Sermon Tone Analysis

Temptation

What is Temptation?

Is it appropriate to call temptations stumbling blocks?

states that Jesus said to His disciples, “Stumbling blocks are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom they come!”

What then is a stumbling block?

Is it the same as temptation?

The NBD defines temptation as “not primarily of seduction…but of making trail of a person, or putting him to the test; which may be done for the benevolent purpose of proving or improving his quality, as well as with the malicious aim of showing up his weaknesses or trapping him into wrong action.”

Tempt according to the Oxford English Dictionary is defined as and enticement to do something contrary to a persons will.

Such enticement is also defined as a persuasion or developed attraction to do something, again, against someones better judgement.

Thus God in rather tested Abraham, not tempted Him.

What is the difference?

Temptation is the enticement to do wrong, whereas testing, is the challenge to do right.

God challenges those who love Him through various trails.

For example , , , , , and 12:1.

And for greater clarity to the definition of temptation, the Lat.

word (temptatio) as definied by the ODCC is a ‘trying’ or ‘proving.’

Temptation then is a two way street that drives the understanding of God tempting or trying the hearts of His people as in and , and Israel, God’s children, tempting God (, ).

Yet regarding the children tempting God their Father scripture states in “You are not to test Adonai your God, as you tested Him at Massah,” and again Jesus being tempted of Satan to cast Himself down and then lift Himself up, recites this verse.

So here we have it that God can be tested, not tempted, by people and Satan.

And God test His people, but does not tempt them.

It however is not right for the children to test God so why is Gideon given a pass?

Gideon did not tempt nor test God.

As the servant of God, he was questioning if God truly chose him to lead the people to victory and in a series of questioning by Gideon and answering by God, Gideon put on the truth of God’s word and defeated the Midiannites.