So many have interpreted God’s thoughts on temptation in an incorrect way.
Many faithful believers do not accept anything other than the Word of God and do not believe a random answer from any person. Instead, they check every answer in accordance to the Word of God; and this is what every believer ought to do.
Non-biblical teachings are deadly poison through which God is depicted as a mysterious person and the source of problems by which man is taught a lesson!!!
Unfortunately, many people use the Bible in a malevolent way to teach and prove this. If asked about a verse like: “God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man”; how come you are saying otherwise? The answer would be: “you will understand later on… we don’t have the full knowledge here on earth… we will understand in heaven…”
This is exactly the opposite of what we read in Deuteronomy 29:29, which says that the things revealed and disclosed by God belong to us forever and we should look into them. However, the secret things that belong to our God and He did not reveal in the book, we will understand in heaven.
God is clear and never mysterious. He identified (revealed) himself in the Holy Bible in a crystal-clear way. No two people can argue about it provided that they understand it correctly.
We hear other views about the verse that try to adjust the sentence saying: “… God does not tempt but He permits…”
Those who interpret the verse in this way don’t know the meaning of permissibility and how it is granted. Trying to say in the middle of this sentence (“… God does not tempt but He permits…”) means that God can stop what’s happening if he wanted… As if giving an incorrect meaning that is negated by the Holy Bible which affirms that God never tempts with evil.
Temptation and test will be discussed further now in light of what the Bible tells us. Job’s life will help us see and understand temptation better. In the same manner Abraham’s life will help us see and understand test better.
Temptation
We must understand the divine laws concerning temptation so that we don’t get deceived and confused with false concepts that would only hurt us.
- What the Bible says about curses: curses never come “except” for “a reason”:
Proverbs 26: 2: “As the bird by wandering, as the swallow by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come.” A curse does not come except for a reason (from man himself). The person permits it by his own will. It is like a bird trying to settle on dry terrain but cannot because the overflow of water is covering all the land.
- Temptation comes from Satan and not from God, for God does not tempt anyone:
The book of James chapter 1 clearly states that God does not tempt with evil. He treats us equally with Him and never tempts us. Each one is tempted when he is dragged away, enticed and baited by his own worldly lust; so, the person is the reason.
James 1: 13-17 “(13) Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: (14) But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. (15) Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. (16) Do not err, my beloved brethren. (17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
- Permissibility of temptation comes from man then God:
We must warn against saying that diseases, problems, and curses come with God’s permission.
Whoever says this is declaring that God could have stopped what already happened; as if God is cursing indirectly from the back or He is the reason because he gave permissibility. Some even go falsely to the extent of saying that God is the incentive behind Satan and that is completely out of the question. God can never use Satan (his enemy) against His beloved mankind. This is all false teaching because God can never allow anything except man allow it first.
Notice the order given by the Bible: first human concent second God’s concent:
Matthew 18:18 AMP I assure you and most solemnly say to you, whatever you bind [forbid, declare to be improper and unlawful] on earth shall have [already] been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose [permit, declare lawful] on earth shall have [already] been loosed in heaven
No curse comes except for a reason from man himself. When a believer is somehow cursed, the reason is always he himself parting from the shelter of the most high God, as Psalm 91 says.
God never betrays those who seek his shelter and He never takes off His protection in order to teach the believer a lesson or tempt him. This is not a characteristic of God but of Satan who aims to kill, slaughter, and decimate. As for Jesus, He came so that we may have life, and have it more abundantly – not just spiritually but also, psychologically and physically.
God never plays with our protection for He is a shield to those that put their trust and take refuge in Him.
In so many cases, some verses seem to show that God is the one who afflicts (God struck him with plague…). Many use it to prove that God can cause sickness and curse.
However, by looking closely at the Word, we know that God never strikes because it is written: “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights”.
It’s important to know that the Bible was originally written in Greek and Hebrew. These languages are far deeper than Arabic and English. So, every verse that shows God doing something undesirable like curses, comes from a Permissive and not a Causative sense.
These expressions cannot be translated literally, the meaning should be provided according to the unique spirit behind those words, that is why the translators failed to put them in words.
