4. The scriptural doctrine of temptation.
There is a temptation a. to evil, b. to good. The temptation to evil comes from the devil, from other men and from our corrupt nature and has the seduction to sin as its purpose (tentatio seductionis). The temptation to good comes from God and has as its purpose the testing and strengthening of faith (tentatio probationis). Examples for the tentatio seductionis: Matt. 4:1 ff (the devil tempts, πειράζει, Christ); Jas. 1:14 (Christians are tempted by their evil flesh, έκαστος πειράζεται υπό τής ιδίας επιϑυμίας). Examples
necessary to confess the truth of the gospel against κρίνοντες. Likewise Peter Gal. 2 was in statu confessionis. Paul therefore rebukes it as a denial of the truth of the gospel in the walk, that Peter at Antioch would no more eat with the Gentile Christians than those of the circumcision entered. Cf. the quotations in Baier-Walther II, 313 sqq.
1639) Rom. 9:30-33. <w:t>1640) 1 Cor. 1:22-23.
1641) The modern theologians are annoyed with Christ because he expects them to abandon their ego standpoint, to stick to His Word and to consider the Scripture as God's infallible word, Jn. 8:31-32; 17:20; 10:35; Eph. 2:20; 1 Tim. 6:3 ff. Likewise, satisfactio vicaria is a stumbling block to them. Therefore, before conversion, they also vindicate the facultas se applicandi ad gratiam in its various forms: self-determination, self-establishment, self-decision, freedom of choice in utramque partem, etc.
1642) Matt. 24:10; 13:21.<w:t>1643) Matt. 11:6. 25-26.
675 ><w:t xml:space="preserve"> Actual Sin. [English ed. 563-4]
for the tentatio probationis: Gen. 22:1-18 (God tries Abraham by commanding him to sacrifice Isaac); 6 Gen. 13:1 ff. (God lets false prophets come with signs and wonders to try the people whether they stick to the Word of God). In the New Testament, too, God causes rabbles (αιρέσεις) to come, not so that Christians will fall away, but ινα oi δόκιμοι φανεροί γένωνται, and 1 Cor. 8:8 Paul tries (δοκιμάζων) the love of the Corinthians, whether it is of a right kind. The human criticism of tentatio probationis (that God thereby becomes causa peccati) is a crimen laesae maiestatis divinae. To make matters worse, Scripture reveals to us the fact that God does not let anyone be tempted above ability (υπέρ δ δνναοΰε) [1 Cor. 10:13], but ποιήσει abv τφ πειρασμω και τήν εκβασιν. Scriptural axiom: He who falls in temptation falls through his own fault, namely, through self-reliance, that is, through apostasy from grace;1644) he who passes temptation does not pass through his own merit and strength, but through God's grace alone.1645)