Temptation is the act of tempting or of being tempted. In studying this lesson, it is well, therefore, to consider some of the meanings and uses of the word tempt. To tempt a person does not always mean to stir up in him an inclination or a desire to do a thing, nor even that an effort is made to do so. Some of the older meanings of tempt were to prove, test, or try. Webster also gives these definitions: To endeavor to persuade; incite. To lead, or endeavor to lead, into evil. To provoke, as anger, or a person to anger; to act presumptuously toward; as, to tempt God.<\/p>\n
In various ways, God tested or proved His people to see whether they were truly obedient to Him. The devil always tempts people in the sense that he seeks to lead them to do evil. In that sense, God tempts no one. When the devil presents inducements to get a person to do wrong, the person is said to be tempted, even though the devil’s offer may not have affected the person at all. No one ever tempts Jehovah in the sense that he seeks to induce Him to do evil; but the Israelites frequently tempted Him in the sense that they were presumptuous toward Him, and also in that they demanded unreasonable signs of His presence with them. They thus tempted Him to anger.<\/p>\n
We frequently speak of being tempted to do something, whether good or bad, when we are inclined to do it, and so we get the idea that a person is not tempted unless they feel an inclination to do something. In what sense was Jesus tempted? His temptation is sometimes compared with the temptation of Eve in the garden. In her temptation, there was an appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. In this respect, the temptation of the Savior was much like hers, but here the likeness stops. She lent a willing ear to what the devil said; Jesus met every attempt of the devil with an indignant rebuff. And there is no proof that he at any time had the least inclination to do the thing the devil suggested. Can anyone believe that the devil stirred up any evil desires in the Savior’s heart? Is it not a desire to do an evil thing wrong in itself? (See Matthew 5:27). Can anyone believe that evil thoughts or desires contaminated Jesus?<\/p>\n
He was indeed tempted in all points, just as we are, but that does not necessarily mean that He felt as we do when tempted, nor that He had the same impulse to do wrong that we sometimes feel. Offer a bottle of whiskey to a toper and to one who never drinks; the same temptation is presented to both, but certainly it does not affect them the same. Here is one comforting thing about our temptations; “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempt ed above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it<\/em>” (I Corinthians 10:13). If we do not take advantage of the way of escape, the fault is ours.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by R.L. Whiteside Annual Lesson Commentary, 1939, Gospel Advocate Co., page 246. Temptation is the act of tempting or of being tempted. In studying this lesson, it is well, therefore, to consider some of the meanings and uses of the word tempt. To tempt a person does not always mean to stir up in him…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[185],"class_list":["post-88952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-temptation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":51905,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-tempt-or-try\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":0},"title":"Is it tempt or try?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 12, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In Matthew 4:7, it seems to say something different in two translations. The ESV: Jesus said to him, \"Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'\" The NKJV: Jesus said to him, \"It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19079,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-god-gave-us-free-will-why-is-it-satan-can-still-tempt-us\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":1},"title":"If God gave us free will, why is it Satan can still tempt us?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Okay, I don't really know how to put this so here goes: If God gave us free will, why is it Satan can still tempt us? Answer: A good question. Free will means that God allows you to make choices in your life. God decided before making the world\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7812,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-god-referred-to-as-satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":2},"title":"Is God referred to as Satan?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 14, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is God referred to as Satan in II Samuel 24:1 and I Chronicles 21:1? Also, is Satan referred to as angel in Numbers 22:22, 32? Please help me explain these verses. Answer: \"Again the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel, and He moved David against them to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":18737,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-there-a-conflict-over-whether-god-tries-men\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":3},"title":"Is there a conflict over whether God tries men?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The Bible says God tries men in Hebrews 11:17, but James 1:13 says God does not tempt us. Is there a contradiction? Answer: \"By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son\" (Hebrews 11:17). \"Let\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88083,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-god-lead-us-into-temptation\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":4},"title":"Does God lead us into temptation?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Matthew 6:13, \"And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen,\" seems to imply that God might lead us into temptation. But James 1:13 says God doesn't tempt people with evil. Could you\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85511,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/two-sources-of-temptation\/","url_meta":{"origin":88952,"position":5},"title":"Two Sources of Temptation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Two frightening sources of temptation used by Satan, according to James 1 and Romans 7, are me (James 1:14) and God (Romans 7:7-12). We see both in the first temptation in Genesis 3. Satan uses Eve, but notice how the possessed serpent only tempts Eve with the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88952"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88952\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}