James 1:13-14 on Temptation
by Jimmy Lau
James 1:13-14 King James Version (KJV)
13 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:
14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
雅各書 1:13-14 Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional) (CCBT)
13 當人受到誘惑時,不可說:「是上帝在誘惑我。」因為上帝不受邪惡的誘惑,也不誘惑人。 14 其實每個受到誘惑的人都是受自己的私慾慫恿和誘惑。
When we sin, it is because of our own choices. Certainly Satan can tempt us to sin and influence us, but the choice is ultimately our own. Think of when a doctor tells a patient to quit smoking. It is not the cigarette's fault, nor the tobacco company, when the patient continues to smoke; it is his choice. In the same way, the Word of God is the doctor telling us to quit sin. But the choice is up to us.
Overcoming sin is difficult. But with God, we can defeat the wiles of he devil. Christ overcame the devil’s temptation with the Word of God (Matthew 4: 4, 7, 10). The Psalmist says: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against the” (Psalm 119:11).
The Word of God is good only when it is in our hearts. The devil is not afraid when the Bible is in our hands but not in our hearts. Our hearts control our thoughts. And our thoughts control our life: “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man” (Matthew 15:19, 20).
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