James 1 - The Wisdom Of The Brother Of JesusSample

How temptations arise

The word for ‘trial’ and ‘temptation’ are exactly the same in New Testament Greek. Having already used the word to refer to trials (verses 2 and 12), James now moves seamlessly to using it in the second sense. The two ideas are not separate. Often hardships in our faith bring fresh temptations to abandon our love of God. 

James just wants us to know that the path from temptation to sin to death is not an inevitable one; it is not fixed by the will of God as if He were the one doing the tempting (1:13). 

Instead, temptations arise from our own ‘desire’ (v.14). When we allow desire to ‘conceive’, to fix upon some bad intention, sin is born. And, when sin grows to adulthood, it kills us. The metaphor is powerful.

James’ point is that instead of blaming God for our temptations (to abandon Him), we must keep our desires in check before they conceive and give birth. Desire and temptation are not in themselves sinful, but they will lead to sin if we don’t deal with them firmly. Much of the remainder of James’ letter is a plea to resist taking the step from desire and temptation to sin and death.

Too hard on temptation

James’ words indicate a rarely noticed truth. Our desires and temptations are not necessarily sinful; it’s what we do with them that counts. The teenager’s desire for a sexual experience is not wrong; in fact, it is a healthy part of what it means to be God’s creature. 

How young men and women deal with the temptations of our modern world is the important thing. Likewise, feelings of anger — when we are wronged — are not sinful in themselves; the issue is how we respond to such feelings. 

When faced with daily temptations, don’t beat yourself up about it or (worse) blame God for it. Simply refuse to allow your desires to give birth to sin. 

Too easy on sin

While some are too harsh on themselves for their temptations, others are perhaps too casual about ‘giving birth to sin’. These days we don’t talk about ‘sin’ very much. Focus on God’s undeniable love for his people is sometimes divorced from talk about the sin of humanity which took Jesus to the cross for us. 

When talk in church turns to sin, there is occasionally a level of discomfort that reflects broader society’s move away from the biblical notions of sin and guilt. But God takes sin seriously and the Bible pulls no punches when speaking about it. James’ reminder is that sin puts us on a path towards death. 

The point here is that while some readers should probably stop beating themselves up about their unwanted desires and temptations, others should hear in James’ words the most serious of warnings.