The Book of James Week One Lesson Five

“Temptation Lies in Wait”

‘And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.’

 James 1:13-15

Why, if God is such a loving God, do we even have to endure temptation? Shouldn’t it be that by being a Christian we could bypass all the enticements that come our way? Don’t you see, you are a threat to the evil one. He wants to trip you up and make you fall. He desires your destruction and would like nothing more than to see you dead.

What does verse 13 say about God and our temptation?

Verse 14 describes the source of our temptations. What is it?

God is not tempted by evil because He is holy. Holiness has no part in evil, nor can evil ever be part of holiness. Because God is holy, He cannot tempt us to sin. The following illustration helps us understand the lure and destruction temptation brings and how satan and his minions use it against us.

The Lion and It’s Prey

Lions often work together when they hunt. This cooperation increases their chances of getting food. Most of the hunting is done by a group of lionesses which divide into two teams. One team circles around ahead of the prey. When they’re in place, the second group shows itself and scares the animals. The frightened victims stampede and are chased into the first group of lions. Most of the hunting is done at night, because lions have excellent hearing and eyesight. Their hearing is so good, they can hear prey that is more than a mile away. Lion’s eyes are the biggest of the any meat-eating animal. Lie the eyes of other cats, they are specially designed for seeing at night. What is amazing is that lions are sometimes not as fast as their prey. Their secret is that they are patient and lie in wait knowing the habits of their victims.

James described being tempted like this, “Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away...” Much like the story of how lions catch their prey, the evil one plays on our desires and when we are out in the open with no protection because we are chasing the urge to fulfill our desires, he strikes. He employs his demons to entice us into a vulnerable place. Even though, we as believers in the Strong One, have the ability to overpower the evil that hounds us, we don’t utilize the power God has given us. 

Satan banks on us to depend on ourselves and not Jesus. He knows that on our own we are easy prey. Once he has us where he wants us, we are dragged away and the temptation we succumb to can destroy us if we do not seek the Lord for His help. If we would just stand behind the Savior, we would be safe and temptation has no control over us. When we try and do things on our own, we are in danger of falling.

Read 1 Peter 5:8. How is our enemy described?

Look again at the first part of this verse. Peter tells the reader how to avoid the teeth of the lion. What two things does he tell us to do?

1. ____________________________________
2. ____________________________________

Read James 1:15. Circle the words; desire ~ sin ~ death.

These three words; desire ~ sin ~ death are the three stages of temptation. We all have desires. Not all desires are bad. For example, I have a great desire to be loved and to show love. This desire goes bad when it becomes twisted and warped into something like adultery, seeking someone to love outside my marriage. This kind of desire cloaks itself in false love. The sin is succumbing to the temptation to go outside of marriage to find love. Sin always leads to death. It kills a marriage. It kills the spirit. It puts a wedge in our relationship with God.

When desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin, and results in separation from God, which leads to death. Christians are not to let death dwell in our lives. We must seek a right relationship with God and not allow temptation to lure us away from Him.

Read Romans 3:23. What does it say everyone does?

It would do us all good to remember that we are sinners. We have no power over sin and temptation without Jesus to do battle for us. Romans 3:23 is there to remind us that we are fallen without Jesus. Without Him we will always run into the street of temptation and get hit by the consequences of our sin. Please remember to avoid the temptation that you will face by standing behind Jesus. He’s the Only One who can keep us from tripping from our weaknesses. Satan hates it when we are smart because he knows that when we are behind the Cross of Christ he has no power over us. He is a defeated foe.