2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
James continues dealing with the issue of remaining faithful under trials in the next section of his first chapter on testing and tempting. Have you ever had a problem and blamed God for it? I admit that in the past I have. James, our parent-apostle, has forced me to take a second look at what I was doing. JAS 1: 12-13, “Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials, because when he succeed in passing such a test, he will receive as his reward the life which God has promised to those who love Him. If a person is tempted by such trials, he must not say, ‘This temptation comes from God.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one.” In my initial response, we see the flesh in control. In taking James’ advice, we see the Spirit being allowed to operate. This conflict between the flesh, which is dying, and the Spirit, which is taking over, in a person in the process of sanctification is no small matter.
Our Lord Jesus Christ must have known before He ever came to Earth in His incarnate form that this conflict between the flesh and the Spirit was an issue. God’s infinite wisdom and compassion led Him to decide in a pre-Creation council in heaven [1 PET 1: 18-21; AC 2: 23 & 4:27-28; COL 1: 15-20] that the Son would be sent to Earth to experience temptation, pain, and martyrdom as the all-sufficient sin sacrifice that would make a way for mankind’s salvation. In reflecting on James’ assertion that “God cannot be tempted by evil and He Himself tempts no one, “ the error of blaming God when troubles come is exposed. The story of Christ’s temptation in the wilderness in MT 4: 1-11 points out some very comforting truths. To begin, it shows the temptation coming from Satan, not God. Because in the end the devil is defeated, it reveals that Christ has the power to be victorious over any temptation Satan can put in His path.
Now, you might ask, how does that apply to me? When we repent and have faith in Christ, we become a “new creation in Christ” [2 COR 5: 17]. Paul made what this means very clear in 2 COR 5: 19 and 21. “Our message is that God was making all mankind his friends through Christ. God did not keep an account of their sins, and He has given us the message which tells how He makes them His friends (19).” “Christ was without sin but for our sake God made Him share our sin in order that in union with Him we might share the righteousness of God.” While not all of God’s power is imputed to us, we are given the power to be victorious in spiritual warfare. That’s something that not enough faithful Christians realize they possess. What I’m saying here, is that with strong faith in Christ and thorough knowledge of His teachings through the Scriptures, we carry with us the ability to overcome temptation and to recognize from whence it comes. While we should never boast about it, we should certainly use it when we find ourselves sorely tempted. It is one of the best perks our faith provides for us.
James goes on to lay out the destructive path that continuing to blame God for all our difficulties can take. JAS 1: 14-15, “But a person is tempted when he is drawn away and trapped by his own evil desire. Then his evil desire conceives and gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” As I was thinking about this passage, the example of two people, Dylan Kliebold and Eric Harris came to mind. And, what a sorrowful example it is! Neither of these two teenage boys fit the profile set up in their classmates minds of mainstream students. Of the two, Harris was the leader and Kliebold was frightened of him. These boys were angry when they weren’t accepted socially which gave rise to an evil idea, which in my humble opinion, could have only come from Satan. Without faith in Christ, they were left unequipped to deal with the temptation that was in their paths. They blamed God for their troubles. It is characteristic of the unfaithful and immature mind to refuse to take responsibility for one’s actions. Both learned to access the evil parts of the Internet, thus learning how to obtain, stockpile, and use guns and bombs secretly. An evil idea borne out of temptation set them on the path of killing thirteen people at Columbine High School. Their last act on this Earth was suicide. Their acts and their physical deaths under these circumstances suggest that they are spiritually lost as well. Their rejection of God is clear in the murder of the young girl who answered their question, “do you believe in God?” in the affirmative just before she was martyred in their acts of violence.
This yielding to temptation eloquently demonstrates the waste that comes from it. JAS 1: 18, “By His own will He brought us into being through the word of truth, so that we should have first place among all His creatures.” Our Lord is immutable; He doesn’t change or cause darkness by turning in the face of temptation to do so. We can rely on Him in faith not to pull the rug out from under us. Instead, our faith in Him brings His light into our lives and opens the way for us to experience the good that comes down from heaven for us. We were given the ability, through our faith, to overcome temptation from Satan just as Christ did in the wilderness. It will take courage of faith and will not always be easy for us, but we can do it.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have given us the power through our faith to overcome temptation that Satan puts in our path. In Christ, the “first among many brothers,” You have shown us that this can be done when we have faith in Him. You stand firm and unchangeable in Your righteousness and impute it to us when we have faith. We should never blame You for the trials we must face. You deserve our worship, thanksgiving, adoration, and loyalty forever for giving us the gift of salvation through the death of Your Son on the cross. You are a dynamic force in the lives of all those who believe in You and love You. We stand before You in grateful humility in the hope that the sad examples of those who reject You might be a lesson to us that will strengthen our motivation to be eternally faithful in Christ. In His holy name, amen.
I’m not even out of the first chapter of James yet, and look at all the wonderful lessons God, through him, has for us! We will continue to dip into this spiritual treasure chest tomorrow. In the meanwhile, know that we can always be victorious in spiritual warfare perpetrated by Satan when we have strong faith. I find that comforting and hope you do too. We can share in the hope of the resurrection and bask in the warmth of God’s love together. Now, I call that a real blessing! Peter and I send you our love today too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn