Does God tempt us to sin, and what about Abraham?
The word behind "tempt" carries two very different senses in Scripture: a pull toward evil, and a test that proves what is real. James says God does neither the first nor can He be subject to it — yet Genesis 22 opens with God putting Abraham to the sharpest test of his life. So the question is whether the Bible contradicts itself, or whether one English word is doing two jobs.
(Note: older translations render Genesis 22:1 "God did tempt Abraham," which is why the tension arises. The ESV reads, "God tested Abraham.")
One Word, Two Senses
Commentators point out that the passage itself settles which sense is meant. Where Moses writes about Abraham, nothing shameful is in view at all.
William KellyThe Spirit of God, through Moses, speaks of God testing Abraham's faith, which is no evil, but an honour placed on the friend of God. The Apostle is speaking of evil things; and in that sense, of course, "God cannot be tempted with evil, and He Himself tempts no one" — clearly in the same sense. The context puts the meaning of each beyond dispute.
The same writer notes the traffic runs the other way too. People tempt God far more often than they imagine.
William KellyNever does God tempt anyone to evil, but He may and does bring out their faith and faithfulness. Sadly, it is all too common for His people to tempt Him by doubting His mercy and His active care.
Why God Cannot Be The Source
James does not merely say God chooses not to tempt. He says God cannot be tempted with evil, and one writer traces that back to what God is by nature.
C. CrainAs light is unchangeable, so God is incorruptible, untarnishable; it is impossible for any moral poison to enter His moral nature. No evil, no sin can ever originate or exist in Him. What He is in moral nature and character He has always been and must always be.
Where The Pull Toward Sin Starts
If not from God, then from where? James traces it to a person's own desire, and one writer sets this alongside Paul's angle to show the two fit together.
The Bible TreasuryJames 1:15: "When lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin." Paul says the reverse in the letter to the Romans (Rom. 7:8) — that it is sin which produces every kind of lust. The difference between these two statements is this: Paul keeps to the spiritual principles, while James looks at their effects. The one completes the other. The sin in the nature produces the lust (Rom. 7); and the lust produces the sin in a man's conduct (James 1).
Abraham And Isaac
The command to offer Isaac was crushing, but it was not an invitation to do wrong. Writers make the case on the ground of who was asking.
A. J. PollockWhen God tested Abraham over offering up his son Isaac, God was not tempting him with evil, for God had a right to ask what He asked. God is the Giver of life and He can demand back what He gives. Genesis 22:1 is the very first mention in the Bible of the word tempt (Hebrew, nasah, to try, to prove).
There is also a plain psychological difference. Real temptation appeals to something in us; this did not.
A. J. PollockThis temptation had no appeal in Abraham's heart. He had not the slightest desire to kill his son: the command was the hardest trial. But it tested his obedience to God; it tested his faith.
What The Test Produced
At the end God says, "now I know that you fear God." That raises the obvious problem of God's knowledge, and one writer answers it directly.
The Bible TreasuryTesting may now be limited to enticement toward evil (James 1:13), but the meaning here is to try or prove. To try whether the earthen vessel will let faith have its perfect work. God tested the man to whom He gives faith... It was not that He did not know from the beginning; but the proof was now given and recorded to strengthen believers who share the same precious faith.
Trials We Are Led Into, And Ones We Walk Into
This distinction has a practical edge. Jesus taught His followers to pray about not being led into temptation, and one writer separates that from trial God sends.
The Bible TreasurySatan tempts man to evil, and we have an evil nature that responds to it... There is all the difference between our entering into temptation and God trying us. God may lead us into trial, as He did Abraham. But the Lord said to Peter, "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation." If we enter presumptuously into trial, we are bound to fall; but if the Lord leads us into it He will sustain us.
And the safeguard against confusing the two is a clear word from God. Abraham had one.
William KellyIt would have been a terrible thing for Abraham to sacrifice his son, unless God had spoken the word. But faith, where self is judged, strengthens the soul to endure testing.
Summary
- Two senses. One word covers both enticement to evil and testing that proves faith; the surrounding context decides which is meant, and Genesis 22 means the second.
- Never the source. God cannot be tempted with evil and tempts no one; no moral poison can enter His nature, so the pull to sin never begins with Him.
- Always the self. Sin in the nature produces desire, and desire produces sin in conduct — Paul gives the root, James gives the fruit.
- Abraham's proof. The command carried no appeal to Abraham's heart; it tested obedience, and the result was recorded so that others sharing that faith would be strengthened.
- Your part. God may lead you into trial and will sustain you there; walk into it presumptuously, without His word, and you fall.