Note: Hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture (which stays open and can be copied).

As William Kelly observes...

The Epistle then turns from our holy trials to our unholy ones, and shows their source to be, not in God, but in sinful man. (Comment: The former must be endured, the latter resisted.)

Wuest has an interesting paraphrase adding the word "sin" (not in the Greek) to emphasize that the test is not for good but for evil. God does test men, but He does not tempt men to do evil. There is a substantial difference and that is what Wuest's paraphrase accentuates...

Let no man be saying when he is being solicited to sin, "By God I am being solicited to sin", for God is incapable of being solicited to sin, the source of the solicitations being evils, and He himself solicits no one to sin

Let...say (3004) means to speak or talk, with an apparent focus upon content of what is said. Note that this is not a suggestion but a command in the present imperative with a negative, which means in essence "Stop accusing God!". "Cease saying when you are being tempted that it's God's fault!"

When he is tempted - Notice he does not say "if" but "when". Temptation is a sure thing! If you feel you are not being tempted then chances are you are already deceived by the temptation and you don't even realize your dire state!

As J C Ryle writes...

Let us beware of making light of temptation because they seem little and insignificant. There is nothing little that concerns our souls.

F P Wood wisely says instructs us regarding the "value" of temptations when he says...

Temptation is not sin; it is the call to battle.

The point is that we are in a war, a continual war against our soul, and it is not simply a momentary skirmish. Our flesh, the evil world system and the evil one are resolutely determined to take us down (cp 1Pe 5:8-note "devour")! Stop being deceived (James 1:15) regarding this strategic truth, lest you be swept downstream by the strong pull of the temptation that comes from within.

Peter warned his readers (who were being tested/tempted - 1Pe 1:6,7 notes 1Pe 1:6; 1:7)...

Beloved (note his affectionate address [similar to James] before he explains a serious, hard truth), I urge (present tense = continually. Parakaleo = I come alongside you. I know the power and pull of temptation first hand. I fell. But God poured out mercy and gave grace to repent and return that I might now strengthen you with this warning. See Luke 22:32, 33, 34, Mt 26:74, 75, Acts 2:14f, cp Acts 3:19, 20) you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war (continually = present tense) against the soul. (see note 1 Peter 2:11)

John Quincy Adams wrote that...

Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.

Martin Luther spoke of what the flesh means for evil God can use for good writing that...

My temptations have been my masters in divinity....Temptation and adversity are the two best books in my library.

Tempt (3985)(peirazo from the noun peira = test from peíro = perforate, pierce through to test durability of things) is a morally neutral word simply meaning “to test”. Whether the test is for a good (as it proved to be in Heb 11:17) or evil (Mt 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil") depends on the intent of the one giving the test and also on the response of the one tested. (See study of similar word dokimazo) (Related resources: Temptation - Dictionary Articles)

W H Griffith said that...

Satan tempts to bring out the bad; God tests to bring out the good.

Or as someone else has said

Satan tempts us to bring out the worst in us but God tests us to bring out the best.

Wiersbe writes that...

A temptation is an opportunity to accomplish a good thing in a bad way, out of the will of God. We think of sin as a single act, but God sees it as a process. Adam committed one act of sin, and yet that one act brought sin, death, and judgment on the whole human race. James described this process of sin in four stages. (Desire, Deception, Disobedience, Death)  (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos)

Note that the verb peirazo here translated as tempted is in the same word group as the noun peirasmos which is translated trial (James 1:2-note; James 1:12-note).

Peirazo/peirasmos when used of God reflects His testing or trying a believer's faith, but never in the sense of tempting the believer to sin. In Peter's first epistle it is clear that God's purpose is not to cause to sin or to destroy but to refine.

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary (his implication is trials are necessary), you have been distressed by various trials (peirasmos), that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (see notes 1 Peter 1:6; 1:7)

Beloved (he is addressing believers), do not be surprised (present imperative + a negative = "Stop being surprised") at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing (peirasmos), as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing (present imperative  = command to make rejoicing your "lifestyle" even in trials - only possible by the manifold grace of God and the inner strengthening by the indwelling Holy Spirit); so that (introduces the purpose of the testing) also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation. If you are reviled for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. (see notes 1 Peter 4:12; 13; 14)

Comment: God has never promised that we would miss the storm, but He has promised that we would make the harbor. When God puts His own people into the furnace, He keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much. (Warren Wiersbe)

Peirazo is used 3 times in this passage each in the present tense ("continually tested"). In the first use, it is clear that this tense indicates that the test is never-ending in this life but it will end in the life to come when we are delivered not only from the presence of sin but the pleasure of sin.

Comment: King Hezekiah acted foolishly and in pride showed the Babylonian envoys his treasures, arousing their desire to possess them, a desire that would soon be fulfilled. See 2Ki 20:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19

The gods of heathen imagination are always conceived both as liable to temptation to moral evil, and as themselves tempters. The conception of their character comes from man's wicked heart, and the stream cannot rise higher than its source. (Commentary on James)

Tempted (551) (apeirastos from a = negative + peirazo = to test) is an adjective which means literally untempted or untried. It speaks of not being able to be tempted.

Himself (autos) emphasizes God and the fact that He never solicits to sin. As stated elsewhere, God does allow "tests" in our life, but His purpose is never to cause us to stumble, but to humble us and refine us and make us more like His Son. We are the problem when the tests come, not God! Every test is an opportunity to grow in grace or stumble into sin. In the present context however James has shifted from actual tests to true temptations to do evil.

Cannot be tempted - Combines the adjective apeirastos with eimi (to be) in the present tense (estin). God's is continually untempted by evil. Wuest says "God is incapable of being solicited to sin".

God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5)

Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, and You can not look on wickedness with favor (Hab 1:13)

Evil (2556) (kakos) basically denotes a lack of something and so it means bad or not as it ought to be. Kakos is a neuter plural adjective without an article which denotes those things that have the moral quality of being base, bad, degrading, and clearly the very opposite of those things that are ethically and morally good, wholesome and beneficial.

In the "Lord's Prayer" we pray “And lead us not into temptation” (Mt 6:13) but this is not implying that God tempts us to do evil. What it means is something like “don’t allow us to come under the sway of temptation that will over power us and cause us to sin.” (see note Matthew 6:13)

MacDonald comments that...

Man is always ready to shift responsibility for his sins. If he cannot blame God, he will adopt an approach of modern psychology by saying that sin is a sickness. In this way he hopes to escape judgment. But sin is not a sickness; it is a moral failure for which man must give account. Some even try to blame inanimate things for sin. But material “things” are not sinful in themselves. Sin does not originate there. James tracks the lion to its den when he says: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Sin comes from within us, from our old, evil, fallen, unregenerate nature (flesh). Jesus said, “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Mt. 15:19).

Matthew Poole explains some objections that might be raised...

“Objection.” God is said to be tempted, Ex 17:2, 7 Deut 6:16 Ps 78:41; and to tempt, Ge 22:1, (KJV "tempt", NAS - "test") Deut 8:2 13:3.

“Answer.” Both are to be understood of temptations of exploration, or for the discovery of something that was before hidden. Men tempt God, that they may know what he will do; God tempts men, that they (not he, for he knows it already) may know what themselves will do, which then appears, when the temptation draws it out; but neither is to be understood of the temptation here spoken of, viz. of seduction, or drawing into sin. God tempts by giving hard commands, Ge 22:1; by afflicting, as in Job’s case; by letting loose Satan or other wicked instruments to tempt, 1 Ki 22:22; by withholding his grace and deserting men, 1Sam 28:15; by presenting occasions which corruption within improves unto sin, and by ordering and governing the evil wills of men, as that a thief should steal out of this flock rather than that, that Nebuchadnezzar should come against Jerusalem rather than Rabbah, Eze 21:21, 22. But God doth not tempt by commanding, suggesting, soliciting, or persuading to sin. (Matthew Poole's Commentary on the New Testament)

F B Hole writes...

God Himself is above all evil. It is absolutely foreign to His nature. It is as impossible for Him to be tempted with evil as it is impossible for Him to lie. Equally so it is impossible for Him to tempt anyone with evil though He may permit His people to be tempted with evil, knowing well how to overrule even that for their ultimate good. The real root of all temptation lies within ourselves, in our own lusts. We may blame the enticing thing which from without was presented to us, but the trouble really lies in the desires of the flesh within.

Let us lay hold of this fact and honestly face it. When we sin the tendency is for us to lay a great deal of the blame on our circumstances, or at all events on things without, when if only we are honest before God we have no one and nothing to blame but ourselves. How important it is that we should thus be honest before God and judge ourselves rightly in His presence, for that is the high road to recovery of soul. Moreover it will help us to judge and refuse the lusts of our hearts, and thus sin will be nipped in the bud. Lust is the mother of sin. If it works it brings forth sin, and sin carried to completion brings forth death. (James Commentary -Plymouth Brethren)

A B Simpson writes that...

