Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death. James 1:13-15
Flip Wilson’s comedy routine, “The Devil Made Me Do It” is comedy gold. If you have not watched this short skit, you should. The plot is about a preacher’s wife explaining to her husband why she bought an expensive new dress when they could not afford to do so. Her defense was that the devil made her buy the dress, but the hilarity is in how she explains the means by which he “made” her buy the dress. This funny little skit rests on a more serious situation wherein people attempt to excuse sinful behaviors. Was not “the devil made me do it” Eve’s defense when God confronted her for eating the forbidden fruit in Eden (Genesis 3:13)? Indeed we are often inclined to lay the blame for our sinful decisions at the devil’s feet. To be clear, he is the tempter, so in a remote sense he deserves some blame, but the choice is our own making this a flimsy defense. By now, you probably think I affixed the wrong title to this article, but people also blame God for their sins.
When God confronted Adam about his eating of the forbidden fruit, Adam essentially blamed God (Genesis 3:11-12). It may appear he is blaming the woman, and in part he is, but notice he specifically pointed out that it was the woman “You gave to be with me.” In essence Adam was saying, “God, had you not given me this woman to be my wife, I would not be in this mess.” It was worth a shot, I suppose, but Adam made his own decision and had to face the consequences for it. People still blame God for human rebellion when it is clear Satan is the tempter. The popular Calvinist doctrine of unconditional election inadvertently implicates God because sinful people cannot come to Him if they are not a part of the elect.
On this view, it is not at all improper to say, “The Lord made me do it.” This view contradicts so many plain passages of Scripture. In 1 Timothy 2:3-5 and 2 Peter 3:9, we read that God desires all men everywhere to be saved and that none should perish. If these passages are true, then God has not unconditionally selected certain people to be lost sinners. Acts 10:34-35, Romans 2:11, Galatians 2:6, and Ephesians 6:9 all repeat the principle that God does not show partiality. This is another plain statement which the doctrine of unconditional election denies. Unconditional election is personal favoritism to the core.
1 Corinthians 10:13 teaches that God provides the way of escape from temptation. Per Calvin, this is not the universal truth it appears to be in the Scripture as the unregenerate cannot escape sin because God has made him/her a sinner for life. even outside the Calvinist camp, many believe God has left humanity to face temptations over which they have no possibility of achieving victory. This notion calls the very essence of God’s nature into question as He either made a promise He cannot keep or He will punish people for things truly beyond their control. Neither of these fits the biblical conception of God.
We give James the last word in this discussion and recognize it is our own sinful desires that lead us away from the Lord and His will. With this in view, we must own our decisions and the consequences they bring. Better yet, let us heed Paul’s advice, come to know the Lord’s will, and look carefully at how we walk in light of it (Ephesians 5:15-17).