James 1:12-15
“Passing the Buck”
There existed among many Jews in James’ day the idea that since God was the
Creator of all things then He was also responsible for the temptations that came
their way. Since God has created everything, He must have created the tendency to
evil also. James refutes the notion that God is the source of temptation.
He writes, “God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else”
(13b). It would be inconsistent with the perfect, moral character of a holy God for
Him to entice others to evil. To blame God for temptation would reveal a warped
understanding of who God is and what He desires to do in our lives, which is to
make us His holy people
God is never the cause of your temptations. Never. Don’t even go there. He never
puts you in a situation where you have to sin. Never. You may find yourself in a
tough spot and under pressure you may choose to sin, and in your mind you may
even feel “forced” by the circumstances to do wrong, but even in those cases the
choice is yours, not God’s.
Now, if God is not to blame for our temptations, then who is? James tells us,
"Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away" (14).
The source of temptation lies within man himself. Yet, from the beginning of time
it has been our first instinct to blame others for our own sin.
Sometimes we blame our heredity. The thinking is that we are what we are, and
thus do what we do, because of the genes we inherited from our parents. I knew a
girl who was quick to blame her temper on her mother because her mother had a
temper, and she inherited it from her. Thus, the blame ultimately goes back to our
parents, they are responsible for our sins, not us. Convenient, to say the least.
We also blame our environment. The question is asked, "How can we be expected
to behave any better with evil all around us?" We are prone to reason that our
surroundings are what lead us to sin. This is why you hear so much about "peer
pressure" and how "everyone else is doing it" as excuses.
We also blame Satan. It is true that Satan can be the source of temptation. But we
certainly can't lay all the blame for all our temptations on him. In fact, if there were
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no Satan, we would still have temptations. The excuse "the devil made me do it" is
as old as history. Who was it that Eve blamed for her eating the forbidden fruit?
We also blame other individuals. "If she hadn't said what she said, if he hadn't done
what he did, I wouldn't have these resentments." “If I had a different husband or
different wife or different boss or different co-workers…”
WE also blame God. Like the Jews in James’ day, we reason that if God made us
then He is responsible for my weaknesses and failures.
James refuses to allow us to pass the buck to our parents, our environment, Satan,
others or even God. Temptation comes from within the individual and not from
anything or anyone outside the individual. It is not the outward circumstances, but
the inward condition that is the real culprit.
James says, "Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us
away" (14). The verbs—"entice and drag away" come from the world of hunting
and fishing. When you go fishing you try to entice the fish to bite your bait by
making it appealing. A. T. Robertson describes this verse this way---"snared by
one's own bait."
(water illustration)
Why did the water spill out of the glass? The obvious answer is: “Because he
shook your arm.” But what if there had been no water in the glass? He could have
shaken my arm all day and nothing would have come out. It’s only because water
was in the glass, that water came out of the glass. This is a great theological lesson
about life. And, if you learn it, not just as a theory, but in practice, it will radically
transform your life. So what is my point?
This is a parable about ourselves. Tests, trials, troubles, and temptations come and
shake us. And, if we surrender to those tests, trials, troubles, and temptations,
certain things come out. But nothing can come out that isn't already in there. Jesus
said, “It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a
person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,
greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All
these vile things come from within; they are what defile you” (Mark 7:20-23)
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You look at a woman and say, "she made me lust." No she didn't, she just shook
you and the lust that was already there came out. You say, "That person made me
angry." No they didn't, they just shook you and the anger that was already there
came out. You say, “You don’t know my boss. The reason I’m so resentful is
because he isn’t fair to me.” Not really, all he did was shake you and the
resentment that resided in your heart came out. You say, “You don’t know the
people I work with. The reason I struggle with envy, pride, jealousy, and malice is
because of them.” Not really. All they do is shake you, and the filth that is already
there comes out. Nothing can be shaken out of you which isn't already in you.
Now we don’t like that, do we? I would much prefer to blame you for what comes
out of me, rather than hold myself responsible. Now think about that for a moment.
If I think that you are responsible for what comes out of me, I have just empowered
you to control my life. Jesus said something very significant about this, “You are
truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). One of the things I believe
Jesus wants to free is from is this tendency to blame others for the evil that comes
from within our own hearts.
Now how does He do that? In a nutshell—through prevailing prayer and the
cleansing power of the Holy Spirit. Do you remember the story in Mark 9 of the
disciple’s failure to cast an evil spirit out of a young boy? When they later asked
Jesus why they failed, He said, “This kind can be cast out only by prayer” (29).
This isn’t the “Now I lay my down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep” kind
of praying. This is the “Lord, I’m not getting up from my knees until You cleanse
my heart” kind of praying.
The question is: How can we fight and win the battle against the temptations we
face? James 1:13-15 gives us God’s answer to that important question. James lays
out the process that happens when temptation comes to us. Understanding the
process helps us resist the process. “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). Notice four things from these verses.
