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James 1:13
“Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”
Remaining steadfast in our trials and persevering in our trust in God will result in our enjoying the crown of life (James 1:12). Such perseverance is not easy, which is why the Apostle James has to exhort us to persevere. In the trials, difficulties, and testings that we face, the pain of the events themselves is difficult enough to endure. These trials, however, introduce another temptation with respect to our understanding of the character of God. James begins to deal with this temptation in today’s passage.
Sickness, the death of a loved one, job loss, persecution, shattered dreams and aspirations, and other trials that come our way inevitably prompt us to ask questions about God’s goodness and wisdom. If God is good, why am I suffering? If God wants me to trust Him, why does this providence I am facing seem so unwise? In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, if the Lord is perfectly righteous, “Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all who are treacherous thrive?” (Jer. 12:1). Such thoughts may be normal, and there can even be a way to ponder such matters without falling into sin. Yet if we are not careful, we will quickly move from asking hard questions to thinking that God is not really good, wise, or righteous. At that point, we have fallen into sin, for “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5).
James wants us to understand that this temptation to sin in our trials does not come from God. He does not tempt anyone to sin because He Himself cannot be tempted by evil (James 1:13). He does not desire evil in and of itself, though He will ordain to permit evil for the sake of a greater good (Gen. 50:20). But those internal temptations to evil that arise in the hearts of fallen creatures are impulses to sin for which the Lord is not morally responsible. Matthew Henry explains why: “All moral evil is owing to some disorder in the being that is chargeable with it, to a [lack] of wisdom, or of power, or of decorum and purity in the will. But who can impeach the holy God with the [lack] of these, which are his very essence?”
Scripture, of course, is plain that the Lord tests His people (e.g., see Gen. 22:1). God will allow believers to enter situations in which the world, the flesh, or the devil may tempt them to sin, but God Himself is not the tempter. He is never the direct agent of temptation. Therefore, “let no one say when he is tempted”—or tested—“‘I am being tempted by God’” (James 1:13).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin writes, “The origin of sin is not in God, and no blame can be imputed to him as though he took pleasure in evils.” How God can use evil but not be pleased with evil or not tempt anyone with evil is a great mystery. Nevertheless, the Bible teaches these truths with clarity. When we are tempted to question God’s goodness in our trials, let us repent and meditate on passages such as 1 John 1:5 that affirm divine goodness.
For further study
- Judges 2:16–23
- Psalm 34
- Matthew 6:7–13
- 1 Corinthians 10:13
The bible in a year
- Genesis 30–31
- Matthew 11:1–15