- The Permissive Form:
That is, God allowed it, but it is not the “…good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”, “Romans 12: 1-2”. We already learned that God permits only when man licenses first. By reading the verses that precede and the ones that follow, we understand that man himself opened the window for Satan.
- The Causative Form:
That is, God desires it, and it always follows the verses addressing God’s goodness and love (agape).
*Source: Young’s Hebrew and Greek concordance (link is external)
- You can choose not to give Satan:
Yes, you can choose not to give place to Satan because the Bible says so and thus it is not impossible. There are two ways mentioned in Ephesians 4: 21-32, by which you do not give place to Satan:
- Renewing of the mind:
Renewing of the mind means substituting the non-biblical way of thinking with correct biblical teachings. On our website, you can read all the subjects including teachings about health, prosperity, the right way of praying etc…
- Crucifying the flesh:
Say no to the flesh (walk not in the senses but in the spirit). This becomes easier after renewing the mind. But that does not mean that you won’t face problems or pain. It simply means that you will conquer and get rid of problems and pain when you face them. Life is never free of obstacles but Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. What you face are situations or persecutions or criticism and not curses as mentioned in Deuteronomy 28:15.
- Do your part concerning the flesh:
Having faith in the divine healing of your flesh is wonderful, but you have to guard your body because it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Give it enough sleep and don’t overwork the body beyond its power. Eat healthy food, for if you don’t, then you are tempting the Lord your God.
Test
You might ask what’s the difference between temptation and test?
Test is when God uncovers to what degree you are ready to sacrifice. This reveals the motives that existed in you before the test and that wouldn’t have been revealed except during the testing time. This is never meant to destroy you and will never take away anything from you and is not a negative thing.
If we superficially look at what happened with Abraham, we will falsely understand it. Abraham knew that God wouldn’t take away his son. In Hebrews 11: 17-19, “17 By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (18) Of whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (19) Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.”
He never kept his precious son away from God. He offered him to God and sacrificed him – symbolizing Christ Jesus. Simultaneously, Abraham was sure he would never lose his son but come back with him alive. This is what the Bible confirms. Abraham did it by faith. By faith means the faith in God’s promises that came true in his life.
Abraham knew who God is. He knew that God is not a slaughterer who gives then takes as Job thought when he said (i.e. Job): “the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away “which is a wrong statement. This is not God oh Job. Notice Job was not guided by the Holy Spirit when he said this, but the Holy Spirit narrated this so that we know what he said. This does not imply that the Holy Spirit agrees with Job or that he guided him. This is the same as the story of David that was mentioned in the Bible about adultery. Surely David didn’t commit adultery while guided by the Holy Spirit but the Spirit of God narrated the event for us.
You might say: “this is what God did to me for I lost my child.”
I tell you, no! This won’t happen now for it was a symbol of the covenant representing Jesus. Abraham sacrificed his son Isaac symbolizing Jesus who is to be offered in the new testament. And remember Abraham never lost his son but came back with him alive. So, it can never happen now…
Test is all about God knowing to what extent your sacrifices go for Him and it is never something evil. God never contradicts Himself by giving Isaac (i.e. what you want) then taking it away from you… This is not God.
You have to read the Holy Bible with the spirit of wisdom and revelation for the Holy Spirit will guide you to understand God in a rightful way.
If God does two contradictory things, it means He is double minded or has double personality (and of course this is not God). God criticizes those who are double minded. Yes, he criticizes this with the Holy Spirit in James 1: 8. “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.”
So, God never contradicts Himself. The Bible says that Abraham knew that God promised Isaac to him and would never take him away.
Example:
In 1997, God started asking me to leave where I was and go to a different church that does not teach the Word correctly and does not even teach about the second birth in a truthful biblical way.
Years before that, God placed on my heart a vision of what my ministry would be and it became clearer the more I prayed in tongues and studied the Word.
When I asked God,” How do you want me to go to such a place where I don’t see any connection to the vision you placed on my heart?”
The Holy Spirit would answer,” I want you there to win them over. Go in their midst, follow their rituals and start talking to them about my love…”
But I was stubborn and hushed this voice inside me when I prayed. Yet this thought kept lingering every time I prayed and in every minute of my day.
