Downward spiral 31/07/2022

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. [James 1:13-15]

From <https://my.bible.com/bible/111/JAS.1.NIV>

At the start of this Day Share blog, I want to clarify some matters relating to the use of the word testing and tempting. In verse 13 of James Chapter 1 we read two clear statements:

1. God cannot be tempted with evil

2. God does not tempt anyone

And yet, we find this verse in the first book of the Bible, "Some time later God tested Abraham." [Genesis 22:1 NIV]. This incident is referred to in the Letter to the Hebrews:

By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, [Hebrews 11:17 NIV] This would appear to contradict Statement 2.

Also, in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, we find this verse:

We should not test Christ, as some of them did—and were killed by snakes. [1 Corinthians 10:9 NIV] This appears to contradict Statement 1.

It is not enough to say that there is a different word used here, because it is translated as 'test' not 'tempt.' The Greek word is peirazo and it is the same word in all these instances (James 1:13-15 used 4 times); I have highlighted in red every time the word peirazo is used. There is another key word used which comes from the same root. This is the word apeirazo which means 'untried' or 'not temptable.' This can only be applied to God. Sorry for all these references to the original Greek words but it is important. The point is that God cannot be tempted from within and that is the big difference with sinners such as us. God is holy and cannot be tempted with sin or evil because there is nothing in His nature to respond to sin.

And James elaborates on this point by explaining how we come to end up sinning. It all started with an evil desire in my heart: 'each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed' [James 1: 14 NIV]. I want to look into two words used in this verse ("Oh No, not again," you are probably saying!). The word translated as 'dragged away' or 'drawn away' has to do with animals being lured to their death by a trap. There was a bait to attract the animal and this provided the incentive for the animal to be caught in a deadly trap. The bait was deliberately chosen to entice the animal. Whoever set the trap, knew exactly what that particular animal's appetites and desires. The word 'enticed' is a fishing term which means 'to capture' or 'to catch with bait.' So this provides us with the picture. The verse also suggests that each one of us desires which are particular to us. When I say that alcohol is not a temptation to me, please do not misunderstand me. I am not in any way gloating or judgemental of other people for whom alcohol is attractive. But I have other weaknesses. I hear some gossip and this is attractive to me and the temptation is that I will join in the gossip and even share this with other people. I have never had any inclination of same sex attraction but like many other men I am attracted by the female body. By God's grace I have been faithful to my dear wife for nearly 47 years, but the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 5:28 sink deep into my heart. I would say that a lesson which is jumping out at me as I write this blog, is that I need to hesitate to condemn other people - even for committing a sin which would not be one I would be easily inclined to commit. We need to look within before we judge other people.

James then elaborates on the downward spiral which all began with that careless action on my part. Notice the imagery of child birth which James uses. Here is the sinful process which James highlights.

DESIRE → SIN → DEATH. Here is a quotation from a very practical book by Jonathan Lamb.

James explains the life-cycle of sin. You are “dragged away . . . and enticed” (v. 14), at which point the cycle begins: desire is the parent, sin is the child, and death is the grandchild. To succumb to temptation is to give birth to a progeny of evil: first sin, then death. All of us know how this works. One action leads to a habit, until soon it is a way of life – or in fact, a way of death – for that’s where this pathway inevitably leads us. To give in to temptation will give birth to an ugly child, and the inevitable consequence is that it spirals down to death.

[Lamb, Jonathan. Godliness from Head to Toe . Langham Creative Projects. Kindle Edition.]

We live in a world which is a minefield of temptation and evil. Satan is very active but the postmodern era is rampant with a whole set of principles and values which are contrary to God's Word. That does not mean that we lower our standards with the notion that morality is a relative matter. God's standards are absolute and apply to every generation. The New Testament was written at a time when there was rampant immorality across the Roman Empire. This did not compromise the divine standards which the apostles applied. They had seen the conduct of the Son of God and their teaching was influenced by His standards - not the standard of the Romans nor the Greeks nor even the Pharisees.

Photo by Dan Freeman on Unsplash.