James 1:13-17, Part 1

[Hidden In Him]

Spiritual Pregnancy, And The Maturation Of Good And Evil, Part 1

             

     One of the things James taught on often was the principle of spiritual maturation, and how evil desire can gain momentum within us. In Chapter Three he will write about how powerful emotions like anger and wrath can grow to overwhelming proportions and develop a life of their own. Like a horse getting up to full gallop or a ship being driven by wind, emotions can build to the place where they get out of hand, and this can lead to terrible actions. Yet such emotional impulses could be controlled by the tongue, just like a horse could be reined in by a bit, or a ship by a rudder. So his point was that the whole body could be kept from sinning if we could just control our tongue, and not speak in anger, no matter how much emotion was building up within us.
     So too, James would now use the analogy of a child growing within the womb. If our thoughts were godly and allowed to grow and mature, these would result in godly actions. But if they were evil, and inseminated within us by the enemy, these would mature into sinful and evil works. Thus, by allowing evil thoughts and desires to grow within us and fester, it could eventually lead to something being "born" out of us that was hideous and grotesque, and not "of God," no matter how much we had been deceived into thinking it would be.
     This is what James was communicating next, and because there could be deception involved, he was stressing that it was so important for believers to discern which thoughts were coming from God and which were coming from the enemy, for demons could be great impersonators if allowed to be:

     Let no one who becomes tempted say, "I am becoming tempted from God," for God is untempted by evils and He tempts no one. But each one is tempted through his own desires, having been drawn away and allured. Then, when the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is fully brought to maturity it brings death. Do not be led astray, my dear brothers, every good impartation and every perfect donation is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no deviation, nor shadow of turning. (James 1:13-17)

     Again, the analogy was of a child growing in the womb. God's thoughts and desires, if "deposited" within us and allowed to grow, would eventually lead to eternal Life. Yet thoughts and desires coming from the enemy would eventually result in spiritual death. Unfortunately, some during James' time were confusing matters, and presuming that they were being "tempted from God" to despitefully and even hatefully chastise their brethren over doctrinal matters, when it was in reality the enemy tempting them to do so. So James was warning them not to justify pronouncing evil over one another by using the excuse that "God" was leading him to do it. This was a lie and a deception, and not coming from God but from demons who were motivating them to even pronounce curses upon their brethren instead.
     He will hit on this eventually in Chapter 3, literally using the Greek word "demonic" (δαιμονικός) in describing the kind of "wisdom" that eventually leads men to curse those who have been made in God's image, in presuming themselves to be great "teachers" whom no one should contradict.

     My brothers, do not become many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation, for we all falter in many ways... Behold, the tongue is a fire [kindling] a world of iniquity. And so is the tongue established within our membership, defiling the whole body and setting aflame the wheel of momentum, being set on fire by Hell. For every species of beasts, both of birds and reptiles and creatures of the sea, is being subdued and has been subdued by the human species. Yet no one among men is able to subdue the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of death-dealing poison. By this we bless our Lord and Father, and by this we curse men who have been made after God's likeness. Out of the same mouth proceeds forth blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so... Who is a wise and understanding man among you? Let him demonstrate it from the good behavior of his works, through meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and contentiousness in your heart, do not boast and lie against the truth. This is not the wisdom coming down from above, but is earthly, soulish, and demonic. (3:1, 5-10, 13-15)

     Did God sometimes curse others? Certainly He did. In one of the most famous passages in all Judaism, God promised that blessings would come to the righteous if they obeyed Him and walked in His statutes, but curses would come upon those who did not (Deuteronomy 28). There were also a few times when men even pronounced curses upon those they assumed would not be forgiven by God during Old Testament times, only on at least one occasion it came back to bite the one pronouncing the curse in a big way. Such was the case with Shimei, who cursed King David after David's sins were laid bare for the world to see:

     Now when King David came to Bahurim, there was a man from the family of the house of Saul, whose name was Shimei the son of Gera, coming from there. He came out, cursing continuously as he came... And thus he said when he cursed, “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you rogue! The Lord has brought upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned, and the Lord has delivered the kingdom into the hand of Absalom your son. So now you are caught in your own evil, because you are a bloodthirsty man!” (2 Samuel 16:5-8)

