In this powerful sermon, Pastor Adrian Rogers explores the intertwined nature of temptation and personal responsibility. He delves into the age-old tendency to shift blame, tracing it back to the seminal moment in the Garden of Eden. Using vivid analogies and biblical wisdom, Rogers challenges modern-day listeners to understand that sin is not thrust upon us but is an inside job, developed from within us.
Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
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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 for 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. Our 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 very 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, 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… 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. 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 seduces. 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. 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 you just knock 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 reel him in. I backed him out and pulled him out. What a dumb fish. 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 it 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’s 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. Any more than a pedophile can say, I practice pedophilia because I was 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 of 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, C-O-N, 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 the grocery store and a man will come up and say, look here, I found an envelope full of money. What do you think I ought to do with it? Well, 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 what? 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, and I want all of you to listen. 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, now listen to this, a touch of larceny in his heart. It 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 in the eyes of 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 are 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 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. Poor 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. And lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin. And sin, when it is finished, bringing forth death. Lust, sin, death, LSD. 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 me anymore. Why, we even have a no-fault divorce. Give me a break. Nobody’s to blame. Are God you to blame? Are Satan you to blame? Are circumstances you to blame? Are glands you to blame? No. Every man is tempted when he’s 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. Now, notice how sin ends. Let’s just take something. For example, alcohol, liquor. Everybody tells us, oh, it’s all right to drink today. We’ve humanized God and liqueurized society and minimized sin. Let me give you a verse. Put it in your margin. Proverbs 23, verses 31 and 32. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. That means when it’s fermented. There’s a time when wine is not fermented. People say, well, Jesus drank wine. Jesus did not drink what is bottled today and call wine. That in the Bible would definitely be strong drink. Condemned. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, at the last, underscore that now, at the last, listen, at the last, at the last, it biteth like a serpent and stingeth like an adder. Not at the first. At the last, what are the most beautiful advertisements on television and in magazines and on the billboards? The liquor advertisements. They never show some teenager with his face sliced up having gone through a windshield. They never go down to the emergency room. They never show the drunkard in the gutter covered in his own vomit with flies. They don’t show that. They don’t show the last. They only show the first. These guys sitting in that bass boat and they say, it never gets any better than this. They’re right. It always gets worse. At the last, at the last, at the last, it biteth like a serpent. Down in Florida, I had an artist to paint a billboard to put on the parking lot in the church in Fort Pierce where I was pastor. And it showed some garbage cans and a big rat about eight inches long and a drunkard down there with a broken bottle lying by those garbage cans in the back alley. And I had put underneath that painting the finished product of the brewer’s art. Because there was a beer that was advertising the finest product of the brewer’s art. So I just put the finished product of the brewer’s art. And put that up on the parking lot for the boys and girls to see. I got a call at home. And the man said, are you Adrian Rod? Yes, I am. Are you the pastor of that church? Yes, I am. He said, well, I am the distributor for thus and such a beer. And he said, you’ve got a sign on your parking lot I need to talk to you about. I said, fine. I’ll meet you as soon as you can get in my office. I’ll be there. Went right down. I sat down. I said, what do you want to talk about that sign for? He said, that sign discriminates against my product. I said, your product is brewed with tears, thickened with blood, and flavored with death. And if I were you, I’d get on my knees right now and ask God Almighty to have mercy on me. He said, wow. He said, I don’t think I’m going to get anywhere with you. He said, that looks like grounds for a lawsuit. I said, I do too. I said, please sue me. I want my picture on the front page of the newspaper. I want that billboard on the front page of the newspaper. And I said, you’ve got a lot of