Conquering Temptation with God’s Perfect Gifts - James 1

Pastor Dan Walker, PhD, MDiv

Introduction: Learning to Put Active Faith Into Practice

This morning, we’re continuing our series Active Faith Unleashed from the book of James. We’re going to learning how to put our faith into action in every area of life. Are you ready for God’s Word to change your life?

Our message today is entitled “Conquering Temptation with God's Perfect Gifts.” Last Sunday we talked about how to respond to external trials or storms in our life. Today, we’re going to talk about internal temptations.

Many people think of temptations as external, but we’re going to learn that is not the case. God’s Word teaches us that what happens on the inside shapes everything we experience on the outside. That truth sets the foundation for everything James will teach us today.

Proverbs 4:23 (NIV) Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.

Your heart encompasses everything you are, your mind, your emotions, your will. Your life flows from your heart, your words, your actions and everything else. We must guard our hearts for anything or anyone that would lead us away from God.

2 Timothy 2:22 (ESV) So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

This verse tells us to run away from ungodly desires and to run toward the things of God. We are to join with others who have pure hearts and are people of prayer. God never calls us to fight temptation alone.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV) No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

This is a wonderful promise that we need to keep in mind as we study what temptation is all about. The first thing this verse teaches is that your temptations aren’t any worse than anyone else’s. Whatever temptation we face has an escape hatch created by God for us.

That means that we can always escape temptation when we seek God’s escape route. This morning James is probably going to upend a lot of what you’ve thought about temptation. But we’re all here to learn new things from God’s Word and to put them into practice through faith.

Recognize Temptation’s Source

James 1:13 (ESV) 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.

The word in the Greek that is translated tempt is the same word we talked about last Sunday translated trial. The trials we were talking about were external trials, such as persecution or any of the difficulties that we face in life. What James is going to help us understand is the source of temptations.

There are three possibilities for temptation’s source: God, Satan or ourselves. If God was tempting us, we don’t have much chance, do we. And some people blame God for their temptations.

But this verse clearly tells us that God cannot be tempted by evil and God never tempts anyone. The next option for the source of temptation is Satan. And we’ve all heard people say, sometimes joking and sometimes serious, the devil made me do it.

Although we know from other Scripture that Satan is involved in temptation, James is going to teach us that we are temptation’s source. When we blame external sources for our temptations, we fall into Satan’s trap. Just as Adam blamed Eve for falling into temptation.

James 1:14 (ESV) But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.

The words lured and enticed are technical words for fishing, meaning being baited and being reeled in. Temptation comes by being enticed by our own desires. We can’t blame God or even Satan, our own desires are what gets us into trouble.

The classic example is Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden and the forbidden fruit. Yes, Satan was there, but there was a desire in them for that fruit. Genesis 3 says there was a desire that the fruit was good to eat, the desire to look at the fruit’s beauty and the desire that the fruit could make them wise.

Those desires, then lure and entice us like a fish going after a spinning lure. It’s critical for us to understand that our own desires, which we have control over, are the source of temptation.

Learning to Guard Desires Before They Take Root

Martin Luther famously said about temptation, “You cannot keep birds from flying over your head but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” Temptations are like birds flying above your head. There’s nothing you can do about them, they’re going to come.

But it’s our desires that go after those temptations and let them build a nest in our hair. How does this happen with temptations? Let’s take a simple case of someone, perhaps close to you, saying something hurtful to you.

What kind of negative desires may be enticing and luring you to respond? You may have a desire to be angry, to argue with them, to think of some way to take revenge to show them how wrong they were. On the other hand, God’s Spirit is whispering to you to forgive, that love overlooks a multitude of faults.

Which desire are you going to let yourself be guided by? Those internal desires are strongly linked to our emotions. Oftentimes, we may blame someone else for our emotions, such as anger.

They made me angry. No, no one can make you angry, you are in control of your emotions. We must understand that we are in control of our desires and emotions. We must recognize that our desires are temptation’s source.

Reject Sin’s Desire

James 1:15 (ESV) Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

James changes his illustration from fishing to human development. When you give in to this ungodly desire, sin is conceived and born. Back to the original sin in the garden of Eden.

When Adam and Eve took and ate of the forbidden fruit, their desires had conceived and given birth to sin. Sin starts small, but it tends to grow if not dealt with. If sin is allowed to grow in a person’s life with repentance and forgiveness, the final result is death.

