James: Living Faith, Temptation from Within

James: Living Faith
Temptation from Within (James 1:13-17)
January 24, 2010

James begins by encouraging his brothers to rejoice when they face trials on account of their faith, because their trials come from God to strengthen their faith and mold them more into the image of their perfect Savior, Jesus Christ. For those lacking wisdom to understand God’s work in their life through their trials, James says to ask God for wisdom, not doubting with their fingers crossed, but with faith in their loving, Sovereign Father God.

Two Trials: Poverty and Riches
James then addresses two trials, poverty and riches. In a culture where wealth is seen as blessing and poverty as a curse, Scripture teaches us that both poverty (“God where are You?”) and riches (“God, I don’t need You”) can test our faith. There are two prevalent errant perspectives on poverty and wealth in America, the poverty gospel and the more prominent prosperity gospel. The prior assumes that if you’re poor, you’re inherently closer to God and that the wealthy are evil. The latter assumes if you love God it will be evident by red Cadillacs in your garage, green bills in your wallet, and golden toilets in your bathroom. The Bible teaches us there are righteous poor as well as unrighteous poor and there are righteous rich as well as unrighteous rich. What matters is not your level of wealth, but rather that your hope is in Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross and not your 401K.

Temptation
Where does temptation come from? Though we would like to think temptation and evil come from “out there”—God, Satan, the world, or an opposing political party—James teaches us temptation comes first from within, not from God or outside forces. Our desires are deceitful, and when followed lead to death with all of the pain and horror of an expecting mother delivering a stillborn child.

Battling SinHow then do we fight sin? How do we destroy deceitful desires?

Errant Strategies

Willpower Legalism - Willpower religion attempts to white-knuckle our sin into submission, but fails to address the heart. The end result is discouragement and depression (“I can’t do it, I’m a failure”) or arrogance and pride (“I did it, yay for me, I’m awesome”).
Death of Desire Stoicism - Stoicism labels all desire as evil and therefore attempts to kill all passion, desire, and excitement, forgetting our God created us with desires to be ultimately fulfilled in Him (Psalm 37:4). Stoicism addresses the heart, but seeks to quench it rather than allowing God to renew it. The end result is lifeless religion that fails to delight in God, attempting rather to serve solely out of duty.




Facing the true enemy
Deceptive Desires - The problem is not desire, the problem is deception. Our hearts are deceived into thinking our broken cisterns will satisfy us when we were created to drink in the Fountain of living water (Jeremiah 2:13). We were created for highest joy, and our hearts sell us short, deceiving us into settling for temporary, lesser pleasures of sin.
Unbelief - Our sin is the result of our failure to believe God’s promises are superior to Satan’s lies; therefore, the fight against sin is ultimately a fight against unbelief.
Biblical Battle Plan
A Transformed Heart - Our need is not simply for behavior modification, but rather heart transformation. We need a Savior who will destroy our deceitful desires, and ultimately replace them with passionate desires for an all-satisfying Christ.
Cultivate an Appetite - You fight deceitful desires by replacing them with true, superior, life-giving desires of the Word of God, as the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to behold truth.
Battle to Believe - “The life that I now live [as a Christian], I LIVE BY FAITH in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20) The battle against sin is a fight of faith, to believe that God is as good as He truly is, and that sin is as destructive as it truly is.
Biblical Weaponry
Faith – Faith is not only in the past grace of God, but also in the present and future grace that is to come. Faith is not working hard to be holy and “pay Jesus back” for dying for me. Faith is being confident in what the life and work of Christ has accomplished and also being confident that God’s way is better than sin, his promises are superior to Satan’s lies, and His love is more satisfying than the deceitfulness of sin.
By the Spirit - Romans 8:13 says if BY the SPIRIT you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Fighting the deceitful desires of sin is about fighting for faith in the superior promises of God by the Sword of the Spirit.
Through the Word - The Word of God holds the bullet aimed for the heart of every abominable, deceitful desire. When we fill ourselves with the Word, God’s superior promises take root in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and give birth to new desires, that long for and enjoy Jesus Christ above all the empty promises of sin.
Additional Resources:
“How People Change,” by Paul David Tripp
“When I Don’t Desire God,” by John Piper