nerve. You come into our homes with your advertisements. You come with your billboards. You come with magazines. You come with this and that. And I put one billboard on a parking lot for boys and girls in Sunday school, and you don’t like it. I said, I’ll make a deal with you. You take down all your signs. I’ll take down mine. At the last, it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder. The devil doesn’t want you to see the end. What about immorality? Everything today is run by sex. Proverbs 5, verses 3 through 5, listen to this. For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil. Oh, honey lips. Listen to what God’s Word says. But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death and her steps take hold on hell. You’re not going to break God’s laws. God says, flee fornication. I mean, you’re not going to break them with impunity. You’re broken on them. God’s Word says, thou shalt not commit adultery. Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Friend, we could talk about so many things. Human pride. 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 could 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. Now, let’s see if we can wrap this up. 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’s drawn away of his own lust and entice. 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 WARNER 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. THERE’S AN OLD TIMY PREACHER NAMED LESTER ROLOFF. HE’S A GREAT OLD PREACHER. LESTER ROLOFF TOLD ONE OF THE MOST INCREDIBLE STORIES ABOUT A MAN… who was having difficulty, and he went to see the doctor. And he said, Doctor, I want you to do something for me. By the way, the name of the doctor was Dr. Law, L-A-W. Dr. Law said, Well, what’s the matter? He said, It’s my eyes. My eyes are looking at the wrong kinds of things. I’m looking at pornography. And my hands, my hands are doing things and taking things that don’t belong to me. And my feet, my feet are going places I ought not to go. And my problem is my eyes, my hands, my feet. And Dr. Law says, no, that’s not your problem. Your problem is your heart. No, he says, no, no, no, it’s my hands, my eyes, I don’t know. Dr. Law says, trust me, it is your heart. Well, okay, Dr. Law, can you give me some medicine? Nope. Can you give me some exercises? Nope. Well, Dr. Law, what are you good for? I only diagnose. And I’m telling you, you’ve got a fatal disease and it’s going to kill you. And your problem is your heart. Well, Dr. Law, you mean I’m going to die? Is there no hope? Oh, yeah, there’s hope. Well, what kind of hope? WELL, YOU NEED A HEART TRANSPLANT. A WHAT? YOU NEED A NEW HEART. WELL, CAN YOU DO THAT SURGERY? OH, NO. I DON’T DO THE SURGERY. I JUST DIAGNOSE. WELL, WHO DOES IT? DR. GRACE. DR. GRACE. WELL, WHERE’S DR. GRACE? RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL. DO I HAVE TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT? OH, NO. HE’LL SEE YOU IMMEDIATELY. WHAT WILL IT COST? NOTHING. YOU MEAN HE CAN GIVE ME A NEW HEART? YES. You mean he’ll do it right now? Absolutely. You mean I don’t have to make an appointment? I just go in? Yes. And it won’t cost anything? No. Will it hurt? It sure may. It may hurt. But you need a new heart. Step across the hall and tell him that I sent you. And the man steps across the hall and knocks on the door. And there comes the most kind-looking man he’s ever seen, Dr. Grace. And he says, Dr. Grace, Dr. Law sent me here. And he says, I’ve got a bad heart. Can you do anything for me? Yes, I can. And Dr. Grace puts me on his table and reaches in with his hand and takes out my heart. And when I see it, it is so vile. I’m still awake during this operation. It’s vile. It stinks. It’s loathsome. I never dreamed. how corrupt my heart was. And then Dr. Grace puts within me a new heart. Immediately there is a change with my eyes, with my hands, and with my feet because I have been given a new heart. Now, friend, if you read in James chapter 1, that’s what James is talking about after he talks about that old heart, that old desire, that old lust. Then he says, of his own will beget he us. That is, we are born again. First of all, there’s the conception of sin, but then there’s the conception of the new birth. Of his own will he begets us with his word. I’m not perfect. You say, I already knew that, Pastor. I’m not perfect. But Jesus gave me a new heart. He gave me a new heart. Power that I need to live victoriously and I don’t have to make excuses. I don’t have to try to blame God or circumstances. But I can say by the grace of God, I am what I am. Changed. Changed. You need a new heart today. And I’m telling you, Dr. Law cannot save you. Dr. Law just says the wages of sin is death. Dr. Law has made a good diagnosis, but Dr. Grace will save you today. His name is Jesus. Would you pray a prayer like this? Pray it out of your heart. Dear God, I am a sinner, and the problem is my old heart. And I stop making excuses. Lord, I stop trying to blame somebody else. It’s me, it’s me, it’s me, oh Lord. Standing in the need of prayer, oh Lord Jesus, give me a new heart today. Change me. Save me, Lord Jesus. Jesus, I believe you died on the cross to pay for my sin. I believe that God the Father raised you from the dead. And I believe you’ll save me if I trust you. I do trust you today. Save me, Lord Jesus. And if you prayed that prayer, I want you to thank him. Pray this way. Thank you for doing it. I don’t look for a sign or ask for a feeling. I stand on your word. Begin now to make me the person you want me to be. In your holy name I pray. Amen.
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