Temptation, God and Us
Temptation, God and Us
- Greg Waybright
- James 1:13-18
- Together
- 35 mins 47 secs
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Pastor's Letter
Temptation, God and Us - Week 5
New York Times columnist Alexander Woollcott once complained, "All the things I ever really wanted to do are either immoral, illegal, or fattening." We may laugh a bit about that, but his quip may be as close as some of us ever get to considering the issue of temptation in 21st–century Southern California. It used to be that even unchurched people wrestled with the very personal reality of inner depravity. Preachers used to be able to talk about what they called "the conviction of sin," and everyone would acknowledge it. But that's changed.
New York Times columnist Alexander Woollcott once complained, "All the things I ever really wanted to do are either immoral, illegal, or fattening." We may laugh a bit about that, but his quip may be as close as some of us ever get to considering the issue of temptation in 21st–century Southern California. It used to be that even unchurched people wrestled with the very personal reality of inner depravity. Preachers used to be able to talk about what they called "the conviction of sin," and everyone would acknowledge it. But that's changed.
So, you may consider it outdated for me to tell you that the process of becoming "complete and lacking nothing" (James 1:4) includes moral struggle against sin. The Bible teaches us that the one who follows Jesus will face not only external trials like poverty or injustice but also difficult internal tugs toward immorality or unethical practices. In fact, the word that Pastor James used in a letter to his congregants for both external trials and internal trials is the same word. What James meant by "trial" is something like this: Anything that might test us to move us away from trusting in God or living for God. For James' readers undergoing enormous external trials like poverty, job loss, and persecution, the trial might become an excuse for saying things like 1) God is not good, 2) God is not present with us, or 3) God is not capable of overcoming the trial. James knew that external trials could lead people to deny their faith in Jesus.
But, James acknowledged that we also face internal tests that hit us in a different way. Many of the things that God created for our good in Genesis 1–2 can be distorted. They can be engaged with in ways that God never intended and thereby become destructive rather than good. For example, food is a good thing, even a necessary thing for human thriving. However, food can become something that we overdo, leading to gluttony; "under-do," leading to anorexia; or even live for, leading to eating addictions.
God's Word consistently tells us that God knows how he made us to live. Therefore, when we live according to his Word, we will find abundant life. That's what God promises. Do you believe him? God knows that we already have sin in our lives that needs to be forgiven. That's why Jesus died on a cross in our place. But, you and I also must be changed from what we have become to what God made us to be. Only then can we begin to live God's ways rather than the world's.
So, here's the scenario: We get up each day and find that trials come. We are therefore tempted to engage in something that we know is wrong. What do we do then? That's what James speaks about in James 1:13–18. If we will listen and then obey, we will find his words hope giving and life changing!To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Study Notes
Temptation, God and Us - Week 5 - Study Notes
Study Notes available in English and Chinese translations.
New York Times columnist, Alexander Woollcott, once complained, "All the things I ever really wanted to do are either immoral, illegal or fattening." We may laugh a bit about that but, in some ways, it may be as close as some of us ever get to considering the issue of temptation in 21st C SoCal. It used to be that even unchurched people wrestled with personal questions of being drawn toward what they acknowledged to be wrong. Preachers used to be able to get up and talk about what they called "the conviction of sin" and everyone would acknowledge it. But that's changed in our day.
English
Temptation, God and us
James 1:12-18
New York Times columnist, Alexander Woollcott, once complained, "All the things I ever really wanted to do are either immoral, illegal or fattening." We may laugh a bit about that but, in some ways, it may be as close as some of us ever get to considering the issue of temptation in 21st C SoCal. It used to be that even unchurched people wrestled with personal questions of being drawn toward what they acknowledged to be wrong. Preachers used to be able to get up and talk about what they called "the conviction of sin" and everyone would acknowledge it. But that's changed in our day.
So, you may consider it outdated for me to tell you the Bible makes it very clear that the process of us becoming "mature, complete, and lacking nothing" (Js 1:4) includes moral struggle against personal sin. In the book of James, God's Word teaches us that the one who follows Jesus will not only have to deal with external trials like poverty or injustice but also with difficult internal temptations toward doing wrong. James says there are many kinds of trials in 1:2. In fact, the word James used for both external trials and internal temptations is the same word. We saw in my last message that both poverty and riches test our faith. Poverty can tempt us to steal or to be dishonest or even to give up on life. But, riches, according to James are an even more dangerous test – because we are tempted to put them into God's place and become proud and self-sufficient. His point is that any kind of trial always includes temptation to turn away from God.
