God's Word on Temptation - Part 2- James 1:13-18

My friend, you're going to get hooked on the devil's bait if you forget the goodness of God. 

We're looking together at James 1 and we're discovering the four barriers that God has erected to keep you from sinning. The first barrier that we discovered is in James 1:13-16; it's the barrier of God's judgment. James is saying look ahead and see the consequences—the consequences of suffering and sorrow and death. Lust, or desire, when it conceives, brings forth sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, bringeth forth death. There is a sad consequence even to forgiven sin. God forgave David's sin, but David suffered; David paid for it until the very day of his death. Does God do this because He is mean? Of course not. God does it because He is just and faithful. The same law that says if you sow blessing, you'll reap blessing, says if you sow sin, you'll reap death. God's laws are not going to change. God in His grace forgives us, but God in His government must permit the laws of this universe to operate. And whether you like it or not, my friend, we reap what we sow. And so as you are tempted, as the devil dangles the bait before you, he offers you something so wonderful and so alluring, look beyond the bait to the consequences: loss of joy, death to your testimony, a killing of the character within, and possibly physical death. 

In James 1:17, He gives us the second barrier against sin and temptation. It's this: God's goodness. James 1:17, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, no variation, neither shadow caused by turning." The goodness of God. Satan comes to you and he questions the goodness of God. Now, you know that. Do you remember that last time you were ill? Oh, you had so much to do, the family needed you, and you were lying there ill, perhaps you're in the hospital—surgery. Perhaps there was an auto accident, and Satan said, "Oh, if God loved you, this would never have happened. If God were really good, this wouldn't have happened." He said this to Eve. He came into the garden and he said, "Yea, hath God said that you shall not eat of every tree in the garden?" And Eve said, "Well, we may eat of every tree of the garden," and she left out a word. God said, "You may freely eat." She forgot the free goodness of God. And he said, "Oh," he said, "you won't surely die, because God is holding out on you. God knows that if you eat of this tree, you're going to become like God." And Eve took the bait. First there was desire, and then there was deception, and then there was disobedience, and then there was death. That whole process is spelled out in James 1:14-15. But he questioned the goodness of God. 

Now, he did the same thing to the Lord Jesus when he tempted Him in the wilderness. Our Lord had been fasting for forty days and forty nights, and He was hungry. Satan came to the Lord Jesus and he said, "Well, how come You're hungry? Your Father spoke from heaven and said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I'm well pleased.' Now, if You are His beloved Son, why are You hungry? Maybe Satan has said to you, 'If you're God's beloved child, why did you lose your job? Why do you have that handicap? Why did your baby die?'" Satan comes to us and he questions the goodness of God. He said to the Lord Jesus, "You have power to turn these stones into bread, why don't You do it? Feed Yourself." And of course, the Lord Jesus resisted him. 

You see, you and I must be very careful not to blame God. Now, He tells us in James 1:13, "Let no man say when he is tempted, 'I am tempted of God'; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man." God is good. Now, this is one of the basic doctrines of the Bible. Our God is a holy God, and as a holy God, He cannot do evil, nor will He solicit anyone to do evil. The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; His truth endures to all generations. My friend, God is good, no matter how you feel. You say, "Well, I just don't feel like God is good to me." Wait a minute, you don't go by your feelings. If you go by your feelings, you're going to be in trouble. God is good; the Bible teaches that. Every good gift comes from above; every evil offer, the bait on the hook, comes from below—from the devil. So don't blame God. God knows what He's doing, and God promises us all things are working together for good. You're facing some temptation; I don't know what it is. A young person listening right now may be facing a tremendous temptation. You're looking for a shortcut to achieve something, and the devil has the bait before you, and I say to you: you don't need the devil's substitutes. God is good. 

Now, just consider how good God is. James 1:17 tells us He gives only good gifts. Jesus said one day, "If you men who are fathers, hear your son asking for an egg, you wouldn't give him a scorpion. If he comes and asks for some bread, you wouldn't give him a stone. Now, if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to them that ask Him?" God will never give you anything that will harm you. Now, sometimes God permits things that hurt us. My doctor has hurt me; he's never harmed me. Sometimes people who are very near to me, people I love very much, have hurt me, but they've not harmed me. The book of Proverbs says, "Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Nothing God ever gives you will create evil unless you listen to the devil. 

