God Does Not Tempt Us - Daily Devotional

“When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

James 1:13-15, NIV

God does not tempt us to sin. God cannot sin nor does He tempt anyone to do evil. Temptation comes from the sinful nature inside of us. It starts with a bad thought and becomes sin when we dwell on the thought and continue with the thought to the action of sin. God can test us, but not tempt us to sin, though He can allow Satan to tempt us, which God allows him to do to improve our faith and strengthen our dependency on Christ. 

To resist the temptation to sin, we should turn to the Lord for His strength and choose to be obedient to His Word over our fleshly desires. Our sinful nature leads us further away from God when we are “dragged away and enticed”. Following the desires of our evil nature leads to death. Without Christ, we would all be led to death, but because of Christ’s death, we can have eternal life in Him! Unlike our sinful nature, following Christ leads to LIFE. (For further reading about being dead to sin and alive in Christ, you can read Romans 6.)

Have you ever thought “God is tempting me”? Do you make excuses about why you sin? Sin is in our nature, but it does not give us an excuse to sin. If you have a temptation that is dragging you away from God and enticing you, seek God! Ask God for a way out of the temptation and ask Him for forgiveness if you have allowed sin in your life. God always provides a way out of temptation. (Read 1 Corinthians 10:13) Also, you must look to Christ’s strength, not your own. 

"To resist the temptation to sin, we should turn to the Lord for His strength and choose to be obedient to His Word over our fleshly desires."