James 1:13-18

¹³ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: ¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. ¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brethren. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. ¹⁸ Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

We all have had a tendency at some point or another to think that when things go wrong, God is not good. We may not say it quite that way, but we will inevitably find a way to shift blame if given the opportunity. Over the past three weeks, we have studied what the Letter of James says to believers facing trials. The goal is to endure or persevere in trials. To persevere is to handle the trial in a way that honors God and submits to His will for us. With every trial there comes a temptation to handle the trial in a sinful way. It is very easy in those difficult times, when we sin or are tempted to sin, to be tempted to shift the blame for our sin and sinful desires in the wrong direction. Who’s to blame for our sin? James is quick to ground our answer to this question with three simple, foundational truths.

The first foundational truth James appeals to is that God is holy. God is perfect and righteous in all of His ways. 1 John 1:5 tells us that “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Therefore, James tells us that when we are tempted to sin that it is not God tempting us. He “cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man.” We cannot blame God for our sin or our temptation to sin because God is holy. This temptation to blame God for our sin is not something new. In fact, we see this all the way back in the beginning in the Garden of Eden. In Genesis 3 God first holds Adam responsible for his and Eve’s sin of eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. When God confronts Adam, Adam’s response is “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Adam blamed Eve, but he really blames God because he says “the woman thou gavest to be with me.” Adam blamed God for giving him Eve. When we sin, we cannot blame God. Instead, we must see our sin as direct opposition to God’s will and character. When we see sin as it really is, we will not blame God. Instead, with the next foundational truth, James calls us to look inward for the problem.

The next foundational truth we must understand is that we are sinful. The real issue of our temptation and sin, is ourselves. We sin when we are “drawn away of” our “own lust, and enticed.” It is our own sinful desires that we surrender to that brings about sin. He uses an analogy in verse 15 of a baby moving from conception to being full grown. Sin begins with a desire in our hearts (“lust”). If we cater to the desire then it “bringeth forth sin” or “gives birth to sin.” The finished work of sin is death. Death describes the inevitable destructive consequences for our sin and the ultimate consequence of condemnation before God. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Our sin, not matter how small we may consider it, is direct rebellion to the infinite, eternal, holy Creator of all things. When we sin, we have committed cosmic treason and are instantly and justly deserving of eternal punishment. Jerry Bridges once wrote, “Sin is wrong, not because of what it does to me, or my spouse, or child, or neighbor, but because it is an act of rebellion against the infinitely holy and majestic God.” J.I. Packer once said, “There can be no small sins against a great God.” James tells us that we must look inward for the problem, not outward at God, our circumstances, or even the devil. The devil can tempt us and deceive us, but he has never forced anyone to sin. He simply proves and tests the hearts of men.

The last truth we must understand is that God is good. God is not only perfectly holy and righteous, but He is a good God. His intentions towards us are good. Trials are not sent into the pathway of believers to cause us to sin. Rather, they are sent into our lives to help us to grow in godliness. We can never say that God is putting us through something because He hates us. Instead, it is the exact opposite. Trials are one of the great proofs of His fatherly love because they are instruments of Him disciplining those that He loves (Hebrews 12:4-12). To help drive that point home, James appeals to the ultimate demonstration of God’s love…our salvation. “Of His own will” is a reminder that God freely chose to bring salvation to us. He was not forced, nor coerced, but motivated by love from His own nature (John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:8). He not only desired our salvation, but provided the means of it through “the Word of truth.” Christ accomplishes our salvation, but the Word is God’s instrument through the power of the Holy Spirit of opening our eyes and convicting us of our need for Jesus (Romans 1:16; 10:17; 1 Peter 1:23). God could have left us to ourselves in our sin. Instead, He provided for our salvation in the death of His Son and gave us His Word so that we could be saved. God doesn’t suddenly turn on us and send trials to harm us after we get saved. Instead, He brings them into our lives to strengthen us and conform us into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).

Have you ever faced the temptation to blame God when you sin? Have you ever wondered whether God loved or cared about you in the midst of a trying circumstance? Have you ever thought that He’s forgotten you or was against you because of a trial you endured? To accurately respond to those thoughts and temptations, we must ground our thinking in three truths: God is holy; we are sinful; God is good. When we understand these three things, we cannot blame God for our sin and we can rest assured that what trials and difficulties that come our way in life are meant for our good and not evil (Romans 8:28). We can trust God because He is righteous and He is love. He is holy and He is good. The question is, will we trust Him? Will we surrender to His perfect and good will for us?