IS MY SIN GOD’S FAULT?

JAMES 1:13–15

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone

(James 1:13).

Having discussed trials, tribulations, and our need for wisdom as we face them, James shifts now to the subject of temptation. But it isn’t such a large shift of attention as we might think. James uses the same Greek word for temptation that he uses for trial. Indeed, for the believer the awful surges of temptation that boil out of his heart can be the greatest of trials. In James 1:1–12, James has been speaking of the non-moral trials we often face, as well as moral temptation, while in verse 13 he shifts to the question of moral temptations alone.

God, writes James, never tempts anyone to sin. God is holy, so it is impossible by definition for God to tempt anyone to sin. This is so obvious that we wonder why James would bother to write what he does, exhorting us not to blame God for our sinful lusts. It is absurd to say that God tempts us to sin.

But that is exactly what we do. We are so desperate to evade responsibility for our sin that we often pass the buck, blaming God. We read in Genesis 3:12 that Adam blamed God for his sin, claiming that God had sent the woman to entice him to sin. “It’s Your fault, God. If you had not sent that temptation, I would not have fallen. If You don’t like that I fell into sin, don’t blame me.” That is what we think deep down inside, and sometimes we even say it to ourselves.

Remember that the essence of original sin is to hate God. Since men hate God more than anything else, they delight in blaming Him for the problems of the world. Christians still fight indwelling sin, and thus we still battle the tendency to hate and blame God.

God does send tests our way, and sometimes those tests involve temptation. In other words, God ordains that we face temptation. But in all this, God Himself is never the tempter. God does not entice us to sin, but sets temptation before us so that we can fight it. We mature through resisting temptation. Adam and Eve were supposed to acquire the knowledge of good and evil by resisting the temptation to eat of the tree of that knowledge. As Hebrews 5:14 puts it, as we resist temptation over and over, we become stronger and more mature, and have a deeper insight into God’s truth.

CORAM DEO

Matthew 24–25

Examine your heart. Have you been blaming God for some sin in your life? Deep down, do you think it is His fault? We all do this, but we all need to stop doing it. Identify those sins, confess them, and ask God for the strength to resist them this day. Make God your friend and ally in the war against sin.

For further study: Ex. 20:18–21 • Deut. 8:1–5 • Prov. 19:1–3

wednesday

october