James 1:13

James 1:13 . Let no man say, when he is tempted — To commit sin, in whatever way it may be; I am tempted of God — God has laid this temptation in my way; for God cannot be tempted with evil — It cannot appear desirable, or otherwise than detestable, in God’s eyes; nor can he be inclined to it in any degree, through any external object, or any internal motion; neither tempteth he any man — He does not persuade or incline, much less constrain any one to sin by any means whatever. The word πειραζειν , to tempt, as we have seen, often signifies “to try, in order to discover the disposition of a person, or to improve his virtue, James 1:12 . In this sense God is said to have tempted or tried Abraham and the Israelites. Not that he was ignorant of the dispositions of either of them. In the same sense the Israelites are said to have tempted or proved God. They put his power and goodness to the trial, by entertaining doubts concerning them. Here, to tempt, signifies to solicit one to sin, and actually to seduce him into sin, which is the effect of temptation or solicitation. See James 1:14 . In this sense the devil tempts men. And because he is continually employed in that malicious work, he is called, by way of eminence, Ο πειραζων , the tempter. It is in this sense we are to understand the saying in the end of the verse, that God is incapable of being tempted, that is, seduced to sin by evil things, and that he seduces no one to sin.

Of God (ἀπὸ Θεοῦ) Lit., from God. Not by God, as the direct agent, but by agency proceeding from God. Compare Matthew 4:1, where the direct agency, "by the spirit," "by the devil," is expressed by ὑπό. Cannot be tempted (ἀπείραστος ἐστι) Lit., is incapable of being tempted. But some of the best expositors render is unversed in, evil things, as better according both with the usage of the word and with the context, since the question is not of God's being tempted, but of God's tempting. Rev. gives this in margin. Ἀπείραστος, only here in New Testament. Neither tempteth he (πειράζει δὲ αὐτὸς) The A. V. fails to render αὐτὸς: "He himself tempteth no man." So Rev.

{11} Let no man say when he is {m} tempted, I am tempted of God: {12} for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (11) The third part of this epistle, in which he descends from outward temptations, that is, from afflictions by which God tries us: to inward, that is, to those lusts by which we are stirred up to do evil. The sum is this: Every man is the author of these temptations by himself, and not God: for we carry in our bodies that wicked corruption, which seeks opportunity forever, to stir up evil in us, from which eventually proceeds wicked behaviour, and in conclusion follows death, the just reward of them. (m) When he is provoked to do evil. (12) Here a reason is shown, why God cannot be the author of evil behaviour in us, since he does not desire evil behaviour.

Jam 1:13 . Μηδεὶς πειραζόμενος , no man, who is tempted ) Now there follows another section on the subject of temptations. The strength of patience mainly consists in our knowing the source of the evil which tries us.— λεγέτω , say ) either in heart, or by word.— αὐτὸς , He ) The meaning is, Neither do any sins of ours tempt God from without, to entice us to worse things; nor in truth does He tempt any man of His own accord. This very thing is also characteristic of the Divine simplicity , Jam 1:5 . The word αὐτὸς often gives the idea of something spontaneous; wherefore the word βουληθεὶς , “ of His own will ,” in the opposite part of the antithesis ( Jam 1:18 ), agrees with this.

13. when … tempted—tried by solicitation to evil. Heretofore the "temptation" meant was that of probation by afflictions. Let no one fancy that God lays upon him an inevitable necessity of sinning. God does not send trials on you in order to make you worse, but to make you better (Jas 1:16, 17). Therefore do not sink under the pressure of evils (1Co 10:13). of God—by agency proceeding from God. The Greek is not "tempted by," but, "from," implying indirect agency. cannot be tempted with evil, &c.—"Neither do any of our sins tempt God to entice us to worse things, nor does He tempt any of His own accord" (literally, "of Himself"; compare the antithesis, Jas 1:18, "Of His own will He begat us" to holiness, so far is He from tempting us of His own will) [Bengel]. God is said in Ge 22:1 to have "tempted Abraham"; but there the tempting meant is that of trying or proving, not that of seducement. Alford translates according to the ordinary sense of the Greek, "God is unversed in evil." But as this gives a less likely sense, English Version probably gives the true sense; for ecclesiastical Greek often uses words in new senses, as the exigencies of the new truths to be taught required.

