James 1:14-15 Part 1—The sin dilemma

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. James 1:14-15

Probably the most disappointing, confusing, and potentially debilitating obstacle I’ve faced in my life is the inclination to sin. Yes, I said it, and I’ve chosen not to be ashamed of it.

Before you call out the righteousness cops, please hear me out. When I was born again in the evening of December 29, 1974, I became a brand new creature. The old had passed away, and to my amazement, I was brand new. (See 2 Corinthians 5:17.) I felt and looked different; a weight had lifted off of me and I noticed a glow to my face when I looked in the mirror immediately after. My addiction to alcohol had also left the premises. When I returned to college after break, my drinking buddies were alarmed at the change, ostracized me, yet still hovered near whenever I got ready to go to Bible study, smugly looking me up and down as they drank their cheap vodka and Coke.

But I had found Jesus, and I had a peace and a power I had never known, so their intentionally obvious disdain didn’t intimidate me.

Alcohol addiction had vanished from my system in an instant; but other nagging tendencies did not suffer the same fate, much to my dismay. And since my faith in Christ was very real, this contradiction between righteousness and falling repetitively into sin patterns was a dilemma about which I often cried out bitterly to the Lord.

I would like to say that with some prayer and meditation on the Word, it all changed rapidly, but that would be dishonest. The truth is, I would seemingly conquer one sin pattern only to realize I’d opened the door to another. As I focused on that one, what do you know, but the other “conquered” pattern returned with a vengeance! It was as if I was stuck on the set of the “Three Stooges”, trying to close the drawer on one sin while two more drawers popped open, knocking me down. And yet, I still loved Jesus and was still a new creature. What gives? I would cry again and again in despair.

Trust me; I didn’t develop my love for the Word of God because I am so awesome. I absorbed the Bible into my system and wrapped myself up in it due to my abject inability to live the Christian life—even as a born-again, delivered-from-alcohol, Holy Ghost-filled young woman of God. And as I grappled with the sin question, the love of my life, Jesus, led me to verse after verse to comfort, cleanse, encourage, and instruct me. One of those portions of Scripture was James 1:14-15.

But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.

Through these two verses, the Lord instructed me concerning the anatomy of the lust/sin connection and how it worked. Understanding this helped me to shake the failure mentality that had started to enshroud me as a young Christian and gave me some important tools to operate as soon as I noticed I was being tempted.

Tomorrow I will be writing about the lust/sin connection, and it is my heart’s desire to encourage, strengthen, establish, and equip you to effectively defy the patterns of your past and live your life as the new creation you really are.

The truth will make you free!

Dorothy

…Jesus was saying…“If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” John 8:31-32