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

                                                                                                                   James 1:13-14 

It’s a pretty clear passage…when we are tempted, we cannot say that God is doing the tempting. So when we yield to temptation, what exactly is the problem? Not to ignore the reality that we have a spiritual enemy who is out to devour us (1 Peter 5:8), he was certainly present in the garden tempting man (Genesis 3) and likewise he was in the presence of Jesus in the wilderness doing the same. But in spite of the fact that we have this enemy, James reminds us that when we are tempted, it is because we are “carried away and enticed by our own lusts.” While it is true that no temptation is unique in that the worldly enticements that grab our attention are common to all of us (1 Corinthians 10:13), as believers, we still need to pay attention to our hearts lest we be drawn astray as well. Consider John’s admonition regarding these worldly enticements: 

Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

                                                                                                                 1 John 2:15-17 

John gives us three categories of worldly traps capable of entangling even the most careful of believers: 

1. Pleasure: The Lust Of The Flesh

Pleasure is something that we all desire. As believers, perhaps we keep our pursuit of pleasure within the parameters that God has set for us nevertheless we all seek out pleasure. Comfort and convenience is what tends to be promoted in our modern world. But when this desire for pleasure extends beyond the bounds established by God (in order to protect us) then we move into the dangerous realm of sin.

“The lust of the flesh” certainly includes sexual immortality but is not limited to that. Anything that promotes living for ourselves and our own desires over that of pursuing God can fall into this category. Yet Paul reminds us that we are to put away any loyalty to the proposition of pursing pleasure, especially sexual immorality:

Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

                                                                                                               2 Timothy 2:22

2. Possessions: The Lust Of The Eyes

Along with pleasure seeking, there is “the lust of the eyes” which is greed. This category consumes many today in our modern culture in that money and possessions are equated with success rather than gauging accomplishment in terms of our service and loyalty to God. Some will spend their entire lives pursuing money and greater possessions (big houses, expensive cars, and extravagant vacations) as a means of feeling successful. But the truth is just the opposite. Consider the words of Jesus:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

                                                                                                         Matthew 6:19-21, 24

3. Position/Power: The Boastful Pride Of Life

Finally, in addition to pleasure and possessions, we can fall into the trap of “the boastful pride of life.” This is when we make the pursuit of wealth and pleasure priority one in our lives, effectively making this our lifestyle. These people boast of their social and economic position and the power that comes with it. But while some continue to fixate on these things, as believers, we should refuse to be so shortsighted and focus our attention on the things that are eternal. Again consider the words of Jesus:

For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? 

                                                                                                                     Luke 9:24-25

If we are serious about defeating the schemes of the enemy and claiming victory over the things that tend to entice us away from the faith, we need to always remember who we are in Christ. Contrast that with those who suggest that the way to victory is to “try harder” or “fight against” these desires. But these so called tactics will only lead to disappointment, frustration, and despair. In order to beat sin in our lives, we need to remember who we are in Christ, foster a loving, intimate relationship with Him, and most of all, continue to run to Him when we fail.

So often, Christians live in shame and despair because they have been convinced that falling into sin means they are either close to being cast out by God or completely unworthy of participating in the new covenant.

First, for those of us who belong to Christ, there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1). Our justification and right standing with God comes through faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross and not our own performance in good works of the Law (Galatians 2:16, Romans 4:4-5). Paul says that the shield of faith is able to extinguish all of the fiery darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). It is not the “shield of works” lest our protection would only be as reliable as our behavior. But the shield of faith works because this shield is our faith in Jesus Himself, not in ourselves. We should consider nothing as coming from ourselves (2 Corinthians 3:4-6) rather spiritual confidence and the ability to defeat sin comes from knowing that we are secure because of the finished work on the cross of Jesus.

The enemy would love nothing more than for us to be self-loathing, caught in a sea of despair and shame, ever hiding from God and other believers because of our sin. But the gospel tells us that the grace of God “super abounds” any sin that might by found in our lives (Romans 5:20). So while we strive (and I use that word cautiously) to guard against being enticed by worldly desires, let’s remember that failure doesn’t exempt us from the new covenant rather the new covenant allows us to approach God with confidence even, and especially, when we fail! (Hebrews 4:15-16)