So today, we will look straight at this matter of being tempted to disobey God – no matter what might lead to that temptation. What the Bible means by "trial" in James 1 is something like this: Anything in this world that might test us to move us away from trusting in God or living for God.
Let me make you aware of something here: James is right when he says that we face all kinds of trials. Many of them come from unexpected sources. For example, in this imperfect world, many of the things that God created for our good can be can be engaged in ways that God never intended and thereby become destructive. For example, food is a good thing, even a necessary thing for us. However, food can become something that 1) we "overdo" leading to gluttony, 2) "under-do" leading to anorexia, or 3) even "live for" leading to eating addictions. Or, sexual activity is a gift God has created both for pleasure as well as for procreation. However, God has said it is to be engaged in within a loving and committed covenant of marriage. And, I'm sure it's no surprise to you to hear your pastor say that people in our world are strongly tempted to use good things like food and sex in ways that God never intended. When we do, they never fulfill and they lead us away from him.
God says consistently in the Bible that he is our Maker. He tells us that when we live according to his Word, we will find life. When we do not, it leads to death. That's what God promises and James declares to his people here. God knows we already have sin in our lives that needs to be forgiven. That's why Jesus came. He can and will forgive your sins when you place your faith in him. And, in addition, God knows that you and I must be changed from the inside out if we will begin to live God's ways rather than our own ways and the world's ways. And, he says trials are a big part of his renewing work.
So, here's the scenario: We get up each day and find that trials come. We are tempted to give up trusting God or we are tempted to engage in something we know deep down inside is wrong. Today, I want us to focus on what we must do when we face trials tempting us to sin.
#1: Stop the Blame Game -- 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 (1:13-14).
If you have ever read popular psychology books dealing with human failure, then you may be familiar with terms like "splitting" or "projection." Those terms describe the way we human beings try to deny what's wrong inside us by transferring it onto something or someone else. Some would say that this is what underlies a lot of racism. The say that an irrational hatred of the Jewish people or of those of another ethnicity is really an attempt to distance ourselves from everything we hate in ourselves and push it on to somebody else. Many would argue that many broken personal relationships reflect the same kind of "projection". They say when we feel strong hostility toward somebody in our family or within our circle of acquaintances, we may dislike them because there really is some ugliness inside ourselves that we don't want to face -- so we attribute it to them. We may say, "It's their fault that I am so angry."
In every case, what these authors say we're really doing is taking all the foulness inside ourselves that we can't face up to and blaming it all on someone or something else. Personally, I think there is an element of truth in that view. The ironic thing is that in our 21st C, it is precisely some wings of psychology that have provided postmodern people with a whole host of ways to blame our weaknesses on others:
• "You couldn't help it it's your genes. You father was a liar so that caused you to be a liar too."
• "You couldn't help it. It's your upbringing. Your behavior has been molded by what you saw in your school or what an uncle did to you, etc."
• "You can't help it. It's your psychological make up. It's just the way you are so it's other people's fault if they don't accept they way you are."
The result of this kind of "projection" that we never have to say, "There's something wrong inside me that needs to be made clean and made right." Instead, the message of our world to us when we see flaws in ourselves is this: "You're a victim, a victim of circumstances beyond your control." One younger pastor in Hawaii once asked me, "How many people have ever come in to see you saying, 'I need help for my sinful responses to my children or husband, etc.'" I had to admit that it has not been often.
Bottom line: We human beings find ways to blame others and to deny our own sinfulness. Like the Pharisees in the Gospel of John, it's so much easier to throw stones at a woman taken in adultery than to face up to the fact that we have lust in our own hearts. Well, no matter how inclined we are about projecting our own inner depravity on to other things or people, the Bible cuts through all that to tell us that such excuse making will only leave us further trapped by our failure. All such projections and denials will keep us from real healing and growth because they force us to ignore the fundamental problem.
