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How Does God Test Us? (Endnotes)

1. It should be noted that in Scripture the same Greek word peirazo is translated “tempt,” as well as “test,” “try,” “examine,” or “prove.” It is the context that determines how peirazo should be translated. A “temptation” is generally associated with an evil motive, while “prove” or “examine” are generally associated with a good motive, i.e., the success of the one being examined. Thus it is easy to tell that when the Bible says that Jesus was in the wilderness fasting for forty days and Satan came to “tempt” (peirazo) him, “tempt” is a good translation, because Satan wanted Christ to fail. This helps us understand why Scripture can say that God never tempts anyone (James 1:13). When Paul penned “Examine [peirazo] yourselves to see whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5), he did not mean to “tempt” yourself, but rather to prove yourself, to try yourself. R.C.H. Lenski writes of this in his commentary: “The Corinthians are to apply the right tests to themselves as to ‘whether they are in the faith.’ To try and test oneself is simple enough. A few honest questions honestly answered soon reveal where one stands.” (The Interpretation of St. Paul’s First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians, by R.C.H. Lenski, Augsburg Pub. House, Minneapolis MN, 1963, p. 1332.). Close

2. Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, Perrizites (and Termites). Close