Christ was tempted as we are - what does that say about His temptation?
Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.
Hebrews 4:15-16 For we have no superhuman High Priest to whom our weaknesses are unintelligible - he himself has shared fully in all our experience of temptation, except that he never sinned. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with fullest confidence, that we may receive mercy for our failures and grace to help in the hour of need.

Sunday October 12

The Root of Temptation

Read Jas_1:13-14. Why is it important that God does not tempt anyone? Where does temptation originate, and how can this knowledge be helpful in our own struggle with sin?

James is emphatic. Not only is God not the author of evil, He is not the source of temptation either. Evil itself is the source of temptation. According to this passage, the problem lies within us, which is the main reason it’s so hard to resist.

Thus, the battle against sin begins in the mind. As much as many might not want to hear it, the truth is that we choose to sin. No one can force us (Rom_6:16-18). Sinful desires, inclinations, and propensities do constantly capture our attention. By using common hunting and fishing terms, Jas_1:14 describes these inward promptings. Our own desires lure and entice us, and when we give in to them, they finally hook and entrap us.

Must we choose to sin? Or, need we only neglect to choose Jesus? Is sinning something we do by default, naturally, instinctively when we neglect to actively, deliberately, consciously choose to abide in Jesus?

Tuesday October 21

The Law of Freedom
Read James 1:25. What does he say about the role of the law?
James echoes the Psalms in calling God's law perfect (Ps. 19:7) and a way of freedom (Ps. 119:45). But notice that the law in James cannot save us and certainly cannot cleanse us. It shows us God's ideal, but it cannot make us follow that ideal any more than seeing a world-class athlete perform amazing feats could enable us to do the same. To follow that ideal, we need the power of Christ in our lives.
Read Romans 8:2, 4 and 2 Corinthians 3:17-18. What makes the difference between the law as an instrument of death or as something that shows the way to freedom and life?
Even Paul affirms that not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified (Rom. 2:13, NKJV). As he says, we can become doers only through the work of the Spirit writing the law on our hearts. Only when we obey it from the heart can the law be a law of freedom.
Thus, the problem is not with the law but with us. We forget who we really are: sinners in constant need of a Savior. Outside of Christ we hear only the law's condemnation. But in Christ we become new men and women (2 Cor. 5:17) who are set free in Jesus (John 8:36). We hear Him speaking the law to us, that we should love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12, NKJV). Through Christ, we experience the freedom of God's sons and daughters who are saved by grace and who will not want to slip back into the condemnation and bondage we had as transgressors. In Christ, not only are we forgiven our sins, we now have a new life, one in which we are able to render obedience to the law. We do so, however, not in order to be saved but out of the freedom that comes from knowing that we already are saved and therefore no longer stand condemned by the law.
Think about what it would be like, having the natures we do, to try to keep the law well enough to be saved by it. How would this make the law a means of bondage? How has Jesus freed us from that bondage while, at the same time, commanding us to keep the law?

Wednesday October 22

Useful or Useless?
Read James 1:26-27 and compare it to Matthew 25:35, 36, 40 and Romans 12:9-18. In light of these passages, how would you define true Christianity?
If Jesus, James, and Paul emphasize anything, it is the importance of being a useful Christian. By loving the least of these (Matt. 25:40), by taking the time to visit those most easily overlooked, by showing hospitality-in all these practical ways and more-we reveal Jesus' love and become the channel by which Jesus loves through us.
The strongest argument in favor of the gospel is a loving and lovable Christian.-Ellen G. White, The Ministry of Healing, p. 470. Of course, as she goes on to explain, to live such a life, to exert such an influence, costs at every step effort, self-sacrifice, discipline.-Page 470. It does not come naturally or automatically. If our religion consists only in affirmations of belief and listening to sermons, it is largely useless.
James describes religion or religious in verses 26-27 with a word that suggests being unusually devout. Such an attitude has immediate, visible consequences, and people will notice the difference.
One obvious change will be our choice of words. Instead of using uninhibited remarks and harsh tones and gestures, we will become more sensitive to the effect our communication exerts on others. We will bridle our tongue so that it does not dash off ahead of us with all the violence and energy of an untamed horse.
James also singles out orphans and widows as those most needing our love and care. From a worldly standpoint, it does not make sense to focus our resources on those who can give nothing back to society. But from God's viewpoint, it is precisely how we treat those who have been cast off and rejected by the world that reveals which of us are Christ's true followers: either by lending money to those who cannot pay us back; inviting to dinner those who cannot reciprocate; or blessing and praying for those who mistreat us (Luke 6:35, 14:12-14, Matt. 5:44). As Paul points out, we are re-created in Christ Jesus for good works (Eph. 2:10).
How much of your own time and energy do you spend helping those in need? What does your answer say to you about how useful your faith really is?