     David's men wanted to kill the man on the spot, but David allowed it, for he felt Shimei's curse was partly deserved, and was trying to submit himself to the Lord in hopes He would forgive him for the wrongs he had done. But as they traveled, scripture says "Shimei went along the hillside opposite him and cursed as he went, threw stones at David, and kicked up dust" (2 Samuel 16:13). When David was eventually restored to the throne, Shimei came asking forgiveness, and David swore an oath to him not to kill him. But it appears Shimei was still cursing David in his heart and harbored resentments, because while David kept his oath, his son Solomon was under no such obligation, and when he assumed power he had Shimei executed, citing his never-ending mistreatment of his father as the reason why (1 Kings 2:36-46). 
     This story illustrates how the Jews could sometimes pronounce curses over one another which were unjustified, and in reality coming from an evil spirit. In the case of Shimei, the evil desire that the enemy conceived in his heart gave "birth" to actions that eventually led to his death.


Being Baited Through Our Own Desires

     There are many sins demons tempt us to commit, and many evil desires they try to inseminate within us. Whether this involves exacting revenge, or simply expressing resentment and hatred towards others or fulfilling a lust, some form of temptation will always be used as a lure. If we swallow the bait, the enemy begins using it to lure us in to finally committing an act. If allowed to continue growing, this sin eventually becomes a habit or addiction, at which point many realize their desire is killing them in some way. Yet the victim is never made aware of this initially. In the beginning, a bait is placed before them as something desirable, and this is why James said "each one is tempted through his own desires, having been drawn away and allured."
     Demons assigned to us watch us very closely, so they know exactly the kinds of "bait" we would be most tempted by, and this is very much in keeping with the words James was using here. The word "allured" in the Greek was the verb δελεάζω, which was used of being enticed into a trap using bait, while the noun was used literally of the bait men used in fishing. Those who have been taken up in spirit to witness the actual activity of demons report this is indeed the way they operate. They tempt humans to sin much like a predator stalks its prey. Such was described in the testimony of Harold Pittman, a former Baptist minister who was taken up in spirit back in the late 1970s by the angels of God on a tour of second heaven, which corresponds to the realm where Satan's kingdom now presides:

     From time to time while on the tour, I would notice some demons in such forms and shapes that they were unbelievable. Each time I noticed these demons, they were off to the side, by themselves. As I was being shown all the other demons, I would see some of these odd-looking beings in the many different places that we went. They seemed to display some sort of fear or distrust of all the other demons, and were always off to themselves, as if they were just lurking about or spying.
     Finally, my escorting angels brought me to a group of these odd-looking beings... This group of demons had the most despicable shapes and forms of any in all of Second Heaven. In many cases, the forms of some of them were so repulsive that just to look upon them produced nausea.... I was astounded to learn that these were the creatures who held all the expertise in the area of "perversion." This group of untouchable, despicable, odd-looking spirit beings had been given the important assignment of destroying the morals of modern man. The angels told me that I was going to be permitted to see a human being actually being possessed by one of these demons… When we crossed through the dimension wall, we came out in a different room in the same hospital where my body was… In that room were two people, a young man and a young woman… The couple had no idea that we were there, and apparently thought they were completely alone.
     Standing between them was the most despicable looking of all creatures, of which they were totally unaware. He looked like an overgrown, stuffed, green frog that was all out of shape [proportionally]. The man and the woman were talking and laughing as though they had just exchanged a joke. The demon, however, was between them and moving slowly toward the man's face. His every movement was calculated, much as a cat's movement is calculated when he is stalking a little bird. The man could not see him, and did not realize what was about to happen. I was just a few feet from the man, and could not warn him because he could not hear me. I could not communicate to him because I was totally in the spirit.
     When the demon reached the man's face, suddenly, like a puff of smoke, he disappeared into it, appearing to have penetrated the pores of the skin... As I turned away from the two, the angel began to tell me about the sovereign will of man, and how this demon made himself look beautiful and desirable to this individual. The angel stated that this individual, by his own sovereign will, had openly invited this thing to enter. To the man, the demon looked so desirable and beautiful, but I got to see him for what he truly is - ugly, despicable, and nauseating. How long, oh how long will mankind not believe? If only he would realize the truth of the Bible! How subtle, how cunning are the wiles of our adversary, the Devil.
     At that point the angel told me that I was going to be permitted to witness the activity of the demons as they worked in the physical world. I was then escorted right through the physical wall of that room and out into the streets of the city. While traveling through the city, we did not move at the speed of thought, but moved about as though we were floating.
     I watched in amazement as the demons went about their business, stalking their human victims. It was obvious that the stalking was not done on a random basis, but was a very personal thing with each victim already having been targeted... The spectacle was similar to a hunt, although not like a man's hunt for animals. In this hunt the individual had been carefully targeted. All the victims had already been skillfully searched with their weaknesses precisely cataloged. The tempters in the areas of the victim's weaknesses were assigned their tasks. They followed and waited for the moment when the victim would be the most vulnerable, and step into their prepared trap. They waited for the moment when the victim would arrive at the place where he would be weak, and receptive to the temptation they would spring on him. Their victim was never left alone, for once the assignment was made, the demon would never leave the targeted individual. No matter where that person would go, he would have an unseen traveling companion. In many cases, he would have an entire host on unseen traveling companions. Oh physical man! If only you could see who travels with you! (Harold Pittman, Demons: An Eyewitness Account, P.53-56)

