So again a good morning to all of you. It’s kind of pretty obvious that we are all in the holiday mood. So many of you are back in your hometown spending time with your loved ones. And so I thought maybe it’s not too early to wish all of you a Happy Chinese New Year. Now for those of you who are perhaps joining us for the first time, so we are at the moment studying James’ epistle alright- James’ epistle. And so please turn with me to our text this morning in the epistle of James chapter 1. James chapter 1.

Alright I shall read our text this morning which is from verse 13 through verse 16. So verses 13 through 16. This is the Word of God. “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempts anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethern.” Let us pray.

“Our dear Father in heaven, again we come together and we desire to draw near to You and we desire to know Your will for us. And therefore we pray even now as we open Your Word, we ask that the Holy Spirit might give us enlightenment and help us understand this important truth here in Your Scripture. And pray that not only we know them, that we might be people who will be obedient to Your will. For these, we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Alright, our text this morning is from verse 13 through verse 16. Now if you are looking at your Bible which is broken up into a paragraph, now you might notice that probably most of the translation begins in verse 12. Verse 12. Now the question is: Does verse 12 alright, is verse 12 the beginning of this new section or is verse 12 the conclusion of the previous section? So look with me for a while at verse 12 alright- verse 12 which says: “Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”.

So according to this translation (which is the New King James Version), now it seems that the translator sees verse 12 as the beginning of this new section. That’s why it is translated, now the word is translated as ‘temptation’. Where else in other translations, that word ‘temptation’ is translated as ‘trials’, meaning to say that they probably see verse 12 as a conclusion of the previous section. So the question is: Which is correct? Now you see, James as I say is a master you know as far as words are concerned.

Now he’s very good at using words and puns and pictures. And so he is using here a word, can actually mean two things because in the original (in the Greek Bible), it comes from the same word. And so this word may be translated as trials or temptation. That’s the reason why translators were not kind of decided. Some translate as trials, others as temptation. Now I believe that verse 12 serves both purposes. It serves as a conclusion to the previous section and it also serves as the introduction to the new section or this next section.

And that is because if you take the word temptation as trials, then it is the conclusion of the previous section which is about trials because in the previous section in verse 2 James writes brethren or my brethern, “count it all joy when you fall into various trials”. And he talks about the trials, the purpose of trials, and how we can face trials in our life. And if you lack wisdom to face trials, we can ask from God who gives to us generously. And then he concludes in verse 12 that those who persevere to the end, those who endure trials will be rewarded.

Now if you see that word as temptation, like I said which has a double function as it were, then it serves as an introduction to the new section where James is now turning to a different subject but related subject because trials and temptations are you know kind of just dealing with you know two things but of the same thing alright, two of the same thing. Trials are things that we face externally; temptation is within. And so therefore if verse 12 is the introduction to the new section, then we can see that James is now talking about temptation. Temptation, which is made obvious by verse 13 because verse 13 says: “Let no one say when he is tempted”. So he is thinking about temptation.

Now, what is temptation? I think we are all familiar with the word ‘temptation’. We talk about it a lot, but let us think about it for a moment. So what is temptation? Now imagine a man on a diet and he is struggling. Then one day he is driving to town and then he approaches a donut shop. He sees a sign on top- donuts and coffee. As he gets nearer, he could even smell alright the aroma of the coffee. And then he remembers his diet. And so he prays: Lord, if You want me to stop for a donut, let there be a parking in front of the shop. And sure enough, he finds the parking lot just in front of the shop after circling around the shop for the seventh time.

Now you see, that is temptation. Now we know that there are all kinds of temptations. It could be some people could be tempted you know, their temptation could be money. Others will be sex. Others will be success or fame, and the list goes on. But what James tells us is this. In this section he says that Christians are not free from temptation. Now that is what he wants to impress upon us that we must remember that even as people who have been saved by the grace of God, we are still being tempted every day in our lives. We can think of some well-known examples in the Bible. You think of Joseph, he was tempted. We think of David, he was tempted. And we can think of many others in the Bible, great men and women of God, and they all faced temptation.

And so how do we deal with temptation? Now to be able to deal with temptation, James here in this section or in this passage here want to help us understand something about temptation. You see, you cannot deal with an enemy or problem if you do not understand that problem. So what is temptation? And here in helping us to understand temptation, James brings out three important truths about temptation that we need to know. Three important truths about temptation that we need to know in order to be able to deal with this problem in our Christian life. Now the three truths are this.

