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How to Respond to Temptation
The Proper Response to Temptations
Trials must be met with faith in the sovereign and good God, resulting in the Christian’s growth in endurance, perseverance, or spiritual “stick-to-it-ness.” Temptations, on the other hand, require the Christian to resist wicked desires, not shift blame to others, and be aware of the disastrous path to which giving in to temptation leads. James writes,
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (James 1:13–15)
Living Faith
Robert L. Plummer
Living Faith expounds on the predominant themes of the book of James to provide readers with a deeper understanding of this beloved letter and its important relevance for Christian life.
James begins his archetypal passage on temptation by warning against blame shifting. In affirming the sovereignty of God, one must never then make the erroneous theological deduction of attributing wickedness to God. Although God rules over all, he does so in such a way that he can never be blamed for evil. It is impossible to determine if James is aware of people among his addressees who were guilty of blaming God for their temptations or if James just anticipates the problem. Perhaps he explores the theoretical possibility so that he could remind his readers of the character of God. Indeed, reflecting on the character of God provides a theological antigen to temptation. James declares that God is not tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone (James 1:13). Though writing an occasional letter, here James comes close to “theology proper” in his assertion of God’s inability to be tempted to sin and his concomitant inability to induce others to sin. A thoughtful Christian may pause to ask how Jesus, the God-man, relates to this verse. One must remember that Jesus had (and has!) two natures, one divine and one human. When the New Testament authors speak of Jesus being tempted (e.g, Luke 4:2), they are speaking of the Savior from the perspective of his human nature. Likewise, when Jesus says, “I thirst” (John 19:28), or “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son” (Mark 13:32), he speaks from the perspective of his human nature. Jesus was sinless yet was tempted (in his human nature) in every way like us (Heb. 4:15). Systematic theologians debate the theoretical question as to whether sin was possible for Jesus because of his inherently sinless divine nature. Wayne Grudem observes,
But the question remains, “How then could Jesus’ temptations be real?” The example of the temptation to change the stones into bread is helpful in this regard. Jesus had the ability, by virtue of his divine nature, to perform this miracle, but if he had done it, he would no longer have been obeying in the strength of his human nature alone, he would have failed the test that Adam also failed, and he would not have earned our salvation for us. Therefore, Jesus refused to rely on his divine nature to make obedience easier for him. In like manner, it seems appropriate to conclude that Jesus met every temptation to sin, not by his divine power, but on the strength of his human nature alone (though, of course, it was not “alone” because Jesus, in exercising the kind of faith that humans should exercise, was perfectly depending on God the Father and the Holy Spirit at every moment). The moral strength of his divine nature was there as a sort of “backstop” that would have prevented him from sinning in any case (and therefore we can say that it was not possible for him to sin), but he did not rely on the strength of his divine nature to make it easier for him to face temptations, and his refusal to turn the stones into bread at the beginning of his ministry is a clear indication of this.1
Most critically, Christians must be aware that God is sovereign over every challenge that comes their way.
“God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). Rather, the source of fallen humanity’s temptation is an indwelling inclination toward wickedness. This indwelling evil desire can be stoked by worldly allurements (Mark 4:19) or demonic activity (1 Pet. 5:8), but in the end the human agent is to blame for allowing himself to be lured away and enticed. Commentators frequently note the unusual word order of James. The natural chronological progression of temptation is “enticement” followed by “luring away.”2 By reversing the natural chronological progression, James places emphasis on the “luring away.” The tragedy of giving in to temptation is that we are dragged away from the realm of true spiritual flourishing—pulled away from the truth, goodness, and love of God’s kingdom.
James abruptly shifts to a birth metaphor: “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:15). The main point remains the same. Yielding to temptation results in a horrible downward progression—from the desire for evil, to the act of sin, to the sinner’s engulfment in the torrent of sin’s destruction. Scholars have debated what sort of “death” James speaks of here. Some have proposed that James envisions physical death as temporal punishment for a believer’s sin (cf. Acts 5:1–11; 1 Cor 11:29–30).3 More likely, James again poignantly lays before his readers two ways—one of life and one of death. There is no middle ground, no nuancing, no gray area. The path of yielding to temptation and engaging in sin leads down the road to eternal destruction. By painting in full color the end destination of sin, James warns his readers from taking that path. In actual practice, do believers often yield to sin and then repent? Yes. He tells us as much in other parts of his letter (e.g., “For we all stumble in many ways,” James 3:2). Nevertheless, the strength of James’s warning against temptation is enhanced by his lack of nuance, footnote, or commentary. Jesus used hyperbole in a similar fashion (Matt. 7:3–5; 18:8–9; 23:24; Luke 14:26).
Conclusion
In this broken world, the question is not whether Jesus’s disciples will face difficulties and temptations but when they will face them, to what degree, and how they will respond. James steels his readers with theological truths to prepare them for days of trials and temptations. Most critically, Christians must be aware that God is sovereign over every challenge that comes their way. Christians can rejoice because the diverse trials in their lives are being used by God to strengthen them spiritually and produce the character qualities of endurance or perseverance. When facing temptations, believers need to remember the holy, untemptable character of God (James 1:13) and consider the devastating realities to which giving in to temptation leads (James 1:15). Such spiritual truths will fortify believers to glorify God through resisting temptation and trusting him in the pressure of trials. James acknowledges that “we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2). Nevertheless, our loving heavenly Father is eager to lavish on us the familial reconciliation and forgiveness that restore us to a healthy relationship with him. The placement of language focusing on trials and temptations near the beginning of James’s epistle invites us to consider how his instruction on these topics applies to the later issues addressed in his letter. James’s teaching on trials and temptations is, in some respects, a perspectival window through which to view the rest of the letter.
Notes:
- Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, 2nd ed. (Zondervan Academic, 2020), 674.
- A figure of speech of this sort in which there is an inversion of the natural order of items is called a hysteron proteron, which is a transliterated Greek expression meaning “last first.”
- J. A. Motyer claims physical death is part of the referent. J. A. Motyer, The Message of James, The Bible Speaks Today (InterVarsity, 1984), 52–54.
This article is adapted from Living Faith: A Theology of James by Robert L. Plummer.
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