So far as we can tell, one of the earliest theological controversies in New Testament times was the business of God’s sovereignty and our temptation. The real issue was the difference between the ancient Hebrew intellectual traditions versus the Hellenized rationalism of many very scholarly converts.
Jesus’ brother, James, addresses the issue in his letter to the Diaspora Jews who converted to following Christ.
Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. 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. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. (James 1:12-18 NKJV)
What isn’t obvious is some of the background to this controversy. Everything about the Old Testament shouts that God portrays Himself as an eastern potentate, a nomad desert sheikh whose actual authority is imperial. The very label “Lord” itself signals this ancient eastern feudal image. This seemed so obvious to the Old Testament scribes that they seldom bothered to state it. Look at Exodus 15:3, where Jehovah is compared to a warlord, which is the primary title and function of most nomad desert sheikhs. The logic of Hebrew traditions is parable, symbolism based on significant elements of daily existence. Ultimate truths about the Spirit Realm could not possibly be described and delineated; they could only be inferred through symbols.
The Hellenized thinkers were used to concrete linear logic. That is, every intellectual issue had to be resolved in linear steps. It’s the standard “if-then” logic we learned in math and science in school. That’s fine for concrete facts, but God is outside of that realm entirely. He cannot be analyzed by logic.
The ancient Hebrew tradition symbolizes Satan as God’s left-hand servant, the enforcer and jailer. Thus, Satan cannot tempt anyone without permission from God. If God says OK to anything, then the source is God, according to that simplistic logic. Thus, all temptations come from God. Some converted Jews were actually preaching that. The implication is that God’s will is irresistible, so what are we to do?
Another thing missing from the picture is the subtle difference between words in the Greek text translated into English without the subtlety. From our quote above, the first incidence of “temptation” (Greek peirasmos) refers to a trial or testing. However, the second “tempted” (Greek peirazo) refers to trying to trap someone, a slight change in Greek spelling, but quite different in meaning. Let’s see how that works if we use nontraditional wording:
Blessed is the man who endures testing! When he has been proved, he will receive the Crown of Life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he faces a trap, “The Lord is trying to trap me.” God cannot be tested by Satan, nor does He try to trap anyone Himself. But each one is trapped when he is drawn out (of safety) by his own fleshly desires and seduced…
Paul reinforces this in 1 Corinthians 10:13 — “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” (NKJV)
The proper image here is that every wise ruler sets traps out beyond the perimeter of his desert encampment. That’s Satan’s job for God. He baits the traps with lures desirable to fools. If an enemy approaches, he is likely to be caught in these traps. But if one of the Lord’s own people tries to check out the lures, he will be caught in the trap through his own folly. He should know that those lures are not valid, and that his master hasn’t denied him any good thing available, as James puts it. You have to put aside your spiritual armor and sneak out from under God’s protection (“covering”) to get into trouble. As long as you remain at your assigned post, everything’s going to be just fine.
This kind of parabolic language should be obvious to any New Testament Jew. Over time, the Jews lost touch with that legacy as they become more deeply trapped by their own delight in trusting Hellenistic reasoning. Today, most Jews would not recognize such imagery as parable. Sadly, very few Western Christians recognize it, either. If you employ symbolic logic, James’s argument is pretty clear. If you approach it with linear logic, you’ll discard the imagery in search of legal definitions. Worse, Westerners define feudalism as evil, as if God must have been forced to use that because humans had not yet evolved enough in their civilization. No, God commanded feudalism because that’s how we are wired, because that’s how He made us.
You already know where the boundaries are. You can know where God has assigned you to serve. You should know that what attracts fools is never good for you. If God hasn’t put it into your hands, you don’t need it, anyway. Your flesh can get the best of you, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Don’t blame God for the desires of your fallen fleshly nature.