In v.14, the Bible says that we are "enticed" and "lured away" by our own desire. Those words come from the world of fishing and hunting. James is saying something that Paul describes in his own testimony in Romans 7, i.e., that there is something in our personal make up that leads us away from God and to be drawn into a trap of sin. The point is that if we want to be victorious over the sin that we are drawn toward, we must be honest about what is happening inside our own hearts.
Interestingly, it's only in facing up to the bad news about ourselves that we find hope offered to us. The Bible teaches that if I do what is wrong, I must first own up to the fact that I did it. Bottom line: I am human and made in God's image. Therefore, I am responsible for how I live. There are many factors that make life tough for us. However, there is no temptation that is absolutely irresistible to us, according to the Bible. So, when you find yourself doing wrong, do not cast your eyes so quickly on to some one or something else as the one to blame for what you've done.
And, especially, Pastor James tells us in vv. 13-14 that we should not blame God. James says that when we face a temptation, we should know that God is not trying to get us to do evil so that God can say, "Ha! I got him this time!" Not at all! God, according to v.17, is the one who gives good gifts – not bad ones. Even the trials he allows have the good goal of us becoming mature, complete and lacking nothing (1:4).
So, when it comes to temptations, don't think of them as being things God is sending to try to get you to sin! Instead, look inside your heart and be honest about yourself. Temptations are our own inner responses to things that happen every day in this fallen world we are a part of. When you are drawn to do what is wrong, don't not blame others but accept the fact that there are still things not fully right inside of you that need to be transformed or to be strengthened. And God will continue to work with you so that you can become complete.
Now, don't misunderstand me: There are tempting circumstances we fall into in this world by no fault of our own. However, such things don't dictate our actions. They don't make us puppets of fate. All a trial does is expose to us our own moral weakness. It doesn't create that moral weakness. When you sin, you are the one sinning. So, if you ever will be able to handle temptation, start inside your own heart and own what is there. Blaming other things is a subtle and pernicious lie that will keep you from ever gaining victory over temptation.
#2: Be Aware of the Process that Leads to Entrapment -- 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 (2:14-15).
James' makes the strong point that sin doesn't enter our lives uninvited. Instead, he says in v.14 that we are lured and enticed by our "own desires". Then, in v. 15, he moves on to one of his most profound points. James describes the process of how patterns of doing wrong entrap us and rob us of the life God wants us to have. He indicates that sin starts with small decisions and then grows to take over our lives. He sees the path developing this way: 1) Lust --a desire for something displeasing to God; 2) Sin – giving in to that desire by acting on it; 3) Death – a pattern of life separated from the life of God.
So that first act of sin is like an embryo or a seed that leads to something much bigger as it develops. I've experienced the truth of his words again and again. People don't just fall into some heinous sin without early steps in that direction. Instead, there are patterns of thinking and then choosing – often over years – that ultimately lead to destructive patterns of life. Much of this process -- of desire leading to an act of sin which leads to even greater sin -- is something we think we can keep hidden. We may even think, "Oh I won't quit this way of life now – but someday I will." James is strongly telling us to beware. He indicates that the pattern of sin starts like a small seed and then grows and grows as it takes root in our personalities often in the secrecy of our hearts. Heinous sins are rarely sudden acts of foolishness in an otherwise upright life. When we sin, it usually begins in our inner desires – in the longing of our minds.
You may have heard, "You sow a thought; you reap an action. Sow an action; reap a habit. Sow a habit; reap a character. Sow a character; reap a destiny." And from first to last, it is our doing. If sin has a stranglehold in your life, it is because you have chosen to place yourself in its clutches. That's what James teaches. If you see that happening in your life, then you must candidly acknowledge what is happening inside. You dare not blame others or keep it hidden in your heart. Remember that truth sets free.
I think the first admonition I have for you based on this text is to deal quickly with sin when you see it in your thinking and in your actions. Accept responsibility when you fail. Know what happens when you take the bait and give in to temptation, i.e., that it goes in deeper and deeper and leads to patterns that kill your spiritual life. So, when you see sin developing in your mind and life, turn quickly to God.
#3: Return to God -- Don't be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be the firstfruits of all he created (1:16-18).
