This is something that we have all heard. Does anybody else find this to be absolutely ridiculous? This is just another form of the typical new age dodging of responsibility. Everybody wants to shift the blame to someone or something else. Nobody wants to take responsibility for their actions in this day and age. The Devil can't make anybody do anything. At most, he can tempt you. In the end, it is your choice as to whether or not you give in. Even still, if the Devil is tempting you, you are either doing something really right or really wrong. Satan is not God. He is not omnipresent. He is a created being that can only be in one place at one time. This is not to say his legion of demons can't tempt you. I'm sure they do this day in and day out. Regardless, it still proves the absurdity of the claim that, "The Devil made me do it."

What does Scripture say on the matter?

According to James, Satan is not the author of the majority of temptation out there. In fact, his demons are not heading it up either. Temptation most often comes from within ourselves. Satan may have invented temptation (Genesis 3) but we have become the perfectors of it.

We are in a spiritual battle. We often give into the lusts of the flesh because it is in our very nature to do so. In Genesis 3, God cast Adam and Eve out of the garden. This was the first instance of separation from God. Any time we are separated from God, we are left to nothing but our shameful selves. When God is not the picture, the flesh will always prevail. In fact, God can even be in the picture but if He is not also Lord, the flesh will always win. Again, it all goes back to Genesis.

Genesis 1 gives a brief summary of creation and speaks of God as God. In chapter 2, in every instance, God is referred to as LORD God.

First, let's look at the Hebrew words used in each of these instances.

God - 'elohiym
1) (plural)
a) rulers, judges
b) divine ones
c) angels
d) gods

2) (plural intensive - singular meaning)
a) god, goddess
b) godlike one
c) works or special possessions of God
d) the (true) God
e) God

LORD - Yĕhovah
Jehovah = "the existing One"
1) the proper name of the one true God

As stated, Genesis 1 refers to God as 'elohiym. He is the triune God. The reason for this is because it is only giving a summarized account of creation. It is not until chapter 2 that God becomes personal as it goes into man's interaction with Him. God is referred to as Yĕhovah 'elohiym. The text implies that Adam knew and referred to God by his personal name which also implies a one-on-one relationship. The exact pronunciation of God's proper name is unknown even to this day. All we know is that it is spelled YHWH. The Hebrew alphabet does not contain any vowels but scholars believe it could be anything from Jehovah to Yehovah to Yahweh to Jahweh. What we do know is that it was such a seriously revered name that the Jews, out of fear of taking it in vain, did not even dare speak it or write it. This is why we see the word LORD in place of YHWH (the Tetragrammaton). Back to the point, He goes from being the Almighty Creator to being the Almighty Father and Lord. He is over all and is all. Let's move on the chapter 3. We see it starts out as referring to God as Yĕhovah 'elohiym. In verse 1, we see Satan enter the picture. We know the serpent is Satan because of the beauty of Scripture and how it all ties in together.

Look carefully at verse 1. What do you see? In the first half, God is called Yĕhovah 'elohiym but as soon as Satan speaks, He is called "'elohiym" alone. Satan did not attempt to remove God from the picture. Instead, he chose to eliminate the personal aspect of the relationship. Without this personal aspect, it left an impersonal God. Further to the point, 'elohiym by itself was often used to speak of multiple gods. The crafty serpent chose his words wisely in order to deceive Adam & Eve. He went after Eve as the weaker vessel (1 Peter 3:7). Once God had been reduced to nothing more than an impersonal deity, it was easy to fall into temptation. There was no Lord. There was no Father. There was no personal relationship of love. There was a battlefield and on it was nothing more than Man & Satan. God was not the focal point. He was missing from the equation.

As a result, both Adam and Eve fell into temptation. This temptation morphed into the very first sin. This sin brought death into the world. It brought separation from God. All it took was a moment of doubt; a moment of taking their eyes off the Lord. Now look in verse 8. They hear God walking through the garden and they immediately snap out of it. He goes from momentarily being 'elohiym and immediately goes back to being Yĕhovah 'elohiym which He is referred to throughout the remainder of the chapter.

Placing the blame on Satan, his demons, or any other thing does nothing more than tear down one's faith by refusing to accept the truth of our sufficiency in Christ. Too many people run to the "professionals" before running to their pastors. One will issue medication and blame your parents while the other will issue a healthy dose of Scripture. The problem is that many Christians feel God is not enough. Many will argue that God is enough to keep us joyful but that we require professional help or medicated drugs to really solve any deep problem. Does Scripture agree with this new age thought? Of course not!

All we need is to remain focused on God. Keep your eyes on Christ. By doing this, one can keep Yĕhovah 'elohiym as the focus. One can remain in a personal relationship with God. Outside of God, there is no good (Romans 3:12). Outside of God, we will always fall prey to the flesh. Whether it be Satan/demons tempting us or even just our own lying, deceitful heart (Jeremiah 17:9), so long as we keep our eyes on Christ, we will prevail (Philippians 4:13).