In Adam and Eve’s case, the result was physical death, as God had commanded. In our case, the final result of fully grown sin is eternal death in hell. This is a very serious consequence.

The bigger sin grows in a person’s life, the more difficult for a person to escape eternal death. But with God all things are possible. No sins are to great for God to forgive for those who repent.

James 1:16 (ESV) Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.

Whenever we see the phrase “do not be deceived” in the Bible, we need to learn what it referring to. That phrase means that many people are deceived, so we need to be careful. We must not blame God, Satan or anyone else for our temptations or our sins.

We must acknowledge our own desires and sins, not comparing them to others. We must learn to be careful not to give into our desires that lure us after temptation. We mustn’t be deceived that we can think about and let temptations nest in our brains without causing great damage.

We should not be deceived that little sins are OK in our lives. Sin, when conceived, grow and eventually leads to both physical and eternal death.

Refusing the Trap of Beautiful but Deadly Sin

There is a pitcher plant called a cobra lily. It has a set of leaves that are semi-transparent. When an insect wanders in, it is dazzled by the light show inside the plant.

Eventually it gets disoriented and crawls forward down a path with thousands of fine hairs, all pointed toward the plant’s digestive stomach. When the insect tries to turn back, it discovers that it’s too late. Temptations are like that cobra lily, beautiful on the outside but full of deadly poison.

We mustn’t let our desires be dazzled by evil and slowly give into it. There is a natural human tendency to follow the crowd. To think that what everyone else is doing must be OK.

Unfortunately, according to Jesus, the crowd is always on the wrong path. The morals of our culture are not headed in the right direction. What was considered evil 20 years ago is now openly celebrated.

Reject sin’s desires and live according to God’s Word. His Word is the eternal truth and will guide you to reject sin’s desire.

Choose God’s Good Gifts

James 1:17 (ESV) 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.

Now we get to the good part of this passage. We don’t need to just be concerned with resisting evil. God’s got good and perfect gifts for you and me, just waiting for us to claim.

In fact, this verse teaches that every good and perfect thing in your life is from God. You didn’t earn it, you didn’t build it, God gave it to you. Our desires should not be going after temptations, our desires should be focused on God’s good gifts.

God’s got all kinds of wonderful gifts for you and me. God’s Word tells us to earnestly desire and pray for these gifts. When we’re going after God’s good gifts, we won’t have time to go after the counterfeits.

You see, all of Satan’s temptations we may desire are simply counterfeits of God’s good gifts. Taking Satan’s bait with our desires will give us the exact opposite of what we thought. The forbidden fruit in Eden did not lead to life, as they thought, but to death.

The last phrase in this verse is important. With God there is no variation or shadow due to change. God doesn’t change. All the gifts He speaks of in the Bible are available to us today.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you God’s gifts are no longer operating. That is a lie from Satan Himself. We must earnestly desire God’s good gifts.

James 1:18 (ESV) Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

As sin gives birth to death, so God through His word of truth gives birth to His children into eternal life. Salvation is God’s best gift, given freely to all who believe in Jesus. God’s Word is the ultimate truth.

It is the exact opposite of temptation’s lies. This verse speaks of believers as being born again spiritually through the believing the Gospel, the word of truth. Those who are born again are the first fruits of God’s kingdom, the first fruits of eternity.

Choose to pursue God’s good and perfect gifts.

Actively Running Toward God’s Gifts Instead of Temptation

Are you struggling with various temptations and desires in your life? The secret to conquering temptation is not to fight temptation. Rather, it is to pursue God’s good gifts by obeying His Word.

As you run after God’s good gifts, you are running away from ungodly desires. What good gifts of God are you going after? Are you saved, water baptized and Spirit baptized?

Those are first three essential gifts God offers to everyone. Are you battling an illness? Pursue God’s gift of healing. Are you struggling financially?

Obey God in tithing and He will bless your finances. As you read God’s Word daily, take note of the good gifts that He offering. Choose, desire and obey God’s Word to receive His gifts.

Conclusion: Living Free Through God’s Perfect Gifts

James today has given us some very practical instructions to conquer temptation. We must understand that temptation’s source is not external but our own desires. Recognize that our own desires are what leads to sin.

Choose to pursue God’s good gifts in your life. God’s gifts lead to blessing for you and for others. May we all grow in our desire for God’s good gifts in our lives and church.

📘 Continue the Journey

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