While temptation is not directly from God, yet it is overruled by God, and made one of His instrumentalities of blessing to us. God does not "tempt any man, neither is tempted with evil," yet God permits us to be tempted. God put our first parents into temptation and He made it possible for them either to choose or refuse; gave them a nature subject to temptation, and while it might overcome them, it might also be overcome. God does not tempt any man, yet He does allow this to be one of the classes in the school of faith and holiness. He even led Jesus Christ, His own Son, into the wilderness by the Spirit to be tempted of the devil. Think it not a strange thing then, dear friends, if your life is called to pass through the ordeal of the conflict, evil from within and from without, not merely things that grieve, afflict and distress you, but things that tend to make you do wrong and draw you from the path of righteousness, truth and godliness. They will come. God wants you to be forewarned and forearmed, and to know it is better that they should come to you, if you but take the panoply of God and come through in victory. (A. B. Simpson. Christ in the Bible - James)

But (de) introduces the contrast with the thought that God could tempt us to sin. James says to the contrary that is not so and explains what is so. God is not the culprit. Lust that dwells within us is the agent of deceit.

Each one (1538) (hekastos) means each one of an aggregate. Hekastos stresses the universal experience of temptation individually. The idea is every single person! In short, there is not man or woman so "holy" or "pious" that they are beyond temptation. Neither is there anything anyone can do to completely escape this temptation. Even age does not remove the temptation. Like the 78 year old saint who responded to the pastor at his surprise that this elderly saint was still vulnerable to sexual temptation at his age...

Son, just because I’m old doesn’t mean the blood doesn’t flow through my veins. The difference between we old men and you young men is this: we know we’re sinners. We’ve had plenty of experience. You kids haven’t figured that out yet. (in Leadership [Fall, 1992], pp. 74-75).

The saintly pastor Charles Simeon referred to the source of temptation in each one using the metaphor that we are all carrying around highly flammable material within our bodies! His point of course was that we need to be very careful not to light the fuse, lest the powder flare up and explode!

Calvin wrote that James’ object in this section is

to teach us that there is in us the root of our own destruction.

Don't let anyone deceive you into thinking our old Sin nature or the wicked flesh has been eradicated in the believer (1Jn 1:8), for Scripture does not teach this aberration, at least not until we attain glory!

The point is that since temptation never comes from God, we can (should) never blame Him when we are tempted. When God asked Adam if he had eaten from the tree he was commanded not to eat from, he actually did not answer directly instead indirectly blaming God for his predicament...

And the man said, "The woman whom Thou gavest to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate." (Genesis 3:12, see context Ge 3:8, 9, 10, 11, 13)

So don't try to shift the blame onto God when you are tempted and sin! Don't use the lame logic that since God is sovereign over all, He is also sovereign over my sin. So it's not my fault. He could have stopped me! Don't say things like -

"God, You expect too much from me",

"God, You have made things too difficult for me",

"God, You have not given me the same grace and power to resist temptation that you have given others; this is just my temperament; I can't help myself",

"God, You created me this way".

Don't blame God for your temptation to sin!

So as you learn to deal correctly with temptation first recognize that you cannot blame anyone else but yourself. You need to take personal responsibility. There is a tendency in us to find excuses for our sin. There is no place for always saying “The Devil made me do it”. He may have enticed us, but we still made the choice to follow the temptation because we listened to the flesh. And don't blame bad circumstances, "bad" genes or the bad culture.

Fairbairn asked...

What is temptation? Seduction to evil, solicitation to wrong. It stands distinguished from trial thus: trial tests, seeks to discover the man’s moral qualities or character; but temptation persuades to evil, deludes, that it may ruin. The one means to undeceive, the other to deceive. The one aims at the man’s good, making him conscious of his true moral self; but the other at his evil, leading him more or less unconsciously into sin. God tries; Satan tempts.

Ropes writes that ...

Paul in 1Cor 10:13 makes a similar exhortation in curiously different form: “Do not excuse yourselves by thinking that your temptation is greater than man can bear.” (Ropes, J. H. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Epistle of St. James)

Notice that James does not blame parents, spouses, jobs, kids, etc. He doesn't label it as a disease or a dysfunction. He doesn't even blame the devil in this section because he wants to be sure we first acknowledge that we are the primary source for temptation. When you get up tomorrow morning and look at your face in the mirror, you are seeing your greatest problem! D L Moody recognized this basic principle quipping that...

I have more trouble with D. L. Moody than with any man I know.

This reminds one of that cartoon strip Pogo where the hero says...

We have met the enemy and he is us.

Thomas a Kempis put it this way...

There is no order so holy, no place so secret, where there will be no temptation.

Those who think there are capable of attaining to sinlessness in this life are deceived and are in a precarious state for Paul writes...

let him who thinks he stands take heed (present imperative) lest he fall. (1Cor 10:12) (for as Matthew Henry rightly warned "The best of saints may be tempted to the worst of sins.")

Steven Cole has the following illustration on the subtle, persistent nature of temptation...

A man was on a diet and struggling. He had to go downtown and as he started out, he remembered that his route would take him by the doughnut shop. As he got closer, he thought that a cup of coffee would hit the spot. Then he remembered his diet. That’s when he prayed, “Lord, if You want me to stop for a doughnut and coffee, let there be a parking place in front of the shop.” He said, “Sure enough, I found a parking place right in front—on my seventh time around the block!”

As Robert Orben said,

Most people want to be delivered from temptation but would like it to keep in touch (Reader's Digest [8/86], p. 35).

Allow me to state the obvious: You will not make it as a Christian if you do not learn to overcome temptation. In the parable of the sower, Jesus taught that some make a profession of faith and begin to show signs of growth, but the heat of trials or the more subtle thorns of worldly desires cause the plant to die (see Luke 8:11, 12, 13, 14, 15, cp Mark 4:19). As I understand that parable, it is only those plants that endure and produce fruit that represent true believers. Because the enemy is strong and the lusts of the flesh are so powerful, you must learn to recognize and overcome temptation. If you do not, James says, you are on the path that leads to death.

I think that as he wrote this, James probably had in mind the graphic story in Proverbs 7 of the young man lacking sense, who succumbs to the loose woman’s enticement. His first mistake was that he passed near the corner where she lived (Pr 7:8). As “luck” would have it, at that very moment, she happens to come out of her door. As further “luck” would have it, her husband has gone on a long trip. “With her many persuasions she entices him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as one in fetters to the discipline of a fool, until an arrow pierces through his liver; as a bird hastens to the snare, so he does not know that it will cost him his life” (Pr 7:21, 22, 23). Proverbs 7:26, 27 concludes,

For many are the victims she has cast down, and numerous are all her slain. Her house is the way to Sheol, descending to the chambers of death.

James gives us a strategy for overcoming the deadly lure of temptation: To overcome temptation, recognize its source, its force, and its course. (James 1:13-15 The Source, Force, and Course of Temptation)

The flesh is evil and still lives in believers and will do so until we go to be with Jesus. Don't try to get rid of it like some tribes of primitive Indians did! In Chicago's Field Museum are skulls from ancient Indians and some are called trepanned skulls because they have holes bored in them. The primitive people used would bore holes in the skulls of living people in a vain attempt to let the demons out.

F B Meyer has an interesting illustration...

Let me illustrate by the use of botany. You know that flowers have their sex, and the bees gathering honey in one flower carry the pollen to another, and the result is flower and fruit. Precisely in the same way the heart of man is always open, and bees of all kinds seem to bring the pollen of unholy thoughts; when these are sown in the desires of our nature, there is at once the result of which St. James speaks. As soon as you allow the evil thought to mingle with your nature, it bringeth forth the act of sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (from Back to Bethel)

Tempted (3985)(peirazo - click discussion of this verb in verse 13) is in the which once again emphasizes that temptation is a lifelong issue. The Bible does not teach a temptation free nor a sinless state in this life but only in the one to come. Notice the verb is in the present tense indicating that we are continually being (passive voice = another source, in this context the old flesh) tempted.

All temptation tests your faith...
All testing of your faith is a temptation
to forsake the faith
- John Piper

John Piper although discussing Satan and not our fallen flesh as the source of temptation (in this specific sermon) has a useful analysis of the relationship of testing (James discusses this in James 1:2ff - see notes) and temptation (James 1:13; 14; 15)...

The word for temptation in Greek (peirasmos - see definition) is the same for both testing and tempting. The reason is that all temptation tests your faith, and all testing of your faith is a temptation to forsake the faith.

So when 1 John 2:14b says, “You are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one,” it includes: You have overcome the temptation to live in sin, and you have passed the test that might have destroyed your faith.

Satan Lies...
"God is bad"
"Sin is better"

How does the word of God help us do that? I will put it in a very few sentences. Satan tempts and tests in only one way: He lies. And in all his lying, it boils down to two lies. In every test, his lie is: God is bad. And in every temptation his lie is: Sin is better. God is bad and sin is better. He has one tune to play, and he plays it in a thousand ways.

The word of God gives you the strength to overcome the evil one because by God’s grace, through the Spirit, it liberates from these lies with the truth. John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.” Your word is truth. There it is. The word of God makes us strong to overcome the evil one because it saturates our mind with truth—truth about Christ, and truth about the cross, and the Spirit, and faith, and who we are in Christ, and the meaning of sin and calamity and sickness, and the sovereignty and goodness of God.

