Page 4 - April 2023 - Truth & Tidings

What Is Temptation? forked tongue, is two-fold: namely, the
Temptation is an inevitable human ex- results will be rewarding and also worth
perience, ever since Eve in Eden. Though the cost. Not only is there something
desirable to gain, but what is gained will
its existence is acknowledged, its potency far outweigh any potential consequences.
is underestimated; therein lies its danger. However, James debunks this alluring
It entraps the strongest and the weakest, myth, stating that such “desire, when it
the old and the young, the veteran of has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin,
battles won and the naïve youngster. We when it is fully grown, brings forth death.
might be subjected at one moment to its Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers”
bold proposition, and at another to its (1:15-16). “Do not give in to the temptation
seductive wiles. As believers we “have to possess something God has not given
been set free from sin” (Rom 6:22), yet yet or may not ever give you. Guard your
1
still face its daily presence “that dwells heart by carefully trusting the wisdom of
within me” (7:17). We, together with Paul, God and not what you can see that looks
wrestle with this agonizing tension, know- delightful.” 2
ing that “nothing good dwells in me, that
is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do Does God Tempt Us?
what is right, but not the ability to carry In Genesis 22:1, in the matter of Isaac,
it out. For I do not do the good I want, but we read, “And it came to pass after these
the evil I do not want is what I keep on things, that God did tempt Abraham”
doing” (7:18-19). (KJV). In other translations, this word is
For the purposes of this series, we will “test” or “prove.” How can we understand
look at temptation, in the biblical sense, the meaning here in light of James’ appar-
as anything that invites or pressures us to ently opposite assertion? “Let no one say
disobey God. Of course, it is almost always when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted
framed in a much more attractive way, by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with
with promises couched in terms of beauty evil, and he himself tempts no one” (1:13).
or pleasure, of power or advantage, of As always, context is our friend and the
comfort or enrichment. Temptation not key to understanding the meaning in
only extends an invitation; it always issues each case. Who is doing the tempting/
a promise. The promise, like a serpent’s
² Mark E. Shaw, Understanding Temptation: The
¹ Bible quotations in this article are from the War Within Your Heart (Focus Publishing, 2014),
ESV unless otherwise noted. 16.

100 TRUTH kTidings April 2023