Temptation:
The Occasion to All Sin
The
devil, who was originally one of the holy angels, was tempted and
fell from his original perfection, without a sinful nature to make
him sin. A third of the holy angels were tempted and fell from their
original perfection, without a sinful nature to make them sin. Holy
Adam and Eve were tempted and fell from their original perfection,
without a sinful nature to make them sin. How absurd is the idea,
then, that the universal sinfulness of Adam's descendants can only be
explained by a sinful nature inherited from Adam.
The
Bible teaches that temptation is the occasion to all sin. Paul tells
us that temptation is common to all men. "There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man..." I Cor.
10:13. James tells us that temptation is the occasion to sin. "But
every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and
enticed. Then when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin, and sin
when it is finished bringeth forth death." James 1:14, 15. The
writer to the Hebrews tells us that our Lord was "tempted like
as we are, yet without sin." Heb. 4:15. The following are only a
few of the Scripture references which speak of the universality of
temptation, of the fact that temptation is the occasion to sin, and
of the agency of the devil in tempting men: James 1:14-15; I Cor.
10:13; Heb. 4:15; Luke 4:2-13; Matt. 26:41; Matt. 6:13; I Peter 1:6;
II Peter 2:9; I Thess. 3:5; Luke 8:12; Matt. 13:38-39; John 3:8; Rev.
12:9; II Tim. 2:26; Eph. 4:27; Eph. 6:11; James 4:7; I Peter 5:8-9.
If the
doctrine of original sin is true, the devil is in complete ignorance
of it. Or if he is not ignorant of it, he is dumb enough to go to the
trouble of tempting men for nothing. Would the devil tempt men if he
knew that they had a sinful nature which would make them sin without
being tempted? How foolish and ignorant the devil must be. If the
doctrine of original sin is true, then Jesus and the inspired writers
lived in complete ignorance of it, as well. Jesus exhorted his
followers to watch and pray that they not enter into temptation, and
he taught them to pray, "Lead us not into temptation, but
deliver us from evil." Matt. 26:41, Matt. 6:12. His Apostles, in
their writings, exhorted the believers to be on their guard against
the snares of the devil, lest they be tempted and fall into sin. I
Peter 5:8-9, Eph. 6:11-12. These would have been useless exhortations
if all Christians have a sinful nature which makes them sin without
being tempted. In fact, if the doctrine of original sin is true,
Jesus and the inspired writers lived under a complete cloud of
ignorance. Instead of ascribing the sins of mankind to a physical
connection with Adam, they ascribed them to a moral connection with
the tempter--the devil. They spoke of sinners as being children of
the devil and as being of their father the devil (I John 3:8-10, John
8:44, Acts 13:10). They spoke of the sins of mankind as being the
work of the devil and of sinners becoming sinners by the agency of
the devil. Matt. 13:38-39. They spoke of Christ as coming to destroy
the works of the devil. I John 3:8. Finally, they spoke of the sinner
as being a captive of the devil, who needed to recover himself out of
the devil's snare. II Tim. 2:26. It is hard to understand how they
could have been so far off the track if the doctrine of original sin
were true.
The
Bible teaches nothing about an inherited sinful nature from Adam. It
teaches only that all men are tempted and that they sin when they
yield to their own desires rather than obey the law of God and
reason.
_______________________________________