Not a Quick Fix...
A Way of Life

And by this Spirit-ignited, passion-producing truth, we are made strong against the lies of the evil one. We are not deceived. We hold fast to the word of life. We abide in Christ. This is not a quick fix for every problem. It is a way of life. Paul called Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith" (1Ti 6:12) and then said at the end of his life, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2Ti 4:7-note). All the way to the end, we fight the evil one. And we fight with the faith-sustaining word and we win. “This is the victory that overcomes the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). “You are strong and word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one” (1Jn 2:14). (Read the entire message The Word of God Abides in You, and You Have Overcome the Evil One) (It is even better in Mp3)

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Illustration - "Watch and pray (both verbs in present imperative - command for continual vigilance and dependence, because we are all constantly one choice, one decision, one step from the snare of sin!), lest you enter into temptation" (Mark 14:38).

When we recognize the ugliness of temptations, we will be better able to resist them. Someone wrote,

"If only I could see my temptations as I see other people's, they wouldn't be a bit hard to fight. Other people's temptations look so ugly and foolish. But my own temptations come with a rosy light about them so that I don't see how hateful they are until afterward. There are two ways to see temptations in their true colors. One is to pray about them and thus bring them into the clear light of God's presence. The other is to say, `How would this look if someone else yielded to it?"

To the one being tempted, enticement to sin may be appealing. But if we yield, we start down a path of self-destruction.

In Matthew 4, the first temptation Satan presented to Christ seemed harmless. He tempted Jesus to satisfy His hunger (Mt 4:3, 4). Then he posed another concerning God's protection Mt 4:5,6, 7). In the third, he openly requested Christ to worship him (Mt 4:8, 9, 10). But the Savior saw Satan's true intent—to divert Him from going to Calvary and thus prevent Him from paying sin's penalty. Christ met every appeal by quoting the Scriptures. Jesus was saying to Satan,

"I am living under the authority of My Father and His Word."

If we know God's Word, which is the sword of the Spirit (Ep 6:17-note), and understand how to wield it, we too can be victorious over Satan. To resist temptation, we must be strong in the Lord (Ep 6:10-note), filled with His Spirit (Ep 5:18-note), and quick to recognize the ugliness of sin. —R. W. De Haan. Our Daily Bread

If you want to master temptation,
let Christ master you.

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Here's a practical reminder - If you fly from temptation remember not to leave a forwarding address. (cp Paul's related exhortation in Ro 13:14-note)

F B Meyer writes that...

Idleness is the devil's opportunity (cp David's slippery slope beginning with sloth - 2Sa 11:1). There are times when we are summoned to do God's bidding against His foes. If we refuse and linger in self-indulgence, we expose ourselves to terrific assaults of our great adversary. The devil tempts all men; but idle men tempt the devil! David had just risen from his mid-day siesta when he was tempted. Temptation entered through the look (2Sa 11:2). So too with Eve (Ge 3:6) and Achan (Josh 7:21). Well may we put our eyes into the Lord's keeping! (cp Pr 4:23-note) How often temptation enters through them! (cp Ps 101:3-note) Whatever be our attainments in the Divine life, we are never beyond the peril of falling into sin (1Co 10:12), which will blacken our record, and bring sorrow on all our days (Gal 6:7, 8, Pr 22:8, Job 4:8, Hosea 8:7, 10:12, 13, Pr 5:22-note). The more intimate you are with God, and honored in His service, the more virulent the devil's hate, and his attempt to cast you down from your excellency (Job 1:6, 7, 8, 9,10, 11, 12).

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act, and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit, and you reap a character;
Sow a character, and you reap a destiny.
—Samuel Smiles

Erwin Lutzer reminds of the sobering truth that...

Each temptation leaves us better or worse; neutrality is impossible... Our response to temptation is an accurate barometer of our love for God (cp John 14:15).

We need to remember that times of prosperity can easily become times of temptation to do evil if we receive the gifts of God but fail to thank the Giver (Dt 6:10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

A B Simpson writes about...

The source of temptation; whence it comes.

"Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust."

Temptation comes from your own heart. There are innumerable tempters, men, women and fallen spirits of wickedness. But none have any power unless we have ourselves a traitor in the citadel of the heart (cp Pr 4:23-note). The enemy cannot get in unless you let him in. You hold the key of the fortress. Therefore it is in your own heart that the crucial battle is fought, the secret foe is hidden, your own lust, your own desire or "coveting," which is the literal translation, the thing in you that wants to do the wrong; your wish for it, even if it is not yet your will. This is the starting place of temptation. It is the blossom of sin. And this is where God wants to bring His sanctifying grace (2Co 12:9, 10, Titus 2:11-note, Titus 2:12-note, Titus 2:13-note) and take away the very desire (cp Gal 5:16-note). Just as the sea fowl plunging in the miry water comes up undefiled because its wing is oiled and burnished, and the filth around cannot adhere to it, so the Lord Jesus passed through the powers of darkness and the allurements of the world and all the evil that was around Him and was proof against it (He 4:15-note). He could say "the prince of this world cometh and hath nothing in me." It is in the heart that temptation has its starting point. Ask God to give you a true and holy desire to please Him (cp Php 2:13-note, He 13:20, 21-note, Ezek 36:27), and an instinctive repugnance and recoil from evil (cp Job 1:1, 28:28, Pr 8:13, 16:6, 14:16, 27,  Ne 5:15  Ps 34:11, 12, 13, 14 Eccl 12:13 2Co 7:1-note), and so long as you have this, you shall not fall into temptation (cp Mt 26:41).

Then we have the blessedness of resisting and enduring temptation... "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation." (James 1:12-note) The battle does you good (cp Dt 8:2,3). The conflict educates you, strengthens you, establishes you, and is necessary for you that you may be grounded and settled and finally approved and rewarded.

One of the best results of temptation is that it shows you what is in your own heart. It reveals yourself. Until temptation comes, you feel strong and self-confident, but when the keen edge of the adversary's weapon has pierced your soul, you have more sympathy with others and less confidence in your own self-sufficiency, and you are humiliated and broken at His feet, a poor, helpless thing, and this is the best thing that can happen to you. God wants to disarm you and lay you low, and then He can lift and save you and give you His strength (cp James 4:6, 1Pe 5:5-note, 2Co 12:9, 10). It makes you humble and doubtful of yourself. You find you must not take the aggressive, but fly to your refuge in Christ (cp Pr 30:5, Pr 18:10-note). He will "make a (Ed: not just "a" way, but "the" specific way) way of escape that you may be able to bear it." (1Cor 10:13) Like the little conies that hide in the rock and do not face their enemies, but fly for shelter, you will find your only safeguard is Jesus Christ; He is the shield to cover you, and you will be safe not by fighting, but by hiding behind the cross and in the bosom of your Savior.

If you have had much spiritual conflict, it has humbled you, shown you your helplessness, and taught you sympathy for others.

Temptation exercises our faith and teaches us to pray (cp Mt 26:41). It is like military drill and a taste of battle to the young soldier. It puts us under fire and compels us to exercise our weapons and prove their potency. It shows us the resources of Christ and the preciousness of the promises of God (cp 2Pe 1:4-note). It teaches us the reality of the Holy Spirit and compels us to walk closely with Him and hide continually behind His strength and all-sufficiency (Gal 5:16, 17, 18, 24-notes). Every victory gives us new confidence in our victorious Leader, and new courage for the next onset of the foe, so that we become not only victors, but more than conquerors, taking the strength of our conquered foes and gathering precious spoil from each new battle field. So that temptation strengthens what we have received and establishes us in all our spiritual qualities and graces (cp Peter in Lk 22:32).

You will find the forest trees which stand apart, exposed to the double violence of the storm, are always the sturdiest and strike their roots the deepest in the soil.

And so it is true in the spiritual world, as the apostle Peter expressed it; "The God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." (1Pe 5:10-note)

At the same time temptation teaches us to watch as well as pray (Mt 26:41), to avoid the things that bring temptation (Ro 13:14-note), and to keep off the enemy's ground (cp Ep 4:26, 27 where opportunity = space, land, territory, an occasion). It is only the inexperienced Christian that plays lightly with evil.

Luther used to say

He must needs have a long spoon who sups with the devil.

"Pray," says Bishop Hamlin, "from God's side of the fence."