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First, the certainty of temptation: “When you are being tempted” (13), not if but
when. No one escapes temptation in this life. Not even Jesus was spared from
temptation. No one escapes temptation. Since we know it’s coming, we need to be
prepared for it.
Second, the allure of temptation: “entice and drag away.” Again, James uses the
image of a fisherman baiting a hook to entice a bite. Just as the forbidden fruit
looked good to Eve, sin looks good to us. Sin promises a certain degree of
satisfaction. It must, or no one would ever sin. Of Moses it was said, “He chose to
share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of
sin” (Hebrews 11:25). In the short run, we can always justify losing our temper,
telling a lie, cheating a friend, taking a shortcut, or indulging our fantasies, because
at the moment it seems to be the expedient thing to do. We think there is something
to gain if we do it.
Third, the individuality of temptation: “our own desires” (14). This is where we
must get in touch with reality. The reality being—We are our own worst enemy.
Like the old Pogo cartoon: “We have met the enemy and he is us.” I’ve often
thought while looking out over the fresh-faced congregation on Sunday morning
that we all clean up really well. But the reality is: we look better on the outside
than we are on the inside. If we knew the naked truth about each other, we would
run screaming from the sanctuary, never to return.
Fourth, the consequences of yielding to temptation. There are two of them. The
first is: “These desires give birth to sinful actions.” Since James uses the metaphor
of birth, let me apply the truth this way. If we do not use some form of “spiritual
birth control” in our thought life, our desires will impregnate our actions and the
result will be a whole bunch of little “sin babies” running around. That’s a bizarre
image, but it captures the essence and consequences of what sin does to us. This is
why we must not trifle with temptation. We can’t mess with it, play with it, or
dabble in it, because temptation leads to desires that leads inevitably to sin, which
leads to the second consequence, “and when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth
to death” (15).
Sin gives birth to death. We prefer not to hear this. It seems somewhat
counterintuitive that James would use the concept of birth in this context. What
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could be happier than the birth of a baby? When a baby is on the way, we decorate
and plan and pray and save our money, we take pictures of the sonogram and post
it on Facebook. We have baby showers and “gender reveal” parties and we send
out elaborate birth announcements.
It’s hard to find anything more wonderful than the birth of a baby. But not all
babies are beautiful. James uses the happy image of childbirth to remind us of an
awful reality. If we allow our evil desires to grow, if we nurse them, pet them, and
justify them, over time they take on a life of their own, and one day those desires
give birth to sin. And sin once conceived in the heart leads only to death. Death to
us. Death in our relationships.
It all goes back to Eden. The serpent came to Eve and enticed her to eat the
forbidden fruit. She then offered some to Adam and he ate, knowing full well the
consequences of his action. Suddenly the world became a very unfriendly place.
Fear entered the human heart for the very first time, and Adam and Eve found
themselves living in shame. When they heard God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day, rather than enjoying the sweet fellowship of God as they did
before, they hid. Sin had changed everything. Where once they talked and walked
with God, now they hid, lest their sin be discovered. We have been hiding ever
since.
God confronted Adam with the dreaded question: “Have you eaten from the tree
that I commanded you not to eat from?” Adam is cornered, caught red-handed,
stripped of all his excuses. God knows! He saw it all. Just as He sees it all when we
sin. What will Adam do? He does what any self-respecting person does. He passes
the buck. His answer is a classic form of the blame game: “The woman you gave to
be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12).
Adam passes the buck twice. First it was the woman. Then it was “the woman You
gave me.” “Lord, it was her fault. She gave me the fruit. What was I supposed to
do? She’s my wife. You know how it is, Lord, when your wife wants you to do
something. Was I supposed to say no and watch her pout all night? And anyway,
You’re the One who arranged this marriage. She wasn’t my idea. I’m not
complaining, Lord, because she’s beautiful and cute and all that, but I didn’t have
this problem when it was just me and the animals.”
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Since then, nothing has really changed. Human nature is the same. Passing the
buck is in our spiritual bloodstream. We do it now because Adam did it back then.
He established the pattern:
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Disobedience leads to…
Guilt, which leads to…
Shame, which leads to…
Fear, which leads to…
Hiding, which leads to…
Blaming others.
The bottom line—Sin Kills! That’s what James means when he wrotes that sin
“gives birth to death” (15). The next time you sin, stop and sniff, you might just
smell the stench of death. Sin kills. Sin kills every human relationship and it kills
our relationship with God.
We would all be better off if we stopped to consider the impact of our evil desires.
What starts as a passing fancy becomes a settled desire which then becomes an
overpowering impulse that leads us to sinful actions and attitudes that result in
personal tragedy, shattered lives, messed up children, ruined careers, and broken
marriages. Worst of all, we end up separated from the God who made us and loves
us. We are truly lost, and we have only ourselves to blame.
Here’s a practical application from this passage. Don’t fondle sin! This obviously
applies to sexual temptation, but it goes far beyond it. It also means, don’t give
your mind over to thoughts of bitterness, envy, anger, lust, greed, and violence. It
will take you to an exceedingly dark place.
Goshen, BMMC -2/28/2016
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