We don't have the time we need to look carefully at this beautiful but complex message written by a pastor to a group of people he loved. He did not want them to give up under the trials they were enduring. And, he did not want them to give in to the temptations they were experiencing either. So James forces us here, after looking at ourselves, to look at God. What Pastor James wants his people to know in vv.16-18 – and I want you to know – is that our good Heavenly Father made you as the pinnacle of His creation. He made you in His image. And, though you may have misused your God-given freedoms and have engaged in sin, God loves you and always offers you the chance to be re made.
Your self esteem in this world flows not from self deception that says you are just "victims" not sinners. It flows out of the honest recognition that you have failed but that your heavenly Father still has found something about you worthy of His forgiveness and acceptance. He offers you a new life on the basis of what Jesus did on the cross. What you need to do is to turn from sin and ask Jesus to save you – and to set you free from sin. There is something about you so valuable that the eternal God sent his Son to rescue you.
God knows what's wrong inside all of us and has a plan to make us what James calls the "firstfruits of his creatures." By that he means, the kinds of people who are what God intended people to be from the beginning. That's the point of vv.17-18. This is very poetic language that is very difficult to translate. But the point being made is quite clear: God is good. And He plans good things for us human beings. God didn't make Adam and Eve with sin in mind. And God doesn't re make us in Christ with sin in mind either. God is consistently good and what he will make us you if you will turn to him in repentance and faith is good and beautiful. "All things" in this world – even trials – are things God uses to make us complete and mature.
A large and time-limited worship service like this is not the place for me to go into detail about how you can find freedom from long-time patterns of sin and deep scars from the past. But, I can tell you today to turn your heart back to God, ask him in the name of Jesus to forgive your past, and tell him you want him to start again with you. I can offer you these things today:
1. People to pray and counsel with you after the service.
2. People to help you connect with a small group of people who will join you in walking with God. We all need one another to become what God has made us to be.
3. A promise that each time you come to Lake Avenue Church, we will open our Father's Word so that he might speak to you, remind you that he never gives up on you, and that he is ready to guide and bless your life.
4. An assurance based on God's Word that "if you confess your sins, your Heavenly Father is faithful and just to forgive your sins and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9-10).
A Final Word
I want you to know that I know that breaking from patterns of giving in to temptation is hard to do. When we are really honest with ourselves at the deepest level of our self knowledge, we know how much corruption and foulness there is in our hearts. We know how much there is inside us that we would never dare to speak about to another person for fear they would reject us. Sometimes, we're afraid to even let our own minds investigate what our real desires and motivations are.
God is telling you today that you must stop blaming others for what is inside you if you will ever become complete in Christ. You must be honest with yourself, quit making excuses, stop trying to kid yourself. If the truth were known, it is a part of our dignity that we can acknowledge our own responsibility for what we do. Only robots and computers that are programmed to do what they do. They can't help it. But God has made us human. We are responsible people and we dare not shirk that responsibility for what we do or we will never choose to walk in the right direction.
And, if you feel you have little left today but to fall upon God and say, "I've gone at this thing so often, that I can do nothing else but fall upon you God", then that sense of having nothing but God may be your greatest hope. There is a section of Solomon Northups' book, Twelve Years a Slave that drives this home:
"There are times when we feel we have nowhere in this world to turn. At such times, the heart of man turns instinctively towards his Maker. In prosperity, and whenever there is nothing to injure or make him afraid, he remembers God not, and is ready to defy Him; but place him in the midst of dangers, cut him off from human aid, let the grave open before him, then it is, in the time of his tribulation and temptation, that the scoffer and unbelieving man turns to God for help, feeling there is no other hope, or refuge, or safety, save in his protecting arm."
The battle against sin in this world is too great to do anything but run into God's arms again today. You can't afford yourself the luxury of self deceit. My call today is a call to a deep repentance and confession -- and to a joyous reception of a new beginning that God offers to whosoever will come to Him in honesty and faith. It is only the "truth that sets free." When it comes to temptation, that truth is 1) the truth about yourself and 2) the truth of God's readiness to restore you. That second truth is for you -- even of you in your sin -- and it comes to you through Jesus.
