You Made Me Do It!

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. (Jam 1:13-18)

In 2000, the then captain of the South African cricket team, Hansie Cronje, was caught having been involved in match-fixing – deliberately losing a match for the sake of money. Cronje was tragically killed in a plane crash in 2002. During a confession, Cronje said, “In a moment of stupidity and weakness I allowed Satan and the world to dictate terms to me.” Of course, you can take a statement like that precisely as the secular media did. I remember driving and seeing the headlines everywhere, “Cronje: The Devil Made me Do It.”

Now, Cronje may not have meant it quite like that, but when someone has done wrong, it seems everyone develops a very sharp smell for any hint of blame-shifting. The paradox of the sinful human heart is that when any one of us is caught in sin, we blame, but when it is someone else, we recognise the sinfulness of blame-shifting.

In fact, blaming someone other than yourself for your sin is the primary reason why we repeat our sins. Blaming someone else for your sin is the number one reason for not growing, for not maturing, for not putting off the sin and putting on Christlikeness. The reason is one we all know: as long as my sin is someone else’s fault, it is not I that needs to change. Someone else must change. As long as we blame, the fault is passed on, perhaps along a long line of people to blame – but someone else must accept the guilt, not me.

And in so doing, what we have really said is that what I did cannot be called sin. Sin equals guilt or fault. And since it is not my fault, I am not guilty, so I didn’t sin. I reacted. I responded. I acted. But the guilt is someone else’s. And if so, we don’t need to repent, we don’t need to confess, we don’t need to renew our minds, we don’t need to replace our thoughts or actions with Christlikeness. We can simply hope that those that we blame don’t repeat the things that made us do it.

In this section of his epistle, James deals with blaming others for sin. James wants us to know the real reason for why we do what we do when we sin. He wants us to know that we can deceive ourselves about the reason for sinning, and so remain in our sin. But since this book is about testing our hearts to see if we have the real faith that works, he is going to give us one of the essential secrets to Christian growth. He wants us to know who to exonerate, and who to implicate when it comes to sin. Who is guilty, and who is blameless, every time we sin.

Today we want to look at who to exonerate when it comes to our sin. Next week, we want to look at who to implicate in our sin. Our focus will be verses 13, and 17 and 18, where we’ll learn the negative secrets of overcoming temptation: refuse to blame God, and realise why God is blameless.

I. Refuse to Blame God for Sin

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”;

James says, nobody should say when feeling tempted to sin, when experiencing the gravity of sinful temptation, God is doing this.

You remember that James is using the same Greek word for trials and temptations. Trials and temptations are two forms of the same thing. One is external, the other is internal. In verse 2 through 8 we saw James talk about external circumstances that come upon us, that test us in our response to those infirmities, reproaches, distresses, persecutions, needs, poverties, wealth.

But here in verses 13 to verse 18, James is now dealing with the internal form of these tests, when we are tested by our internal desires to sin. A temptation to sin is also a test. Here the testing is not merely testing your response to outward circumstances, it is testing your response to the attractiveness of sin inwardly.

James says, when you feel strongly inclined to sin, and when you cross over that line and sin, there is one person you cannot blame, and that’s God. God is the last person we should blame when we feel strongly tempted to sin or actually sin.

But perhaps you say, I would never blame God for my sin. What’s the point of saying this? Well, Scripture shows us that the human race does, in fact, blame God for our sin. In fact, we do not do so on rare occasions. We do so all the time. Since Scriptural narratives are written for our learning, let me show you four incidents in the Bible that show us ways we do blame God for our sin.

Charge #1 – It’s the People God Put in my Life

9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:9-13)

Adam and Eve are caught in sin, and their first resort is to explain their actions by something outside of them. Adam says, the woman – the woman you gave me – she gave me and I ate. Eve says, the serpent – the snake you created, and by implication, the evil being Satan you allowed to exist – he tricked me. Both Adam and Eve are saying, I sinned because of the people you allowed into my life. My sin is because of another person. And that other person exists because God let them exist.

God, if you hadn’t brought this person my way, if you hadn’t let me meet him, if you hadn’t given me this family, these colleagues, this church, I’d be holy.

Why are you so ugly at home? It’s the wife God gave me. It’s her fault and His fault. Why do you have such a bad attitude at work? It’s the people I work with – the people God set it up for me to work with. It’s their fault, and God’s fault. Why are you so mean to your children? It’s because my father left home when I was little. It’s his fault, and God’s fault for giving me an absentee father.

