James, Part 5
No one, when tempted, should say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted by evil, and he never tempts anyone else. But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
James 1:13–14
Temptation has been around since the days of Adam and Eve, and few of us escape its grasp. I certainly haven’t; temptation has been a lifelong companion. Thankfully, God has not left us on our own to figure out how to deal with it.
Perhaps the best place to start is with a biblical definition of temptation. In the New Testament, the Greek word pierazo is translated “trials” in some passages and “temptations” in others. In essence, pierazo describes things that test us. Tests that come as the result of external circumstances are called trials; tests of character that take the form of inner desires are called temptations.