Codes for Christian Living
The Cause of Temptation
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. —JAMES 1:13–14
Among the many things we all have in common is that temptation knocks on each of our doors. But where does it come from? Is it from God? Is it from the Devil? Does it simply arise out of circumstances swirling around us?
Some people are quick to attribute temptation to God Himself. After all, the argument goes, since He created every-thing, it stands to reason that the tempting item or situation as well as the impulse within us to succumb must ultimately come from Him, so He is ultimately responsible. This line of thinking leads to the rationale, “I can’t help it. God made me this way.”
The Greek word James used to say that God “cannot be tempted” appears only here in the New Testament. It literally translates “untemptable.” Since He is not guilty of sin, He can-not tempt us toward it. Satan figured wrong with his efforts to tempt Jesus in the wilderness. Not one of his enticements met with any success. Jesus, in fact, knew no sin (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5). Therefore, James flatly said, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’” (1:13).
From the garden of Eden until this present day, men and women have tried to avoid personal responsibility by blaming their sin on the Devil. “The Devil made me do it!” started way back in the garden when Adam said, “Don’t blame me! The woman dragged me down.” Eve fired back, “Not me! The Devil made me do it.” Not true! We inherited this tendency to sin from Adam and Eve. Satan is not the cause of our temptations. James laid it out plainly: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires” (1:14, emphasis mine). In James’s entire discussion on temptation, the Devil is never mentioned. In the garden of Eden, all the Devil did was toss an evil desire in Eve’s direction, and she took it from there. There are some people who readily admit it is not God’s fault, or the Devil’s, that we are tempted. Instead they argue, “It is just one of those things. We find ourselves in a situation where we shouldn’t have been.” But James made clear to us that neither God nor Satan nor circumstances brings us to temptation’s corner. What, then, is the cause?
Temptation comes when an internal source and an external force converge: “Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” When our internal desire to do wrong connects with a harmful out-ward enticement, we succumb to temptation. We sin.
On the evening before His crucifixion, while He agonized in prayer in Gethsemane’s garden, Jesus left us some good advice when He said to His disciples, “Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation” (Matthew 26:41). Prayer has to do with the internal source of temptation, our own desires. Prayer keeps us connected with God so that His desires are our desires. Watching has to do with the external force of temptation, the deception. We are to be alert, to watch out. The bait has a hook in it. If we look closely enough, we will see the enticement for what it is—a trap!
Content drawn from The James Code: 52 Scripture Principles for Putting Your Faith into Action.