Why are you so self-destructive to your body? It’s because of how I was treated. “I wouldn’t be this way, if it weren’t for my children, my spouse, my boss, my in-laws, my colleagues. I would be a very godly and sweet person if God hadn’t brought these people into my life.”

Anytime we blame another person for provoking us, for turning us into a horrible person, for leading us away into sin – we are blaming the person and the God who put that person in our lives.

Charge # 2- It’s the Circumstances God Created That Created Sin

20 Then he took the calf which they had made, burned it in the fire, and ground it to powder; and he scattered it on the water and made the children of Israel drink it. 21 And Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you that you have brought so great a sin upon them?” 22 So Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord become hot. You know the people, that they are set on evil. 23 “For they said to me,`Make us gods that shall go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 24 “And I said to them,`Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.” (Exo 32:20-24)

After Moses is delayed on Mount Sinai, the Israelites rebelliously request that Aaron would make them a golden calf. God sends Moses down. Moses sees the abominations, breaks the tablets, smashes the golden calf, and asks Aaron how he could have done this. Here’s the response. First, verse 22 – it’s the people. The people are set on evil, and they made me do it.

And then, verse 24, “And I said to them,`Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.’ So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out.” Imagine that. A fire that can turn liquid gold into a large statue that would take goldsmiths many, many hours of work, usually using a clay mold in the shape of a calf. It’s the fire’s fault. What a magic fire – pour gold in, get a ready-made golden calf out. I’m sure Aaron didn’t spend time crafting, beating the gold, shaping it. No, it was the fire. It just happened.

The circumstances just brought about sin. How did you end up in an affair at work? “We were just working on projects together and spending a lot of time together and one thing led to another, and before I knew it, we were together.” “How did you end up embezzling from the firm?” “I was working with the finances, and a colleague asked me to help him with his project, and before I knew it, the money was in my account!” “How did you end up addicted to Internet porn?” “I was just surfing the web, when these images just jumped out at me, and next thing, they were always there when I went online.” How did you end up in a lawsuit for assault? I was just driving, and this other driver cut me off, and before I knew it, we’d come to blows.

These answers say, the circumstances, which God allowed, of themselves produced sin. And if the situation spontaneously produced sin, then where should we place the blame for the situation ever having happened? God.

Charge #3- It’s the Circumstances God Created That Forced Me To Sin

9 So Saul said, “Bring a burnt offering and peace offerings here to me.” And he offered the burnt offering. 10 Now it happened, as soon as he had finished presenting the burnt offering, that Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him. 11 And Samuel said, “What have you done?” And Saul said, “When I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you did not come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines gathered together at Michmash, 12 “then I said,`The Philistines will now come down on me at Gilgal, and I have not made supplication to the LORD.’ Therefore I felt compelled, and offered a burnt offering.” (1Sa 13:9-12)

There’s no doubt that Saul faced a trial here. The nation was at war with the Philistines. Israel was terrified of the massive Philistine army. Back in chapter 10:8, Samuel told Saul to wait for him at Gilgal for seven days, and then he would come and offer sacrifices. Saul waits out the seven days, and Samuel doesn’t arrive. In the meantime, the few Israelites he has around him are starting to scatter. The Israelite army is thinning out before his very eyes.

So Saul takes it upon himself to intrude upon the office of priest, and offer a sacrifice to try to galvanise the nation. And then Samuel arrives. He knows Saul has sinned. He asks Saul why he has done this. Saul’s answer in verse 12, “I had to! I felt compelled! I forced myself! I had no other choice.” And if Saul had no other choice, if his circumstance had genuinely trapped him, to where there was only one available choice, which was sin, then who is responsible for that?

Why did you lie? I had to, I would have lost my job otherwise? Why did you steal? I had to – my rent was due! Why did you join in the sin at that party? I was stuck there, I had no way out! Abraham, why did you lie about Sarah to king Abimilech and say she was your sister? I had to – my life was in danger! Isaac, why did you lie about Rebekah to king Abimilech and say she was your sister? I had to – my life was in danger!

Any time we say that our circumstances made disobedience the only option, we have really said that it isn’t disobedience. There was only one exit, which was the thing we did. In which case, it is God’s fault for putting us in a situation where evil was the only thing we could do! But in fact, God’s Word says the opposite:

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. (1Co 10:13)

Excuse #4 – God’s Plan Wasn’t As Good as Mine.

