In Scripture, temptation has a dual meaning. It can refer to a trial or test of one's faith, permitted by God to strengthen and purify the believer (Genesis 22:1, James 1:2-3). More commonly, it refers to an enticement to sin, originating from one's own evil desires, the world's influence, or the devil. God tests, but He does not tempt to evil (James 1:13). Christ Himself was tempted, yet without sin, qualifying Him to be our sympathetic High Priest (Hebrews 4:15).
TEMPTA'TION, n.
TEMPTA'TION, n. The act of tempting; enticement to evil by arguments, by circumstances, by the promises of pleasure or gain, or by any other means. 2. The state of being tempted or enticed to evil. 3. That which is presented to the mind as an inducement to evil. 4. Trial; as, lead us not into temptation.
Matthew 4:1 - "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."
1 Corinthians 10:13 - "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
James 1:12-14 - "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation... Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed."
The term is often trivialized to refer to any desire for something pleasant but perhaps inadvisable, such as a "tempt...
The term is often trivialized to refer to any desire for something pleasant but perhaps inadvisable, such as a "tempting" dessert or a sale at a store. This strips the word of its serious moral and spiritual context, which involves an allurement toward disobedience against God with significant consequences.