Word Studies - "Tempt"

Can God be tempted? James wrote that "God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." (James 1:13, NKJV). This statement has led some to conclude that, since the Bible tells us (Matt. 4; Heb. 4:15) that Jesus was tempted while on earth, His spirit did not then possess or did not have use of the characteristics of God. Others deduce that He had both a divine spirit and a human spirit, and only the latter was involved in His temptations. I submit that these conclusions are unwarranted, being based upon a faulty understanding of the word "tempt."

The English dictionary (Webster's 9th) gives the primary meaning of "to tempt" as, "to entice to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain," and that is how we usually understand the word when used in modern speech. However, a second definition, "to make trial of: test," is stated to be obsolete, although this is closer in meaning to the word's origins.

The Bible states many times that not only has God tempted men, but He has been tempted by men: "God tempted Abraham..." (Gen. 22:1); "...by temptations...which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt..." (Deut. 4:34); "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God..." (Deut. 6:16); "Yet they tempted and provoked the most high God..." (Ps. 78:56). In fact, all appearances (17) of the words "tempt" or "temptation" in the King James Version of the Old Testament are references either to God tempting man or to man tempting God!

Peter asks of Jewish believers in Acts 15:10, "Now therefore why tempt ye [NKJV: 'Why do you test...'] God, to put a yoke on the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" The Greek word here translated "tempt" is "peiradzo." It means "to try, make trial of, test." (Thayer, p. 498). Peter exhorted that the Jews not test God by calling in question His wisdom and His will regarding acceptance of the Gentiles. Yes, it is possible for men to tempt (test) God, but it is foolish and sinful for them to do so.

In what sense can God not be tempted, as stated by James? He wrote that "God cannot be tempted with evil," that is, there is no evil desire within Him to which one might appeal. James (1:14) affirms such desires to be the source of our own temptations, and the fact that God cannot thus be tempted implies that He would not try to allure us into evil, although He does test or try the righteous, for their good. (Ps. 11:5; Ps. 139:23; Zech. 13:9).

Consider this illustration: An honest, diligent bank president finds that money is being taken from the vault by someone among three of his workers, he knows not which. He sets up a situation wherein the unguarded vault is left open with an employee working alone near it, but under surveillance. The first employee sees the open vault, but having no interest in taking what is not rightfully his, he gives no thought to entering. The second worker, upon seeing the open door, looks into the vault and contemplates taking some of the cash, but turns away, fearing the consequences. The third sees the opportunity, enters, steals, and is nabbed as the culprit. All three were tested, but the first man was not "tempted with evil," having no covetous desire within him. The other two were tempted by their own desires, but one did not yield.

What if the bank president were to change the test, asking the first employee to try to talk the second into stealing? That would be called entrapment. As an honest man, this bank president would be above such tempting of his staff. Neither could a bank employee tempt the boss to steal from the bank. It would be against all that he stands for in his position! So it is with God. He tests, but He does not tempt man with evil, and cannot Himself be so tempted.