     Thus, the implication in James' teaching was that when it came to thoughts and desires the Evil one was trying to impregnate us with, we needed to avoid taking the bait before the process even began. If we took the bait "hook, line, and sinker" as they say, the gestation process would begin, and the desires and thoughts deposited within us by demons would begin growing. What would ultimately be produced out of our lives would not be pretty, but instead reveal its true nature.


Where Birthing Evil Desires Can Lead

                                                 

     I once saw the above image in a dream, and it related to a spirit that a friend had allowed to take up residence within her. It speaks poetically to what can be birthed within us all if we allow evil to develop and grow within us. And in real life, some find out only too late that the temptation they were being enticed with led to their death. How many stories have we heard of kids who tried Fentanyl, never thinking they would overdose on just one pill and end up losing their lives? How many young kids began partying, never thinking they might be murdered one night in a nightclub, or killed in a car wreck? How many tried out a little gambling, never thinking they would one day end up homeless, destitute and suicidal. Yet demons have ultimate objectives behind every temptation and every trap they set, and on occasion the worst case scenario plays out, despite the victims not seeing it coming.
     There are numerous Hell accounts that have been given to the church over the last several decades. They are filled with testimonies of those who made bad choices in life as well, and allowed a sinful desire to grow within them that eventually destroyed their lives. And as the Spirit of God is revealing, these choices led to even worse things after death. Kathryn Baxter recounted one such story in A Divine Revelation Of Hell, after being shown the various torments that sinners suffer at the hands of the demons who seduced them. The following one was of a woman who once preached the gospel, but Satan eventually got to her by seducing her husband into committing adultery. She could not forgive the man in her heart, and by allowing something evil to grow within her, she ended up doing something unforgivable and lost her soul for all eternity as a result.   

     In the next pit was the form of another skeleton. I smelled the odor of death even before we arrived... She was quoting the Word of God.
     "Dear Lord, what is she doing here?" I asked.
     "Listen," said Jesus.
     The woman said, "Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father but by Him. Jesus is the Light of the World. Come to Jesus, and He will save you." When she spoke, many of the lost souls around her listened. Some swore and cursed at her. Some told her to stop. Still others said, "Is there really hope?" or "Help us, Jesus." Great cries of sorrow filled the air. I didn't understand what was happening. I did not know why the woman was preaching the gospel here.
     The Lord knew my thoughts. He said, "Child, I called this woman at the age of thirty to preach My Word and to be a witness of the gospel. I call different ones for different purposes in My body. But if man or woman, boy or girl doesn't want My Spirit, I will depart. Yes, she did answer My call for many years, and she grew in the knowledge of the Lord. She learned My voice, and she did many good works for Me. She studied the Word of God. She prayed often, and she had many prayers answered. She taught many people the way of holiness. She was faithful in her house.
     "The years went by until one day she found out that her husband was having an affair with another woman. And even though he asked for forgiveness, she grew bitter and would not forgive him and try to save her marriage. True, her husband was wrong, and he did commit a very grave sin. But this woman knew My Word. She knew to forgive, and she knew that with every temptation there is a way of escape. Her husband asked her to forgive him. She would not. Instead, anger took root. Anger grew inside her. She would not turn it over to Me. She turned more bitter each day, and said in her heart, 'Here I am serving God all the way, and my husband is running around with another woman! 'Do you think that is right?' she said to Me. I said, 'No, it is not right. But he came to you and repented and said he would never do that again.' I told her, 'Daughter, look inside yourself, and see that you have caused this yourself.'”
     "'Not me, Lord,' she said, 'I am the holy one, and he is the sinful one.' She would not listen to Me.
     "Time went on, and she wouldn't pray to Me or read the Bible. She became angry not only at her husband, but also at those around her. She quoted the scriptures, but she would not forgive him. She would not listen to Me. Her heart grew bitter, and great sin entered in. Murder grew in her heart where love had once been. And one day, in her anger, she killed her husband and the other woman. Satan then took her over completely, and she killed herself."
     I looked at that lost soul that had given up Christ and condemned her soul forever to the flames and the pain. I listened as she responded to Jesus. "I will forgive now, Lord,” she said.  "Let me out. I will obey You now. See, Lord, I am preaching Your word now. In an hour demons will come to take me to be tormented even worse. For hours they will torture me. Because I was preaching your word, my torments are worse. Please, Lord, I beg You to let me out."
     I cried with the woman in the pit and asked the Lord to please keep me from all bitterness of heart.
     "Don't let me allow hatred to come into my heart, Lord Jesus,” I said.
     "Come, let us go on," Jesus said. (Baxter, A Divine Revelation Of Hell, P.52-56)

