But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
14 When he is drawn away by his own lust. As the inclination and excitement to sin are inward, in vain does the sinner seek an cause from an external impulse. At the same time these two effects of lust ought to be noticed — that it ensnares us by its allurements, and that it does us away; each of which is sufficient to render us guilty.
God cannot be the source of sin, whether in your afflictions or in the rod's stroke upon you. The fault is entirely yours, not His. There is nothing in God's nature, no lack of wisdom, power, or holiness, that could tempt Him to evil, and therefore He cannot tempt any man. The carnal mind loves to shift blame onto God, but that is hereditary dishonesty from Adam onward.
AI summary
Commenting on James 1:13-18
But every man is tempted,.... To sin, and he falls in with the temptation, and by it, when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed; the metaphor is taken either from fishes, who are enticed by the bait, and drawn out by the hook; or from a lascivious woman, who meeting with a young man, entices him, and draws him away after...