To His glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
title="Chinese
《紐約時報》專欄作家Alexander Woollcott有一次抱怨說,“我腦子裡想做的都是些不道德的、違背法律的、有害健康的事兒。”我們可能對此感到好笑,但從某種角度講,這可能與我們當中的一些人思考在21世紀的南加州所遇到的種種誘惑問題時相似。即使是不來教會的人,也時常在個人問題上掙扎,並且被這些明知是不對的事情搞得筋疲力盡。傳道人過去常常能夠站起來談論“定罪”的問題,並且每個人都會認罪。但如今已時過境遷。 如果告訴你,聖經清楚地說,我們要“成全完備,毫無缺欠”(雅各書1:4),要在道德上抵制個人的罪。你或許會認為這對你來說已經過時。在《雅各書》中,神的話教導我們,一個追隨耶穌的人,不僅僅是要對付外部的試煉,比如貧窮、不公平,也要對付內部引誘我們做錯事的試探。在2:1中,雅各說有各種各樣的試探。實際上,雅各形容外部的試煉和內部的試探所用的是一個詞。在我過去的信息中曾經提到,貧窮和富有都是對我們信心的試煉。貧窮會讓我們想去偷竊、撒謊,甚至自殺。但是,根據雅各的觀點,富有是更危險的試煉——因為我們會把財富看得比神更重要,我們會變得驕傲自滿。雅各的觀點是,所有的試煉總是包含著讓我們離開神的試探。 今天,我們會直視被誘惑而悖逆神這個問題——不管是什麼可能導致這種誘惑。聖經在《雅各書》中所說“試煉”的意思是:在這個世界上的任何事情,都可能試驗我們,讓我們不再相信神或者不再為神而活。 讓我告訴你一些事:當雅各說我們會面臨各種試煉時,他是對的。許多試煉是出人意料的。舉個例子,在這個不完美的世界,神為我們創造的很多美好的東西已經背離了神當初的意向而走向毀滅。食物是好東西,對我們的生活是必需的。然而,食物也可以讓我們1)暴飲暴食,2)患上厭食症,3)貪吃成癮。性行為是神為了我們的快樂和生育所賜的禮物。然而,神說它應該存在於愛和對婚約的委身之中。我確信,當你聽到你的牧師說,在這個世界的人被強烈地誘惑以神不喜悅的方式來使用諸如食物和性行為這些美好的東西。當我們這樣做,這些東西就失去了起初的價值,讓我們離開神。 神一貫說祂是我們的創造者。祂告訴我們,當我們照著祂的話生活,我們會找到生命。如果我們不照著祂的話做,就會導致死亡。這是神的應許,雅各在這裡向人們宣告這件事。神知道在我們的生活中已經有罪的存在,需要被赦免。那就是耶穌來的原因。當你信耶穌,祂能赦你的罪。此外,神知道假如你和我想要按著神的方式、不再按照我們自己的方式和世界的方式而活,就必須從內到外被改變。祂說試煉就是祂的更新工作的很重要的一部分。 我說明一下:我們每天起來會面對很多試煉。我們被引誘要放棄對神的信心,或者被誘惑去做明知不對的事情。今天,我希望大家注意,當遇到這些引誘我們犯罪的試煉時,究竟該如何做。
#1: 不要推卸責任——人被試探,不可說:“我是被神試探”;因為神不能被惡試探,他也不試探人。但各人被試探,乃是被自己的私欲牽引誘惑的。(1:13-14). 如果你曾經讀過大眾心理學方面的書籍,那裡面談到如何面對人的失敗,你可能對諸如“分裂”或“投射”這類術語很熟悉。那些術語描述了我們人類試圖否認內在的錯誤,而試圖將責任推卸給別人或別的東西。有些人會說,這是種族偏見引起的。他們說對猶太民族或者其他民族的仇恨,其實是在誘惑我們否認我自己內心的恨,而把這種恨推卸給別人。很多人認為,許多破裂的人際關係反映了這種“投射”。他們說,當我們感到對家庭中或者熟人圈子裡某人懷有強烈的敵意時,我們可能不喜歡他們,因為我們裡面有某些醜陋的東西,但我們不想面對它們——因此我們就推卸責任。我們可以說,“是他們的錯讓我生氣。” 例子表明,這些作者說我們正在做的,是把我們內心不能面對的鄙陋歸咎於其他人或事。就個人而言,我認為這裡面有一個基本事實。這些發生在21世紀的令人啼笑皆非的事,恰好從心理學方面表明,後現代的人以五花八門的方式把自己的弱點歸咎於他人。 • “你不能阻止它——這是你的天性。你父親愛撒謊,所以你也愛撒謊。” • “你不能阻止它——這是教育的結果。你的行為是你在學校或你的叔叔把你塑造出來的。” • “你不能阻止它——這是心理性格。這就是你的方式,如果別人不接受你的方式,這是他們的錯。” 這種“投射”的結果是,我們從來不會說,“我裡面有錯誤需要被清理或者要糾正。”