“Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (James 1:16).
Blaming sin in your life on God and/or Satan is glaring proof of a deceived mind.
As James has pointed out in the prior verses, sin in your life is…
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NOT God’s fault. God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone (James 1:13). God allows the blessing of various trials in your life because they are essential to the formation of patience/stick-to-it-iveness in your character. Without this vital building block, spiritual maturity, growth, and victory are impossible.
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NOT Satan’s fault. All Satan can do is try to draw you away from obeying God and entice you to take his baited hook. He cannot make you disobey. He cannot force you to leave the safety of God’s protection from evil. He cannot compel you to bite on the hook of temptation. And, even if you have chosen to succumb to temptation, Satan cannot prevent you from aborting the embryo of evil which has been conceived.
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YOUR fault. YOU are the one who decides whether you rejoice in life’s various trials. YOU are the one who decides whether you endure these trials. YOU are the one who decides whether you are drawn away and enticed by Satan’s baited hook. YOU are the one who decides whether you abort or allow the embryo of sin to go to term. YOU are the one who decides whether you will allow sin to grow in your life and reach its mature state of death.
Clearly, if sin is in your life, neither God nor the Devil made you do it!