First, he said we must understand. We must understand the source of temptation. Then, we must understand the force of temptation. And then, we must understand the course or the path of temptation. Alright so let us look at this text and see how James explains to us or helps us understand temptation. So let’s begin with the source. The source of temptation. In other words, James is asking where does it come from? Where does the source or what is the source of temptation? Now we need to know where do temptations come from.

Now James begins by saying alright that there are two things I want to point out here as to the source of temptation. James begins by saying that it does not come from God. So that is from the start he wants us to understand that. As to the source of temptation, it is not God. That it’s not God. So he writes in verse 13 emphatically: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God””. You see, that is our tendency. Our tendency when we are being tempted and we fall into temptation is to blame. Blame someone- now blame someone.

You see, who do you blame when you’re overweight? You blame your wife, always baking cookies alright and nice cakes. Who do you blame when you commit adultery? You blame the woman’s dressing. Why do they dress like that? Who do you blame when you lose all your money at the casino? You blame Genting alright. You see, that is our mindset. When we fall into temptation, we think that there’s someone else out there to be blamed. Now we see a clear example of this in the Bible right at the beginning of the history of humanity in Genesis chapter 3. So please turn with me to Genesis chapter 3 and look at verses 9 through 13.

Genesis chapter 3, beginning in verse 9. It says here: “Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” And so he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” And God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” (Verse 12) Then the man said, “The woman”. Not my fault; the woman. His fault. Her fault. It has to be somebody else’s fault. Now that is the human tendency. The woman You gave to me. She’s the cause or the source of the problem.

And then we read on in verse 13: “Now the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent””. You see, either is he or she or the devil made me sin. I’m sure that might kind of sound familiar because these are common reasons that people give as to the reason why they sinned against God or why they fall into temptation. But if you read this text carefully, see finally speaking, see the blame, you’ll all be blaming people and people and this other person. And finally speaking, you see that they are putting the blame on God because when Adam said in verse 12 the woman, then he said: “Whom You gave to me”. Okay, everything. Now finally we kind of trace the source.

In our mind, this is how we trace the source. We trace here and there and finally, we say this is the ultimate source of all our problems. It is God. Have you heard? Have you heard people reason like this when people say who is the author of sin? If God had not created us, we would not have fallen. If God had not made us in such a way you know or if not, if God has not put the devil in the Garden of Eden and so on and so forth. You see, in our thinking finally speaking, we think that God is to be blamed.

As I say, we might even cite theology, use biblical you know to back our argument. And we say something like now don’t you see what the Bible teaches about God, about God’s decree? He is the One who predetermined everything. So, therefore, He is to be blamed. Or the doctrine of predestination and so on and so forth. He’s looking to Scripture and say God is sovereign. He’s the One, finally speaking is the cause of all our trouble. Now you see, James is very familiar with this kind of thinking. Perhaps he heard that many times before just as us you know, you probably have heard this kind of reasoning many times, people blaming God for their own sin. And because of that, James begins this section this way as I say with emphasis.

Knowing the mentality of people, knowing the way people reason in this matter, he begins by saying: “Let no one say”. Don’t say that. Don’t say that it is God who is the source of your temptation. He said: “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God””. Now you see, I kind of mention this and emphasise it because this is not just an old problem. This is a very modern problem. It’s a very contemporary problem. It is also our problem. But then, James goes on to tell us why, why God cannot be blamed for our sin, why He is not and He can never be the source of our sin alright or temptation.

Now he gives two reasons here. He says let no one say I’m tempted by God. Why? For or because “God cannot be tempted by evil”. That’s reason number one. The reason is because God cannot be tempted by evil. In other words, sin has no appeal to God. Now you see, we somehow think of God as if God is like us. And that’s the reason why when we create our own gods you know; when religion, human religion begins to create God. And that’s what we like to do. Instead of thinking God created us, we want to create God. But even in the church among Christians, now very often Christians also create our own God. We do not want to worship and believe in a God revealed in the Bible but we have our own concept of what God is.

