James 1:14

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Every man when tempted is so through being drawn away of [by: hupo (G5259); the source, rather than the agent] his own lust. The cause of sin is in ourselves. Satan's suggestions do not endanger us before they are made our own. Each has his own special [ tees (G3588) idias (G2398)] lust, arising from his own temperament. Lust flows from original birth-sin in man, inherited from Adam. DRAWN AWAY - the beginning step: drawn away from truth and virtue. ENTICED, [ deleazomenos (G1185)] - taken with a bait as fish. The further progres...

14_When he is drawn away by his own lust. _As the inclination and excitement to sin are inward, in vain does the sinner seek an cause from an external impulse. At the same time these two effects of lust ought to be noticed — that it ensnares us by its allurements, and that it does us away; each of which is sufficient to render us guilty. (106) He is in the first drawn off from the line of duty, and then he is caught by something that is pleasing and plausible, but like the bait, it has in it a deadly hook....

12-18 It is not every man who suffers, that is blessed; but he who with patience and constancy goes through all difficulties in the way of duty. Afflictions cannot make us miserable, if it be not our own fault. The tried Christian shall be a crowned one. The crown of life is promised to all who have the love of God reigning in their hearts. Every soul that truly loves God, shall have its trials in this world fully recompensed in that world above, where love is made perfect. The commands of God, and the dealings of his providence, try men's hearts, and show the dispositions which prevail in them. But nothing sinful in the heart or conduct can be ascribed to God. He is not the author of the dross, though his fiery trial exposes it. Those who lay the blame of sin, either upon their constitution, or upon their condition in the world, or pretend they cannot keep from sinning, wrong God as if...

Verse 14. _BUT EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED_] Successfully solicited to sin, when _he is drawn away of his own lust_-when, giving way to the evil propensity of his own heart, he does that to which he is solicited by the enemy of his soul. Among the rabbins we find some fine sayings on this subject. In _Midrash hanaalam_, fol. 20, and _Yalcut Rubeni_, fol. 17, it is said: "This is the custom of evil concupiscence, יצר הרע _yetser_ _hara_: To-day it saith, Do this; to-morrow, Worship an idol. The man goes and worships. Again it saith, Be _angry_." "Evil concupiscence is, at the beginning, like the thread of a spider's web; afterwards it is like a cart rope." _Sanhedrim_, fol. 99. In the words, _drawn away by his own lust and enticed_, ὑπο της ιδιας επιθυμιας εξελκομενος και δελεαζομενος, there is a double metaphor; the first referring to the _dragging a fish_ out of the water

BUT EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED, WHEN HE IS DRAWN AWAY OF HIS OWN LUST - That is, the fountain or source of all temptation is in man himself. It is true that external inducements to sin may be placed before him, but they would have no force if there was not something in himself to which they corresponded, and over which they might have power. There must be some “lust;” some desire; some inclination; something which is unsatisfied now, which is made the foundation of the temptation, and which gives it all its power. If there were no capacity for receiving food, or desire for it, objects placed before us appealing to the appetite could never be made a source of temptation; if there were nothing in the soul which could be regarded as the love of acquisition or possession, gold would furnish no temptation; if there were no sensual propensities, we should be in that quarter above the power of tempta...

EXPOSITION JAMES 1:1 SALUTATION. JAMES, A SERVANT OF GOD AND OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. (On the person who thus describes himself, see the Introduction) It is noteworthy that he keeps entirely out of sight his natural relationship to our Lord, and styles himself simply "a bond-servant of God and the Lord Jesus Christ." That, and that alone, gave him a right to speak and a claim to be heard. Δοῦλος is similarly used by St. Paul in Romans 1:1; Philippians 1:1; Titus 1:1 by St. Peter in 2 Peter 1:1; and by

BUT EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED,.... To sin, and he falls in with the temptation, and by it, WHEN HE IS DRAWN AWAY OF HIS OWN LUST AND ENTICED; the metaphor is taken either from fishes, who are enticed by the bait, and drawn out by the hook; or from a lascivious woman, who meeting with a young man, entices him, and draws him away after her to commit iniquity with her: by "lust" is meant the principle of corrupt nature, which has its residence in the heart of man; is natural and hereditary to him, and therefore is called his own; he is conceived and shapen in it; he brings it into the world with him, and it continues in him, and is called his own heart's lust, Romans 1:24. Now this meeting with some bait, which entices and draws it out, or with some external object, which promises pleasure or profit, a man is allured, and ensnared, and drawn away by it, and so the temptation begins:

James 1:1. _James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting._ James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was an apostle, and he was the Lord's brother, yet he mentions not these greater things, but he takes the lowly title, in which, no doubt, he felt the highest honour, and calls himself «a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ.» Happy is that man who serves the Lord, whose whole life is not that of an independent master of himself, but of one who is fully submissive to the divine command. Where is the fiction of the ten lost tribes? He writes to the twelve tribes that were scattered abroad, and gives them greeting, so that this Epistle is first directed to the seed of Israel, and then, as in all things, to all the Church of God, seeing all the saints of God are the true seed of believing Abraham, the f...

TEMPTED "Temptation" is used in two senses: (1) Solicitation to evil, (for example, (Genesis 3:1); (Matthew 4:1); (1 Corinthians 10:13); (2 Corinthians 11:3); (2 Corinthians 11:4); (James 1:14). (2) Testing under trial, (for example, (Genesis 22:1); (Luk

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. TRIALS AND THE EXERCISE OF FAITH CHAPTER 1 _ 1. Trials and the power of faith (James 1:1)_ 2. The resources of faith (James 1:5) 3. The realization of faith (James 1:9) 4. The conquest of faith (James 1:12) 5. The result of faith (James 1:16) James 1:1 The first verse is the introduction. The writer is James, but he does not add, as he might have done, “the brother of the Lord.” It would have identified his per