A Tempting Study: Part 6

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
Print, Study and Apply

Title: A Tempting Study: Part 6 ------------------- Date: 7/6/2001
Keywords: "lust" "temptation"
Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

Passage: James 1:13-15*

13. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.

14. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.

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

Questions

Note: Regular readers of eXXit’s 3-Minute Bible studies might be confused by James’ assertion that "God cannot be tempted by evil" when on July 3rd, the Bible study came directly from a passage in which Jesus, God’s Son, WAS tempted (Matthew 4). The way to reconcile these is to understand James to mean that God cannot be SUCCESSFULLY tempted. That is, He might be exposed to sinful temptation, but He will certainly never give in.

1. According to verse 13, what is NEVER the source of temptation?

 

2. According to verse 14, what IS the source of temptation?

 

Practical help

James gives such practical insight into our problem with pornography! You may be "tempted" to think that God is somehow responsible for your chronic habit to view porn, a habit which you would really like to break.

James says, "Don’t go there. Don’t even allow yourself to think that God is responsible for your temptation to look at smut. He is holy. The fact that you are drawn to view porn is not a God-problem, but a YOU problem.

Think about it and you’ll see that he is right. See if this "scenario" fits…

Prior to your click of the mouse (the one that will take you to a porn site), you have already allowed yourself to engage in a bit of fantasizing. That is what James refers to as "lust." It is an activity of the mind that occurs prior to the actual temptation. If engaged in, purposefully and intentionally, lust becomes real-live temptation. Once real temptation hits, the battle is as good as over. Lust having been aroused, you are a sitting duck for temptation, and will likely fall. Then you’ll sin.

If you are going to win the battle with porn, you’ve got to start fighting BEFORE temptation hits. That would be at the moment you first start entertaining the thought about what you might find on the Internet. Don’t fantasize! Don’t play with lustful thoughts. At the earliest possible stage of THINKING about pornography -- turn away!

eXXit homepage
Index of three-minute studies
Copyright 2001 by eXXit
*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."