Don't jump over into the devil's garden, and then ask God to help you, but keep on God's side, and watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation. Often our overconfidence betrays us. Like the man who had escaped the bailiff who tried to serve him with a warrant for arrest, and had just got across the State line, where the law protected him, when his pursuer, exchanging guile for force, laughed and said, "You have the best of me. And now let us shake hands and part friends." The foolish fellow reached out his hand, and in a moment the bailiff had pulled him over to his side of the line and clapped the handcuffs on him. So if Satan cannot beat us fairly, he will allure us so near the borders of danger that we shall be caught by his wiles. Some people sail so near the lake of fire that they get their sails scorched and find it impossible to get away. The maturest Christian is always the humblest and most watchful. Let us be not high-minded, but fear, and learn to combine the two blessed safeguards of hope and fear, which God has so wisely blended in these two passages: 1Co 10:12: "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall," and then adds in the thirteenth verse, "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able." (1Co 10:13-note) And yet once more, in the fourteenth verse, he returns to the language of warning and caution, "Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee (present imperative = command to keep on running from it, because our old nature is ever attracted toward it! In this life believers will never get over the continual need to flee) from idolatry." (1Co 10:14)

Temptation also teaches us patience. "But let patience have (present imperative = command to keep on allowing) her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing." (James 1:4-note) This implies that patience is the finishing grace of the Christian (race) life. Therefore, God usually puts His children through the school of suffering last. It is the graduation class in the discipline of Christ. Let us not, therefore, be surprised if God puts us through the hottest of all furnaces, namely, that which is fired with the devil's brimstone, before He makes us vessels for His glory. (A. B. Simpson. Christ in the Bible - James)

WHEN HE IS CARRIED AWAY AND ENTICED BY HIS OWN LUST: hupo tes idias epithumias exelkomenos (PPPMSN) kai deleazomenos (PPPMSN): (James 4:1,2; Genesis 6:5; 8:21; Joshua 7:21, 22, 23, 24; 2Samuel 11:1, 2,3, 4, 5; 1Kings 21:2, 3, 4; Job 31:1, 9; Job 31:27; Proverbs 4:23; Isaiah 44:20; Hosea 13:9; Matthew 5:28; 15:18,20; Mark 7:21; Mark 7:22; Romans 7:11,13; Ephesians 4:22; Hebrews 3:13)

F B Meyer offers an interesting illustration of James 1:14, 15...

Let me illustrate by the use of botany. You know that flowers have their sex, and the bees gathering honey in one flower carry the pollen to another, and the result is flower and fruit. Precisely in the same way the heart of man is always open, and bees of all kinds seem to bring the pollen of unholy thoughts; when these are sown in the desires of our nature, there is at once the result of which St. James speaks. As soon as you allow the evil thought to mingle with your nature, it bringeth forth the act of sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (F. B. Meyer. Back To Bethel)

Carried away...enticed - Brian Bell  feels "This speaks of a “2-fold enticing process” that takes place when we are being tempted. First we are drawn out of our place of safety, then we are allured by a specific bait."

Note the present tense which indicates this is a continual danger, for our unredeemed, resident rancid flesh is ever lurking to catch us off guard with its deceptive lusts.

Vincent comments that the present tense participle indicates

the progress of the temptation: “is being drawn away.”

In view of the fact that we are continually being carried away and enticed MacDonald asks...

Are we helpless victims then, when we are drawn away by our own desires and enticed? No, we may expel all thoughts of sin from our mind and concentrate on subjects that are pure and holy (Phil 4:8-note). Also in the moment of fierce temptation, we may call on the Lord, remembering that “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous run to it, and are safe” (Pr 18:10-note). (MacDonald, W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or Logos)

He is carried away (1828) (exelko from ek = out or away + hélko = draw) means to draw out, drag forth, draw away, like a fish is drawn out from its retreat. So just as in hunting and fishing the game is lured from its hiding place, so too man is allured by temptation allured from the safety of self-control (even Spirit enabled self control - see note Galatians 5:23) to commit acts of sin.

Bengel says that initially "we are drawn away from truth and virtue."

Cole explains that...

The fish sees the bait and it lures him toward it, thinking that he will get a meal. Instead, he gets hooked and carried away, where he becomes the meal. The temptation to sin is like that. We think that sin will satisfy us and get us something good that we’re missing. But instead, it hooks us and drags us to destruction. There is always that deceptive element to temptation. It is strengthened by the powerful emotions involved. As believers, we are not to live by our feelings, but by faith and obedience (Ed: see the good old hymn -Trust & Obey), based on the knowledge of God’s word of truth. We need to follow it, no matter how strongly our feelings pull us in a different direction.

One time Marla and I were hiking off trail up on Mount Agassiz. It’s an area where we’ve hiked often, but we’ve often gotten turned around. On this occasion, we came out under some power lines, and I sensed that we needed to go uphill to get back to where we started. But when we had crossed the lines the first time, I had looked at my altimeter. When we crossed the lines again, my altimeter said that we were 500 feet higher. So, I trusted the altimeter, not my feelings, and we went downhill. Sure enough, we came to where we needed to be. God’s Word is like that altimeter. Temptation makes us feel like heading toward sin, but we need to follow God’s Word, no matter what we feel. (James 1:13-15 The Source, Force, and Course of Temptation)

D L Moody rightly said that...

Temptations are never so dangerous as when they come to us in a religious garb.

Enticed (1185) (deleazo from delear = a bait) means to to beguile, entice by blandishments, entrap, delude, allure, entice. Deleazo was commonly used as fishing term to refer to bait. The idea of deleazo then is to catch by use of bait as does a trapper (bait in a trap or snare) or fisherman who lures prey from their place of hiding. Evil desires act as a bait to "hook" us and get us in trouble. Lust hides the hook so to speak! The point is that no temptation appears as temptation but always seems more alluring and promising than it proves to be.

Note again the present tense pictures continual enticement. Temptation continually prods and baits us by appealing to our dark side.

An illustration of enticing words - Knowing how much an acquaintance despises his wife’s parakeet, I was surprised one day to hear him coaxing it to speak. Upon listening more closely, however, I nearly choked holding back my laughter. Now, along with its constant, annoying jabbering, the bird also calls out a suicidal, “Here kitty, kitty, kitty.” (Contributed by Lisa French Reader’s Digest, September 1983, p. 130)

Richison has an interesting thought writing that...

Knowledge does not seem to prevent us from yielding to temptation. Temptation is more powerful than our knowledge. (Ed Note: Knowing about God is one thing. Knowing God intimately is quite different and it is this intimate, experiential "knowledge" associated with sweet fellowship, that motivates and empowers the saint's walk of victory over sin, self and Satan. cp 1Th 4:5 which implies that the solution for "lustful passion" is "knowing God" - see note, cp knowledge in James 2:19 - see note)

Mayor mentions a number of examples where deleazo is used to describe the "drawing of the fish out of its original retreat."

Burdick observes that...

James pictures man's "evil desire" first, as attracting his attention and persuading him to approach the forbidden thing and second, as luring him by means of bait to yield to the temptation. Robertson entitles this verse "Snared by One's Own Bait." (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)

In short, the first effect of lust is to draw man out of his original repose and the second is to allure him to a definite bait.

Vaughan writes that...

The suggestion is that man's lust, like a harlot, entices and seduces him. Man surrenders his will to lust, conception takes place, and lust gives birth to sin.

Warren Wiersbe explains that...

Temptation always carries with it some bait that appeals to our natural desires. The bait not only attracts us, but it also hides the fact that yielding to the desire will eventually bring sorrow and punishment. It is the bait that is the exciting thing. Lot would never have moved toward Sodom had he not seen the “well-watered plains of Jordan” (Ge 13:10, 11). When David looked on his neighbor’s wife (1Sa 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5), he would never have committed adultery had he seen the tragic consequences: the death of a baby (Bathsheba’s son), the murder of a brave soldier (Uriah), the violation of a daughter (Tamar). The bait keeps us from seeing the consequences of sin. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor or Logos)

Entice is an interesting word in terms of derivation Webster writing that it comes from the Latin  Latin in- + titio = firebrand. "The sense, in these languages, is to lay the firebrands together, or to stir the fire; to provoke; to incense. The sense in English is a little varied." Entice means to to draw towards oneself (what a picture of temptations originating from our depraved strong inner desires or lusts!) or to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire. Entice is usually used in a bad sense (as entice to evil) and hence, means to seduce; to lead astray; to induce to sin, by promises or persuasions.

There are 3 uses of deleazo, here and two other uses in 2 Peter where we see  false teachers “entice unsteady souls” and those who have once escaped from error.

2 Peter 2:14 (note) having eyes full of adultery and that never cease from sin, enticing unstable souls (Asteriktous. Why unstable? 2 Peter 1:12-note explains the opposite character using the related verb - sterizo in the perfect tense - Ephesians 6:14-note also instructs believers to stand firm. Note carefully in both cases the foundational, stabilizing effect of Truth, the Word of Truth. Why are so many saints seemingly not experiencing the abundant life Christ promised? I fear it is because they are not being stabilized by the regular eating of "every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God"! And don't just read it but memorize it so you will be able to meditate and be blessed and like a tree firmly planted by streams of living water! See notes Psalm 1:1;  1:2; 1:3), having a heart trained in greed, accursed children...18 (note) For speaking out arrogant words of vanity (false teachers Peter describes would dangle the "baited lure" in front of their unsteady victims causing them to look away from the Lord Jesus and His Word. They offer people a kind of religion that they can embrace and still hold on to their fleshly desires and sensuality.) they entice (present tense = continually) by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error,

John MacArthur rightly notes that...