Verse 13. - God is not the author of temptation; cf. Ecclus. 15:11, 12, " Say not thou, It is through the Lord that I fell away: for thou oughtest not to do the things that he hateth. Say not thou, He hath caused me to err: for he hath no need of the sinful man." From God ; ἀπὸ Θεοῦ (the article is wanting in א , A, B, C, K, L). Contrast ὑπὸ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπιθυμίας . Ἀπὸ Θεοῦ is a more general expression than ὑπὸ Θεοῦ , which would refer the temptation immediately to God. Ἀπὸ Θεοῦ is frequently used as a kind of adverb divinitus. Cannot be tempted ; ἀπείραστος : an ἅπαξ λεγόμενον . Syriac, "is not tempted with evils;" Vulgate, inten-tator malorum ; R.V., "cannot be tempted of evil;" R.V. margin, "is untried in evil." Alford has a good note on this word, in which he points out that it has but two meanings: (1) that has not been tried; (2) that has not tried. The rendering of the Vulgate is thus etymologically possible, but is against the context. The use of the word may, perhaps, be extended somewhat wider than the renderings given above would allow, so that it may be paraphrased as "out of the sphere of evils" (Farrar). Neither tempteth he , etc. Here the writer has in his mind the conception of a direct temptation from God. Αὐτός is emphatic. Render with R.V., And he himself tempteth no man. James 1:13

Let no man say; neither with his mouth, nor so much as in his heart, blasphemously cast the blame of his sins upon God, to clear himself. When he is tempted; so stirred up to sin as to be drawn to it. I am tempted of God; either solicited by God to sin, or enforced to it. For God cannot be tempted with evil; cannot be drawn aside to any thing that is unrighteous, by any motion from within, or impression from without. Neither tempteth he any man; doth no way seduce or enforce to sin, so as to be justly chargeable as the author of it. Objection. God is said to be tempted, Exodus 17:2,7 Deu 6:16 Psalm 78:41 ; and to tempt, Genesis 22:1 Deu 8:2 13:3 . Answer. Both are to be understood of temptations of exploration, or for the discovery of something that was before hidden. Men tempt God, that they may know what he will do; God tempts men, that they (not he, for he knows it already) may know what themselves will do, which then appears, when the temptation draws it out; but neither is to be understood of the temptation here spoken of, viz. of seduction, or drawing into sin.

God tempts by giving hard commands, Genesis 22:1 ; by afflicting, as in Job’s case; by letting loose Satan or other wicked instruments to tempt, 1 Kings 22:22 ; by withholding his grace and deserting men, 1 Samuel 28:15 ; by presenting occasions which corruption within improves unto sin, and by ordering and governing the evil wills of men, as that a thief should steal out of this flock rather than that, that Nebuchadnezzar should come against Jerusalem rather than Rabbah, Ezekiel 21:21,22 . But God doth not tempt by commanding, suggesting, soliciting, or persuading to sin.

(13) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. —Far be it from the true Christian either to give way to sin “that grace may abound” ( Romans 6:1 ), or to suppose for one moment that God, and therefore power invincible, is drawing him from righteousness. Almost every reflection upon the nature of sin leads up to an inquiry as to its cause; and the enigma will hardly be solved in this life. The very facts of the presence of evil amongst God’s creatures, and its continual attraction even for the best, have often driven men to doubt His supremacy. Sadly—how can we of charity think otherwise?—some have felt the pain, but not the purpose of the world. At times they cannot see in nature “the work of a Being at once good and omnipotent,” and prefer to doubt the latter quality sooner than the former. [14] But this nineteenth-century conclusion is no advance beyond the dual system of the Persians, or rather, of Manes, who corrupted with his Indian fancies the faith of Zoroaster. The Manichees settled the difficulty better than our Deists by declaring the existence of a good God and a bad one; and appealed to the daily strife between virtue and vice, nay, life and death, in witness of their simple creed. Thanks to the gospel, a nobler theology is our Christian heritage, whereby we are persuaded that good will triumph at the last, and by which we are taught humility withal to own that God’s ways in so permitting and overworking evil are beyond man’s comprehension.

And a better scepticism remains for us than that of the Theist, or Agnostic either; a disbelief more vehement that here can be the end, since in this life we experience in no sense the rewards of just and unjust to the full. [14] Specially see J. S. Mill’s “Three Essays on Religion.” Nature, p. 38. For God cannot be tempted with evil.—We can see here a good instance of the excellence of the old Geneva Bible, “the first on several occasions to seize the exact meaning of a passage which all the preceding versions had missed.” Our present rendering follows the Genevan exactly, rejecting those of Wiclif. “God is not a tempter of yuell things”; Tyndale, “God tempteth not vnto evyll”; and Cranmer, “God cannot tempte vnto euyll.” Neither tempteth he any man.—The trial comes of Him, i.e., the Tempter is allowed; but so far, and no further. God Himself is “unversed of evils,” and no possibility of temptation remains with Him. Into the unseen splendour of His fulness no thought of wrong can enter; no foul thing wing its silent flight. It were blasphemy, perilously near that of the Pharisees (Matthew 12:22-37) to think God’s kingdom could be so divided against itself, that He, directly or indirectly, should seduce His subjects into the revolt of sin.