Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: Does being saved keep us from being tempted? Listen to Adrian Rogers. Don't get the idea that being saved or walking with God will keep you from being tempted. Jesus was tempted. He was perfect. Being a Christian may increase your temptation. You're going to be tempted.

Satan has laid plans to sabotage your life and to bring you down. But he cannot do it without your consent. Sin is an inside job.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding. Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers said everyone's favorite game today is the blame game. It's a fun game to play, but you will always be the loser. We live in a world of victims. Nobody wants to take the blame for anything.

But God's word gives a warning to those who would dare blame Him for their temptation to sin. What's the process of temptation? How can we recognize when we're being tempted? If you have your Bible, turn to James chapter 1. We'll begin in verse 12 as Adrian Rogers begins part one of "Flawed Appetites and Fatal Attractions".

Adrian Rogers: The title of the message today is "Flawed Appetites and Fatal Attractions". Nobody wants to take the blame for anything. I've been talking about challenges to the cross, and this is perhaps one of the biggest: the fact today that the word "sin" is old-fashioned. Nobody wants to take any personal responsibility.

Man may be ill, not evil. Man may be sick, not sinful. If there's anything wrong, it has to be somebody else's fault. It's the environment, heredity, it's glands, it's circumstances, it is society. Some even try to blame God. They say, "God, this is the way You made me," or "God, You created these circumstances, so I'm just a helpless victim."

It is as old as the Garden of Eden. When Adam sinned against God, God came walking in the midst of the garden, and what did Adam say? "Well, God, the woman You gave me. Now, Lord, it's either Your fault or hers, it's not mine. I mean, You gave her to me. God, the woman You gave me, she caused me to sin."

And when the Lord turned to Eve, what did she say? "The serpent beguiled me." And of course, the serpent didn't have a leg to stand on. But everybody wants to blame somebody else for what they do. And frankly, this is a real problem. There are cigarette smokers who are suing the tobacco industry.

And believe me, I have not one good word to say for these peddlers of poison, the tobacco people. But people are suing the tobacco people because smoking has made them sick. Well, folks, can you read what's on the package? I mean, good night, these people are not making you smoke those things. You think about it.

Do you see what I'm saying? Nobody's evil, they're just ill. Nobody's sinful, they're just sick. It has to be somebody else's fault. Now, let me tell you something. God's word has something to say about that. James chapter 1, look if you will in verse 12. "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried," that is, when he is tested, "he shall receive the crown."

God will allow temptation to test you, my friend. He will receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 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. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. Underscore that phrase "of his own lust."

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Now, this passage doesn't say if you're tempted, it says when you're tempted. There's not a mother's child in this building who is not tempted daily. Day by day, we're tempted.

But now, notice what James is saying to these modern-day excuse-makers and to those of his day so long ago. First of all, he's saying it is impossible to tempt God with evil. God cannot be tempted. He says this in verse 13. God cannot be tempted with evil. Why cannot God be tempted with evil?

Well, first of all, God is completely whole. God has no itch the devil can scratch. And God is totally holy. He is the antithesis of sin. God, holy, holy, holy, is Almighty God. God cannot be tempted with evil. And now, listen. God will never, ever, ever tempt you with evil. God will not tempt you with evil.

If God were to tempt you with evil, you would have a perfect alibi. You would say, "Well, after all, who can withstand God?" So put away your little excuse to say that God brought me into this circumstance to cause me to do evil, or that God gave me these glands, God made me this way. You cannot blame God.

Now, God will test you and God will prove you, but God will never induce you to do evil. God gives us tests to make us stand. Satan gives us temptations to make us stumble. Now, it does not come from God. Satan is an agent in temptation. But, brothers and sisters, listen to me. Sin is an inside job.

You're going to be tempted. If you are a friend of God, you're going to be tempted. Don't get the idea that being saved or walking with God will keep you from being tempted. Jesus was tempted. He was perfect. When you become the friend of God, ipso facto, you become the enemy of Satan. Being a Christian may increase your temptation.

If you've never met the devil, it's because you and the devil have been going in the same direction. You turn around, rather than being in collusion with the devil, you're going to be in collision with the devil. No, being saved does not make you immune to temptation. As a matter of fact, when God opens the windows of heaven to bless you, the devil will open the doors of hell to blast you.