Animals and fish are successfully lured to traps and hooks because the bait is too attractive for them to resist. It looks good and smells good, appealing strongly to their senses. Their desire for the bait is so intense that it causes them to lose caution and to overlook or ignore the trap or the hook until it is too late.

In exactly the same way, we succumb to temptation when our own lust draws us toward evil things that are appealing to fleshly desire. Although in contemporary use, lust has long been associated almost exclusively with illicit sexual desire, the Greek term epithumia that it translates refers to a deep, strong desire or longing of any kind, good or bad.

Sin can look attractive and pleasurable, and usually is, at least for a while (cp Heb 11:25-note, Heb 3:13-note). Otherwise it would have little power over us. Satan tries to make sin as attractive as possible, as do the evil and seductive men and women just described above by Peter. But there would be no attraction of sin were it not for man’s own sinful lust, which makes evil seem more appealing than righteousness, falsehood more appealing than truth, immorality more appealing than moral purity, the things of the world more appealing than the things of God. We cannot blame Satan, his demons, ungodly people, or the world in general for our own lust. Even more certainly, we cannot blame God. The problem is not a tempter from without, but the traitor within. (James: The MacArthur NT Commentary)

Thomas Watson said that...

It is not laying the bait that hurts the fish if the fish do not bite.

John Dryden gave good advice when he said...

Better shun the bait than struggle in the snare.

J. J. Bonar rightly said...

How daily, hourly, is the struggle with sin and fear and temptation—it is never over!

Enticed by his own lust - Lust always promises more than it produces. That is, more than it produces in a positive (beneficial) sense. It's fruit is never ripe and good but ever rotten!

James is not teaching that Satan never has a role in tempting us and in fact later alludes to the devil's tactics writing...

Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (James 4:7) (Comment: The devil is left out of the present discussion as a source of temptation for the mention of his role as Tempter would only have provided the sinner with an alternative excuse. James wants us to focus on the heart of the problem which is the problem with our heart!)

Lust (epithumia) (see discussion on epithumia below) is a neutral word that describes for example even the normal God given desires of hunger, thirst, etc. Even sexual desire is God given and without it the human race may never have procreated! Sadly, this desire (among many) has been grossly distorted and perverted by our fallen flesh, the godless world system and the devil. In an attempt to control these lusts many have gone to non-biblical extremes, Paul writing that...

These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence (no effect when it comes to conquering a person's evil thoughts and desires). (See note Colossians 2:23)

So what James is explaining is that the source of temptation is not actually in external "lure" (like a fishhook) but emanates from the inherent lust in every man.

Donald Robert Perry Marquis wrote a poem based on an imaginary conversation between a rat and a moth. - The rat asked some hard questions: Why did moths fly into candles and other bright lights and risk getting themselves fried to death? The answer, written in the poet's unpunctuated style, is very instructive: we get bored with routine - and crave beauty - and excitement - fire is beautiful - and we know that if we get - too close it will kill us - and what does that matter - it is better to be happy - for a moment - and be burned up with beauty - than to live a long time - and be bored all the while. (Brian Bell) 

James is saying we have met the enemy and the enemy is within us. The enemy is not just out there somewhere but is on the inside. 

Although lust is the main fisherman described by James, Thomas Adams adds that...

Satan, like a fisher, baits his hook according to the appetite of the fish.

Steven Cole has some practical thoughts about how we overcome temptation and sin writing...

To overcome temptation, it is important to realize that although the initial thought to sin stems from my sinful flesh, it is not sin unless I pursue it. For example, if I’m flipping through a magazine and come to a picture of a seductive woman, the thought will probably pop into my mind, “Wow, she’s quite a woman!” Right there, I face a critical decision: Will I go farther, entertaining sinful thoughts of what it might be like to have sex with such a woman, or will I turn from the temptation and “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Ro 13:14 -note)?

Sin always begins in the mind. No one ever falls into adultery without first entertaining it in his (or her) thought life. If we judge these sinful thoughts the instant they pop into our minds, we will not head down the path toward outwardly sinful behavior. If we do entertain such sinful thoughts, sooner or later Satan will present the outward opportunity to sin, and we will fall. But in such cases, the actual sin has been going on mentally for some time. If we make it our habit to take “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2Cor 10:5-note), we will not sin in thought or deed. We differ from person to person with regard to the things that tempt us. Men differ from women, but also men differ among men, and women among women. Pride leads us to judge those who yield to sins that have little appeal for us: “How could they do such a thing?” But the same pride lets us excuse our “weakness.” “That’s just the way I am!” Humility says, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall” (1Co 10:12).

Also, when we yield to a particular sin, it becomes a point of vulnerability for future temptation. For example, you could leave me in a room with a bag of cocaine, and it would not tempt me in the least. I’ve never yielded to that sin, and it just doesn’t have any appeal to me. On the other hand, in certain circumstances I am tempted to look at pornography, because as a young man I did yield to that sin. So I now have to be on guard against every form of that temptation.

So James’ first point is that to overcome temptation, we must recognize its source. It does not come from God. It comes from our own sinful desires. (James 1:13-15 The Source, Force, and Course of Temptation)

Steven Cole in his sermon series on 1Timothy writes...

moral purity (must be) not just outwardly, but in the thought life. Sexual immorality always begins in the mind. Walking with Christ means taking “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” (2Cor 10:5-note). As soon as a wrong thought pops into your mind, you confess it and turn from it (Job 1:1, 1Co 6:18). You “put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Ro 13:14-note).

Moral failure among pastors is happening with shocking frequency in the American church. A Leadership survey (Winter, 1988, pp. 12-13) revealed that one out of eight pastors have committed adultery since they’ve been in local church ministry. Almost one out of four admitted to doing something they feel was sexually in-appropriate. One out of five acknowledged fantasizing at least weekly about sex with someone other than their spouse. If you widen the question to monthly, the number grows to over one out of three.

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It's My Fault - The first step in overcoming sin is to admit that we are the ones who are responsible. To look for someone else to blame is to evade the real issue.

A man in a parking lot backed into another car. He simply didn't look to see if the way was clear, and he was obviously at fault. But he jumped out of his car, yelled furiously at the woman driving the car he hit, and told her it was her fault for getting in his way. I learned later that he continued to blame her when he spoke to his insurance agent. Eventually she was cleared, but only after going through tremendous anguish.

This is similar to what happened in the Garden of Eden. After Adam ate the forbidden fruit, he said he wasn't to blame. It was the fault of the woman God had made.

Sometimes we respond like that. When we do something wrong, we immediately look for someone to blame, even if it's God. But James says we sin because we listen to our own selfish desires.

Troubled by a sin that won't go away? Maybe you're not overcoming it because you are blaming someone else. You might even be blaming God because He didn't stop you from doing it. Nonsense! You'll never conquer your sin until you're willing to say, "It's my fault!" -- David C. Egner

God cannot prosper those who try
To cover sin and wrong deny;
But all who humbly will confess,
The Savior with His love will bless. - DJD

Then (1534) (eita) often serves as a time phrase (be alert for this word especially when reading prophetic passages for it often serves as a distinctive marker of the sequence of events--always stop and ask "When is then?") but in this context James uses it as a marker of transition to a new point in his argument, introducing the result of temptation arising from lust.

So here we see the "life cycle of sin" with lust at the inception, sin as the conception and death as the consequence.

Hiebert writes that...

The inner craving demands action. It must either be acted on or be resolutely repulsed. When indulged, a chain of results surely follows... The craving is an inner reaction of the individual's own nature, but when it is indulged it becomes malignant and is destructive of personal well-being. Our nature may involuntarily and instinctively feel a longing .for a certain object when it is presented, but the craving becomes sinful when it is encouraged and acted upon, the will surrendering to the enticement of the harlot and uniting with it in a guilty union. When the will consents to the illicit union, the lustful feeling becomes impregnated with sin.

Wiersbe feels that in this passage describing disobedience...

We have moved from the emotions (desire) and the intellect (deception) to the will...Christian living is a matter of the will, not the feelings. I often hear believers say, “I don’t feel like reading the Bible.” Or, “I don’t feel like attending prayer meeting.” Children operate on the basis of feeling, but adults operate on the basis of will. They act because it is right, no matter how they feel. This explains why immature Christians easily fall into temptation: they let their feelings make the decisions. The more you exercise your will in saying a decisive "no" to temptation (because you have already said "yes" to the Spirit of Christ - note the order in Gal 5:16 - "Yes" to Spirit, "no" to lust.), the more God will take control of your life.

And Paul writes that God even gives us the "want to" to say "no"...

for it is God Who is at work (energeo - in the present tense = He is continually "energizing" us) in you, both to will (present tense =  continually giving us the "want to")  and to work (again the verb is energeo - present tense = continually working in us) for His good pleasure (His sovereign purpose). (Phil 2:13-note)

God also provides the grace to say "no" Paul writing that the grace of God is continually (present tense)...

instructing (disciplining, teaching, educating like a loving school master) us to deny (say "no" to) ungodliness (living as if He did not exist - "pragmatic atheists" as it were) and worldly (anti-God) desires and to live sensibly (self-controlled - inward), righteously (right conduct before men - outward) and godly (as in the presence of God - Coram Deo) in the present age (see note Titus 2:12) (This aspect of "grace" is known as sanctifying grace. It is His divine enablement to carry out His divine commands and instructions.)

