James 1:14-15
Lessening Our Sins
James 1:14 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.
We don’t want to sin, do we? That sounds like a silly question, but
the world wants to sin. They are throwing themselves into sin: anger,
bitterness, vengeance, wrath, rage, riot, violence, even murder. Some
would call them crazy, but they are not. They have just kicked off
all the brakes and thrown themselves headlong into sin.
But that is not us, is it? We have the mind of Christ and Christ
hates sin. Surely, we want to do everything we can to avoid sin.
Let me give you a simple message tonight. It only has two points.
I. Find the correct End.
A. How can we lessen our sin?
1. According to James, temptation brings sin. Therefore,
if we want to lessen our sins, we must first lessen our
temptation.
2. We know that temptation is common to all.
1Cor 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is common to man: but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye
may be able to bear it.
3. However, we can and should lessen our temptation.
a. Notice our text verse tells us how we increase our
temptation, by being drawn away from God.
b. If that is true, it is also telling us we lessen our
temptation, by being drawn near God.
4. So there is a way we can reduce the temptations pulling
at us.
(a) It may not happen all at once.
(b) It may be hard work to get into the habit of doing
it.
(c) But drawing near to God will reduce our temptations.
B. What do we need to do to draw nearer to God.
1. Christians are involved do a good many spiritual
activates, but they don’t know why they do them.
2. We say we believe in grace, but Christians tend to be very
legalistic; that is, we have a long list of rules we
preach that Christians must do.
(a) However, few ask, "Why? What do these things do to
help me?"
(b) It is not wrong to ask why.
(c) It is wrong to disobey, but asking questions is the
best way to learn.
3. Few spiritual activities are ends in themselves. Most of
them are the means to take us to the end.
(a) We do not go to church just to go to church. We go
to for what going to church can do for us.
(b) Praying can be an end in itself if you get your
prayer clearly answered when you pray; but many
times we do not.
(1) Then prayer is not the end.
(2) Prayer is then the means to take us someplace.
(c) The same thing is true of tithing, witnessing, and
many other spiritual activities.
4. What is the end? Where are these activities to take us?
(a) They are to take us into the presence of God.
(b) Why do we want to get into the presence of God?
Because that will lessen our temptations.
(c) Why do we want to lessen our temptations? Because
that will lessen our sins.
5. God has provided us with a good many spiritual activates.
(a) Why? To give us many options in how to draw closer
to God.
(b) Sometimes one doesn’t work, we can turn to another.
(1) I don’t know why but sometimes God seems distant
and hard to find.
(2) But we don’t give up. We change to another
activity.
II. Find the Means.
A. Your means for getting into the presence of God may be
slightly different from mine.
1. We are individuals, in body, mind, and spirit.
2. However, generally speaking if you want to get into God’s
presence, we will have to do what God tells us to do.
(a) There are some things God tells us to stop doing.
(b) There are some things God tells us to do.
(c) And there are some activities that we should be
doing all of the time.
B. What are the spiritual activities?
1. Love and worship God.
Deuteronomy 11:1 Therefore thou shalt love the
LORD thy God, and keep his charge, and his
statutes, and his judgments, and his
commandments, alway.
Deuteronomy 11:13 And it shall come to pass, if
ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments
which I command you this day, to love the LORD
your God, and to serve him with all your heart
and with all your soul,
Deuteronomy 11:22 For if ye shall diligently keep
all these commandments which I command you, to do
them, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all
his ways, and to cleave unto him;
a. As I have said, sometimes, it is difficult for us to
sense the presence of God.
(1) However, whether God shows up or not, we can love
on God.
(2) Loving on God is not dependent upon us feeling
anything from Him.
(3) Loving God is only dependent upon us feeling
something for Him.
(a) gratitude, respect, thankfulness
(b) Those are good starts.
(c) You might be surprised how quickly God will
rush you into His presence if you start
expressing those to Him.
(4) I wonder if the reason God does not always make
His presence known to us might be because He
wants to see what we will give Him when we get
nothing in return.
(5) Sit down and tell God you love, tell Him why you
love, brag on Him, just love on God.
b. If you start expressing these, you might find out what
worship really is.
(1) Some people have been going to church all of
their lives, but they don’t know what worship
is.
(2) Worship is not going to church.