19 “Why then did you not obey the voice of the LORD? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the LORD?” 20 And Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed the voice of the LORD, and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the Amalekites. 21 “But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen, the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed, to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal.” 22 Then Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has rejected you from being king.” (1Sa 15:19-23)

Saul again, and this time Samuel told him to attack the Amalekites and extinguish them completely, in fulfilment of the ban placed upon them centuries earlier. When a people was placed under the ban, not only was the whole nation to be wiped out, but nothing was to be taken from the spoils. Everything was to be destroyed.

Saul instead decides all that wealth would be a poor stewardship to just destroy. He brings home animals, wealth, and the leader of the Amalekites. When Samuel asks him why he has disobeyed, he responds, “But I did obey. I just obeyed in a different way. I thought of an improvement on God’s plan. Instead of destroying all this stuff, why not bring it home and use it for God. I think that’s a better plan that simply destroying everything!”

In so doing, Saul was saying, God really gave an inferior commandment. His idea was full of holes, practical problems, things He obviously didn’t think of. So I am not disobeying, I am coming up with a better way of doing things. It’s God’s fault if He still thinks I’m sinning, because I’m actually doing this for Him.

Why do you use profane and ungodly music in your worship? Because the other kind won’t get people in church, and so we’re helping God fill up his church? Why are you gossiping and undermining people in church? Because following the usual procedure will get us nowhere – we need to sort this out and make things happen! Why are you living together before marriage? Because we already love each other, and knew we could get used to each other and begin getting ready for our wedding day!

Anytime we sin and claim that we are doing God’s will in a way better than He prescribed, we are blaming God for not being as smart as we are. If He had just thought of my way of doing it, He wouldn’t have gone and put that inferior, outdated way of doing it in His Word.

Do we blame God for our sin? Yes. In fact, anytime we blame any other person, we are blaming the Creator for making that person and letting them be there. Anytime we blame the circumstance, and say that sin just happened or that we were forced we are blaming Him for allowing it. And anytime we say that our idea was better than God’s we are blaming God for being too narrow, too short-sighted, too old-fashioned, too unwise to deal best with our situation.

So in fact, when we have genuinely sinned, and we seek to blame-shift, there is one Person who we keep blaming every time: God. James says in verse 16,

16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

The deceitfulness of sin will be to blame God every time. We must not allow the liar within us to lead us away from the truth.

Let no one say, when I am tempted, I am tempted by God. But perhaps we don’t quite believe that.

Perhaps we’re not convinced that the people in our life, the circumstances, the situations aren’t a temptation from God. Maybe God really is to blame in some indirect way.

So James, secondly tells us we must

II. Realise Why God Is Not to Blame

for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone… 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James is now going to give us four reasons for God’s blamelessness regarding our internal temptations.

i) God has no desire for sin.

for God cannot be tempted by evil

The word here in the original language occurs only here in all the New Testament, and James himself may actually have coined the word. It means untemptable. Nothing in God feels any attraction to sin. God has absolutely no inclination to sin.

This was true in the Incarnation. Jesus had no desire for sin. Why then did Satan bother tempting Jesus? Well, Jesus was the God-Man. According to His divine nature, he was not able to sin. But according to His human nature He was able not to sin. Jesus, as a perfect man, had no inner desire to sin. Nothing in His sinless human nature resonated with sinful temptation. However, Jesus as a Man could feel the force of the natural and good part of a temptation. Every temptation has some good that appeals to what is merely human in us – pleasure, reward, satisfaction. Every rat trap has some real cheese. Every temptation to sin doesn’t begin by advertising its evil, it baits us with what is pleasurable. Before they fell, Adam and Eve did not have a resident sympathy with sin, they were drawn by the appearance of the fruit, the possible pleasure of the food, the curiosity of having such independent wisdom. So with Jesus. When Satan tempted Him, He felt the pull of the pleasure and glory of a certain situation. But unlike Adam and Eve, He resisted by the Word of God, and dependence on the Spirit and love for His Father.

Since He has no desire to sin, why would He want anyone else to?

God is repulsed by sin. Think of the food you absolutely cannot stand – the smell of it makes you nauseous. Can anyone tempt you with that? Parents don’t try to coax their children to do things by offering them cod liver oil or olive tree extract.

