21 Feb 2012
James 1:13
James 1:13: “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:”
Some have asked: was it possible for Jesus to sin when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness? Well, Jesus is God, and verse 13 says that God cannot be tempted by evil. Yes, Jesus was also a man, but He was a man without a sin nature (otherwise He would not have been sinless and could not have died for our sins, which is why the doctrine of the virgin birth is so incredibly important). This leads me to believe that, while Jesus did endure temptation and was faced with it, it was not possible for Him to sin; sin is just not a part of His nature. “He was tempted in like manner as we are, and yet without sin”. God simply cannot be tempted with evil – and that is a good thing.