infuse - Can God or Satan Make Me Sin?

Email article to a friend. Can God or Satan Make Me Sin? By Noni McVey Some believe both God and Satan can make an individual sin. To prove this, one might use 2 Samuel 24:1 and I Chronicles 21:1. These verses tell about the same event, which is when David took a census. When one reads 2 Samuel 24:1 it sounds as though God incited David to sin, but when one reads I Chronicles 21:1 it appears Satan did the tempting. Which is it?
Just as God allowed Satan to trouble Job (Job 1:12; 2:6), and torment Saul (I Samuel 16:14) God allowed Satan to incite David. God does not today, nor has He ever caused someone to sin. God uses one's sin to teach a lesson and show what is truly in ones heart by his/her actions. James 1:13 says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man."
Does Satan have the ability to make someone sin? No. Satan can tempt, but it is up to the individual to make the choice to succumb to the temptation or walk away. This has been going on since the Garden of Eden. When we make the wrong choice and sin, God uses that opportunity to instruct us just as He did with David. The next time you hear someone say, "the Devil made me do it" or "It's God's fault." nothing could be further from the truth. Each of us has the opportunity to make right choices in life, which includes running from temptation.