Lust (1939)(epithumia from epi = at, toward {the preposition "epi-" in the compound is directive conveying the picture of "having one’s passion toward"} + thumos = passion. Root verb epithumeo = set heart upon) is a morally and spiritually neutral term which simply denotes the presence of strong desire or impulse, a longing or a passionate craving. The NT uses epithumia to describe legitimate desires (Luke 22:15; Phil 1:23-note; 1Th 2:17-note). Whether the desire is good or evil (sinful) is determined from the context which in turn depends in part on the nature of the object being desired and in part on how and for what purpose the object is desired.

Initially lust manifests itself as an emotion which comes from within our (inner) being. For unbelievers, the only source of this emotion is the fallen flesh. For believers, the source can also be the fallen flesh since believers still possess an unredeemed flesh (eg, see discussion of this continual warfare in notes on 1Pe 2:11-note). But by virtue of their position in Christ, believers now possess a new and holy nature, by virtue of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Now, as believers learn to listen to, yield to and be controlled by the Spirit, He gives them the "want to" or the desire to seek to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, carrying out conduct which pleases Him (Phil 2:13-Note). Fleshly lusts or desires can be stimulated by a number of things, but especially the "data" that enters our body through the five senses, taste, smell, touch, hearing, and especially sight. For men it is too often the "eye gate" that opens the soul to the wrong commercial, the wrong internet site, the wrong bill board, etc, etc, and which begins to produce an intense longing to possess that which has been visualized (cp covetousness equating with idolatry, see Col 3:5-note). If this fleshly desire is not dealt with quickly (eg, see Romans 8:13-note), the evil desire germinates in the mind to the point that it eventually consumes and deceives our thinking rightly about the object desired, the cost, the consequences, etc. Think of the fish that sees the attractive worm wiggling on the hook, all the while totally unaware of the danger that lurks ahead when thoughts are translated into actions. Somewhere in this continuum, lust is "fertilized" and sin is conceived and begins to incubate and grow. It is not long before provision is made to gratify the evil desire (Romans 13:14-note) and this usually leads to a choice of our wills to carry out specific evil actions which are a clear reflection of our willful disobedience to God's law, the consummation of which is overt willful sin.

As you might imagine the earlier we "nip lust in the bud" the better. If lust is ultimately a lure which presents a lie, it follows that the most effective antidote is the Truth of God, the Word of Life (Eph 6:14 -note, scroll down to see Wayne Barber's discussion of "girding your loins with truth"). And so clearly, the chief battleground is the mind, for that is where the lusts are processed and where sin is conceived and brought forth. Enabled by the Spirit we must take captive lying, lustful thoughts raised up against God's Law (2Co 10:3, 4, 5), His holy standard, and allow God's Truth to renew our minds (Ro 12:2-note) and quicken our conscience so that it functions effectively much like an "anti-viral" software program that monitors for and detects corrupt incoming lustful thoughts, serving as our soul’s warning system. At that point it is up to each individual not to "turn off the anti-viral" software so as to ignore the warning signals from the conscience. Instead, empowered by the grace of God, we must choose to say "no" ungodliness to worldly desires and  and replace those lust filled lies with the truth which is sensible, righteous and godly (see notes Titus 2:11; 12, cp continually letting your mind reflect on God's truth - see Phil 4:8-note, continually setting your mind on the things above - Col 3:2-note)

Lust has an interesting derivation in Webster's 1828 Dictionary which identifies the origin through the Irish, Hiberno-Celtic and Gaelic language, specifically the Irish word lasadh which means "lust or a burning. The primary sense is to extend, reach, expand, to stretch forward."

Lusts occur in one's mind and are not physical actions per se although they may (and often do) lead to physical actions.

As Richison rightly observes...

There is enormous power in a lustful thought. The Christian must deal with sin at the point of temptation, not at the point where we choose to sin. Once we choose to open ourselves to sin, the overt action of sin is almost inevitable. We most effectively deal with sin at the point of temptation.

None of us can avoid temptation. It is not a sin to be tempted but it is a sin to yield to temptation. Evil ideas will birth in our minds until we go to meet the Saviour.

The Internet, movies and television today present great temptation to the believer. Lust comes charging into our minds through these vehicles. It comes unexpectedly and quickly. That is why we must guard against temptation by first preparing our minds with the Word of God.

Lusts denote the varied cravings of fallen human nature pursued in the interest of self in self-sufficient independence of God.

Love can wait and worship endlessly; lust says, "I must have it at once."

In his sermon entitled Battling the Unbelief of Lust (or listen to the Mp3) John Piper defines lust as

Here are some other quotes on lust...

Billy Sunday wrote that...

One reason that sin flourishes is that it is treated like a cream-puff instead of a rattle-snake.

James Wilbur Chapman said that...

Temptation is the tempter looking through the keyhole into the room where you are living; sin is your drawing back the bolt and making it possible for him to enter.

When lust has conceived - James now shifts his metaphors from hunting and fishing to maternity, personifying lust as a mother who gives birth to an evil child named "sin".

Hiebert explains that lust or...

The craving is an inner reaction of the individual's own nature, but when it is indulged it becomes malignant and is destructive of personal well-being. Our nature may involuntarily and instinctively feel a longing for a certain object when it is presented, but the craving becomes sinful when it is encouraged and acted upon, the will surrendering to the enticement of the harlot and uniting with it in a guilty union. When the will consents to the illicit union, the lustful feeling becomes impregnated with sin.

Conceived (4815)(sullambano from sun/syn = together with + lambáno = to take, to seize) means literally to seize or take together and conveys the picture of clasping. To bring together. To enclose. To seize. To trap or capture.

Sullambano has several meanings depending on the context, the most common meaning being to arrest someone (7/16 uses) or take them into custody. To apprehend someone by virtue of a warrant from authority.

The next most frequent use is to conceive (become pregnant) (5/16 uses) picking up on the basic meaning of clasping in a sexual sense. James using sullambano in the metaphorical sense (picturing it as childbirth) to describe lust the woman who like a harlot who conceives and gives birth to a horrible child, sin.

Luke uses sullambano with a variety of meanings including conceiving (Luke 1:24, 31, 36, 2:21), to help (in sense of take hold of together) or come to the aid of (Luke 5:7) and to catch or capture an animal (Luke 5:9)

J Vernon McGee wrote that sullambano...

actually means “to become pregnant.” Conception is the joining or union of two. The desire of this old nature of ours joins with the outward temptation that faces us and thus becomes sin. The Lord Jesus said, “If you are angry with your brother, you are guilty of murder”—because it begins in the heart and moves out into action. He also said, “If you look upon a woman to lust after her, you have already committed adultery with her”—because it begins in your heart. That is where sin always begins.

The natural question at this point is: Is temptation sin? Of course it’s not sin; the answer is definitely no. It is when the conception takes place—when the thought in the heart is carried out in action—that temptation becomes sin. Martin Luther expressed it in this novel way:

You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from nesting in your hair.

Sin is the consummation of the act inwardly and outwardly.

Temptation in and of itself is not sin. We all have an evil nature—there is no use trying to kid ourselves concerning that. We all have been tempted to do evil; everyone has a weakness in the flesh. One person may be a glutton and another may be a gossip. Both sins are absolutely of the flesh; both come from within...

There cannot be a stillbirth. Lust is going to bring forth something. When that evil thought in the heart is joined to the outward temptation, there is a birth—a birth of the act, a birth of sin. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible Commentary:  Thomas Nelson or Logos) (Or listen to the Mp3's - James 1:13.mp3; 1:14.mp3; 1:15.mp3; 1:15 mp3)

A T Robertson commenting on the use of sullambano in James 1:15 notes that it is a...
 

second aorist active participle, an old word (meaning) to grasp together, in hostile sense (Acts 26:21), in friendly sense of help (see note Philippians 4:3), in technical sense of a woman taking a man’s seed in conception (Luke 1:24), here also of lust (as a woman), “having conceived.” The will yields to lust and conception takes place. (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Here are the 16 NT uses of sullambano...
 

Matthew 26:55 At that time Jesus said to the multitudes, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.

Mark 14:48 And Jesus answered and said to them, "Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me, as against a robber?

Luke 1:24 And after these days Elizabeth his wife became pregnant; and she kept herself in seclusion for five months, saying,

Luke 1:31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus.

Luke 1:36 "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month.

Luke 2:21 And when eight days were completed before His circumcision, His name was then called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

Luke 5:7 and they signaled to their partners in the other boat, for them to come and help them. And they came, and filled both of the boats, so that they began to sink.

Luke 5:9 For amazement had seized him and all his companions because of the catch of fish which they had taken;

Luke 22:54 And having arrested Him, they led Him away, and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance.

John 18:12 So the Roman cohort and the commander, and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him,

Acts 1:16 "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

Acts 12:3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread.