當我們看到自己裡面的缺點時,這個世界告訴我們的信息是:你是受害者,是你無法控制的環境的受害者。一個在夏威夷的年輕牧者曾經問我,“有多少人來對你說,‘我需要你幫助我,我對我孩子或者丈夫有一種罪惡感,等等?’”我承認這並不常見。 要點:我們人類想方設法來責備別人,否認自己的罪性。就像《約翰福音》中的法利賽人,向一個犯姦淫的女人扔石頭比面對我們內心的淫念要容易的多。無論我們如何把自己內心的墮落投射到其他人或事物的上面,聖經透過一切告訴我們,這種找藉口的方式只能讓我們更深地墮落。這種投射和拒絕會阻止真正的醫治和成長,因為他們迫使我們忽視問題的本質。 在14節,聖經說我們是被自己的私欲牽引、誘惑。那些從世界來的話是誘餌。雅各說,保羅在《羅馬書》7章中所作的見證告訴我們,在我們個人的性格中,有些東西會引導我們遠離神,落入罪的陷阱。如果我們想要勝過誘惑我們的罪,就必須誠實面對我們內心所發生的事情。 有趣的是,只有當我們面對有關自己的壞消息,我們才會找到給予我們的希望。聖經教導我們,假如我做了錯事,我必須首先承認我所做的。要點是:我是一個人,是照著神的形象造的。因此,我對自己的生活負有責任。有些事情讓我們的生活變得艱難。然而,根據聖經,沒有哪一種誘惑是完全不能勝過的。因此,當你發現自己做了錯事,不要馬上把原因歸咎於他人或事。 在13-14節,雅各牧師特別告訴我們,我們不要責備神。雅各說,當我們面對試探,我們應該知道神不會迫使我們去做壞事,然后祂說,“哈,這一次我逮住你了。”不會的。根據17節,神是賞賜美善的神,不是降惡的神。即使祂允許某些試煉發生,也是出於好的目的,為了讓我們“成全完備,毫無缺欠”(1:4)。 因此,當試探來臨,不要認為是神通過它們讓我們犯罪!不是的。看看你的內心,誠實面對自己。試探是我們自己的內心對這個墮落世界所發生的事物的反應。當你被吸引去做錯事,不要責備他人,接受事實,你的內心還尚未完全,還需要變得更有力量。神將會繼續工作,使你可以變得完全。 現在,不要认为:我們陷入這個世界的試探,不是我們自己的過錯。這些試探並不能決定我們的行為。它們不能讓我們成為命運的木偶。一個試煉所能做的,是向我們暴露我們自己道德的軟弱。它不能創造道德上的軟弱。當你犯罪,就是你在犯罪。如果你從自己心裡开始看自己里面的東西,你才能夠對付試探。責備別的事物,是一個詭詐且有害的謊言,它阻止你勝過試探。
#2: 驚醒導致人進入陷阱的過程- 但各人被試探,乃是被自己的私慾牽引誘惑的。私慾既懷了胎,就生出罪來,罪既長成,就生出死來。(1:14-15) 雅各在這裡強調,罪在我們生活中不會不請自進。而是在14節,我們乃是被自己的私慾牽引誘惑。然後在15節,雅各說到最深刻的要點之一,是他描繪到不良的方式將我們陷入其中的過程,剝奪了神定意要我們過的生活。他指出罪起於很小的決定,然後長成奪取我們的生活。他看到路是這樣開展伸延的:1)私慾-起於某種不討神喜悅的欲望;2)罪-對這種欲望妥協並付諸行動;3)死-一種和神的生活分離的形態。 因此,罪最初的行動就像一個胎,或是一個種子,慢慢地發展的時候就越長越大。 我一次又一次經歷神話語中的真理。人不會猝然掉進令人憎惡的罪中,如果沒有從起頭就朝著這個方向邁步的開始。反而是成型的思想,然後是選擇- 通常是年復一年,最終導致破壞性的生活方式。大部分的過程是-私慾導致罪的行為,罪的行為帶進更大的罪-某種我們以為可以隱藏的東西。我們甚至以為,"噢,我現在不放棄這種生活方式,但將來有一天我會的。"雅各嚴正警告我們要警惕。他指出罪的樣式常常起於私密的內心一個小小的種子,慢慢長成,而在我們的性格中生根。可憎惡的罪幾乎不可能在正直的生活中突發傻冒行為。我們犯罪的時候,通常起於內在的私慾,存於我們思想的渴望中。 你可能聽到過," 播下一个思想,收获一个行动;播下一个行动,收獲一種习惯;播下一種习惯,收获一種性格;播下一種性格,收获一種命運。" 從始至终,都是我們自己親手所做。如果罪在你的生命中束縛住你,是因為你選擇把自己放在罪的轄制中。這就是雅各的教導。如果你看到這樣的事發生在你的生活中,你必須誠實地承認在你心裡發生的事。你不該埋怨別人,或叫罪藏在你心裡。記住真理叫人得自由。 建立在這一經文的基礎上,我給大家首先的忠告的是當你看到你的思想和行為中的罪臧露頭角時,馬山刻不容緩地對付。如果你未能對付,負起自己的責任。承認你接受罪的誘餌,向誘惑妥協等等...導致越陷越深,導致这样的生活形态,殺死了你的靈命生活。 所以,你看到罪在你的思想和生活中滋生的時候,快快轉向神。
