When Tempted, No One Should Say "God Is Tempting Me." For God Cannot Be Tempted By Evil, Nor Does He Tempt Anyone
Sin Brings About Death
JAMES 1:13-15
“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. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
”James 1:13-15 NKJV
https://bible.com/bible/114/jas.1.13-15.NKJ
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Many committed believers wonder why they still have temptations. God certainly allows believers to be tested but not more than they can stand; God is never tempted and neither does He tempt anyone else.
However He does allow Satan to tempt us in order to refine our faith, test and help us grow in our dependence on God.
We can resist temptation by asking God for strength and choosing to obey His Word.
Temptation comes from evil desires within us, not from God. It begins with an evil thought and becomes sin when we dwell on that thought and allow it to manifest and become sin. Furthermore, if allowed, sin grows like a snow ball rolling downhill, becoming more and more destructive and difficult to stop until it brings about death.
When wrong desires come into our minds It is easy to make excuses and blame others for our evil thoughts and wrong actions, but the truth is, while the devil can whisper into us inappropriate thoughts, we choose how we shall respond to such thoughts.
It’s not always easy to make the right choices, for we humans all have a deceitful heart above all things (JEREMIAH 17:9) that naturally looks for excuses to justify sin, such as; “it's the other persons thought; I couldn't help it, everyone else is doing it; it was just a mistake; nobody's perfect; the devil made me do it; I was pressured into it; I didn't realise it was wrong; God tempted me.”
No, God did not tempt you, and whilst the devil does bring temptation, you have free will to walk in righteousness and the Holy Spirit to empower you to do it.
Paul tells us to take every thought captive and bring them to the obedience of Christ. We can only achieve this by the leading and power of the Holy Spirit, ”For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.“
II Corinthians 10:3-6 NKJV
The truth is, there are consequences for all our actions, good and evil.
A person making excuses is trying to justify his or her actions, and then when they cannot hide or justify their evil deeds, they put the blame on something or someone else.
A true committed believer accepts responsibility for his or her own wrong doings, confesses them, and ask God for forgiveness. Repentance is turning from such sin, doing it no more and becoming obedient to Christ.
My beloved, the best time to stop temptation is before it starts; rebuke wrong thoughts by nipping them in the bud before they become too strong or too powerful to control.
It is encouraging to know that God always gives us a way forward in righteousness, and is faithful to forgive a repentant heart.
Paul said, ”Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.“
I Corinthians 10:1-13 NKJV
All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
