All of us experience temptations on a daily basis. Whether that is temptation with food, money, power or sex, Satan and our fallen modern world is bent on tempting us in every area, on every level. Today, we are going to dig into the Book of James, Chapter 1, verses 13-18 in explaining the pedigree of trials-explaining temptation in verses 13-15. Let’s get started.

In James 1:1-12, James in the Book of James not only explains, but outlines the “purpose of trials”. Today, we are going to study what James has to say about the mechanics of “temptation(s)”. 

GOD DOES NOT TEMPT ANYONE

James makes clear that God himself does not tempt anyone, saying: “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” (James 1:13 ESV). James goes onto write about God as only being able to give good things. This includes the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that is key to the spiritual battle that entails deterring temptation. This begs the question as to “what is temptation?”

TEMPTED DEFINED: 
For starters, to tempt is to test, try, prove, or solicit to evil. In verse 2 and 12, the same Greek word is used to mean those trials that are designed to prove the quality of one’s character. In verse 13 the word “tempt” means “a solicitation to evil”; and this, James says, is not from God but from man’s own inner lust (v.14). Any attempt at self-excuse is ignorance about God and of the nature of temptation. 

LURED AND ENTICED: 
James 1:14 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire”. The word “LURE” is the same word used for “fishing lure”. We lure fish by placing artificial or live bait on a line with a HOOK to entice, hook, and reel them in. The devil or his angels do the same with us-luring (soliciting) us to evil through our own inner lust. Again, the word picture behind these words is that of the hunter or fisherman (the lustful flesh, secular world or evil spirit) luring his prey (us) from its safe retreat into sinful thinking and/or actions.

And this explains the biblical concept of "temptation". In the next article, we will look at the "STAGES" of sin-meaning how and where sin starts in our minds and hearts and where it ends up. Stay tuned and make it a great day as we apply this new understanding or simple reminder of what sin is, who it comes from from, and how to avoid it-Steven

Stages Of Sinful Temptation To Death

Steven Garofalo M.A.A., March 14, 2025

All of us experience temptations daily. Whether that is temptation with food, money, power or sex, Satan and our fallen modern world is bent on tempting us in every area, on every level.

Today, we are going to dig into the Book of James, Chapter 1, verses 13-18 in explaining the pedigree of trials-explaining temptation in verses 13-15.

In James 1:1-12, James in the Book of James not only explains, but outlines the “purpose of trials”. Today, we are going to study what James has to say about the mechanics of “temptation(s)”.

GOD DOES NOT TEMPT ANYONE

James makes clear that God himself does not tempt anyone, saying: “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” (James 1:13 ESV). James goes onto write about God as only being able to give good things. This includes the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that is key to the spiritual battle that entails deterring temptation. This begs the question as to “what is temptation?”

TEMPTED DEFINED: For starters, to tempt is to test, try, prove, or solicit to evil. In verse 2 and 12, the same Greek word is used to mean those trials that are designed to prove the quality of one’s character. In verse 13 the word “tempt” means “a solicitation to evil”; and this, James says, is not from God but from man’s own inner lust (v.14). Any attempt at self-excuse is ignorance about God and of the nature of temptation.

LURED AND ENTICED: James 1:14 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire”. The word “LURE” is the same word used for “fishing lure”. We lure fish by placing artificial or live bait on a line with a HOOK to entice, hook, and reel them in. The devil or his angels do the same with us-luring (soliciting) us to evil through our own inner lust. Again, the word picture behind these words is that of the hunter or fisherman (the lustful flesh, secular world or evil spirit) luring his prey (us) from its safe retreat into sinful thinking and/or actions.

THE PROGRESSIVE PATH OF SIN

Verse 15 goes onto explain the progressive path from lure to moral failure in the mind to sinful action, saying: “Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death”. What James is saying here is that there is a progression of sin. As sin festers it eventually grows to the point that can lead to death (like Eve’s temptation in Gen. 3:6-22). In the end, the path starts with our being tempted or lured through our own moral weakness through being enticed by our own desire. Each person has their own weakness trigger-points founded on their fleshly desires. Those desires can include money, power, sex, prestige and many other areas. Either way, it’s by “HIS (our) OWN DESIRE” (v.14). And this process can be broken down into three stages.

THE STAGES OF SIN FROM TEMPTATAION TO DEATH

1)    First, when we fail to flee from sin our desires give birth-becoming fully conceived, suggesting the image of a person’s will bending toward and finally seizing evil.  

2)    Second, in turn those desires give BIRTH to literal “SIN.”

3)    And third, sin when sin is fully grown it can lead to physical death if not dealt with).

SUMMARY

In closing, let’s remember that God tempts no one. Enticement to sin does not come from God. God will never deliberately lead a person to commit sin because that would not only go against His nature, but would be opposed to His purpose, which includes molding His creation into His holy image. That said, God sometimes places His people in adverse circumstances for the purpose of trials and tribulations for the purpose of building godly character (Gen. 22:1, 12).

We must always be on guard and remember that the whole purpose of “LURED” or more explicitly, “DRAWN AWAY ENTICED” is to be drawn away (from God) and enticed by the evil one. Sin does not force itself on the unwilling but is chosen because of its attraction. When James uses the word of “CONCEIVED” sin, it’s the same idea so prevalent in today’s world of the tragic path of an addict: a habit once acquired by an individual in the end completely controls that person. And when sin is fully grown up, it brings its goal to completion. This is the idea that sin has reached its maturity and has possessed the very character of the individual to the point of “death”. And death, while often spoken about in the spiritual context, here it specks specially to physical death (Prov. 10:27; 11:19; Rom. 8:13). And these are the stages of sin that we ought to study and prepare against through our daily living.

