The Seven Lures Of Temptation

Jam 1:12-21 

THE LURE OF TEMPTATION 

First things first There is this misconception that somehow God is
 in some way responsible for you falling into sin. 

And the cry is heard Why did God let this happen? He could have prevented this from happening! 

People want to blame God for their fall into sin and the catastrophic results of their sin 

Jas 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 

God is not responsible for your trouble with sin 

You are the one responsible 

What does the scripture say? 

Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 

The trouble is within you, The old nature that you received from Adam, when you were born into this world has within it the capacity and propensity to sinany kind of sin 

The vs said drawn away of your own lust 

My text says drawn awayyou could say that another way by saying he was lured away 

Do you know who uses a lure A fisherman 

I am by no means an expert fisherman, Jason and Hannah could readily attest to that 

but I have observed some things which I believe are pertinent to the subject of sin and temptation 

There is an order of things in this world
 the fact that there is a predator and prey
 as a means of survival fish eat certain things 

insects worms leaches other fish 

big fish eat little fish 

This is done on a regular basis with no ill effects
 it is a natural instinct placed within them by their creator 

these instincts are triggered mostly by 

hunger anger invasion of privacy protection
 Introduce man with his ingenuity, and he comes up with a fishing lure 

a fake imitation Something to trigger what is natural on the inside of them to strike thus be trapped or caught 

The lure is not real It is there for the sole purpose to trick the fish into thinking it is something it is not 

he is drawn away with his own lust and enticed 

most often when he takes the bait it is to late Unless you have a bad fisherman who can’t 

set the hook
 We are the fish is the Devil’s pond And he is an excellent fisherman 

He knows the right lures to use and he know exactly how to use the right action to draw us in 

There may be more, but here are a few of the lures of temptation that I have thought of 

1 The Lure of the Forbidden 

there is nothing more enticing to a child than to be told he can’t have or do something 

Little girl at a basketball game with her dad don’t cross this line 

this is not surprising The first woman fell prey to this lure of temptation 

Eve was told: 

Ge 2:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that 

thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
 She was even given the consequences is she failed to obey 

Yet the Devil lured her with the notion that God was holding something back form her 

questioned God’s word Look it is pleasant to the eye, good for food it will make one wise 

why would God want to keep this back from you? 

The presentation being set she is drawn away of her own lust and enticed 

she disobeyed and sinned against God And died spiritually 

2 The Lure of Something Better 

the Grass is greener on the other side 

The whole advertising industry is designed to appeal to the, grass is greener on the other side, of us 

It is appealing to our covetousness bigger better newer 

You see someone with a happier marriage than yours divorce is the answer 

Someone listens to you and is more understanding of your situation you are convinced they are your long lost soul mate 

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 

3 The Lure of Physical and Emotional Satisfaction 

Pr 23:2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite.
I am taking this vs a bit out of context yet I believe it would fitting In how it is applied We live in a stressful society sometimes brought upon ourselves Yet most of the time I believe it is spiritually produced one of the ways to coupe with these stresses is to eat we have a name for it comfort food Chocolate Chips Pizza Nachos Ice Cream The stress is created the lure is the food Why to make ourselves feel better (Satisfaction) Food and stress don’t mix for someone like me But sitting in a passive state for hours Escaping from the stresses TV Movies Computer Facebook Video Games Drugs and Alcohol are nothing more than a means of escape the stesses to make yourself feel better When addiction comes as a result of this use or abuse The physical necessity takes over to feel better The Devil 

throws that lure out there works the action to create an irritable urge to take the fake bait 

4 The Lure of Wealth 

There is nothing wrong with making money providing for your family 

Nothing wrong with making a good living but the biblical admonition is 

Pr 23:4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. There is wrong with the blessing of God and having money but to labor for the sole purpose to be rich is where God draws the line A wise person who is poor, is often happier than a rich person who is not content with his wealth 

John D. Rockefeller was once asked, How much is enough? Just a little bit more 

Wealth has a way of moving your heart away from the Lord De 8:11-14 6 

Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: 12 Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; 13 And when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; 14 Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; 

Pr 23:4-5 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. 

5 The Lure of Sex 

If you hadn’t noticed nearly everything is sold with sex 

You can’t go anywhere and not be confronted with it The Devil is casting that fake bait waiting for you to take it He knows that down in that old nature there are lusts still there It is fake because it is not what God intended One man and one woman for life 

Mt 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 

God does not condone Same sex marriage Pedephilia
 or any other form of sexual behavior
 So the lure is out there Conservative web sites the ads on the side 

and at the bottom are terrible tempting you to click on to the site To pull you in 

In the guise of giving sex education and handing out contraceptives They have created a population with no moral code when it comes to sex 

Teen facts. Since the popular push for contraceptives for teens began, teenage sexual activity and pregnancy have increased 400%. 70% of unwed teen mothers will go on welfare. Of teens who marry because of pregnancy, 60% will be divorced in five years. 

Josh McDowell, Family Happiness is Homemade, Vol. 14, No. 6, June 1990. 

suggested we ask some questions before we grasp at the lure 

1. Are we being desensitized by the present evil world? Do things that once shocked us now pass us by with little notice? Have our sexual ethics slackened?
 2. Where do our minds wander when we have no duties to perform? 

3. What are we reading? Are there books or magazines or files in our libraries that we want no one else to see?
 4. What are we renting at the local video stores? How many hours do we spend watching TV? How many adulteries did we watch last week? How many murders? How many did we watch with our children?
 5. How many chapters of the Bible did we read last week? 

Leading the Way by Paul Borthwick, Navpress, 1989, pp. 120-121. 

6 The Lure of Rebellion 

I Grew up in the 60's and 70's There was a generational push to rebel against authority 

It has only intensified today Music Education Polotics Entertainment Economics (Class envy) 

Esau Ge 26:34-35 (KJV) And Esau was forty years old when he took to wife Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Bashemath the daughter of Elon the Hittite: 35 Which were a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. He was taught not to mary the women from the Land 

Prodical Son Absalom 

7 The Lure of Ambition 

Power Position Possession All derived from a covetous nature within us 

2Ki 11:1 And when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal. 

Many a man and woman have fallen to this false bait cast their way 9 

a situation an event opportunity that presents itself 

Churches are not immune to this either 

3Jo 1:9-10 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 10 Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church. 

Finish were we began 

Eve is in the Garden having a conversation which she should not have had 

it wasn’t just the lure of the forbidden but of Ambition Remember what the Devil said if she ate of the forbidden fruit ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil
 before we are to hard on Eve We all are in the same shoes We have all fallen prey to the Devil’s deceptions 

Remember this That as enticing as the temptation may be it is a fake lure 

Jas 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 

Jas 1:17-21 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 

Save your souls from what Context is temptations
 What is that saves your souls from the temptations the engrafted word