Facing up to Temptation

In the book of Job, Eliphaz makes the observation, “It's human! Mortals areborn and bred for trouble, as certainly as sparks fly upward.” (MSG-Job 5:7).These sparks are tests that we face in our day to day lives. Sometimes we maynot see that is what they are, they are irritations and annoyances that plagueour daily existence.These simple annoyances can accumulate, like water dripping steadily on arock, eroding the rock away. We need only look at the mountains aroundGrenoble to see that. Their sharp, majestic peaks did not suddenly appear oneday; they are the product of millennia of water and wind that have shapedthem and turned them into what they are today.I knew someone who said that he did okay with life, but things would build upto the point that all it would take was to break a shoe lace as he tied his shoes.But tests and trial are a fact of life as much as sparks from a fire. we noticewhen they become something that impacts our lives, when they cannot simplybe dealt with so that we can get on with life. We can start to investigate thistopic further by asking ourselves, “what do we mean when we say

test

trial

,and how is that different from a

temptation

”?Let us look first at the issues surrounding the concept of testing andtemptation.We will look at three areas related to the question of testing and temptation.They are:

A. The nature of temptation; what is temptation?B. What are some issues we face when we are tempted?C. A little Spiritual MaintenanceA. The nature of temptation; what is temptation?

Tim Keller has described three aspects of temptation in a sermon on James 1.The first question focuses on the nature of temptation: What is it? Am I beingtested or tempted?

The first point he makes is that every trial has the potential to become atemptation

. In both Greek and Hebrew, there is one word that can betranslated either trial or temptation, depending on the context. When you lookat James 1:2 and 1:12, the word is translated as

test

trial

The same word is translated as tempt in v13 and 14. Why the difference?Because everything that comes into our lives has the potential to be either atest or a temptation. The context determines how we translate the word.Take as an example the question of wealth in v9ff. If you are faced withpoverty, it can be a test or a temptation. If you rejoice in your status andsituation, giving God glory for all he is doing and it increases your dependenceon him, then you have passed the test, and the reward is the crown of life. Youare seen as mature and complete (1:4, 12)But if you become bitter and angry and morose because of it, then you arefalling into temptation, and the result of that sin in your will lead to death if notresisted.The same is true for wealth. If you praise God for his provision, and use it topromote the kingdom of God and you become generous in your giving, thenthe reward is the crown of life. But if you become arrogant and greedy with

your wealth, thinking that you have this because of your work and luck andability, and somehow deserve it, then the result is that sin will give birth todeath.The same can be said about adversity. As I encounter adversity in my life, it canmake me humble and compassionate, or I can become bitter, anxious,depressed and despondent about my life.Both are tests from the outside, but can have different results:

Enticed by evil desire

Result:



gives birth to death (v14-15)

Mature and complete

Result:



Crown of life (v12)

So everything has the potential to be either a test or a temptation. Ourresponse to the event is whether we pass the test or we succumb totemptation and fall into sin.

Whether a test or temptation, you will not be the same.

One thing we should point out here, there is nothing sinful about beingtempted. If we are tempted by sin, that does not mean that we are sinning. Sinoccurs when we give in and yield to the enticement of sin, enter into itwillingly.Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, yet did not sin (Heb 4:15). So if Jesus was tempted, but did not sin, it follows that it is not that sin is not in thefact that we are tempted, but that we give in to the seduction of temptationand fall into sin.

The Second point: Why can every trial be a temptation?To begin, let’s take a moment to talk about the nature of sin.

Our tendency is to see sin as a score card of the various acts and things thatwe have done that we see as sin. These different things can be seen as sin, butwe should have a deeper understanding of the nature of sin.God’s desire and plan for us is to have a relationship with him through JesusChrist. God draws us toward him out of his love and desire for us to havefellowship with him.

But when sin enters the picture, it causes us to turn away from God, to moveaway from him.So sin is more than an act or event, an item to put on our personal scorecard.It is first of all a rejection of a relationship with God, a turning away from him.To put it another way, it is rebellion against God and his claim to be Lord of our lives.Repentance is when we turn around and move back toward God. We askforgiveness for that which we have done, and God is faithful and just to forgiveus our sins in Christ Jesus.

1 John 1

But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just toforgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Repentance is doing a 180° turn in our lives, away from our sin and rebellionand back to God

So why is every trial a temptation? Because the potential to fall into sin existswith every test in our lives.Our desires are a powerful force in our lives. They don’t need to be promptedto show up, and they can’t always be suppressed, at least not for long. Sinstands by the door and waits for an opportunity in our lives. When theopportunity presents itself, sin begins to entice and seduce us to follow ourdesires and give in to them.The American theologian Jonathan Edwards says that “we sin because we wantto sin.”We have free will, which means that we will only and always do what wedesire to do, what we most want to do.Take an example of something like this: “my boss made me lie; if I hadn’t Iwould have lost my job.

No, Edwards would say. You wanted your job more than telling thetruth.

We want to sin, no one makes us sin, and there are no conditions that forceus to sin.The third point tells us how trials bring about temptations.