Now, James also tells us that the way He gives is good. May I retranslate James 1:17? "Every good giving"—that means the way that it's done—"and every perfect gift is from above." The way God gives His gifts is good. Now, I have seen people give gifts to other people in a very offhanded way, sometimes in a rude way. God never does that. Not only are God's gifts good, but the way He gives them is good. Now, when you and I try to get these things in our own way—scheming, plotting, planning—we create problems. 

The verse also tells me that He gives constantly. Every good giving and every perfect gift is from above and keeps on coming down. You see, God is generous. Now, the devil doesn't want you to believe that. He comes with his baited hook, he comes with his baited trap, and he says, "I'm giving you something God will never give you." And we look at those enticing baits, and God says to us, "Wait a minute, look around and see God's goodness." He gives only good gifts, the way He gives is good, and He gives constantly, and He never changes. Now, Satan changes. Satan is devious; he likes to lurk in the shadows. He has ways of changing; he's a masquerader. But God doesn't do that. God is consistent and God is constant and God is changeless. And James is saying to us, "How can you sin against God's goodness?" 

Romans 2 tells me that it's the goodness of God that leads men to repentance. What was it that awakened the prodigal son? His badness? Well, he admitted, "I'm perishing with hunger." But that wasn't what really awakened that boy. It was the goodness of his father. He said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger?" It was his father's loving generosity and goodness that stirred this boy to get out of the pigpen and go back home. 

Now, I know you're tempted; I am tempted. Satan knows the normal desires of human nature. We have the desire for acceptance, the desire for love. And yet, acceptance can be turned into pride and flattery, and love can be turned into lust. God's good gifts are all that we need. I've referred often to David and his sin; allow me to remind you of something else about that experience. The prophet said to David, "You know, God gave to you your predecessor's palace, his crown, all that he had. He's given you wives, He's given you children." And then said the prophet, "If this had not been enough, He would have given you more." When David stole his neighbor's wife, he was robbing himself; he was robbing his neighbor. He could have come and said, "Oh, God, You've been so good to me. I don't need my neighbor's wife. Why should I steal his little ewe lamb when You have given to me so many riches and so many good blessings?" My friend, you're going to get hooked on the devil's bait if you forget the goodness of God. 

Now, this leads us to James 1:18 and the third barrier that God has erected to keep us on the road of obedience, namely, the barrier of God's nature. James says look within and realize that you have been born from above. James 1:18, "Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." Now, the thing he's talking about here is the new birth. When I was born the first time, I was born a child of Adam, and I inherited Adam's fallen nature. But when I was born again, born from above, born through faith in Jesus Christ, I was born with a brand-new nature—God's nature. You see, my friend, if you have trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior, then you have been born again by the grace of God. Notice, please, it says, "Of His own will begat He us." I had nothing to do with my first birth. I wasn't asked for my opinion, I wasn't allowed to vote, I didn't even fill out an application. My birth was the result of decisions made by people other than myself. My second birth involved a decision to receive Christ as my Savior, but initially, this birth began in the mind and the heart of God. Now, friends, this is a mystery. It's difficult for us to comprehend what God has done in eternity, but this much we know: salvation is of the Lord. It didn't start with you, it didn't start with me; it started with God. Salvation is of the Lord; of His own will begat He us. 

Did you ever ask yourself the question: why does the Bible use birth as a picture of salvation? That's an interesting subject. There are many different pictures of salvation in the Bible: the shepherd finding a lost sheep, the woman finding a lost coin, the father welcoming a wayward son back home, a host inviting people to come to a great feast. All of these are pictures of salvation. But our Lord Jesus and James and John talk about birth. Well, the essential thing there is this: birth is the result of life. You see, you manufacture golf balls, you manufacture automobiles, but babies are born. Birth is the result of life. Now, when you were saved, it was the result of two spiritual parents coming together: the Word of God and the Spirit of God. In John 3, our Lord Jesus said to Nicodemus, "You must be born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." Salvation means that the Spirit of God takes the Word of God and generates faith in the Son of God and a miracle takes place. Now, the theologians have a good time discussing all of the ramifications of this, but all we need to know right now is this: that birth means life. 

