James 1:14

James 1:14. But every man who is tempted is tempted, namely to evil, when he is drawn away of his own lust. By lust here is meant evil desires in general. The doctrine of human depravity is assumed rather than asserted. St. James is not speaking here of the original source of sin in the human race, but of the cause of temptation to evil. These solicitations, he observes, arise from within; they have their origin in our evil desires; our passions are the occasion of our yielding to temptation.

and enticed; literally, allured as a fish by a bait. Some suppose that the apostle by these two terms, ‘drawn away' and ‘enticed,' denotes drawn away from good and enticed to evil; but this is putting more into these words than they contain. St. James, then, here tells us where to lay the blame of our temptation or incitement to sin; certainly not on God, for He tempteth no man to evil; but on ourselves on those sinful propensities which exist within us. It is we ourselves that yield. We sin simply because we choose to sin. Even Satan can only tempt; he cannot constrain men to commit evil.