Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. (James 1:12-15)
I taught in a local university for several years and I could divide my students into three groups: those who studied, those who didn’t, and those who pretended to and made a fuss when they failed. Those who didn’t study for the exam didn’t usually protest much when they didn’t do as well as they wanted but were resigned to the fact they hadn’t really tried. Those who studied and were approved, so to speak, of having learned that particular unit of the topic were generally happy with their grades. But the third group, those who tried to bluff and bluster, who tried to say the test was written poorly or the questions unfair, who attempted to wrangle one more point by argument, or tried to say the subject was too hard, were the ones who tried my patience. I recall one young person who protested I should have given him at least a “B” because he showed up! Really? I told him he had paid for the classes and most folks show up when they have money invested. He was not amused.
Friend, God does not grade on a curve. You either accept His free gift and show the fruit of that grace, or you don’t. In the end times, God says we will be divided into sheep and goats. One will go away into eternal life and the other eternal death. There won’t be any arguing over points of doctrine or over who wore the right clothes or gave the most gifts to the church. God sees the heart and He will sort the crowd out and no use complaining, it’s pretty cut and dried. You are on His side or the other, no middle ground.
James goes on to warn us of our tendency to blame “anybody else but me” for what we do. Have you ever been at a funeral where good meaning folks came up to the grieving family and made inane statements like, “God must have needed him back,” or “God took him so early because He wanted him home”?
God is not the author of death! Don’t blame Him for that! Death is the devil’s doing. And when you are tested and tried by a crisis in your life, don’t say God is sending those to you, to tempt you and try you. God isn’t like that!
James here plainly says, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. God doesn’t tempt you. He leads you, and along the way the devil sends temptations, and they are a trial and a test, but God is right there with us through them, prompting the right action, the right thing to do. Just as a parent holds back when a baby is learning something new; they allow them to try, to test, and then pat them on the back and say, “good job!” when they succeed. A good parent consoles the baby when they fail. Yet, they didn’t put the test in front of them. They walked with them through it.
Have you watched a baby learn to walk? It’s a good thing their little behinds are padded by diapers since they sit down so often on their way to walking. How often have you seen young parents, Dad and Mom, kneeling on the floor, six feet or so apart, arms wide as they urge the baby to walk to one, then the other, hugging and encouraging them? Do they do the walking for them? No. Did they make this a test of the babes’ faith? No. They’re teaching him. He learns the natural consequence of gravity is down. The natural consequence of getting back up and trying again is a hug and a kiss and “try again”.
Sin brings death. God does not. God gives eternal life. This physical life will pass away. His eternal life will not. When you are tempted and you fail, ask forgiveness at once, and you will be forgiven and go on. Unfortunately, undoubtedly, the devil will send another temptation just like it or similar to try and get you to fail again. He tests us where we’re weakest. It’s part of growing up in Christ.
Once you become a Christian by offering your life, with all its shortcomings and weakness to God, and taking His free gift of forgiveness, then you will not have a rosy time. The devil doesn’t like to lose his prey – and you are simply prey to him. He doesn’t love you. You are just a possession, a thing to harry and hurt. He will fight to get you back. You’re in the middle of a battle.
James is telling us not to blame God for the battle, not to quit, to resist, but to turn to God for help and protection. And when your battle is over, He will give you a reward greater than whatever you could imagine.