I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13
I remember hearing this from teachers and others who wanted to encourage me to tackle the difficult tasks in learning and the like. Knowing English better now I wish I could go back and point out the double negative, but I digress. Grammatical problems aside, this little quip has a powerful truth for us as we seek to please the Lord and overcome temptation.
Nothing stifles our efforts in any arena of life more than a sense of helplessness or futility. If I convince myself the task at hand cannot be accomplished, I will soon determine it is not worth the effort to try. No doubt all of us have faced this struggle at some point or other, or maybe I am just exceptionally weak. When it comes to laying aside our sins to serve the Lord, we need assurance and confidence. We especially need confidence that the Lord who has called us to His service is in the business of empowering us to succeed, not causing us to stumble.
In James 1:12-18, this very truth is hashed out for us to see. The tendency to blame God is as old as sin itself. When God confronted Adam about his newfound knowledge of his nakedness and asked if he had eaten the forbidden fruit, Adam pointed the finger at his wife and God (Genesis 3:10-12). He said, “The woman whom YOU gave to be with me, SHE gave me of the tree, and I ate.” Adam was saying if God had not given him his wife, she could not have offered him the fruit, and he would not be in the mess in which he now found himself. Ultimately, his comments made God the source of his temptation. Adam could not help himself.
Most of the religious world is heavily influenced by the teachings of John Calvin which includes the doctrine of inherited guilt and depravity from Adam. Predestination as Calvin viewed it included God having marked out certain people for salvation and others for condemnation. The saved could not give up their salvation if they tried, and the lost could not obtain salvation no matter how desperately they sought it. If Calvin was right about this, God is the source of temptation and sin as the predestined lost cannot help but live in sin. If we accept this view, the lost can’t overcome temptation no matter how badly they desire to do so. As we have already established, can’t never could do nothing, so why bother. Many have adopted this very mindset and given up.
Thankfully, through the pen of James and other inspired writers, the Lord has clearly refuted this fallacious ideology. In James 1:13-18, we learn God is neither tempted by evil nor the tempter of anyone. Temptations flow from our own lustful desires coupled with Satan’s provision of opportunities to fulfill those lusts. God is purely good, and He gives only good gifts (vs. 17). By the word of truth, He brought us forth (lit. birthed us). When we read of being born again, James 1:18-25 and 1 Peter 1:22-23 make it clear this rebirth occurs by our obedience to the truth of God’s word. It is His will that all should experience this rebirth (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4-5; 2 Peter 3:9). With this in mind, of course He does not tempt us to be lost as that would be counter to His self-professed desire for us all to be saved.
Furthermore, Paul made it clear God will not allow our temptations to overwhelm us (1 Corinthians 10:13). The solution, according to James 4:7-8, is that we “…submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” The choice is yours and mine. What will we do with the Lord’s invitation to draw near to Him? Remember, can’t never could do nothing, but God has clearly said we can which should embolden us to do so.