Philip Dampier's Blog

Chapter 1, Verse 13, ^“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”

I think James settles this question for those who want to blame God for their sins against Him. Does God put test in front of His creation? Yes, He does, beginning with Adam and Eve and from them right on through history including some of the greatest people of God. A test or trial of faithfulness is not designed to lead one into sin but rather to increase their faithfulness. If it is evil to tempt someone then we know God doesn’t tempt because He is not evil and cannot do evil. God only does what is good and never what is evil.

Rest assured that there are plenty of choices for temptations. The evil in this world continually tempts its inhabitants. Those who are tempted by that evil often resort to tempting others to join them in their sin. The Devil is by nature a tempter and is constantly seeking those weak in faith to tempt them. You might think of it as Temptation is His Job sort of thing.

Task for Today: What can we say then when we are tempted? Who can we blame? We get a strong hint in the next verse. What can we do? We can and must stay away from the presence of the Devil. He flees in the presence of the Word. We can and must stay away from those who live lives under temptation. Today, do a quick check of your environment. Is it an environment ripe with temptation. Is it a Devil controlled environment? What about our friends? Where do we go and what do we see? Is there temptation lurking there. Stay Out! Police yourself! “Get behind me, Satan” should be your constant cry.