Sin is a serious business. It is universal and deadly. James now puts the whole question of sin and temptation into focus. He begins by recording a common error: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God” (1:13a). We are not to blame God for our bad behavior. In the Garden of Eden, Eve blamed the serpent, and Adam blamed both Eve and God. “The serpent beguiled me,” Eve said, trying to shift the blame (Gen. 3:13). Adam was even more brazen: “The woman whom