And that concept of God, our ideas of God is very pagan because the pagan gods, what are they like? So we have a greedy God. We’re now in the Chinese New Year season. We have some greedy gods going around and we also have cheeky gods and all kinds of gods. And we said those are pagan gods. But you know how much of those pagan ideas creep into our Christian mind? And that’s the reason why we can think of God being tempted. And what James is saying that you have got wrong ideas about God. That is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible cannot be tempted because sin has no appeal to Him, not like us or not like pagan gods.

And that’s why the prophet Habakkuk said that our God is of pure highs than to be whole evil. God cannot stand sin. He has no interest in sin, no desire for sin, not like us. So that is God. And if we understand that character of God, the nature of God, then we can understand why James says that no, it’s not possible that temptation comes from God because God hates sin. So how can He be tempted by sin?

And the second reason he says that why God cannot be the source of temptation is this. He said not only that God cannot be tempted, there’s no appeal, that sin has no appeal for Him. But also because He does not tempt anyone. In other words, James says God is not the kind of God that it’s what other people think about or of that He’s a kind of God that He’s a sadist God. He likes to make people fall. He likes to make people sin against Him or sin. No, that is not the God of the Bible. The God of the Bible has no desire for sin as well as has no desire to make people sin. He does not tempt anyone. That is not the God of our Bible.

So once you understand the God that is revealed in the Holy Scripture, then you know that that is an impossibility. Then you will keep, then you will stop making that accusation when you are sinning or when you’ve fallen into sin or when you are being tempted and try to put an accusing finger at God. You will not if you understand who God truly is. Alright, so that is what James is trying. So the first thing he tells us about the source of temptation is to underscore this fact that it does not come from God. That’s what verse 13 is. Then where does that come from? So if God is not to be blamed, then who is to be blamed for our sin?

Well, James answers that in verse 14. He said when each one is tempted alright. Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his what? Own desires. So you see, James is trying to help us. You say look, he takes our finger you see. We are pointing up there, he say no, no, no. The problem is not up there. He points. The problem is not there. The problem is where? The problem is here. The problem is here, your own desires. Now you see, the word ‘desire’ is again an interesting word. I said James likes you know to use words. He’s a master of words.

Again the word ‘desires’ in the original when translated into the English has got kind of two kind of slightly different meanings here. So sometimes the word is translated as desires as it is here. But I prefer the Old King James translation of this because in the Old King James translation or the authorised version, now they try to differentiate the two meanings of that same Greek word. When the word ‘desires’ is used in a negative way, then the authorised version translates that word as ‘lust’. We all understand lust. I think there’s some translation still translated the word lust. But ESV I think translate as desires.

So it is the context, therefore, help us to determine whether the word ‘desires’, because desires can be good desires or desire, can be bad desire or evil desires. But in the Greek I say comes from the same root word. Now so this word ‘desires’, so what is James talking about here? You mean all our desires are bad? All our desires make up sin? Is that what he is talking about? What is this desire? And so in the NIV alright, it tries to help us understand what James is trying to say. So the NIV translates this word as ‘evil desires’. Evil. It’s your evil desire.

You see, there is this in us as fallen creatures or sometimes in the Bible is translated as the flesh. There’s this sinful nature in us. And that is what James is talking about that we need to understand that we humans are fallen creatures, that within us, in us there is this natural human tendency towards evil called this desire or evil desire or this lust, this passion, this wrong passion in us. So that’s what James is thinking of. And we see that Paul talks about that in his letter to the Romans speaking of the same thing. You flip over to Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7, and Paul writing about this sinful nature in us, this sinful desire in us. And what the problem it poses to us.

You see, what Paul is writing about in Romans chapter 7 is this. He is saying that even as Christians, so he’s speaking of his experience as a born-again person, as someone who had been saved by the grace of God (which he talks about in chapter 6 of Romans and chapter 5 of Romans) that we are saved by the grace of God. But even saved people, converted people, still have this problem. What problem? Chapter 7, and you look at verse 17: “But now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”. See, that desire is called a sinful desire that dwells in me. Verse 20: “Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.”.

So Paul refers to that problem. He is trying to help us see that. He is saying that can you see that problem in us? He’s talking as a Christian, remember. And we must understand that as Christians. Otherwise, you’ll feel so frustrated and maybe disillusion and say why after being saved I’m still being tempted and tempted and tempted again and again. Why? Because there is this sin nature in us alright, this evil. Verse 21: “I find then a law that evil present with me.”. Now you see, Paul is using different words to try to help us understand that problem.