     As this account implies, death is only the beginning. The traps demons set for us are ones we will ultimately never get out of if we make the mistake of falling for them. Another Hell account was given by Richard Eby, and illustrates the kind of determination demons have in seducing us away from God. Having died of cardiac arrest, he was transported to Hell where the demons assigned to him in life assumed they had deceived him, and he would now be theirs forever:

     I cannot describe the horror of being cooped up with demons. It is total panic. Jesus had caste me for two minutes into the role of an unbeliever who had died without accepting the gift of salvation... The demons around me in the tiny hole of solid rock were ecstatic at my desperate wish to escape. "You blankety-blank fool!" they screamed at me (mind to mind). "You listened to our lies up on earth, and we got you now! You can never escape from us. Satan assigned us to deceived you, and you listened! We know about the Lamb of God! He would have saved you from us, but you wouldn't listen to Him. He would have taken you to Heaven, but you wouldn't believe Him. Now we'll make it Hell for you forever, you ___ _ ___ idiot!" I have cleaned up the above taunts. Actually, their language was so loaded with obscenities and filth that it merits only complete removal from human ears. (Eby, Didn't You Read My Book, P.92-93)

     All this is why James also explained that "God is not tempted by evils, and He tempts no one." The message was that God doesn't give in to demonic enticements, and we must train ourselves not to do so either. Rather than allowing evil to grow within us, scripture teaches that Christ Jesus can also be formed within us if we give ourselves to receiving His desires and His thoughts. It's what the apostle Paul was referring to when he told the Galatians, "My little children... I travail in birth again until Christ be formed within you" (Galatians 4:19). Christ Jesus was also referred to as "the Word made flesh," and this is what James was referring to when he said that "all good impartations and every perfect donation is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there was no deviation nor shadow of turning." As will be explained more in Part 2, the Father of Lights here was God, whereas the moon and the stars represented the Devil and his angels. Ancient Jewish texts compared the fallen angels to stars which deviated from their courses and ceased to give their spiritual "light" as originally intended by God (see Revelation 12:3-4, 9:1). Paul likewise described Satan as still posing as an "angel of Light," despite having long since turned to darkness himself.
     But as for the thoughts and desires the Lord implants within us, these never turn from Light to darkness, or from what seems holy and "just" to us at first into something evil and malicious. So the message was that we needed to make sure the thoughts we received within us were from the Holy Spirit and not demonic ones. The former would lead to eternal Life. The latter would lead to spiritual and physical death if we allowed it to.


Questions And Applications

Note: Give #1 a few days before answering #2.

1. Give an example (or examples) where someone allowed an evil desire to grow within them until it eventually led to their death; road rage incidents that got out of hand, addictions that ended in overdose, battles between neighbors or business associates that ended in murder, etc. Instances can include from TV shows, news reports, your own family or friend's lives etc., and you can either recite the story from memory or post videos on it if you can find them.

2. Cite a story from scripture that describes someone allowing in an evil desire that eventually led to tragedy, or death.

3. Now cite a story from scripture where instead of succumbing to a temptation, the Bible character resisted the enemy, and rejected the thoughts and temptations he was attempting to lure him in with.