He took it and fashioned it with a tool and made it into the golden calf. Exodus 32:2-4 reports that he told the people to bring their jewelry. One that is humorous (if sin can be humorous) is when Aaron makes the golden calf. Proverbs 19:3 insightfully observes, “The foolishness of man ruins his way, and his heart rages against the Lord.” The Bible has numerous examples of shifting the blame for sin. James wants us to see that if we go down that route, we will not overcome temptation, and we impugn the holy character of God. Adam’s answer really blamed God, who gave the woman to Adam. 3:13), “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Both statements are technically true, but they dodge personal responsibility for sin. 3:12), “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate.” When God confronted Eve, she replied (Gen. When God confronted Adam, he lamely replied (Gen. Temptation never comes from God, so we must never blame Him for tempting us (1:13).Įver since Adam and Eve fell into sin, fallen human nature has been prone to shift the blame for our own evil deeds. Thus, it is important to recognize that…Ī.

But because of indwelling sin and the existence of Satan, every test may also become a temptation to sin. With His people, the purpose of God’s tests is to refine our faith like gold or silver (Ps. He tests both the righteous and the wicked, to reveal their respective characters (Ps. God tested Job by allowing Satan to afflict him with all of his trials (Job 1:8-12 2:3-6).

God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac (Gen. God tests or tries believers’ faith, but He does not tempt anyone into sin. Tempted (1:13) is the same Greek word that is translated trial (1:2, 12), but clearly it has two different senses. To overcome temptation, recognize its source. To overcome temptation, recognize its source, its force, and its course.ġ. James gives us a strategy for overcoming the deadly lure of temptation:

Her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.” Proverbs 7:26-27 concludes, “For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life” (7:21-23). “With her many persuasions she entices him with her flattering lips she seduces him. As further “luck” would have it, her husband has gone on a long trip. As “luck” would have it, at that very moment, she happens to come out of her door. His first mistake was that he passed near the corner where she lived (Prov. I think that as he wrote this, James probably had in mind the graphic story in Proverbs 7 of the young man lacking sense, who succumbs to the loose woman’s enticement. If you do not, James says, you are on the path that leads to death. Because the enemy is strong and the lusts of the flesh are so powerful, you must learn to recognize and overcome temptation. As I understand that parable, it is only those plants that endure and produce fruit that represent true believers. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that some make a profession of faith and begin to show signs of growth, but the heat of trials or the more subtle thorns of worldly desires cause the plant to die (see Luke 8:11-15). 35).Īllow me to state the obvious: You will not make it as a Christian if you do not learn to overcome temptation. That’s when he prayed, “Lord, if You want me to stop for a doughnut and coffee, let there be a parking place in front of the shop.” He said, “Sure enough, I found a parking place right in front-on my seventh time around the block!” As Robert Orben said, “Most people want to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch” ( Reader’s Digest, p. As he got closer, he thought that a cup of coffee would hit the spot. He had to go downtown and as he started out, he remembered that his route would take him by the doughnut shop.

Watch your thoughts they become words