But the point is this, that there is this problem that is resident, that is inside us, and that is causing this problem. And that is what James is talking about here in verse 14 of James chapter 1. In other words, he says: Do you want to know the true source of the problem? The true source of temptation is not these other people. It’s not God. The true source is inside alright. It’s a problem of lust. It’s that problem of lust, that lustful desire for money, that lustful desire for sex, that lustful desire for all kinds of things in this world. That is the reason why we feel tempted. This is a source of our temptation.

And so the sin’s starting point- the sin’s starting point is our sinful or evil desire or call lust. And every one of us. Everyone. Don’t say you know some of us got this problem, some don’t have. No, every one of us, James says has this problem, has this propensity, or has this inclination to sin against God, to fall into temptation. To fall into temptation. So that’s the reason why you heard the Lord saying to the disciples what? “Be watchful and prayerful, lest you fall into temptation”. And that’s the reason why when the Lord taught us to pray, what did He say? He said pray like this: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one”.

You know the Lord’s prayer should be a daily prayer, and that ought to be our daily prayer. How dare we every day facing a world filled with temptation, going into a world where we are so drawn again and again to all kinds of things and to sin against God! And how dare we not be watchful and prayerful and not daily pray lead us not into temptation but deliver us! So we ought to be conscious. We ought ot be conscious of this problem that we have. That’s what James is talking about. So that is the first thing he says we must understand about temptation is to know the source, to understand where it comes from. It doesn’t come from other people. It doesn’t come from God. It comes from within, the evil desire that is within you.

Now that leads us to the second thing that is important for us to know about temptation. And then you see, James is trying to, he says this is an important subject for James because he sees a lot of Christians falling. Don’t we again and again even great so-called Christian leaders falling into temptation? So it is a serious matter. It is a huge matter. It’s a matter that we ought to be you know serious about alright. And so James says secondly, we also need to understand the force. The force or the power of temptation. By force, now James means this. We also need to understand that temptation is a force.

In other words, it’s something very powerful. It’s not something that we can easily deal with. If it is something that we can easily deal with, why did David fall? We see David is a man after God’s heart. He’s a great man of God. He loves God, and yet he fell into temptation. Now think of many other so-called Christian leaders falling into temptation. We think that why? Because temptation is very powerful, and James wants us to understand that. And he shows the force of temptation in two ways as we see here. Again in verse 14. In verse 14, the first is this.

See, the force of temptation is that it dwells within our heart alright. So the force is so powerful because it is within; because it is something inside us, that’s why it’s something very difficult to deal with. And that is what he says here. So it is not an outside enemy. So if it’s something outside, maybe it’s easier to deal with. But it’s inside. And that’s why he says in verse 14 here: So when someone is tempted, he says, it’s because he’s drawn away by his own evil desires. Something inside him that is attacking him as it were, that is causing him to fall.

The Puritan Charles Simeon uses the analogy of carrying within ourselves an inflammable material. And he said if not careful, temptation can strike. The spark that causes an explosion. So it’s like we are all carrying inflammable material with us. Just a little spark, you are destroyed. You are destroyed. How many people are destroyed by temptation? How many marriages have been destroyed by temptation? It’s powerful alright- it’s powerful. Once the philosopher Pogo say: “We have met the enemy, and he is us”. And that’s why temptation is such a problem alright- it’s such a problem as I pointed out earlier on from Romans.

Now Paul says alright the sin that dwells within me, the sin that dwells within me. And Jesus helps us to understand it this way in the Gospel of Mark chapter 7 alright. Gospel of Mark chapter 7, look at verse 15. Verse 15, Jesus says: “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him”. No, it’s not the outside thing. There is nothing from outside that can defile the man but the thing which comes out of him. Those are the things that defile a man- the thing inside. Verse 18: “So he said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not see that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him (because verse 19), it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus purifying all foods)”.

And then he said in verse 20: “What comes out of a man that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man proceeds evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these (verse 23)”. “All these evil come from within, and defile a man.”. That’s the reason why it’s so powerful. It’s inside. It’s just part of us. It’s part of our nature. I say every man whether you are a Christian or not a Christian, you have that great propensity to sin, to fall into temptation. Secondly, now I say it shows the power of the force of temptation in two ways.

