{"id":5653,"date":"2014-10-06T00:00:45","date_gmt":"2014-10-06T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5653"},"modified":"2014-11-04T05:02:01","modified_gmt":"2014-11-04T05:02:01","slug":"james-113-temptation-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/?p=5653","title":{"rendered":"James 1:13\u2014Temptation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Let no one say when he is tempted, \u201cI am being tempted by God\u201d; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. <\/em>James 1:13<\/p>\n<p>James draws\u00a0a line in the sand: \u201cDon\u2019t even <em>think<\/em>\u00a0your\u00a0temptation is from God; don\u2019t let those words be <em>uttered<\/em> out of your mouth!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The word \u201ctempted\u201d here [<em>Let no one say when he is <strong>tempted<\/strong><\/em>] is the Greek word <em>peiraz\u014d <\/em><em>(see <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/lang\/Lexicon\/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3985&amp;t=KJV\">http:\/\/www.blueletterbible.org\/lang\/Lexicon\/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=G3985&amp;t=KJV<\/a> <em>).\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n<p>This word has a number of definitions, but in this verse, according to Thayer\u2019s Greek Lexicon (also found at the above link), it means \u201cto try or test one\u2019s faith, virtue, character, <strong>by enticement to sin<\/strong>\u2026hence, according to the context: to solicit to sin, to tempt\u201d (emphasis added).<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s think about what James is saying by looking at the different scenarios presented by this definition.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>When your virtue is tested, don\u2019t say it\u2019s from\u00a0God.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>When your character is tested, don\u2019t say it\u2019s\u00a0from God.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Whenever you are enticed to sin, solicited to sin, or tempted, it\u2019s not from God.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Have you ever wondered <em>Why\u00a0does God allow me to be tempted<\/em><em>?<\/em> Please recognize this fact: God <em>never<\/em> sends enticement, solicitation, or temptation. <em>But\u00a0then why\u00a0doesn\u2019t He stop it?<\/em> Are you implying that because you are tempted, you have <em>no choice<\/em> but to give in to it\u00a0unless God blocks\u00a0it in the first place? If\u00a0this is true, and\u00a0believers are helpless in the face of temptation, then Christ\u2019s death on the cross was meaningless. However,\u00a0His death and resurrection was the most\u00a0revolutionary event in history, and\u00a0the grace and power you need to thwart and\/or overcome <em>every <\/em>temptation, enticement, solicitation, or test of your character have been abundantly provided for you in Christ.<\/p>\n<p>Bottom line: God expects YOU to overcome. He expects ME to overcome. He\u2019s given us <em>everything <\/em>we need pertaining to life and godliness (see 2 Peter 1:3), and we have a lifetime to learn how to draw upon the grace and power He\u2019s provided for us through Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2026for God cannot be tempted by evil\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I love to think about the things God <em>can\u2019t<\/em> do. He cannot <em>lie<\/em> (see Hebrews 6:18 and Numbers 23:19). He cannot <em>change<\/em> (see Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8). And He cannot be <em>tempted by evil<\/em>. When I think of our omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient God, I am <em>awed<\/em> by the things He cannot do and what these limitations reveal about His character.<\/p>\n<p>The God you serve <em>cannot be tempted by evil<\/em>. It just isn\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2026and<\/em> <em>He Himself does not tempt anyone.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He is good, through and through. He cannot be tempted by evil, and He will not tempt <em>you<\/em>. If you <em>are<\/em> tempted, enticed, solicited, or your character or virtue is tested, God\u2019s not in it, and He\u2019s not behind the scene, authorizing it to take place.<\/p>\n<p>What He <em>has<\/em> authorized is this: <em>Consider it all joy when you encounter various trials <\/em>[or temptations]<em>, because the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing <\/em>(James 1:3-4).<\/p>\n<p>And here\u2019s one more thing God has authorized: <em>No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it <\/em>(1 Corinthians 10:13).<\/p>\n<p>Next time you are tempted, tested, enticed, or solicited to follow a fleshly route, know that it is <em>not God<\/em> messing with you, trying to see what you are made of. He doesn\u2019t do that! Instead, realize that He is on your side and will be faithful to you to provide the way of escape. Look to Him for it.<\/p>\n<p>Expect that\u00a0the grace and power you need to overcome will be provided as you obey Him and endure.<\/p>\n<p>Dorothy<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: absolute; overflow: hidden; width: 2px; height: 1px; left: -288; top: -277; z-index: 177;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/artisanplastic.seattle-web-design.net\">http:\/\/artisanplastic.seattle-web-design.net\/<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Let no one say when he is tempted, \u201cI am being tempted by God\u201d; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. James 1:13 James draws\u00a0a line in the sand: \u201cDon\u2019t even think\u00a0your\u00a0temptation is from God; don\u2019t let those words be uttered out of your mouth!\u201d The word \u201ctempted\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-james-1"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5653"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5786,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5653\/revisions\/5786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.firstofallpray.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}