Tackling Temptation
Tackling Temptation
J. Mike Minnix
Introduction
British writer Oscar Wilde once stated, "I can resist anything except temptation." But temptation must be resisted, or we will end up in big trouble. A husband confessed in Readers Digest about a time when he and his wife were out shopping. A shapely young woman in a short skirt walked by and the husband's eyes followed. Without looking up from the item she was examining, the wife said, "Was it worth the trouble you're in?"
Yielding to temptation brings nothing but trouble and it is never worth the trouble you get yourself into. No wonder Jesus taught us to pray in Matthew 6:13 ...
"Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."
Indeed, we need to learn how to handle temptation, for if we do not we can be sure temptation will handle us. So, let's look at three important issues related to temptation.
I. The Certainty of Temptation
You can be certain that temptation will come to you. A great preacher in another generation once held the belief that if he could live 20 years resisting temptation, he would be able to eliminate temptation from his life. He was forced to admit later that such a life was literally impossible.
We read in James 1:13 ...
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone."
Note that James does not say, "If you are tempted," but rather he says, "When you are tempted." James was certain that you would be tempted.
A. The Target of Temptation
Satan targets everyone with temptation, but he especially tempts the righteous to sin. Those who belong to God are always targeted. We see this clearly when we observe that Satan had the gall to tempt the Son of God. If he would tempt Jesus, you can be sure that you will not escape being sorely tempted to sin against your Lord.
B. The Tempter in Temptation
God does not tempt us - He may "try us" but He never "tempts" us to sin. God's trials are always to make us better and stronger, while Satan’s temptations are to weaken us and cause us to fail our Lord, our fellow Christians, and even ourselves.
Someone will say, "Well, if God didn't want me to do these things, He would not have made me to enjoy them so much." My friend, God created life for enjoyment, but He put boundaries around human pleasures. Think of driving a car. You can enjoy driving a car; however, if you take your car into the oncoming lane of traffic, you will be injured, killed, and will likely harm someone else in the process. Just because you enjoy driving does not mean you can drive wherever or however you like. Satan wants you to believe that you can live your moral life anyway you wish. In the process of getting you to believe him, he is leading you toward destruction.
II. The Conflict in Temptation
One needs to realize that temptation is not sin. Someone may feel that thinking a thought is as bad as the deed. Actually, that is far from the truth. Billy Graham once said, "I can't keep a bird from flying over my head, but I can keep him from building a nest in my hair." It is true that temptation creates a conflict in our hearts and we have to put up a fight against it. Jesus did that very thing. We see this in Matthew, chapter 4.
A. The Avenues of Temptation
We are tempted in three areas, all which Jesus faced.
- The Lust of the Flesh (represented by the stones that could have been made into bread).
- The Lust of the Eye (represented by the view Jesus was shown of the kingdoms of the world).
- The Pride of Life (represented by the fame Jesus could have known by throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the Temple without being harmed).
B. The Attractiveness of Temptation
The tempter comes as an angel of light, and in doing so he presents sin in the best possible way to our flesh, our eye, and our personal pride. He makes sin look so attractive, natural and in our best interest our best interest as well. Note that he appealed to Jesus in a way that called on our Lord to act in His own best interest. That is the problem with temptation and sin, it appears to be normal and expedient to the one being tempted.
C. The Attack in Temptation
Temptation comes to all, and temptation comes to many of us after we have just experienced some great victory. Remember, Jesus was tempted by Satan just after John the Baptist had pointed out that He, Jesus, was the Lamb of God who can take away the sins of the world. This was an incredible moment in the life of our Lord. It was immediately after this event that Satan came lurking around looking for a path into the heart and mind our Jesus. No wonder the Bible warns us to be careful when we think we can stand, lest we fall.
III. The Conquest of Temptation
Hebrews 2:18 reads ...
"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."
We can have victory over temptation because our Lord conquered temptation and offers to assist believers like us when we are tempted. He will not allow us to be tempted above that which we are able to resist. Anytime we give in to temptation, it is the result of our own lust and weakness, and never is it the fault our any weakness in Christ or the Holy Spirit.
Let’s consider four elements that can help us to overcome the enemy when he comes to tempt us to sin.
A. Separation
We must separate ourselves from the avenues of temptation as much as possible. We need to stay away from path that we know can lead to temptation. We are told in scripture to “flee temptation.” Sadly, many people who complain about he weakness that leads them into sin actually hang around places and things that feed that weakness. Separate yourself from that which you know is a weakness in your heart and mind.
B. Scripture
When Jesus was tempted by Satan, He quoted Scripture to him. Listen, dear Christian, we need to know our Bible. Someone wisely said, "The Bible will keep us from sin, or sin will keep us from the Bible." We can’t quote a passage to Satan that we have not memorized. It is important for us to learn scripture, including how it applies to our own lives. When we do this, the words of God buried in our hearts, and ready to be used against the devil, will be used by us to repel Satanic advances.
C. Submission
We need to practice the act of submitting to Christ in all things. Submission leads to Spiritual infilling and grants us the sin-defying power of the Holy Spirit of God during times of trial and tempation.
D. Spirit
Indeed, unless we have God's Holy Spirit to assist us, we will succumb to temptation. He is able to overcome the enemy. The Spirit of God is actually Christ in you, the hope of glory. Being filled with the Spirit grants us power that we cannot know or experience in any other way.
Conclusion
Everyone of us must deal with temptation. We are prone to wander, even as the songwriter once penned. In order to overcome, we must recommit ourselves to our Lord, yielding to the infilling work of the Holy Spirit.
If you have never trusted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, do it today. The Lord lifted a sinless life, then took our sins to Calvary to die in our place. But, the work of His cross is of no avail unless a person repents of sin and turns Jesus in believing faith. Come to Jesus today.