God Tempts No One

Craig R. Brown:

Although God decrees evil, He does not directly perform morally evil deeds. God cannot do moral evil because His will is directed only toward good. However, God allows Satan, demons, and sinful men to do evil deeds. He does not cause them to do anything they don’t want to do; He merely allows them to carry out their evil intentions. Thus, man is responsible for his sin, not God.

As James wrote: “Let no one say when he is tempted, `I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death” (James 1:13-15). (The Five Dilemmas of Calvinism)