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“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. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is titled, “How to Ruin Your Life”.

James begins this passage by removing a common excuse we use to shift the blame away from ourselves when we sin. That is,that we are not responsible for our own sin because we were tempted to commit that sin by God. The implication is that, since God is all-powerful, no one can possibly resist a temptation God gives, thus removing our guilt for sin.

To counter this excuse, James tells us two things about God. First, God cannot be tempted with evil. Secondly, God tempts no one. This can lead to confusion though, because in the gospels we have a story of Jesus being tempted in the wilderness (see Matthew 4:1). And, since we know that Jesus is God (see Titus 2:12-14), does this mean that the Bible is contradicting itself?

The answer, of course, is no. The word used for temptation can be understood in two different ways. There are external temptations, and there are internal temptations that arise from our sinful desires. In the passage above, James clearly is dealing with the second kind. This is evident from how he defines temptation: “…each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires.” When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, he was tempted by external things like the devil’s words, his own hunger, etc.

James’ point is that in the character of God, there is no trace of a desire for evil. God cannot be tempted to sin in his heart, because he only desires what is good. His next point is that, because of this completely pure and holy character, it is also impossible for God to reach into our hearts and plant evil desires there. Our evil desires are completely home-grown.

This truth is vitally important because it shows us how hopeless we are to achieve holiness on our own. Our hearts are corrupted and desire evil things every day. When we give into those desires, we experience the sin and ultimately the death that James describes. However, the beauty is that we worship a God who is not like us. He is holy, good, and pure, and we can look to him in times of temptation for strength to resist the devil, and ourselves.

Further Study

  • Read Ephesians 6:10-18, 2 Timothy 2:20-22, and Matthew 5:21-30
  • The best way to fight sinful desires is to cultivate a desire for God. Consider reading Desiring God by John Piper (free PDF download at this link), which explores how and why should aim to desire God more.

Small Group Questions

  • What are some examples of times when we can easily say ‘God made me do it’ to excuse our sin?
  • What role does 1) desire and 2) deception play in the process of temptation?
  • Practically, how can we fight to not be deceived each day?
  • What are the two truths mentioned in the sermon that ‘sandwich’ the discussion of temptation, that give us hope in the fight?
  • How can we help and encourage each other in the fight against sin?