God Does Not Tempt

There’s an interesting statement found in the first chapter of James about temptation.
Take note of what’s said in verse thirteen – “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.”
Sometimes people confuse temptation with trials or tests the Lord sets before us. They’re
not the same. Let me give you an example.

Going back to the garden of Eden, we find God giving instruction to Adam in regards to
the trees in the garden: “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
surely die” (Genesis 2:16-17). This command would be a test of his devotion to the Lord.
When we come to chapter three, we see a temptation is presented to Adam’s wife, Eve, in
verse one: “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord
God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘“Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of
every tree of the garden’?” Eve responds in the next two verses, indicating the exception of
one particular tree and the consequences from eating from it. To this the serpent told Eve,
“You will not surely die” (vs. 4). A temptation was put before her which she ultimately gave
into, falling in line with what James said would happen (James 1:14-15).

God doesn’t tempt anyone, but He does test us to strengthen us and see where our
devotion lies. On the other hand, the Father of lies (John 8:44), “that serpent of old, called
the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world” (Revelation 12:9), will do everything
within his power to lead us astray. Therefore, let us heed the concern Paul expressed to the
church of the Thessalonians for their spiritual well-being when he said to them, “For this
reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the
tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain” (1 Thessalonians 3:5).