First, James says it is powerful because it is within us. It is us. We are our greatest enemy. But secondly. Now secondly, James says the force of temptation or power of temptation is that not only it dwell within our heart but it is a deceptive emotion. It is a deceptive emotion. In other words, temptation plays with your feelings. It plays with your emotion, your passion. That’s what temptation is doing. And that is a powerful thing. Don’t let people play with your emotion. Once your emotion is affected, it knocks off your better judgement. You cannot think anymore. When your emotion is affected, you can’t think clearly. You can’t think correctly. And that’s how con men alright do their work. That’s how we see temptation works.

And notice here again back in James chapter 1. James chapter 1, now he uses two pictures alright- two picture words to help us understand this, the force of temptation. Two picture words. Again actually you want to learn about picture words, now study this epistle. How many pictures have you seen already thus far in our study of James’ epistle? You’ve seen him using the picture of the waves alright in verse 6 alright. You see, it’s like the wave of the sea. So he used a picture to help us understand some concepts. Then he used the picture of flowers in verse 11. So all the grass, it withers. The grass and the flower falls away, and so on. So he used picture of flowers.

And then he later on uses a picture of a mirror. The Word of God is like a mirror alright. And then he uses the picture of the vapour. You know, our life is like a vapour. Later on in chapter 4 and so on and so forth. Now you see, that’s what James does all the time in his epistle. And here he does the same alright- he does the same. He uses kind of picture words to help us understand the force of temptation. What are these? The first is this. He says that when one is tempted, now each one is tempted when he is drawn away. So the first picture word is the drawn away. I think in your translation or some translation is called ‘lured’. What’s the meaning of lured?

Now I think this picture is a picture of, it’s a hunting picture alright- it’s a hunting picture where the prey is being lured, being drawn away. Now how do you lure the prey, the hunter? Well, you set a trap alright. You want to hunt the tiger, you put a rabbit inside or a little mouse deer inside. And the tiger sees and the tiger smells the mouse deer, and then he’s being attracted. He’s being lured into the trap and then the trap closes and then you get the tiger. So that is the picture here. And temptation works like this, James says. You see, that is a trap, something to lure you, to attract you, to draw you away. Maybe bit by bit, but slowly but surely and then you get trapped.

And so James said that’s why it is powerful because once you are attracted and if you don’t stop it, then that is your end alright. That’s your destruction. You’ll be trapped. Now the wise thing to do of course is to move away from the realm of the danger zone. But you see, animal no alright. Tiger won’t alright. It won’t move away from the danger zone. So often we are like the animal. We behave like animals. We are not wise enough. When you smell danger, we ought to run away. We run away from danger. That’s what we should do.

But no, very often we are like the animal. We get drawn or lured. Then there is a second picture-word here and that is that of fishing. That of fishing, and James says he’s drawn away by his own desire. Then he say and enticed. Alright enticed is that of a bit alright fisherman casting his bit into the water and then against the fish boat and ties. Of course both have a similar kind of concept, similar ideas. But just using two pictures, James wants to impress upon us that this trap and this bit cannot harm us unless our desire is aroused, then we are tempted and we fall. And so temptation is powerful alright because it dwells within us and because it is a deceptive thing. It’s very deceptive. You don’t see the danger alright.

The fish won’t see the danger there or the tiger won’t see the danger that. It doesn’t understand it’s a trap, but it is a trap. So the force of temptation. And finally, James also wants us to understand the course of temptation. He said recognise its course. The course means the path alright a certain path that this it travels. In other words, James says this is what we have to understand about temptation if we were to deal with it. It has a starting point, it has a progression, and it has an ending point. So a course- a starting point, a progression, and then the ending point. Now see how James describes that, that course as it were of temptation.

So first he mentioned the starting point alright- the starting point. The starting point is the conception. And then the next alright the path is the progression. And then finally is the fruition alright. So look at the conception in verse 15. Then he says: “When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin”. Again another picture-word here. Now James thinks of a pregnant woman was has conceived. So here James is picturing temptation as having the ability to conceive and then give birth. Question is: How did it happen? How did it get pregnant? That is the thing.

Well, it happens, James says, when lust meets opportunity alright- when lust meets opportunity; when David meets Bathsheba, then there is conception. Now just a picture here that James is using. You see we cannot avoid temptation, but you can avoid conception. Alright you cannot avoid temptation but you can avoid conception. It’s D. L. Moody who said: “You can’t keep a bird flying over your head, but you can keep it from building a nest on your head” alright. So you see, we have to deal with it before you know it takes root, before anything happens, before anything is being conceived. And so to deal with temptation, what must we do if we understand this that you know it begins with conception?