#3: 轉向神- 我亲爱的弟兄姊妹们,不要自欺。各样美善的恩赐,和各樣全备的賞賜,都是從上頭來的,從眾光之父那裡降下來的,在祂並沒有改變,也沒有轉動的影兒。祂按自己的旨意,用真道生了我們,叫我們在祂所造的萬物中,好像初熟的果子(1:16-18) 我們要來看看牧師寫給他所愛的一群人,這段美麗又複雜的一段信息。雅各牧師叫人不要在試煉中放棄,也不要他們在經歷試探時妥協。雅各在這裡驅使我們在審視我們自己的內心之後來注目神。 雅各牧師要他們知道16-18節-我要你們知道-就是我們美善的天父造了你們,在萬物中乃為登峰造極。祂按照自己的形象造了你們。儘管你誤用神賜給人的自由,參與在罪中,神仍然愛你,總是給你重新被造的機會。 你在這個世界的自尊,不能出於自我的欺騙,說你只不過是個"受害者", 而不是個是罪人,乃是出於誠實地承認你的失敗,但是你的天父還是在你身上發現你有值得祂赦免和接納的地方。在耶穌基督死在十架上的基礎上,祂提供給人一個新的生命。你需要做的是從罪中回轉,求耶穌救你-將你從罪中釋放得自由。在你的生命中有些格外寶貴的東西,永恆的神派遣祂的兒子來拯救你。 神知道我們裡面到底那裡出了錯, 神對我們有個創造的計劃,也就是如雅各所說的"在萬物中初熟的果子"。意思也就是說,人類要成為從起初神就定意人要成為的樣式。這也就是17-18節所說的。這是一段很詩意的話,很難翻譯。但是要闡明的要點很清楚:神是美善的。祂為我們人類計劃美好的事。神造亞當和夏娃沒有罪的意念。神在基督裡面重造我們的時候也沒有罪的意念。神是美善是一致不變的。我們在悔改和信心中轉向神的時候,祂在我們裡面的創造是美好的。在這個世界上的 "萬事"-甚至試煉,神都可以用來叫我們成全完備。 在今天這麼大的聚會中, 時間有限,我不能詳盡講到你如何能夠從過往長期受罪的捆綁中,和深深的傷痕中得自由釋放。但我今天可以告訴你,將你的心回轉歸向神,奉耶穌的名求祂原諒你的過去,告訴神你要和祂重新開始。我今天可以提供給你們這些: 1. 在禮拜結束後有人與你一起禱告 2.有人幫你加入小組,和你一起與神同行。我們需要彼此,成為神造我們的樣式。 3.我們承諾你每一次來湖邊教會,我們將天父的話語打開,好叫神親自對你說話,提醒你祂從不放棄你,並且祂已經預備好來引導祝福你的生命。 4.一個建立在神的話語上的保證 “我們若承認自己的罪, 神是信實的、公義的,必定赦免我們的罪,潔淨我們脫離一切不義。“(約翰一書 1:9-10)
最後的話 我要你知道,我瞭解要打破屈從於受誘惑的生活形態是很難以做到的事。 當我們真正深刻了解自我,真正誠實地面對己時,我們都知道自己心中有多少腐敗和骯髒。我們知道自己裡面有多少是不敢和別人講說的,恐怕別人會排斥拒絕我們。有時候,我們甚至不敢讓自己頭腦來省察內心裡面真正的欲望和動機是什麼。 神今天要跟你說,倘若你要在耶穌裡得著完全, 你必須停止責怪他人造成你心中的黑暗。你一定要對自己誠實,不要找理由藉口,不要欺騙自己。如果真理顯明,承認對我們自己做的事負責任是人尊嚴的一部分。只有機器人和電腦才是被程式設定驅動。它們沒法選擇。但是神造我們為人類,我們是有責任感的人,我們不敢推脫這個自我行為的責任,否則我們將永遠無法選擇走在正確的道路上。 如果今天你覺得所剩無幾,除了俯伏在神的面前說,“我在這條路上走的太久,太頻繁了,我除了依靠你以外,什麼也不能做。" 那麼,這種除了神以外什麼也不能做的感受可能就是你最大的希望。在Solomon Northup的書中《十二年奴隸》( Twelve Years a Slave)有一段話講到家了: 有時候在這個世界上,我們覺得無處可走。在這種時候,人心在直覺裡轉向他的造物主。在繁榮昌盛中,何時一無所損,也無何事使人害怕的時候,他就不會記念神,並且隨時否認祂; 但是人若處在危險中,切斷人的救援,讓墳墓在他面前打開,人就看見,除了神保護的臂彎,在艱難和誘惑中,沒有希望,避難處所,無一安所。 這個世界上和罪的爭戰太大過於我們能夠做的,乃是今日再次快步奔向神的臂彎。你擔當不起自我欺騙的奢侈。我今天的呼召是深深的懺悔和認罪- 帶來為神接納,一個喜樂的新開始,是神預備給每位在誠實和信心中來到祂前面的人。只有 “真理使人得自由”。說到面對誘惑,真理是1. 真實的自己 2. 神預備好使你復原的真實。第二個真理是為你預備的 --即使你身在罪中 --而這真理乃是透過耶穌臨到你。