The Holy Spirit speaks to us through thoughts. People fail to recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit because they want to hear a loud voice. They even accuse the Holy Spirit of not speaking to them. In reality the Holy Spirit always speaks but they fail to listen.
I used to pray and say,” God, I don’t want to go to this place. It’s very hard, it chokes me, and I can’t worship You in such a place. It burries the vision that you revealed to me inside.”
Every time I prayed and said,” I am yours God and I will do whatever you ask me to…”, the thought of going to that church came to my mind. The burden kept getting heavier and not lighter. The Holy Spirit’s answer when I prayed was always to go, yet I chose not to show any acceptance to God. This burden kept following me and I was sure that God would never guide me to burry the vision he put on my heart.
I persisted like this until the year 2001 when I finally decided to put an end to this struggle. I prayed and said,” Lord, I agree and I will go to this church now.” While wearing my clothes to go, I felt the burden being lifted and I started rejoicing in my spirit. God started telling me,” Don’t go… and I heard the Holy Spirit inside of me say: now you have passed this test successfully; I will move you forward to a place you have never dreamed of and that is my vision for you. Now I am sure to what extent you are ready to obey Me…”
Someone might say,” God doesn’t change His mind…” But what I just shared does not imply that God changed His mind or else I would have said this about Abraham – that God changed His mind about sacrificing Isaac. However, this is a test to know the extent of Abraham’s sacrifices of the most precious thing to him. Through that God can be sure of a person’s degree of obedience.
From that, here’s a very important principal:
God’s preconceived knowledge does not affect His future decisions. For God is not dealing with a robotic human but a human with a will. God knows by himself, but wants man to come to this knowledge also.
You might ask, how can this be? Here’s the answer from the Bible where Abraham said in Genesis 22:12 “And he said, lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me.”
Without doubt, God realizes His preordained knowledge, but He is also interested in the practical application that helps a person acknowledges his heart’s ways. As if God is saying,” Let’s see what you have to say and promise me.” This is not to doubt the person, but to see if this person is qualified for more. If you are trustworthy with what you have, then you deserve more riches, responsibility, and more service. God wants to bestow in your hands a lot of important things. That’s why he demands your obedience in the most valuable things. Abraham’s story is unique in its symbolism to Christ Jesus.
Be certain that God will never hurt you. On the contrary, he is a good God not an evil one. Continue reading and you will see: “(16) And said, by myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: (17) That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; (18) And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.”
Abraham could have lost a lot if he hadn’t walked with God. He knew that a miracle was about to happen through faith while sacrificing his most valuable gift. God might tell you to pay a big sum of money for the Bible. That doesn’t mean he want to steal from you or impoverish you; this is only for you to gain more because He wants to bless you. For he who gives will be given manifold.
Do you know that God never changes His mind? However, you are the only one who can make Him do so. God is not stubborn. He has a wonderful plan for every believer and it is in the believer’s hand to change it if he wills.
No one in this world can alter God’s plan for a believer except the believer himself. No one from your family or friends or anyone on earth can change God’s wonderful plan for your life.
Only you can change what God wants for your life because he gave you the free will.
Like accepting Christ, this is the will of God for every single person on this planet. However, this will can be altered if this person does not accept Jesus as Lord over his life. In the same manner, if you don’t walk in the path that God has set for you now after being sure of it, you will lose the brilliant things God has in store for you in the future.
Walk with the Lord and trust Him more than your own parents, for He will never ask for your health, or impoverish you, or make you lose your family… No, no, no!
The Lord works according to well-known laws in the Word that take away all presumptions. God is a giver and delights in giving more than taking. He wants to provide for you and bless you. He only asks of you to give money and sacrifices just to make you work according to his laws. In so doing, you will be blessed abundantly and receive manifold.
Note: This article is also available in Arabic
_________
Written, collected & prepared by Life Changing Truth Ministry and all rights reserved to Life Changing Truth. Life Changing Truth ministry has the FULL right to publish & use these materials. Any quotations are forbidden without permission according to the Permission Rights prescribed by our ministry.