You're going to be tempted. Satan has laid plans to sabotage your life and to bring you down. But he cannot do it without your consent. Now, here's the message today and I want you to get it down in your heart and in your life. Sin is an inside job. It starts in you. Notice again what he says in this passage in verse 14.

Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Do you have that? Now, what he is saying here is that a sin is very much like a seduction. You know, like a man may seduce a woman or a woman may seduce a man. That's what the word "drawn away" literally means.

Now, here's point number one and get it down good. There is a courtship that leads to a consent. Now, the devil is going to court you. Temptation will come your way to entice you. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away. Do you see that word "drawn away"? You know what that word literally means?

It was used in that day of men who were trappers who would trap animals. Or it was used of fishermen who would catch a fish with a bait or a lure. It's a word to entrap, to ensnare, to allure. This is what it's all about. I remember the first bass I ever caught with an artificial lure. I thought no bass could be this stupid.

Somebody said, "You take that piece of wood with those hooks on it and throw it out there by those lily pads." And I was with some other people and I wanted them to think I was a macho man and these guys believe in this kind of fishing, I'm going to believe in it. And I walked up and down the bank of that canal there.

And the guys were way off over there. I could hear them talking. And just nonchalantly, I'm throwing that thing out, getting it snarled up and trying to undo it and finally get it back again. And I threw that plug out and all of a sudden, the water exploded. And I saw this thing come out of the water. It's one of those things where he just knocked the plug out of the water.

But it was in his mouth. That line tightened and the fight was on. It was so exciting. I didn't even realize I backed him out and pulled him out. What a dumb fish! Piece of wood with paint on it and hooks in it. But there was something in that bass that said, "I want that." And he went after it, enticed, drawn away.

But he uses the word here not to talk about bass, but about people. Every man is drawn away of his own lust. Here is the anatomy of a sin. There's a courtship that leads to a consent. The devil flirts. The devil has his bait. He tries to draw you away. It begins with a flirtation.

Now, the devil will throw the match, but the devil has to have the gasoline of an unholy desire in order for it to do some good. You see, it really begins not on the outside but on the inside. Put this verse in your margin. Mark chapter 7, verses 21 and following. "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these things come from within and defile the man."

Nobody wants to admit that anymore. A person says, "I practice sexual perversion because I was born with this desire." Friend, that's no excuse, anymore than a pedophile can say, "I practice pedophilia because I'm born with this desire," or a kleptomaniac can say, "I practice thievery because I'm born with this desire," or a murderer can say, "I practice murder because I'm born with this desire."

These things come out of the heart. And we can't say, "God, You made me this way, therefore I'm not to blame." No, friend, we have to understand that sin is an inside job. When I was a teen, still in high school, I read a book. The title of the book was called The Big Con, and it talked about confidence men.

You know what a confidence game is where somebody is tricked into giving away their money? And many times these are elderly people. Sometimes little old women will be in a grocery store and a man will come up and say, "Looky here, I found an envelope full of money. What do you think I ought to do with it?" "I don't know."

He said, "I'll tell you what. I want you for a witness. Let's see what we ought to do with this money. If I don't find out what to do with it, we'll just share it, okay?" She said, "Wow, yeah, that'd be good." And he says, "Now, in order to know that you're honest and really with me, let's go to the bank and get some of your money out. You put your money with this money so I can show that you're really with me, you see?"

Off she goes, gets her money out of the bank, gives it to him. He says, "Now you hold the money," and he gives her an envelope full of paper and he goes off with her money. She's conned. Well, this book was a very intriguing book, a very interesting book. I read it again as a teen in high school. But here was the underlying premise of that book.

These men who were con men, confidence men, who would get somebody else's confidence, they said this: nobody can be caught in a confidence scheme unless he first of all has a touch of larceny in his heart. Might be a little lady, I don't care who it is, unless they first of all have a touch of larceny in their own heart.

They may be fine, noble, upstanding guys or people. You see what Satan is looking for is that inside thing, that touch of larceny that is in the human heart. Now, Satan throws out the lure. Satan throws out the bait. Satan lights the match. He does all of this. He draws people away. But there must be with that courtship, there must be a consent. The sinner says, "I do."

