Theme
Temptation
Being drawn toward evil, which Scripture never traces back to God
What the text teaches
Temptation in Scripture is the pull toward evil. James 1:13 to 14 states the source plainly: God tempts no one, and each person is tempted when he is drawn away by his own and enticed.
Scripture also speaks of God testing people, as in Genesis 22:1 where God tests Abraham. The two are not the same act. A test is given by God to show what is in a person and to bring him through it. Temptation works to draw a person away. The same event can be both, which is why Matthew 4:1 says the Spirit led Jesus into and that the devil tempted him there.
1 Corinthians 10:13 sets a limit that belongs to the definition. The temptation itself is described as common to people, God is called faithful, and a way of escape is promised with it. Temptation is therefore never presented as an excuse.
First in Scripture
Genesis 3:1. The first recorded approach is a question about what God said. Nothing is offered yet and nothing is taken. The word of God is put in doubt first.
Verses to carry with you
- James 1:13-14. God tempts no one; a person is drawn away by his own desire.
- Genesis 22:1. God tested Abraham, which Scripture calls a test and not a temptation.
- Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus is tempted and answers each approach from written Scripture.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13. God is faithful and makes a way of escape.
- Hebrews 4:15. Tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, so temptation is not itself the sin.
The original language
πειρασμός
One word covers both a trial that proves and an enticement that draws away, which is why the difference in Scripture is shown by who is acting and what the outcome is meant to be rather than by two separate words.
Through the whole Bible
The approach begins with a question about God's word and moves to a claim about God's motive.
Israel is tested for forty years, and Deuteronomy 8:2 says the purpose was to show what was in their heart.
Jesus meets three temptations and answers each one from Scripture rather than by argument.
Paul and James treat temptation as ordinary, resistible and never an excuse, and locate the pull in rather than in God.
Where this appears across the Bible
Audela traces temptation through 8 chapters in 6 books, from Genesis to James. One of them has a full chapter study here.
Old Testament
The first recorded approach is a question about what God said. Nothing is offered yet and nothing is taken. The word of God is put in doubt first.
God tested Abraham, which Scripture calls a test and not a temptation.
Israel is tested for forty years, and Deuteronomy 8:2 says the purpose was to show what was in their heart.
New Testament
Jesus is tempted and answers each approach from written Scripture.
Believers are taught to pray about temptation rather than to face it alone.
God is faithful and makes a way of escape.
Tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin, so temptation is not itself the sin.
God tempts no one; a person is drawn away by his own desire.
Cross references
- Genesis 3:1-5. The pattern: doubt the word, then doubt the giver.
- Deuteronomy 8:2. God's testing is stated to have a purpose: to show what was in the heart.
- Matthew 6:13. Believers are taught to pray about temptation rather than to face it alone.
- James 1:13-15. Source, sequence and outcome laid out in one place.
- 1 Corinthians 10:13. A limit and a way out.
How it points to Christ
Hebrews 4:15 to 16 makes the temptation of Jesus the ground of confidence in prayer: he was tempted as we are and did not sin, so the of is approached for mercy and help.
Matthew 4:4 shows how he answered, by what is written. The defence Scripture records is Scripture itself.
Often misunderstood
Hebrews 4:15 says Christ was tempted in every way as we are and remained without sin. James 1:15 places the sin at the point where conceives, not at the point where the temptation arrives.
James 1:13 denies it directly. Scripture does record God testing people, and it records a way of escape being provided, but it never names God as the tempter.
Related people, places, events and themes
Related chapters
Genesis 3, Matthew 4, James 1
Study this further in Audela
Sources and evidence
Where readers have differed
Scripture does not tell us why a particular temptation comes at a particular moment, and it does not explain how far a person's circumstances shape what tempts them. It tells us the source, the limit and the responsibility. Debated
Explore the passage
These are questions the text can actually answer. Take one, go back to the passage with it, and read until Scripture answers rather than until you have an explanation you like. Each question names where this study, or another passage, does the answering.
What this reveals about God
Start here, because every passage of Scripture is first about God before it is about us. Read for what He does, what He says, and what He is called.
What does this word in Scripture teach about God?
Underline every verb God is the subject of. What He does tells you who He is.
What does this word in Scripture reveal about God's character?
Look for the words the text itself uses of Him: holy, merciful, faithful, jealous, patient. Take the text's own vocabulary rather than your own.
What this reveals about us
Scripture is honest about people. Read for what it says of human need, human failure, and the kind of response it calls for.
What does this word in Scripture teach about humanity?
Watch what the people in the text want, fear, and trust. Scripture rarely flatters them.
Where this arrives in Christ
Jesus said the Scriptures testify of Him. Follow the line the Bible itself draws rather than inventing one.
What does this word in Scripture reveal about Jesus Christ?
Look for what the New Testament does with this text. A connection Scripture makes is a connection you can stand on.
What does this word in Scripture reveal about salvation?
Ask who does the saving, who is saved, from what, and by what means. Let the text answer each part.
The world behind the words
The first readers knew things we have to learn. Recovering what they knew is study, not speculation.
How would the original audience have understood this word in Scripture?
Ask what they had already been told, what they were living through, and what this would have cost them to believe.
What do these words carry in the original: πειρασμός?
Take the word to its root, its first appearance, and its range of use. Then let the context choose the meaning.
How this connects to the rest of Scripture
Scripture is its own best commentary. The clearest answers usually come from another passage rather than from a scholar.
Which Old and New Testament passages help explain this word in Scripture?
Prefer passages that quote or clearly echo this text. Those links are the Bible's own, not ours.
What biblical themes are developed in this word in Scripture, and where do they begin?
Trace one theme backwards to where Scripture first raises it, then forwards to where it lands.
Questions Audela will not answer
Where Scripture does not answer a question, Audela says so plainly rather than filling the silence. An honest “the Bible does not tell us” is more faithful than a confident guess, and it keeps the reader’s trust in God’s Word rather than in our reasoning.
The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever.
- Ask instead: What does the passage say God did, and what does that reveal about His character?
- Ask instead: What has God told us about His purpose here, in this text or elsewhere in Scripture?
- Ask instead: What does Scripture say about how God acts, and where does it say it?
- Ask instead: What happened, and what does the rest of Scripture make of it?
Study tools
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Where this is taught in full
These are the deepest studies Audela has written that stand on this concept. Start with the chapter study if you want the passage itself, or the topic study if you want the theme traced across the whole Bible.
Studies standing on the same passages
How this connects across Audela
Scripture teaches one story, so Audela is one library. These are the pages standing on the same passages, themes, doctrines and people as this one.
Same passage
- If God tempts no one, why does Genesis 22 say He tempted Abraham?Both pages teach Genesis 22:1, so they stand on the same text.
- Here am IBoth pages teach Genesis 22:1, so they stand on the same text.
- DeceptionBoth pages teach Genesis 3:1-5, so they stand on the same text.
- DesireBoth pages teach Genesis 3, so they stand on the same text.
Same chapter
- Genesis 22: The Mountain Where God Revealed the GospelBoth stand in Genesis 22, at different points in the chapter.
- Genesis 4Both stand in James 1, at different points in the chapter.
- Philippians 4: Contentment Learned in ChainsBoth stand in Matthew 6, at different points in the chapter.
- Romans 8: No Condemnation, No Defeat, No SeparationBoth stand in Genesis 22, at different points in the chapter.
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