So what must we do? Well, I think what James is saying is that we must do a Joseph. You know what’s a Joseph? Now sometimes people say we must do a backhand, means you know the footballer, you know the backhand kick, they curve a certain way. So you do a backhand. So what is doing a Joseph? I think it means this- run, flee for your life when you meet temptation. That is the way to prevent temptation from conceiving alright- from conceiving. So run from temptation. Flee from temptation. And that is the constant teaching of the Scripture where Paul writes to Timothy and says flee from your youthful lust.

Is that not what the Bible says? So the same principle is not just to the young people. Flee from youthful lust but from all of us. Same principle that we must run when we see temptation. Don’t stand and stare at it like David standing on the rooftop and staring and not running away. So remember, temptation plus opportunity equals trouble alright. So it has a starting point (conception).

Then it has a movement alright. It’s a movement that we call the progression. You know like the golf course like that, progression, move from one point to another. In other words, James is reminding us about temptation or reminding this about temptation, and it is this that it is never stationary alright- it’s never stationary. It moves steadily in its course towards the ultimate end. So when you see this temptation, there is a movement. And it’ll go on and on, and then there will be the end. And so we have to be conscious of that.

Now we can think of the example of a crack in the dam. Some of us may have read that famous story about a Dutch boy, put his finger into the little hole and you see the hole on the wall of the dam. Why? Because this little boy understands that at first it might not seem threatening. It’s just a small hole, just a little crack. But if left unattended to, a disastrous consequence. The wall will burst, will break into pieces, and the dam will crush the people below it. So temptation is like that. It is not going to go away alright- it is not going to go away. You have to run from it. You have to deal with it. So there is a progression, James says.

And then finally, he says then there is the ending, the fruition. That is the ending point. So what is the ultimate end of temptation. James says have you ever asked yourself that question? What is the ultimate point, the ultimate end of temptation? James tells us: “When desire has conceived it gives birth to sin, and sin when it is full grown brings forth death.”. That is the ultimate consequence, the ultimate end of temptation. So don’t play, play with it. Don’t take it lightly. It is going to destroy you. That’s what James is pointing out here. It is going to destroy you. Think of how he has destroyed David in the Bible- his life, his family. It’s all in ruin because he fell into temptation.

How many people’s career has been destroyed because of temptation? And how many people’s lives have been destroyed because of temptation? Play around and contract all kinds of diseases, HIV, and so on. So that is the consequence. But you see, James is not just thinking of those earthly disasters, not simply thinking of the kind of health consequence or economic consequence or social consequence of temptation. But James has in mind here the ultimate consequence of eternal death, where we will be cast into hell forever and ever because we have fallen into temptation and sinned against God. And that is what James is warning here, is telling us here about temptation.

Understand temptation. Understand that it’s a huge problem even for us as Christians. Understand the source, understand its force, and understand its course. And let us turn away from temptation. I close by turning your attention to Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews chapter 4. Perhaps some of you are struggling with temptation. Yes, I say we all struggle with temptation. Some of you are particularly struggling with some temptation in your life, but we have this encouragement in Hebrews 4 where the author to the Hebrews points us to the Lord Jesus Christ in verse 15. Verse 15: “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses”.

We have a high priest, the Lord Jesus Christ who understands us, who understands our struggle. Why? Because He was in all point tempted as we are, yet without sin. So what should we do? Verse 16: “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace”. Here the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ, there is grace. There is understanding. There is sympathy. “Let us come boldly to the throne of grace, that we might obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”. That is where we should go to. That is where we should turn to. That is the help that we need. Let us pray.

“Our dear Father in heaven, we thank You again for Your Word. And we pray that You’ll help us understand something of what James is talking about here, this huge problem that we have even as believers, problem of temptation in our life. We understand our propensity to fall and to sin against You. And therefore, help us. Help us to remember, to be watchful and prayerful every day in our life so that we might not fall into temptation. Let our cry be daily that You might deliver us from the evil one and from temptation. Lord, help us that we might indeed have victory over these forces through the Holy Spirit and through the Lord Jesus Christ that we might live a life that is pleasing to You, for we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.”

This transcript has been lightly edited for readability.