BECAUSE I DID

When caught doing something she should not be doing and asked why she did it, Caidyn has a very simple response, “Because I did.” You could not make it any plainer. I am sure God wonders sometimes why we do the things we do. He knows they are not good for us, sometimes even harmful, yet we do them anyway. We can offer all kinds of excuses, but it really comes down to “Because I did.” James writes in James 1:13-14, “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” We can say whatever we want about sin in our lives, but it really comes down to the fact that no one is responsible for sin I commit except me.

It is not God’s fault. James says God does not tempt anyone. Adam tried this strategy when questioned by God about his sin. “Then the man said, ‘The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate’” (Genesis 3:12). It’s not my fault; it’s the woman, and you, God, gave me the woman. God’s response to man shows He wasn’t buying it then and He will not buy it now. He does allow trials and temptations to strengthen our faith, but God is not responsible for our sin.

It’s not another person’s fault. Again, Adam tried this by placing the blame on Eve. Did she play a part, did she present the opportunity? Yes, but Adam made the choice. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20). Paul writes to the church in Corinth, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Others may present the temptation, they may pressure us to participate, but they are not responsible for my sin.

It is not Satan’s fault. Most of you have probably heard the statement, “The devil made me do it. That is a lie. Satan cannot make you do anything. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Eve tried this excuse in Genesis 3 when she said “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” It did not work for her and it will not work for me. Satan is certainly the instigator of temptation. He will use every weapon in his arsenal to influence you to rebel against God, but he cannot force you.

I am responsible. If God is not responsible, and other people are not responsible, and Satan is not responsible; that leaves on person. ME! Look again at what James says. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” We are drawn away by our own desires. I choose to sin, no one else can make me.

However, there is hope. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Yes, we are responsible for our sins. Those sins separate us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), and condemn us to eternal death. However, God sent Jesus to die in our stead that through His blood we can have forgiveness and eternal life.
--Lamar