There are some sins you might feel very allergic to, but there are some sins you feel very magnetised by, very drawn to. God has none of that. He has not the slightest desire to sin. So why then would He want you to? James says, when you are feeling strong desires to sin, it’s not from God, because He doesn’t have any.

ii) God doesn’t desire anyone else to sin.

nor does He Himself tempt anyone

James says, God Himself tempts no one. Now, as we know, God tests people for what is in their hearts. God refines the faith of His people with external trials. God is sovereign over every trial. And certainly most trials become forms of inner temptation. You have an external financial trial, and it tempts you inwardly to fear, or greed, or covetousness, or resentment. But what James says is those inward desires to greed, covetousness, resentment do not come from God.

God never inclines people towards evil. God never tells you to stop sinning and then makes you want to sin even more. God never deceives people with the intention of drawing them into sin. The inward struggle is not made harder by God. That is the work of Satan. One of his names is The Tempter, because he seeks to deceive us into obeying and strengthening those inner impulses to sin.

James says, when you find a strong magnetic pull towards sin, you can’t say, “God, why are you making it so easy to sin, and so hard to obey?” James says, no, that’s deceiving yourself. God never inclines you to sin.

iii) God’s nature is good, perfect and unchanging

17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning

The nature of God is good and perfect. If something is going to come from God and enter into you, it will be good, and it will be perfect. What God gives us is generous and kind. He is the Father of Lights – light always a picture of holiness and truth. And even better, He is not like the sun and stars, where the rotation of the Earth causes the light to shift and change. He is not like the shadow of a sundial, moving, changing in standards or desires. What He is today he shall be tomorrow, and ever more. So when you find sin inside you, and you say, who put this in here?, James says, if God puts something in you, it is never evil. It is always good and perfect. It’s things like wisdom, Christlikeness, skill, joy, love. When you find evil inside you, you have to find another source for that evil, because whatever comes from above is good and perfect – all the time.

Think of how many sins are committed because people suspect God is not being good to them, that the circumstances are meant to cause them to stumble, that the people are not gifts but curses, that the problems are just perverse troubles which God delights to send our way. The moment we no longer believe that God sends what is good and perfect, we feel license to sin. We feel like Adam and Eve – God is holding out on us, God has His own selfish agenda.

James says, that’s being deceived. What God sends is good and perfect.

iv) God has placed His own nature in us.

18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James says: here is what God wills or desires or is inclined to do. He was inclined to give us the new birth using His Word. What is inside you from God is His nature. His purpose in saving us, in regenerating us and awakening us from death to life, giving us new hearts, was that we should be the firstfruits of His creatures. In Israel, the firstfruits were the highest and best offerings, given in anticipation of more. So Christians are the prototype of the perfect creation that will be in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

So when I find this sin in me, and I say to God, “Why did You put this in here?”, the Bible says, no, God didn’t put that in there. God put a new nature in you, birthed from above using the Spirit and the Word. God has put something in you that is the early spring fruits of a one-day summer harvest of perfect holiness.

Yes, God has put those people in my life. Yes, those people may be very provocative. Yes, those people may deliberately seek to lead you into sin, or deliberately rub you the wrong way. They may well sin against you, in terrible ways. But the sinful response is not entering into you from the outside. Those people are not putting sin into you. And God, who put them there is not putting sin into you. Where is the sin coming from? Not from others, and not from God.

Yes, God is in charge of that circumstance. The situation may be one which seems to quickly escalate. Yes, there may be factors out of your control – there always are. But that circumstance is not creating sin and putting it into you. God who superintends the situation is not putting sin into you. Where is the sin coming from? Not from the situation, and not from God.

Yes, God is in control of the circumstance in which obedience seems difficult. Yes, it can even seem like sin is the obvious choice, and that to obey would be to suffer. But that circumstance is not forcing you to sin, putting sin in your path, making you sin. Where is the sin coming from? Not from the situation, and not from God.

Yes, God did say things which we don’t understand. Yes, sometimes God’s ways seem difficult, impractical, slow, unfruitful, unworkable. But the fact that you think you know a better way doesn’t make it okay to sin. That is not coming from God.

Instead, it is bringing out something within, it is evoking something inside. It is not introducing sin into you from the outside – which would be God’s fault. It is drawing out from within you sin already present. When we understand that, we are in the centre path of sanctification, because we are ready to deal with sin, instead of excusing it. It begins with exonerating God, every time.

Next week, we’ll consider who we need to implicate.