Verse 16
James wanted his readers to have no doubt about God’s purposes and methods in dealing with them, His children. The same "Do not be deceived" expression occurs in 1 Corinthians 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Galatians 6:7; and 1 John 3:7. God definitely is not the author of temptation.
When God commanded Abraham to offer Isaac as a human sacrifice (Genesis 22:2), it only appeared to Abraham that God was tempting him to commit murder. God prevented him from slaying his son (Genesis 22:12). This was a test of Abraham’s obedience, not a solicitation to sin.
James clarified God’s purposes and methods in the following two verses (cf. Galatians 4:7). James 1:15 warns against yielding to temptation by reminding us of the judgment of God, and James 1:17 warns us by reminding us of the goodness of God.
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