FROM JAMES
God tempts/does not tempt? Seems pretty contradictory to me.
"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham." (GEN 22:1)
"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." (JAS 1:13)
RESPONSE
Well, first we need a good definition for the word “tempt”. As far as I know, it means to entice, coax, lure, convince, or persuade someone to do something that they should not do. Would you agree with that definition? I’ve never heard of anyone being tempted to do what they should do.
Now, Genesis 22 relates the story of God commanding Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham receives a clear command from God to kill his son, just as Adam received a clear command not to eat of the tree. So we know plainly what Abraham SHOULD do – he should obey God and sacrifice Isaac, his one and only son from Sarah. So what’s the temptation? Easy…it’s to disobey God and NOT sacrifice Isaac. Did God tempt Abraham? Nope. God only gave Abraham the command; in no way did God encourage him to disobey it. In truth, God tested Abraham, but He did not tempt him to disobey His command; He expected Abraham to obey it. God NEVER coaxes anyone to do evil.
However, though it's not stated in the Bible, God may have allowed Satan to tempt Abraham to disobey, but God did not tempt Abraham.