a fresh start on life. Ask Jesus in. Ask Him right now to make the changes and give you the power you need to do what is right. You will not be able to say “no” to temptation until you first learn to say “yes” to God. You need God’s power in your life. You need to not only be realistic, responsible, ready, and refocused, but you need to be reborn. That's the starting point that will lead you to victory, happiness, and to the crown of life!
Please, win over temptation today by remembering and putting into practice the 5 things that James points out to us - Be realistic, Be responsible, Be ready, Be refocused, Be reborn. When you do, what will happen? You will be blessed and you will receive the crown of life!