There's a courtship that leads to a consent. You cannot blame God. You cannot blame the devil. You cannot blame circumstance. The Bible says you are drawn away of your own lust. You're absolutely free, no matter what the temptation, and it's not a sin to be tempted. You're absolutely free until the point of choice.

Once you choose, once you've said, "I do", that is the consent. Now, you're free to choose, but you're not free to choose the consequences of your choice. After you choose, then your choice chooses for you. Point number one: the courtship that leads to consent. Point number two: the consent that leads to conception.

First there's a courtship, then there's a consent, and then there is a conception. Look if you will now in verse 15. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin." There comes an unholy union that brings an unholy child. And that unholy child is sin. The mother of sin is inward lust.

The father of sin is outward attraction, and when these come together, there is a sin that is produced. There is a fatal attraction—that's the father—there is a flawed appetite—that is the mother—and when these two come together, there is a conception. Now, when a baby is conceived, many times there's great joy in the physical realm.

People say, "Look, we're having a new baby in our home." And so it is sometimes with sin. When people conceive some act of sin—I'm not talking about now having a baby, though there may be some unholy union like that for little children that sometimes don't have the benefit of married parents.

Now, let me say this. There are no illegitimate children, but there are plenty of illegitimate parents. But I'm not just talking about in that realm. I'm talking about any sin that is a child of lust and consent. Whatever it is, whatever it is, at the moment, it may seem so joyful. It may seem so pleasant. It may seem so beautiful.

It may seem so natural. And so you may be going on right now high, wide, and handsome, living in sin, having a wonderful time. Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin. What a beautiful baby, any kind of sin. But now, here's the third thing. There is the conception that leads to a consummation.

There is a courtship, there is a consent, there is a conception, and then there is a consummation. Look at it again in verse 15. "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." When it is finished. That means when it is literally full-grown.

So you can't see sin when it's a baby. You must have been a beautiful baby, but baby look at you now. You can't see sin when it feels so good, when it seems so natural, when it seems so right. You think perhaps you beat the game, but you've not. The soul that sinneth it shall surely die. The wages of sin is death.

Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. First sin fascinates, then it assassinates. First it thrills, then it kills. Lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. The child of lust is sin and the grandchild of lust is death. Lust, sin, death, L-S-D.

Now, young people don't see this today. Young people don't listen to the word of God. First of all, they say it's really not my fault. Somebody made me do it. God wouldn't have made me this way. It's all right. Society doesn't blame anymore. Why, we even have a no-fault divorce. Give me a break.

Nobody's to blame! Or God, You're to blame, or Satan, you're to blame, or circumstance, you're to blame, or glands, you're to blame. No. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. And lust when it hath conceived bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Listen to me, you will not beat the game. You will not. You will not beat the game. The blame game is a fun game to play, but you will always be the loser. You say, "Well, I don't have to listen to this preacher." No, you don't. You say, "I have my own ideas." You may.

Proverbs 14, verse 12, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." You can say, "I have my own religion, I have my own ideas, I'm going my own way." Well, help yourself, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Sin, when it is finished.

Former pastor of this church, Dr. R.G. Lee, said you can eat the devil's corn if you want to, but he'll choke you on the cob. The bread of deceit is sweet, but afterward a man's mouth shall be filled with gravel. So what do we have? We have a courtship. We have a consent. We have a conception.

We have a consummation. Sin, when it is finished. Where is the problem? Sin is an inside job. Remember Mark 7, Jesus said all these things come out of the heart. You can't blame anybody else. "Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed." This is an inside job.

Well, you're not going to get rid of temptation. As long as you live, as long as you exist, there will be temptation. So what are you going to do? The only thing you can possibly do is to have an inward change, to get your heart changed. And if you don't get your heart changed, Satan's not going to stop tempting you.

So you've got to get your heart changed. You see, you've got to get your "wanter" fixed. That's what Jesus did for me when He saved me. I'll tell you something. I sin all I want to, because I don't want to. Because something happened in me when Jesus saved me.

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Again, lwf.org/radio and click the Discover Jesus tab. Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding.

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