Where does temptation come from?
Temptation rises from within, from our own desires, and it is also pressed on us from without, by a real enemy who distorts God's word. It never comes from God. Temptation itself is not sin, and its power is broken by the Word, by faith, and by the way of escape God promises to provide.
This question arose from studying How do I fight sin in my life? and What happens when I sin after I've come to Christ?.
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What the Scripture says
It rises from our own desires
James is wonderfully honest: 'each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.' The bait is usually an unholy desire we already carry, not an idea dropped from nowhere. That is why the fight begins in the heart: the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin, and sin, full grown, produces death.
But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed.
Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
It is pressed on us from without
There is a real enemy who wants you to fall. He is the one who came to Eve and asked whether God had really said; Paul warns that Satan masquerades as an angel of light and that the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness; and Peter pictures him as 'a roaring lion' seeking someone to devour. Temptation is not only internal wrestling; it is also a battle with a personal foe.
Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’”
But I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
It never comes from God
James rules it out completely: no one should say, when tempted, that they are being tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one. God tests and refines, but He never entices anyone to sin. When temptation comes, it has another source: our own desires and the enemy who feeds them.
Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one.
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations,
knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
Being tempted is not the same as sinning
Jesus Himself was tempted, yet without sin, which proves that temptation in itself is not the fall; sin begins when we yield and the lust conceives. This matters: you cannot always stop the tempting thought from knocking, but you are not guilty for the knock, only for opening the door. He who was tempted now helps those who are tempted.
For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
For in that he himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
The way out is the Word, faith, and the escape He provides
Jesus answered every temptation with 'It is written,' not by matching the devil's cleverness but by resting on the word. James urges: resist the devil, and he will flee. And Paul gives the anchor promise: God is faithful, He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear, and He will provide the way of escape. Watch and pray, and take up the shield of faith.
But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Watch and pray, that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.
Withstand him steadfast in your faith, knowing that your brothers who are in the world are undergoing the same sufferings.
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Verses to meditate on
Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each one is tempted, when he is drawn away by his own lust, and enticed. Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin; and the sin, when it is full grown, produces death.
No temptation has taken you except what is common to man. God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but will with the temptation also make the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but one who has been in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin.
But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
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