And birth determines nature. James is saying you have received a new nature. Now, God does not change the old nature. We have nothing in the Word of God that tells us that our old nature is any different today from the very moment we were saved. It is still corrupt. The old nature is still of Adam. The old nature still is under the condemnation of God. But the new nature that is within us is God's own nature. You are born of God. Now, in 1 John 3:9, we are told that whatsoever is born of God does not practice sin. Why? Because His seed, the divine nature, remains within him. 

There's a conflict in the Christian life, a conflict between an old nature and a new nature. This is graphically portrayed in Galatians 5 where it says the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit lusts against the flesh, and these are contrary one to the other. And so our lives can become a battlefield. Now, the interesting thing is this: when temptation comes before you, one of your two natures is going to respond. Either the old nature is going to respond, and that old nature is going to lead you into sin, or the new nature is going to respond, and that new nature is going to give you victory. Whatsoever is born of God, says 1 John, overcomes the world. This birth that we have gives us a new nature, and nature determines appetite. That's an important concept. Because we are partakers of the divine nature, our appetite is different. 

As you drive through the farmyards and out into the rural areas, you'll see the animals and they're out in the pasture. And you'll find that the sheep are eating the grass and they're enjoying it. You don't find the sheep usually wallowing in the mud, rummaging in the garbage. But you might find the pigs there. The pigs enjoy wallowing in the mud and rummaging around in the refuse. Why? A pig has a pig's nature; a sheep has a sheep's nature. Nature determines appetite. The old nature wants to be fed. Paul wrote to the Romans and said, "Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the desires thereof." Don't buy any groceries for the flesh. Don't give the flesh anything to eat. In Romans 8, Paul tells us that we have no obligation to our flesh: "Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh." Did you know that everything the Bible says about your old nature is negative? Is that a surprise to you? If you think that there are good things in your old nature, then you're heading for trouble, because the Bible wants us to recognize the fact that the old nature means defeat. I was a born loser. But when I was born again, I was a born winner. For example, in Philippians 3, Paul says, "We have no confidence in the flesh." Now, if you face temptation in the power of the flesh—you say, "Well, I have confidence; I've been through this before; I've faced this before; therefore, I can win"—watch out. Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. Jesus said to His three disciples there in the garden, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Having no confidence in the flesh. 

In Romans 7, the apostle Paul affirms that there is in his flesh no good thing. You say, "Well, there is still some good things in my flesh." Oh, no. No, the old nature is negative; the old nature has nothing to contribute to your spiritual life. No confidence in the flesh; in my flesh no good thing. Do you know what Jesus said about your flesh? In John 6, He said, "It is the Spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing." How much profit is there to the flesh? Nothing. It's all loss. And so when you face temptation, look within and say, "I have been born again. I have been begotten of God. I have a new nature." Nature determines appetite. I'm going to feed the new nature the Word of God. I'm going to feed my new nature in prayer and fellowship with God and with God's people. 

Nature determines behavior. Dogs bark because they have a dog's nature; cats meow because they have a cat's nature. You take a fish out of the water and put that fish in a nest; the fish will die. Take the bird out of the nest and put it under the water; the bird will die. Why? Because nature determines behavior. My friend, if you have a new nature, and you surrender to that new nature, and you allow that new person within you to control you, then you will get the victory. I think the little Sunday school student put it perfectly when he was asked the question by his teacher, "How do you deal with temptation?" "Well," said the little boy, "when the devil comes and knocks at my door, I don't go answer it. I send Jesus to answer it." Now, that may seem rather juvenile to you, but there's a profound truth there. No confidence in the flesh; I'm not going to answer the door. I'm the one who will fail. 

My friend, the next time you face a temptation, remember now: look ahead and remember God's judgment, because the wages of sin is death. And look around and remember God's goodness. He is so good to you, you do not need anything the devil offers you. And then look within and remember that you have a brand-new nature down inside—the divine nature. And this nature can give you victory. You have a new nature within; this means you can live a new life.