Everybody Is An Investor-So What Then? PT2

Steven Garofalo M.A.A.  March 10, 2025

WELCOME to Part2 of Everybody is an investor. In Part One, we looked at what king Solomon said about investing in Ecclesiastes along with other biblical Scriptures as a general template. Today, we are going to look at the Book of James, chapter one, verses 9-12 to gain God’s wisdom regarding what we are to do with the fruits of our investment once God has blessed us with them. Let’s get started.

The Bible makes clear that a person who “IS NOT RICH TOWARD GOD” lives to accumulate and enjoy wealth only to die with nothing permanent or eternal to show for his efforts. This is quite the opposite of what the world will tell you. Godly living-and all that God esteems to be true riches-is eternal. To think of life only in terms of physical riches in terms of physical things is both foolish and fatal because life is not comprised and enhanced even by abundant material possessions but by spiritual and eternal things (James 2:5). If we place God first rather than the accumulation of wealth, then we will use whatever He allows us to have, no matter how little or how much, to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). Let’s jump in with today’s Truth text.

TODAY’S TRUTH TEXT: JAMES 1:9-12

^“9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass^[a] he will pass away. ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits”. ¹² Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:9-12 ESV).

BREAKING DOWN JAMES 1:9-12

1)    ⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation: Lowly probably means “poor”, in contrast to the other man who is rich. The poor believer is to “glory” (“count it all joy” v.2) in the fact that God has exalted him by allowing him to experience difficult circumstances. For these will only perfect his character and faith (v.4). Simply put, we are to increase and personify a character that exalts God and not ourselves in seeing God above ourselves, and even others are greater than us.

2)    ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation: The rich believer can also glory when a trial brings him low because it teaches him that life is short (because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.), and that “his pursuits”, that is, his business, will “fade away”. The rich man should always trust the Lord, not himself or his money. What James means by “his humiliation” is that either by losing his money or by being brought through circumstance in order to realize that money means little and is at best transitory. To have humility is to understand that wealth and our investments are temporal, not eternal.

3)    ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. God makes clear here through James that the rich are no different from the beautiful, but temporary, “flowering grass”. James probably had in mind physical death for the rich person, which might come suddenly, even “in the midst of” one’s “pursuits”. At that time, wealth is of no advantage. Simply put, the sun rises the same exact time for the poor, middle class, and the rich. The same is true in the length of time (generally speaking). And like the withering grass, we all grow old if God allows such a blessing and pass into His presence. No amount of money can buy eternal life-only God can grant that to us.

4)    ^“12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Verse 12 hinges upon six key words which are “when he has stood the test”. After having stood the test-crown of life. The crown is eternal life, one of the rewards or prizes for the Christian. 1 Corinthians 3:14 tells us “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward”. The REWARD spoken about there is ETERNAL SALVATION. It's important to note that salvation is a free gift, but rewards, for those who are saved are earned. Going one extra verse to v.13, the quality of our service (v.13) is the criterion. Rewards are often spoken of as crowns (9:25); 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12.

BREAKING DOWN JAMES 1:9-12

1)    ARROGENCE

2)    ⁹ Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation: Lowly probably means “poor”, in contrast to the other man who is rich. The poor believer is to “glory” (“count it all joy” v.2) in the fact that God has exalted him by allowing him to experience difficult circumstances. For these will only perfect his character and faith (v.4).

3)    ¹⁰ and the rich in his humiliation: The rich believer can also glory when a trial brings him low because it teaches him that life is short (because like a flower of the grass he will pass away.), and that “his pursuits”, that is, his business, will “fade away”. The rich man should always trust the Lord, not himself or his money. What James means by “his humiliation” is that either by losing his money or by being brought through circumstance for him to realize that money means little and is at best transitory.

4)    ¹¹ For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. The rich are no different from the beautiful, but temporary, “flowering grass”. James probably had in mind physical death for the rich person, which might come suddenly, even “in the midst of” one’s “pursuits”. At that time, wealth is of no advantage.

5)    ^“12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Verse 12 hinges upon six key words which are “when he has stood the test”. After having stood the test-crown of life. The crown is eternal life, one of the rewards or prizes for the Christian. 1 Corinthians 3:14 tells us “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward”. The REWARD is SALVATION and salvation is a free gift, but rewards, for those who are saved are earned. Going one extra verse to v.13, the quality of our service (v.13) is the criterion. Rewards are often spoken of as crowns (9:25); 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, God powerfully gave us the Book of James, and in chapter one, verses 9-12 He provides us His wisdom regarding what we are to do with the fruits of our investment in light of ALL He has lent to us during our short lifetime.

As such, the Bible makes clear that a person who “IS NOT RICH TOWARD GOD” lives to accumulate and enjoy wealth only to die with nothing permanent or eternal to show for his efforts. This is quite the opposite of what the world will tell you. Remember-to think of life only in terms of physical riches in terms of physical things is both foolish and fatal because life is not comprised and enhanced even by abundant material possessions but by spiritual and eternal things (James 2:5). If we place God first rather than the accumulation of wealth, then we will use whatever He allows us to have, no matter how little or how much, to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31). And this answers the question as to WHAT THEN once God has blessed us regarding our investments.