This exposition of James 1:13-18 by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, February 23, 2019.
Intro:
When you were in school did you have a favorite subject? I was fond of lunch! But there were those classes I hated. One of those was gym class, especially at Robertson Elementary.
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I loved my teacher, Mr. Robinson - he was great. I hated the Presidents’s Physical Fitness Test or as I called it the, “Let’s humiliate the fat kid game.” Every year I was humiliated in front of the whole class as, yet again, I failed to do a chin up.
I didn’t like biology class at OBU either. Science wasn’t my thing. I tried to explain to Dr. Oglivie that I was not good in science because I was left-handed. “As you know Dr. Oglivie a left-handed person is right-brained. A right-brained person is creative rather than analytical. I excel in the arts not the sciences.” It didn’t work any better with her than it is with you! She wasn’t buying it and insisted that I learn something about anatomy. Now if I were pre-med or pre-vet – I could have accepted that. But I was a speech major! I really didn’t see what anatomy had to do with anything I was going to be involved in.
But, looking back, anatomy is dividing a thing into parts for detailed analysis for the purpose of ascertaining the function. In other words anatomy is the study of how something works. Since that is what anatomy is – it is important in all areas of study. Our text this evening is found in the latter part of the first chapter of James’ letter to the 12 tribes scattered. As we work through our text, we are going to discover the anatomy of temptation.
Text: James 1:13-18
Are you ever tempted?
Do you ever “give in” to temptation?
Then maybe this would be worth looking at.
Thesis: The anatomy of temptation reveals that each of us is responsible for our sin.
Well, that’s no fun!
I want to be like Flip Wilson, I would at least like to say, “The devil made me do it.”
The idea that we are responsible for our sin doesn’t fit well in our “blameless society.” Have you noticed that no one is responsible for anything any more? We are not responsible because we are all victims. It’s my upbringing or the influence of the culture or my parents didn’t treat me right or any of a thousand things so long as I can say, “It’s not my fault!”
I still haven’t figured out how we can all be victims there have to be some perpetrators.
There are three things I want us to notice in our text.
- The source of temptation. (1:13-14)
- The offspring of temptation. (1:15)
- The way out. (1:16-18)
Conclusion:
He saved us from our sin, he will see us through our sorrows.
Our God is good and his goodness is unchanging (17)
His goodness is undeserved (of his own free will - it isn’t owed - 18)
His goodness is unending.
By faith, we trust in the grace of God.
1 Corinthians 10:13
Hebrews 12:1-2
See temptation for what it is and flee to Christ for grace to stand!
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