Thursday October 23

Unlike the World
What does it mean to keep oneself unspotted from the world? (James 1:27, NKJV). How could that even be possible? See also 1 John 2:15-16; 2 Pet. 1:4.
Some people seem to think that if only they could move far enough away from the world, they could avoid most of its temptations. Though there's some truth to that, and we should try to avoid temptation as much as possible (especially those temptations we find hardest to resist), our problems and weaknesses do tend to follow us wherever we go. The problem with sin isn't so much what is out there, though that certainly plays a role, as much as it is what's in us, and in our hearts. That's where the true battle is, and we will have to fight that battle no matter where we live.
It is also an interesting phenomenon that solving some problems makes those that remain seem more obvious. For example, cleaning one area of a room makes any dirt nearby stand out even more. So also with the spiritual life: the closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature.-Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 64.
Let's not have Ellen G. White say here what she isn't saying. She isn't saying that the closer we get to Jesus the faultier we actually become. She continues: The more our sense of need drives us to Him and to the word of God, the more exalted views we shall have of His character, and the more fully we shall reflect His image.-Steps to Christ, p. 65.
Real religion leads a person to hunger and thirst for a deeper experience (Matt. 5:6). Jesus spent adequate time alone with His heavenly Father in order to know His will. Yet, He never shut Himself off from people. He went to where the people were. His food was reaching out to the needy, breaking down barriers of prejudice, and sharing the good news of eternal life (John 4:28-35).
Despite the fact that Jesus and the earliest Christians had a diet and lifestyle quite different from the Gentile world around them, these practices never kept them from sharing their faith. They went everywhere, and the gospel spread throughout the empire and became firmly planted, even in centers of corruption and wickedness such as Rome.

Friday October 24

Further Study: Ellen G. White, The Test of Discipleship, pp. 59-63, in Steps to Christ.
The law is God's great moral looking glass. Man is to compare his words, his spirit, his actions with the Word of God.-Ellen G. White Comments, The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 935.
"Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience.
As Jesus was in human nature, so God means His followers to be. In His strength we are to live the life of purity and nobility which the Saviour lived.-Ellen G. White, Our Father Cares, p. 69.
Discussion Questions:

Though we have been told it would be to our advantage to move away (if possible) from worldly places, why is that not the ultimate answer to the problems of sin and temptation? How far would we have to go in order to be away from any kind of temptation at all? What is the only answer for sin and temptation, regardless of where we live?
Police were trying to place electronic eavesdropping devices in an office where they suspected criminals were working. The only problem: vicious Dobermans surrounded the compound. So, the police, each night, would feed the dogs hamburgers. At first they would toss about five or six between the bars. Before long, the dogs were not only eating the burgers out of the officers' hands, but they were licking the officers' hands when done. Thus, with the guard dogs tamed, the police were able to infiltrate and plant the devices. What lesson can we take from this story about how we, if we are not careful, can let our own guards down?
Think more about this idea of being a doer of the Word as opposed to just believing the Word. What is, in the end, the real difference between the two?
What do you say to those who claim that because of the grace of Christ, they are free from the law? What do they often really mean by that, and how would you answer them?

So, the believer gets closer to Christ, more fully reflects His image, yet sees faults and imperfections in himself that are distinctly contrasted by Christ's nature. That means the only way a sinner can look at himself and think that his nature is like Christ's is to be so far away from Jesus that he can't see Him clearly and there is not enough spiritual light to discern his own condition.

A Sabbath School teacher remarked at the beginning of this quarter that we ought to read through the whole Epistle of James at least every week while we are studying these lessons. That helps us get a glimpse of what the Epistle is saying to the Christian people then as well as today.

"sees faults and imperfections in himself" - being aware of them is totally different than actually cherishing them or acting them out in thought, word, or deed. There is no guilt or condemnation incurred for merely having them.

The only way a sinner can look at himself and think that his nature is like Christ's is to be so far away from Jesus that he can't see Him clearly and there is not enough spiritual light to discern his own condition.