Acts 23:27 "When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, I came upon them with the troops and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman.

Acts 26:21 "For this reason some Jews seized me in the temple and tried to put me to death.

Philippians 4:3 (note) Indeed, true comrade, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

James 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Gives birth to (5088) (tikto) means to bring forth and so to be born (of children in Mt 1:21 speaking of Mary declaring "she will bear a Son..."). Hebrews 6:7 (note) uses tikto to describe the earth producing or yielding vegetation.

A T Robertson writes that titko is a...
 

Present active indicative of tiktō to bring forth as a mother or fruit from seed, old verb, often in N.T., here only in James. Sin is the union of the will with lust. See Ps. 7:14 for this same metaphor (see below). (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Psalm 7:14 Behold, he travails (LXX = odino = feels the pains of childbirth, suffer birth pains) with wickedness, and he conceives mischief, and brings forth falsehood.

Steven Cole wisely points out that...
 

The force of temptation is that it has a life of its own. James pictures lust and sin as having the ability to conceive and give birth. While the Bible is strongly against aborting babies, when lust conceives, we need to abort as soon as we can! We’ve all seen a tree growing out of a concrete sidewalk, where it has split the concrete. It began as a tiny seed, falling into a crack. But that seed had life in it, and the power of that life produced a tree that broke up the sidewalk. Temptation has that kind of destructive life in it. Don’t let it take root in your life!

Sin (266) (hamartia) originally conveyed the idea of missing mark as when hunting with a bow and arrow then missing or falling short of any goal, standard, or purpose. See this literal use of similar Hebrew word in Judges 20:16 (see note). Sin is missing and falling short of God’s standard of holiness. Sin is missing the true ultimate purpose God has for each individual. It is an offense in relation to God with emphasis on guilt.

Trench observes that hamartia describes
 

a failing and missing the true end and scope of our lives, which is God.

MacDonald asks that...
 

why then do we sin? Here is the answer: Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. Instead of expelling the vile thought, we may encourage, nourish, and enjoy it. This act of acquiescence is likened to sexual intercourse. Lust conceives and a hideous baby named SIN is born. Which is another way of saying that if we think about a forbidden act long enough, we will eventually do it. The whole process of lust conceiving and bringing forth sin is vividly illustrated in the incident of David and Bathsheba (2Sa 11:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6-27). (Ibid)

Hiebert notes that sin speaks of...
 

an actual sin of one kind or another. Its exact identity is immaterial. Each lust gives birth to its own kind of sin...In New Testament usage, the concept conveyed is not merely negative; it is a positive act "in which a person is knowingly disobedient to the perfect will of God, something to which in a measure at least he gives his consent."

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Pet Sins - For 8 years, Sally had been the Romero family pet. She was only 1 foot long when they brought her home. But Sally grew and grew until eventually she reached a length of 11 feet and weighed 80 pounds.

Then one day Sally, a Burmese python, turned on 15-year-old Derek, strangling the unsuspecting teenager until he died of suffocation. Police said that the snake was "quite aggressive, hissing, and reacting" when they arrived to investigate the young man's death.

Sin is like that snake. When a sin first enters our lives, we think of it as harmless, almost cute. Yet it doesn't stay small. Sin has a way of growing. We think we can handle it, but then it begins to handle us. And it always leads to death—sometimes physical death, and often emotional death. At other times it leads to the death of a relationship.

And if sin is not confessed and forsaken, it will bring spiritual death. That's why James warned us that "sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (1:15). His purpose in saying that was not to spoil our fun but to preserve our highest joys.

If you are playing with a pet sin in your life, God urges you to beware. It's a life-and-death matter. — Haddon W. Robinson (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Just one little sin, what harm can it do?
But give it free rein and soon there are two,
And then sinful deeds and habits ensue;
So guard well your thoughts or they'll destroy you. —DJD

Toying with sin invites disaster.

AND WHEN SIN IS ACCOMPLISHED, IT BRINGS FORTH DEATH: he de hamartia apotelestheisa (APPFSN) apokuei (3SPAI) thanaton: (Genesis 2:17; 3:17, 18, 19; Psalms 9:17; Romans 5:12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19,20, 21; 6:21,22, 23; Revelation 20:14,15)

Burdick well remarks that...
 

The details of the illustration must not be pressed too far. The author's intention is simply to trace the results of temptation when one yields to it. The order is evil desire, sin, death. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. Zondervan Publishing)

Sin - Here sin does have the definite article (the) so that James is now focusing on the specific act of sin that has just been birthed. This sin is personified as living and maturing. At this stage, we can still confess and repent, and if we don't sin will develop until it is fully grown!

John Blanchard has some pithy remarks on sin noting that...
 

Sin keeps us from knowing the true nature of sin....To understand the deceitfulness of sin, compare its promises and its payments...If sin was not such a pleasure it would not be such a problem....No sin is to be regarded as small, because the God who forbids all sin is so great. (The Complete Gathered Gold)

Wiersbe makes the point that...
 

It may take years for the sin to mature, but when it does, the result will be death (cp Nu 32:23, Ps 90:8, Is 3:11). If we will only believe God’s Word and see this final tragedy, it will encourage us not to yield to temptation. God has erected this barrier because He loves us. “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” (Ezek 18:23)

Fully accomplished (658) (apoteleo  from apó = intensifies the meaning + teléo = complete) means to perfect, accomplish or achieve the natural purpose. It conveys the idea of completeness in parts and function accompanying full growth as opposed to a rudimentary or incomplete state. Here in James apoteleo describes personifies sin as "running its course" and of reaching its goal (the final stage).

Apoteleo is a strong word, implying an ultimate and final consummation. As alluded to below, if sin is allowed to continue unabated in one's life without ever exhibiting repentance or experiencing redemption by Christ the result is eternal and irrevocable spiritual death.

A T Robertson explains that apoteleo in this passage...
 

It does not mean “full-grown” like teleioō, but rather completeness of parts or functions as opposed to rudimentary state (Hort) like the winged insect in contrast with the chrysalis or grub (Plato). The sin at birth is fully equipped for its career (Ro 6:6-note; Col 3:5-note).  (Word Pictures in the New Testament)

Apoteleo is used only one other time in the NT, in the gospel of Luke where Jesus is speaking...
 

Luke 13:32 And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform (apoteleo in the present tense = continually) cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.' (Comment: Here Jesus uses apoteleo in a literal sense of completing or finishing, in the context of curing).

Brings forth (616) (apekueo from apo = from, used with the sense of "to cease from" + kuéo = swell, be pregnant) means to "cease from" pregnancy and thus literally describes the birthing process. To bring forth from the womb. To begat, to bear, to give birth.

Brings forth is in the present tense which speaks of a this bringing forth as the continual expected result of lust that conceives.

Death (2288)  (thanatos from thnesko = to die) refers literally to physical death and to separation of the soul from the body. Death in all its forms is traceable to sin.

Paul described a similar association of sin and death writing that "the wages of sin is death" (Ro 6:23-note)

Scripture describes (1) physical death, in which there is separation of the soul from the body (2) spiritual death, in which there is separation of the soul from God and which characterizes the state of every man born for all are born into Adam (Ro 5:12-note) and are “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1-note) and lastly (3) eternal death in the Lake of fire (Click this link for references in the Revelation), in which both the body and soul (the self-conscious personality) are separated from God forever and which is the fate of the every person who dies without receiving Christ as Savior by grace through faith. And contrary to some false teaching eternal death is not cessation of existence but rather the loss of a life of fellowship with God, the blessed state which alone making life worth living! (See also Two births, Two Deaths, and Two Resurrections.)

What does death mean in regard to believers? Clearly, unconfessed sin in a believer's life results in "death" in regard to the fellowship or communion with God and quenching of His Spirit. There is also a loss of blessing (cp Lk 11:28). This "death" can be restored by genuine confession and repentance. However, if a true believer persists in sin, the "death" they experience may also be physical death.

For example writing to the church at Corinth, Paul warned them of taking the cup of communion in an unholy manner (unclean hands and an impure heart, cp Ps 24:4) declaring that...

For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep (have died) (1 Cor 11:30)

Persistent, unconfessed sin by a Christian, especially when hypocritically partaking of the Lord's Supper, risks serious judgment by the Lord, including physical death!

John has a similar warning...

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. (1Jn 5:16)

Comment: He is not talking about a believer losing their salvation. J Vernon McGee writes "John is saying that believers can commit a sin for which their heavenly Father will call them home; that is, He will remove them from this life physically, perhaps because they are disgracing Him."

