Don't Blame the Hand That Bites You

Today we are going to read through James 1:12-18 and talk a bit about temptation. 

Our text begins with James saying something particularly meaningful during these times in verse 12, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.” This is very similar to the profound statement Jesus makes in Matthew 24:13, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” It is important to understand what they are talking about. Have you ever seen a scene in a movie where someone suddenly falls from a great height and they catch a rope on the way. Then their friends start to pull them up and there is this suspenseful moment where you wonder if they will hold on to that rope? All they have to do to stay alive, to be saved is hold on to that rope and not let go – someone else does the pulling. That is what these texts are saying. Under trial, to the end we must hold onto Jesus – maintain our believe in Him, our trust in Him above all other things. Because, like the rope was the salvation in that illustration, Jesus is our rope, our only salvation, the only eternal thing in this world we can grab a hold of. 

James is going to spend the rest of his time talking about one way the Adversary attempts to loosen your grip on Christ.

¹³ Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 

James says to be careful not to accuse God of being at fault when you are enduring temptation of any kind. This is something we do. Adam did it in Eden remember? When God confronted he and Eve for eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil Adam said, “The women you put here gave it to me and I ate.” This brings me to a point I made this past Sunday, Trusting God is incompatible with assuming He causes everything. It is a popular belief among some Christians to say that nothing happens outside of God’s will or that He causes everything. Of course, things happen outside of God’s will – how many times in the Bible to people do the opposite of what God tells them to do? Sarai assumed that God caused her to be barren and so she took it upon herself to create an heir for Abraham. If you and I believe that God causes everything than we will have to assume that He also causes us to be tempted. James warns against this and tells us the truth of it. 

¹⁴ But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 

It may be hard to swallow but your propensity for sin doesn’t come from God or the devil it comes from inside of you, the sooner you realize this the sooner you can start trusting God instead of blaming Him and having victory over your sin. 

¹⁵ Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. It is important to note that when the New Testament talks about death, more often than not it means spiritual death – and spiritual death is to be separated from God. Remember, we have said that faith in Jesus is us holding onto the rope. So sin brings death not by us reaching our limit of allowable sin, sin causes us to let go of the rope, loosens our grip on Christ and is us reaching for something else. The more we sin the less we are believing in God. 

James concludes with an corrective action we must take:

¹⁶ Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. ¹⁸ Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

We must understand that anything that is good comes from God. The devil wants you blaming Him so you won’t trust Him. James says the key is to remember that all good things, including the Gospel, come from God!

So, don’t let go of the rope during this trial!