Is God Tempting You to Sin?

Genesis 22:1

And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am.

We see a strange statement in this verse that says, God did tempt Abraham. Does this mean that God tried to get Abraham to sin? The answer to this question is that God was testing him to see what was in his heart. James 1:13 teaches, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: You will notice that God will not tempt any man with evil, and evil is sin. Therefore, we must look at the verse above and realize that God was not tempting Abraham to do wrong, but he was testing him to see what was in his heart. Let’s look at what temptation is in the Scriptures and what it means to your life.

First, temptation is often testing in the Scriptures. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. You can see from this verse that God never allows us to be tempted above our abilities. What is the tempting in this verse? This tempting is God testing us. God never allows the test of temptation to be above our ability to do right. God knows that every test He gives us we can pass; therefore, if we fail, it is because we chose to fail.

Second, temptation itself is not a sin; it is yielding to the temptation that becomes the sin. Matthew 4:1 says, Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. If being tempted with sin was a sin, then Jesus is a sinner. However, though Jesus was tempted with sin, He never entertained the thought of sin. Let me illustrate this. I cannot control what society puts out for everyone to see. I cannot control what pictures are on the billboards. However, I can control whether I dwell on the picture or turn my head immediately once I see it. The fact that I accidentally saw a picture on the billboard is not my fault. The fact that the picture was trying to tempt me does not mean that I have sinned. However, if I stop and look at the picture once I see it, that is when it becomes sin. Just because you have been tempted does not mean that you have done wrong; it is the yielding to the temptation that makes it wrong. I cannot control every environment that I walk in; however, I can control what I do in every environment so that the temptations of that environment don't destroy me.

Third, God's temptation can become sin if I don't obey God. God will not tempt us with evil, but when I choose not to obey God is when the temptation becomes sin. Had Abraham not obeyed God, what was supposed to be a test would have become a sin, not because of God, but because of Abraham’s disobedience. When God tests you, He knows you can pass it, but when you choose to disobey is when God's testing becomes a sin in your life.

Fourth, no matter what temptation I face, God has already promised that I am able to overcome it. Whether the temptation is a test from God or Satan's temptation to sin, I have the wherewithal to overcome the temptation of sin and pass God's testing in my life. My friend, God gives you the Holy Spirit to help you to overcome any temptation; therefore, if you do not yield to the Holy Spirit, you will fail to obey, and sin will win because of temptation.