This is the second part of overcoming the temptations Satan throws our way. The first thing we looked at dealt with considering God’s judgment. We also looked at verses that would help us not give in, but move us further along in our spiritual growth. After all, the book of James is all about “growing up spiritually.”
The last two points we need to consider are the goodness of God, and God’s divine nature within us. We will begin with James 1:17.
James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
James tells us in this verse that every good and perfect gift is from God. One of Satan’s tactics is to convince us in the middle of a trial that God does not care. He used this tactic with Eve. He convinced her God didn’t want them to eat of the tree because they would become as gods like him. She listened and thought she would gain, but instead, she lost everything. God was gracious enough to give them an opportunity to repent, but if she would have rejected the temptation, the world, and all in it would be perfect today.
Genesis 3:5 “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
He uses the same tactic on us today. He tries to convince us God does not care. He brings to our mind all the people that seem to be doing well, yet they do not serve God. He never reminds us that they are headed for destruction. He wants to convince us God is unjust, and that He does not love us. If that doesn’t work he will tell you “it’s no big deal, you can repent later”
If we study we know that Satan is a liar.
John 8:44b “He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.”
If we know the truth about God’s goodness it will become a great tool to not yield to temptation. God is good, and he will meet our needs. We certainly don’t need to use Satan’s ways to gain good things. Satan will attack us with doubt and fear. If we get impatient and get ahead of God, we will never understand his true goodness.
God can only give good gifts. If the things you consider good did not come from him, then they are not good. On the flip side, if it comes from God it is good, even if we don’t see the goodness in the beginning. I remember a story of a preacher that was driving to preach a revival. He was several miles from the church when he had a flat tire. It was raining, and he was in a hurry. He proceeded to change the tire, all the while grumbling to God, “Why would you let this happen, after all, God, I was doing your work.” After he finished he drove a short distance to find the car that had been in front of him was in a horrible head-on collision. The light went on, “if the flat had not occurred when it did, I would have been in that wreck.” God’s goodness spared the man! We need to learn to trust God in every situation and believe he knows what he’s doing. Read Deuteronomy 6:10-15 and see how not believing God turned out for the Israelites.
God not only gives good gifts, but He also gives them just when we need them. He does it in a loving manner. He also gives constantly. The “cometh down” in verse 17 is a continuing action. God is constantly giving. The mere fact that you just took another breath is a good gift from him!
He also will never change. God is perfect. His holiness will not allow him to change for the worse, and he can’t get better because he is already perfect.
Remember God is always good – especially when you can’t see it!
The last help in this passage to deter you from temptation is God’s divine nature.
James 1:18 “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”
The word begat here means we owe the beginning of our spiritual life to him. The moment we are saved we inherit God’s divine nature within us. He chose us and gave freely to buy us back. When we possess his nature, the Holy Spirit will guide us to all truth. This will help us to overcome temptation, but we must choose which nature is going to win. When we receive the new nature the old one does not go away. However, if we will feed the new nature on a steady diet of God’s word and prayer, obedience will become easier. As we feed the new nature we starve the old one! This is where real spiritual maturity begins to grow. Just like a baby, it will grow according to the amount of proper nourishment it receives.
We can never justify our giving in to temptation. God has given us barriers to help us and we need to put them in place. We have his judgment before us, his goodness around us, and his nature within us to keep us from sin.
Excellent