God Does Not Tempt

James 1 : 12 - 18

The word ‘blessed’ in verse 12 is common and can be found in other places in the Bible. We should understand this word ‘blessed’ correctly. This is not about our emotional state. There are older translations such as KJV which use ‘happy’ there, which can be misleading. Suppose you replace ‘blessed’ in verse 12 with ‘happy’, it would become “Happy is the man who perseveres under trial” and it sounds wrong. However, if you use ‘blessed’ there, it gives a more accurate meaning. Being happy, as an emotional state, is often controlled by the circumstances of our lives. We can be in a blessed state despite not feeling happy because we receive God’s favor or are deemed favorable by God. This is what ‘blessed’ means. Receiving favor from God is more important and foundational than happiness as an emotional state. Our emotions are not God, so they can be misleading if we let our lives be guided by our emotional states. For example, when one is experiencing trial and hardship, who in their right mind can be happy? But this is important in shaping the lives of believers. Therefore, James uses the word ‘blessed’ in this passage. The blessedness there does not come with trials in themselves, but because through them we are trained to remain steadfast. Having steadfastness that grows deeper is very important for christian spirituality. In addition, there is a promise of a reward, “receive the crown of life”. Remaining steadfast goes hand in hand with receiving the crown of life.

The next verse says “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God.”. The message is clear: we should not accuse God of being the one who tempts us. Of course God can allow trials, but He is not the author of temptations, as written in verse 13. We are enticed by our own sinful desires. If we think of God as one who entices us to fall, God is pictured in our mind as rather evil. This is really not good for our journey in following and knowing God. God not only does not want us to fall, but also gives every good gift and every perfect gift from above. Thus, we should not think evil of God e.g. we think that God intentionally gives suffering, wants me to fall, is not pleased if I feel happy, and my life is made difficult. This is an evil thought. It is immature if we think like this. If you observe children’s education, it could seem similar to this. When children are commanded to sleep, to stop playing games, to study, to eat, they might not see those as good because they do not like their pleasures to be taken away. They then think their parents are evil and do not really love them. Immature thinking is indeed like this. Do not think that this kind of problem is only for children or those below 17 or 10 years old. We could also have this problem although we are much older.

So when the verse says “God does not tempt us”, what is the message to us? It also says, “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”. What is the message here? It is that you and I are called to resist temptations, as they often come with trials and suffering. It is true that temptations could also come when we are in a successful or prosperous state. For example, the temptation of falling into the sin of pride is indeed a real temptation in that state. However, the emphasis here is on temptations that come with trials and suffering such as sickness, rejection, etc. In those, there are temptations that we need to resist. This is connected to the training to gain steadfastness that includes habitually resisting temptations again and again. Here God again says that we are enticed by our own desire, thus we should resist temptations. God Himself does not think of ruining our lives by pushing us to sin. This is impossible.

Let me compare with the Book of Sirach, which does not belong to the Protestant Canon of the Old Testament, but is considered as one of the intertestamental writings. It says “Do not say it was He who led me astray. For He has no need of the sinful. The Lord hates all abominations. Such things are not loved by those who fear Him. It was He who created humankind in the beginning and He left them in the power of their own free choice. This means that when we choose to be enticed and commit sin, it is not because God pushes us to do so, but it is because of our own free choice. Thus, we will be judged as it is our free choice, not because God pushes us. Because we have a free choice, we must be held responsible. If we do not have any free choice, then we cannot be held responsible.

James indeed says that God may allow temptations to happen. However, temptation itself or even the experience of being tempted cannot be considered as falling into sin yet. In our lives we need to grow into spiritual maturity. The more we grow more spiritually mature, the more we develop a christian mind, self control, overcoming sin, etc. There is a beautiful sentence from a commentary, “Christian maturity is not indicated by the infrequency of temptation, but by the infrequency of succumbing to temptation.”. God shapes us, including in how we fight against temptations. We then read the contrast in the next verse, “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.”. This is in contrast with the thought that God intentionally tempts me. He does not, and in fact, He is the source of every good gift and every perfect gift. It is not enough for us to think that God does not tempt me. We have to think more that God is the source of every good gift and every perfect gift. We do not think in a neutral way about God, but in a much more positive way.