(3) Worship is:
(a) Worship is us praising Him.
(b) Worship is us adoring Him.
(c) Worship is us exalting Him.
(4) In short, worship is just loving on God.
2. Praise and sing spiritual songs
Psalms 81:1 Sing aloud unto God our strength:
make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob.
Psalm 89:15 Blessed is the people that know the
joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the
light of thy countenance.
Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in
you richly in all wisdom; teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your
hearts to the Lord.
a. Again, these are things that far more enjoyable when
God is with us, and I believe most of the time, He
will come be with as we do these things.
b. There is something about the right kind of music that
seems to sweep the child of God into His presence.
c. It doesn’t have to be on-key music just music that
praises and exalts God.
d. Did you know that angels sing?
Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
(1) The word for "sang" in that verse basically
means to shout out with joy.
(2) While I believe God loves on-key singing, He must
like what others like me can do too!
3. Prayer
James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and
desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and
war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
a. Prayer or talking to God brings us into His presence.
b. When you start talking to God, God has a tendency to
show up.
(1) Not prayer list prayers.
(2) Not table grace prayers.
(3) Not church praying prayers.
(4) I am speaking about just getting alone and
talking to God.
c. You might can use those things to start your
conversation but remember, prayer is not scripted.
d. Prayer is just talking to God and listening.
4. Reading, studying, and obeying the Word
2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto
God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.
1 Timothy 4:15 Meditate upon these things; give
thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may
appear to all.
a. Typically, one of my most enjoyable activities is
studying the Bible.
b. I feel like God shows me things when I start studying
it.
c. However, sometimes I have to force myself to get
started.
d. You have to get past the "having to read" or the
"having to get a lesson" or the "having to study"
part of getting started, but once God starts showing
you things, styling the Bible gets really good.
5. Bible Memorization
Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart
out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein
day and night, that thou mayest observe to do
according to all that is written therein: for
then thou shalt make thy way prosperous,
and then thou shalt have good success.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing
one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord.
a. Bible memorization is another thing that we usually
dread.
b. One of the reasons I struggle with it is because my
brain does not keep them for long after I quit
reviewing them.
(1) Get what I am about to tell you.
(2) That is all right.
(3) If we will put the verses into our brain and
spirit, it is up to God to keep them there.
(4) What I have learned is that when I need them,
God often helps me to remember at least part of
them so that I can find them.
c. Bible memorization is good for every element of our
being.
(1) Bible memorization is a mental exercise that will
help fend off Alzheimer’s and dementia.
(2) Bible memorization is an inner man exercise that
will make us stronger Christians.
(3) Bible memorization is a spiritual exercise that
will bring us into God’s presence and fend off
temptation.
6. Christian Fellowship
Amos 3:3 Can two walk together, except they be
agreed?
Ecclesiastes 4:9 Two are better than one…and a
threefold cord is not quickly broken.
1John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is
in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin.
a. John says that fellowship and walking in the light are
related to one another.
b. Light in the Bible is a direct reference to the
powerful, clean Christian life.
c. Maybe every service is not a bang, boom blast; but if
you will work at worshipping during the worship hour,
you will enter into God’s presence far more often
than you will not, and it will aid you in being
victorious over temptation.
7. Get involved in ministry.
2Cor 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry,
as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 But have renounced the hidden things of
dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor
handling the word of God deceitfully; but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves
to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister,
according to the gift of the grace of God given
unto me by the effectual working of his power.
a. I have shared my testimony many times.
b. Getting involved is what it took for me to learn
faithfulness.
c. Learning to be faithful was required for me to learn
God’s will for my life.
d. Learning God’s will for my life was required for me
to desire victory over sin and temptation.
e. Desiring victory over sin and temptation was required
for me to start getting victory over sin and
temptation.
8. Set high standards for yourself.
2 Corinthians 6:3 Giving no offence in any
thing, that the ministry be not blamed:
4 But in all things approving ourselves as the
ministers of God, in much patience, in
afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
1Thessalonians 5:22 Abstain from all appearance
of evil.
a. A great part in the battle of overcoming temptation is
to keep yourself out of temptations snares.
b. That is where you convictions and standards come in.
c. The harder you make it for Satan to get to you and for
your flesh to lead you astray, the more apt you are
to stay on the straight and narrow.
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