MacDonald adds these comments about how this verse applies to a believer noting that...

 in 1 Timothy 5:6 we read that a believing widow who lives in pleasure (Ed note: Verb for "lives in pleasure" or "self indulgent" [ESV] = spatalao = to live a self indulgent life, a life of wanton pleasure, "live in luxury" [present tense = continuously, as her lifestyle, not just an occasional "splurge"!] and used in the Septuagint (LXX) translation of  Ezek 16:49, where God condemns Sodom because "she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, careless ease, but did not help the poor and needy")  is dead while she lives. This means that she is wasting her life and utterly failing to fulfill the purpose for which God saved her (Ed note: She is insensitive to the things of God and so as regards His purpose for her life is in effect "dead" and all she "accomplishes" is in a sense "dead works" and of no eternal value! How sad for this widow who could have been so productive for the Kingdom of God. She is alive physically but of no value to the King and His eternal work. Are you a believer and living in a self indulgent manner? First, make sure you are a genuine believer [2Cor 13:5] and are not self-deceived! And if you are indeed a true believer in Jesus Christ, then may you hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches in these last days - "Repent! Turn around! Return to the path of righteousness and holiness!" See especially Rev 2:5-note) To be out of fellowship with God is for a Christian a form of living death. (Ibid)

Cole comments on 1Ti 5:6 -- This verse sounds a warning to us American Christians. The spirit of our age is, “I’ve worked hard all my life. I’ve saved up enough to enjoy myself. Now that I’m retired, I don’t want to be bugged. I’m going to block out the world and its problems and live for me.” But a godly person approaching retirement should see it as an opportunity to be freed up so that he or she can devote more time to serving the Lord. Real fulfillment is not found in living for pleasure and self-gratification; that is death. Real fulfillment is found in living for Christ and serving others for His sake.

Death primarily means separation and thus when sin is born in one's life that person's fellowship with God is broken because sin has brought about death and separation. Beloved, you cannot enjoy fellowship with the Holy One while succumbing to temptation, sin and death.  John writes that...

If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk [present tense = live continuously, as our lifestyle]  in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6) (Comment: Notice that truth is not only something we should believe and teach, but something we are to practice.)

The Puritan writer John Bunyan rightly said that...

One leak will sink a ship; and one sin will destroy a sinner.

Richison writes that...

Our will is influenced by our desire. Sin is more than a single action; it is the result of a process. The sequence of lust, deception, choice and disobedience will produce spiritual death. The earlier we address ourselves in this process, the easier it will be to overcome sin. Conversely, the longer we wait in the process the more difficulty we will have in overcoming the sin.

Steven Cole concludes this James' discussion of temptation and sin noting that...

James shows that sin is never stationary. It moves steadily in its course toward its ultimate, hideous end—death. Sin is like a small crack in a dam (cp Pr 25:28). At first, it doesn’t seem threatening. But if it is not repaired quickly, it can lead to the collapse of the entire dam, causing terrible destruction. Death (James 1:15) stands in contrast to the crown of life (James 1:12). They are two totally separate destinies. At first, the two paths may seem like just a small fork in the road. But follow them out to the end and you’re in two very different places: life or death.

At the outset, temptation always promises excitement and fulfillment. It never comes along with the pitch,

“Would you like to destroy yourself and your family? Would you like to disgrace the name of your God?”

Rather, it comes on with the enticement,

“This will be fun! This will meet your needs. This will get you what you have been looking for. What can it hurt to try it?”

If you take that bait, you’re on the course that leads to death. If you do not repent and get back on the path of righteousness, it may indicate that you never were truly saved (as with the seed on the rocky or thorny ground).

Someone has said,
 

“Watch your thoughts, they become words.

Watch your words, they become actions.

Watch your actions, they become habits.

Watch your habits, they become character.

Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

Conclusion - I close with four practical ways to overcome temptation:

(1) Study and know yourself. Know where you’re vulnerable and devise strategies to protect yourself. Others may be able to handle situations where you will fall. Don’t go with them if it is a source of temptation for you. Develop a deep distrust in yourself that drives you to a desperate clinging to the Lord.

(2) Avoid tempting situations. If you are vulnerable to lust, don’t rent videos that are rated R or even PG-13 because of sex (Ed: Or even PG because of the moral drift!). Don’t go into bookstores where there is pornography. Don’t have unaccountable access to the internet (Ed: Covenant Eyes is strongly recommended as one of the most fool proof because it is not a filter but a monitor of every site you go to). If you do, you’re just pouring gasoline on the fire.

(3) Have a predetermined commitment to follow Christ and to flee temptation. You have to decide this before you get into a tempting situation, because when temptation hits, your emotions and the deception factor kick in. As we saw in our last study, those who receive the crown of life love the Lord (James 1:12, cp 2Ti 4:8, Ed: Knowing God is one of the most powerful impediments to lustful passions - see 1Thes 4:5 - See sermons by John Piper on this vitally important principle - This is the Will of God for you - That you Abstain from Sexual Immorality and Battling the Unbelief of Lust). Keep your love for Christ fresh and the lure of the flesh and the world will not seem so attractive (cp John 3:30, Gal 5:16 - surrender to the Spirit first and your obedience becomes a strong fortress against the attacks of lust of the flesh).

(4) Keep before you the gruesome end of temptation -- death. The world glamorizes sin. Movies and magazines portray beautiful people enjoying illicit sex or living in selfish luxury as the ultimate in pleasure. Skeletons or rotting corpses would be a more accurate picture! I’ve counseled with many that have fallen into adultery, but I’ve yet to find one that is really happy. But even if they professed to be happy now, they won’t be when they stand before God!

This is really serious because, as I said, you won't make it as a Christian if you do not learn to overcome temptation!

Recognize its source. It does not come from God, but from your own lusts.

Recognize its force. It dwells within and it is powerfully deceptive, with a life of its own.

Recognize its course. If you do not abort it, it leads inevitably, not to life, but to death.

The Puritan Thomas Manton (Exposition of the Epistle of James [Sovereign Grace Book Club], p. 86) put it this way, “Either sin must die or the sinner.” (James 1:13-15 The Source, Force, and Course of Temptation)

John MacArthur has some very helpful notes on the process that one goes through when confronted with lust...

1. The process of lust

a) Desire

Sin starts with lust (Gk., epithumia, "strong desire"). Desire is related to emotion. It is a desire to be satisfied by acquiring something. It may be something you saw in a jewelry store, a car dealership, a shopping mall, or a real-estate office. You have an emotional longing to possess what you saw.

b) Deception

Temptation next affects your mind through deception. You begin to justify and rationalize your right to possess what you desire. Your mind is deceived into believing that fulfilling your lust will satisfy you and meet your need.

c) Design

Next your will gets involved plotting how you're going to get what you want. The Greek word translated "conceived" (sullambano) means "to grasp together" and refers in a technical sense to a woman's taking hold of a man's seed, and thereby conceiving a child. When lust, so to speak, is seduced by the prostitution of that baited hook, it becomes pregnant in the womb of a person's will.

d) Disobedience

Finally the act of sin occurs. Any child that is born follows a similar process. First there is a desire between husband and wife to have a child. That is followed by the decision to do so and the act of the will in bringing about conception, all of which result in the birth of the child. Temptation follows that sequence until it results in sinful behavior.

The Greek word translated "bringeth forth" (tikto) means "to give birth." Lust gives birth to sin because it influenced the mind to justify sin, and the mind convinced the will to give birth to sinful behavior.

Dealing a Deathblow to Sinful Desires

At what point do we deal with sin? Not at the point of behavior--for that's too late--but at the point of desire. It's the person who is able to control his emotional responses who is able to deal effectively with sin. Or, if the person who is being bombarded by negative emotional responses has a mind that is sanctified, those desires can deactivated before they can be activated by the will. But once they capture the will, their birth is inevitable. You must deal with lustful emotions if you want to effectively deal with sin in your life. If you expose your emotions to the baited hook, you may find yourself getting hooked unless you take immediate action.

2. The prevention of lust

So many things in our evil society attempt to work on your emotions: movies, television, books, music, clothing, advertisments--all the alluring sights and sounds that attract our attention are designed to capture the emotion. For example, advertising executives know that buying is ultimately an emotional decision. Few people know or even care about the mechanics of a car being advertised, yet they are impressed by a car that looks like a race car, or by a pretty girl behind the wheel, or by other kinds of emotional bait that has nothing to do with how the car functions.

We need to guard our minds, emotions, and wills, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor. 10:5-see note). We need to seek God's will by meditating on His Word and letting His will become ours. An unprotected, uncontrolled, and unyielded mind is going to be filled with evil desires that will result in evil deeds. So we must control how our emotions and minds respond to the tempting bait they encounter. That's where sin gets started.

In spite of that, emotional responses can be a wonderful blessing if they are expressed in a godly manner. Music elicits primarily an emotional response and Christians have the privilege of receiving and experiencing the emotional enjoyment that comes from hearing and producing music that honors God rather than worldly values. But we cannot continually expose our emotions to that which lures us away from the things of God without paying the price. And because we can't always regulate what our emotions are exposed to, it is necessary for us to have "the mind of Christ" (1Cor 2:16), set "on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col 3:2-note), saturated with the "word of Christ" (Col 3:16-note), and renewed and able to transform us rather than conform us to the world (Ro 12:2-note). We need to love the Lord with all our mind (Mark 12:30). If our minds feed on the Word of God and our emotions are under the Spirit's control, we're going to stop sin before it ever starts. If we fail in those areas, we will conceive sin and carry out unrighteous acts. (See the entire message James 1:13-17: Whose Fault is our Temptation?)