If temptation is a test, from where does it come? Is it God or Satan? This devotion looks at where temptation starts.
Nuggets
- God does test us to get us to prove our faith, not through evil means or to do evil.
- Satan wants us to succumb to the evil influences within the temptations.
- The temptation comes from inside us.
To read devotions in the Sin and Temptation series, click the appropriate button below.
Does God Tempt Us?
In anticipation of talking about self-discipline, we are discussing why we need the discipline. The last two devotion looked at what sin and temptation are. We need to look at from where temptation comes.
Let's Put It into Context
“And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Mt. 6: 13 CSB)
“My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations” (Jas. 1: 2 KJV)
We said in the last devotion that temptation that period of time between conception and execution of doing what is sinful. It is a merely a test. However, we look at temptations as more of a test that makes us fail rather than a test which we should pass.
Scriptures are seemingly contradicting each other when they talk about how we should approach temptations. Should it be “bring it on” or not?
Temptations are going to happen. That is how we grow as disciples.
So, the issue comes down to:
- Are we going to sin?
- Or is our faith strong enough to get us through the temptations?
Sometimes when we are in the thick of a temptation, we start to wonder from where it is coming.
It’s Not God’s Fault
“No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone” (Jas. 1: 13 CSB)
“And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am” (Gen. 22: 1 KJV)
Okay, which is it? Does God tempt us or not? Well, depends which definition we use.
God does test us to get us to prove our faith. “Fire tests the purity of silver and gold, but the LORD tests the heart” (Prov. 17: 3 NLT).
However, God does not do this through evil means or to do evil. “No one undergoing a trial should say, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ since God is not tempted by evil, and he himself doesn’t tempt anyone” (Jas. 1: 13 CSB).
God’s “… nature is necessarily and infinitely opposed to everything of the [evil] kind; and to such a nature what is sinful or impure never can present [not] capable of exerting even the remotest influence” (Wardlaw).
However, God does not test us trying to get us to fail. He tests us so that we can succeed and grow.
When we take/took tests in school, wasn’t it partly so we knew what we didn’t know? Yes, teachers want to know what we know, but the flip side is we find out what we don’t know. That way we can work on filling those holes in our knowledge.
I took Adam for wellness checks when he was a baby. Periodically, I would take him in to make sure he was growing at the rate he should be growing. If his growth had been stunted, it may have been an indication there was something wrong. So, wellness checks can just be a determination that all is going well.
Tests aren’t necessarily a bad thing. This is especially true if God is measuring us with the yard stick of His expectations for when we live with Him for eternity.
God is not looking for the evil in us — unless it is to eliminate it from our lives. He is looking for the good.
We have to watch when we try to blame God for all of the ills in our lives. This is our Sovereign Creator. He is in charge, not us.
I think sometimes we get mixed up on what God is testing us on and for what He is chastising us. “The Lord corrects the people he loves and disciplines those he calls his own” (Heb. 12: 6 CEV). If we think God does not have the authority to correct us when we break His laws and commandments, we would be wrong.
James 1: 14 says, “… drawn away of his own lust …” (KJV). The definition used today would put that in the physical/intimate bailiwick.
This passage is meaning more than just that. It is more a tremendous desire of something.
What If It Isn’t Always Satan’s Fault?
“Satan may tempt you because of your lack of self-control” (I Cor. 7: 5 CSB)
We know that Satan doesn’t just plop the temptations on the table. At times, he escorts us to our seats, pulls out and pushes in our chairs, and puts the napkins on our laps.
Satan does want these temptations to take on a darker meaning. He wants us to succumb to the evil influences within the temptations.
The shiny has to shine for us. The pleasurable has to be undeniable. Satan will want everything just right.
We just had a whole series on putting on the armor of God. Why? “Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil” (Eph. 6: 11 CSB). We talked about the spiritual warfare occurring between God and Satan for us.
Arnot made an insightful observation. “There is indeed a tempter. The evil spirit has no power at all over any of us, except what we concede to him.”
Think about that a second. I am not sure I had ever heard it put that way before, but it makes sense.
What really can Satan do to us? Yes, he can hurt the body. He cannot hurt the soul. We are the ones who have to deny God.
What If It Is Our Fault?
“Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away” (Jas. 1: 14 NLT)
But what if it always isn’t Satan who primes the pump for the temptations? Adam said that the evil is already inside of us. Satan doesn’t have to put the desires there because they are already there.
I know. N-o-b-o-d-y likes to admit fault. But what if temptations are our fault?
Oh, yes, we are very quick to lay blame at someone else’s feet. Case in point — Adam and Eve.
“Then he [God] asked, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?’ The man replied, ‘The woman you gave to be with me — she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.’ So the Lord God asked the woman, ‘What is this you have done?’ And the woman said, ‘The serpent deceived me, and I ate’ (Gen. 3: 11-13 CSB).
I hear you. Go back two chapters to where mankind was made. “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness …’” (Gen. 1: 26 CSB).
God’s image ……. God is not evil …… mankind is not evil???????
Oh, yes, we are — or can be!
But think about it. We were made in God’s image. It was only later that the evil entered into us.
The temptation comes from inside us. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jer. 17: 9 KJV).
East reminded us that, “before the act can be committed the purpose must be formed in the breast, which takes time, design, deliberation. Seduction, theft, perfidy, drunkenness, injustice, murder, the popular vices of the day, require design, arrangement, decision.”
Making the Connections
Why would we think God would force us into doing evil? He doesn’t force us into doing good. Wouldn’t he force us into something more consistent with His character?
Wardlaw said something else I really liked. God “… can never be induced to act, in any step of His procedure, inconsistently with any attribute of His character, or, in a single jot or tittle, to sacrifice the claims of the purest moral rectitude.” God is going to remain true to His character. He expected us to be striving toward our imitating His character.
God’s character is love (I Jn. 4: 8). If anything, wouldn’t he smother us with His love?
Well, hasn’t He in a way? God did send His Son to die a horrible death for us. If that isn’t oodles and gobs of love, what is?
We are going to fail some of our temptations. In the last devotion, we talked about what the original consequences and results of sin were.
When we sin, we also feel the results of our sins. For example, poverty, crime, disease, and death can be felt by many of us.
How Do We Apply This?
What lies within us is the choice we have to make — are we for God or against Him? If we do not choose to admit our sins, believe on Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer, and confess God as our Sovereign Lord, we have chosen against Him.
That is the way it is going to be.
When we choose God, He strengthens us with His power so that we can resist the temptation. Yes, we will still choose to give in, but it is always our choice.
Our goal is to be growing in grace and knowledge of God (I Pet. 3: 18) so we can become the ones we will be in heaven. To grow, we need to go through — hopefully successfully — these temptations.
Father. We know that, since we have become Your children, we are fair game for Satan. Help us to withstand the temptations. Use them to refine us. May we always look to You within the midst of the trials. Amen.
What do you think?
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