September 22, 2021

13 No one, when tempted, should say, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself tempts no one. – James 1:13

Last Wednesday we began our Bible Study group working through the book of James. In our discussion an interesting thought comes up – does God test us? We started this discussion based on the verse above about God not tempting anyone. Which leads us to ask of ourselves, what is the difference between a test and a temptation?

Often these words have been used interchangeably in our modern context, however there are so notable differences. Just sticking to definition, a test would be defined as a procedure intended to establish the quality, performance, reliability, of something. Whereas a temptation is leading to the desire to do something (presumably wrong or unwise, but not necessarily so).

Then we have the evidence in the Scriptures that when someone is tested, as in Abraham being tested for his faith, or Job being tested for his faithfulness it is God who either does or allows the testing. Yet when temptation is involved, it is either the evil within one’s heart (think Job’s wife telling him to curse God and die) or the Evil One (think Jesus temptation in the desert).

Temptation is something, biblically speaking that want to draw our attention, our focus away from God or the community of believers; whereas a test may be to draw us deeper into our faith. Either way, our calling is to trust and rely on the grace and goodness we have from God, that we perhaps receive from the community of faith, to draw us ever closer to God’s unending love for us and all humanity in Christ Jesus our Lord.

No matter what test we may be facing today, or what temptations strive to draw us away from our faith in God, we can be assured that God is present with us, drawing us always unto Him, and offering us comfort, consolation, and counsel as we seek to live abundantly and eternally in His grace and love.

Grace & Peace,
Sam