The next part says, “coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”. What does this mean? We can compare it with creations such as the sun, the moon and stars, which are other sources of light. They have periods in which they shine: it can be day or night, so there is a variation. However, God is unchangeable and has no such variation. There is neither day nor night for God, unlike the sun, the moon and stars. We could relate this with the previous part, which emphasizes the integrity of God i.e. God that is indivisible and not fragmented. Verse 5 talks about God who gives generously to all without reproach. This is in contrast with the instability of man, who is sometimes faithful and sometimes unfaithful. Not only the sun, the moon and stars, but also we human beings are unstable. Thus, do not rely on ourselves because we ourselves are unstable. Actually the story of growing to be more steadfast like God will happen when we learn to keep relying on God. Man, however, often talks about their faithfulness, reliability, and how they can keep their promises. It also applies to ourselves: we talk about ourselves being faithful, a man of my word that keeps promises, etc. This, in fact, does not result in growth in the life of a christian. If we want to grow, we must keep relying on God who is unchangeable and has no variation or shadow.

Verse 18 says, “Of His own will he brought us forth by the word of truth.”. What does it mean to be brought forth by the word of truth? It refers to more of being saved and about redemption, not just about creation. Of course God also creates us with the word of truth, but the emphasis here is on the work of redemption. Redemption is special; it is only for the elect or believers. The next sentence says, “that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”. The term ‘firstfruits’ here has a certain meaning, which has a sense of down payment. There is certainty that we will receive everything. However, as long as we are still in this world, blessings and shaping from God in our lives are a foretaste. The word ‘foretaste’ is also interesting to think about gastronomically or in relation to culinary experience. It is like an appetizer. You can already enjoy it, but it leaves you wanting more. No one will stop at the appetizer after all. However, one can usually get too full, perhaps after the third dessert. In Europe, there is fine dining in which you have seven, eight or nine courses. After the sixth course you might already feel disgusted. This is because it is no longer an experience of foretaste. You have had the main menu, already felt full, yet are given the first, the second and the third dessert. That will not happen with a foretaste - you will not feel full, or even disgusted, because it is a foretaste. In fact, you will want more and a deeper satisfaction. That is the beauty of the concept of foretaste. Of course I am not saying that in heaven we will feel disgusted because we will reach fullness - this is not my point at all. God will take care that we will surely not feel disgusted in heaven. However, as long as we are in this world, we have a foretaste of the goodness of God, the love of God, the holiness of God, so that we long and yearn for more. Hopefully, we could experience the foretaste of the goodness of God and God Himself. Today we will have the Holy Communion, where we will spiritually eat and drink the body and blood of Christ. This is also an experience of foretaste.

Lastly, there are two wrong extreme perspectives on the firstfruits. The first is that because it is only an appetizer or a foretaste and not the main menu, we fail to appreciate it. The second is that we take a foretaste to be the experience of fullness, and hence do not chase or yearn for more. When you live in a christian community, I believe there are surely God’s blessings. If you go to a particular church, there must be a certain work of God happening there. However, do you see that as a foretaste or something complete such that you do not have to long for more? So on one side there is ungratefulness as if there is no work of God at all. On the other side, one may think that everything is complete like in heaven and there is nothing more beyond it. Both are wrong. Understanding firstfruits correctly, we should be grateful and recognize God’s work, and on the other hand, feel encouraged to ask for more from God. This is the beauty of the concept of ‘already and not yet’ in christian eschatology. Yes, a foretaste is already given but we still want more and long for more, so there is always room for growth, improvement and being more like Christ. May God bless us all. (S.W.)