荣耀归给神,
格雷格博士
主任牧师
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church
湖边大道教会地址:
393 N. Lake Ave,Pasadena, CA 91101
www.lakeave.org
Greg Waybright • Copyright 2013, Lake Avenue Church
Study Guide
Temptation, God and Us - Week 5 - Study Guide
Temptation, God and us
James 1:12-18
- The words translated "trial" in vv. 2 and 12 and "temptation" in vv. 13 and 14 are the same word in James' language. If a trial is anything that might test us to move us away from trusting in God or living for God, what do external trials and internal temptations have in common?
- What sort of thoughts could be going through people's minds that would lead them to accuse God of "tempting" them? Is there anything or anyone else we might blame for our temptation toward sin?
- From v. 14, how important was it for James that each of his church members accepted personal responsibility for their own sin? Do you think that he was right in this assessment?
- In vv.14–15a, James made a clear distinction between "desire" (or lust) and "sin." What does this say to us in our world about human cravings, what it means to be human, and sin?
- Put the pathway from temptation to death described in vv. 14–15 into your own words. Have you ever witnessed these steps to be true in your life or in others'?
- Read vv. 16–18. Have you ever gone through a time in your life when you seriously questioned God's goodness? Have you ever begun to wonder if God was part of the problem and not the solution? Can you tell us about that experience and how you came through it?
- Compare the last phrase in vv. 4, 12, and 18. What do they have in common? Are they all referring to God's purpose for our lives? How are trials, both internal and external ones, a part of God's accomplishing that purpose?
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