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irreverence, for us to bring our Lord into this controversy; let us therefore take a step
down and cite two fellow-beings as examples.
First, the "chief of sinners", Paul, the apostle. Is it conceivable that, had Paul entered
a synagogue and found the place unattended, the presence of a piece of money lying
uncollected would be the slightest temptation to him? Our answer must be "no". The
second example, dear reader, is yourself. Were you to come into a place of worship and
discover that the offering had not been taken charge of by the treasurer, would that be a
temptation to you to steal? You rightly repudiate the thought. Why? Because the grace
of God and the gift of the new nature make temptation of that kind virtually impossible.
So we return to the Lord Himself. As He had no corrupt and depraved nature, He
could never be "led away" by lust and enticed and, that being the case, no amount of
emphasis upon the words "in all points" can ever teach the evil and destructive doctrine
we have been considering. The very presence of temptation to sin pre-supposes evil
already within. He, the Saviour, could mingle with publicans and sinners and remain
undefiled. Contrary to all law, He could touch a leper and remain immune. We might as
well consider that a sunbeam gathers contamination by shining on a rubbish heap as that,
even in the presence of the most gilded opportunity, Christ could be tempted to sin.
Turning to the other Circumcision epistles we find that Peter alone uses the word
peirasmos, translated "temptation", and that three times.
"Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness
through manifold temptations" (I Pet. 1: 6).
If it were needed, the fullest confirmation of this interpretation is contained in
I Pet. 4: 12.
"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though
some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of
Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye . . . . . let none of
you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief . . . . ." (I Pet. 4: 12-15).
The remaining occurrences of the words "tempt" and "temptation" are Matt. 4: 1-4;
Matt. 6: 13; which should be read in the light of Rev. 3: 10 and Matt. 26: 41. None
of these passages speak specifically of sin, but rather the attach upon simple trust.