The Problem of Temptation
As humans, we are all susceptible to being tempted to indulge in sinful thoughts and behaviors. We are naturally inclined to this and we face a clever enemy who knows how to use our weaknesses against us.
Many of us face temptations that have more minor earthly consequences, such as gossiping, lying by omission, or [blank]. But we also may face temptations that have more dire consequences, such as drinking, various drugs, sexual promiscuity, pornography, and gambling, just to name a few.
No matter the earthly consequence, any indulgence in sin has damaging effects on our souls and unrepentant sin is like cancer to our hearts. It eats away at our intimacy with Jesus. Sin puts distance between us and God.
Why are we tempted?
Sometimes, we are specifically tested to see how strong our convictions
Isn’t it more impressive when someone on a strict diet refuses cake sitting right in front of her than it is for her to simply say she doesn’t eat sugar?
It is the same with our faith. God lovingly offers us opportunities to choose the Truth and hold fast to our convictions so that others might see Him in us and that our faith in Him might be strengthened.
Take, for example, the faith of the Canaanite women in Matthew 15:21-28.
When Jesus and His disciples retreated to a mostly gentile land, they were approached by a Canaanite woman on the street. She passionately petitions Jesus to heal her daughter. At first, Jesus is silent, but the woman persists. The disciples, probably disturbed by her cries, ask Jesus to send her away. The connotation of this phrase in the original language is to send away with satisfaction, so it is likely the disciples wanted Jesus to heal her so she would stop her screaming.
Jesus responds to her, outlining that His current ministry is to the Jews, and as a gentile woman, she was not His target people and He tells her this plainly. She doesn’t refute what He says, but simply persist in pleading her case.
Her persistence was rewarded and Jesus healed her daughter, telling her that she was a woman of great faith.
Sometimes, we’re tempted to give up when we really need to press in.
Big temptations often come before big purpose. Jesus was tempted greatly just before He began His ministry on earth.
How was Jesus tempted?
Matthew 4:1-11 outlines the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. The Bible tells us He was “lead up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” and that “He was hungry.” The devil then tempted Him to use His God-given power to turn the stones around Him into bread.
Satan then tempted Him with power and tried to plant seeds of doubt in His mind. He used phrases like, “If you are the son of God..” and offered Him complete power of the world, if He would only worship Satan instead of God.
During these temptations, Jesus was tired and hungry and surely in a weakened state. He had fasted for 40 days and 40 nights before the temptations came.
Often, this is how it looks in our lives too. Our temptations don’t usually come when we are strong and ready; they often come when we are already weary and tired and doubting our faith. That is when the devil strikes and seeks to tempt us with lies and seeds of doubt.
He is cunning and smart and knows exactly how to play on our weaknesses. While he was tempting Jesus, he even quoted Scripture; this is why it is so important for us to know the Bible for ourselves. Scripture can be taken out of context and twisted and we need to know for ourselves what the real truth its.
But during these petitions by Satan, Jesus models for us how to best overcome temptation. He didn’t give in to a single one and eventually, Satan retreated.
How did He overcome temptation?
So, how did Jesus do this? By rebuking Satan’s lies with the truth of God’s Word.
With every temptation Satan offered to Jesus, there was a truth to rebuke it.
Satan tempted Him with turning stone to bread because He was hungry. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 8:3 that says that “man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.“
Satan tempted Jesus with throwing Himself down on a city and letting the Angels carry Him, quoting and twisting Scripture that speak to His authority over the angels. Jesus responded by quoting Deuteronomy 6:16 that says “you shall not put your God to the test.“
And finally, Satan tempts Jesus by offering Him power and authority over all of the kingdoms of the earth without having to endure the cross if only He will give satan worship and allegiance. Often Satan will offer us shortcuts or outcomes that seem really good. Many times they will look a lot like the path that God wants us to take, but we can be sure that the easiest, least resistant path is not of God. If it seems to good to be true, most of the time it is.
Jesus rebukes this temptation by quoting Deuteronomy 6:13 that says “You shall worship the Lord your God and him only you shall serve.”
Jesus was not tempted by Satan’s lies because He was assured in His heart of God’s truth. This is the model for us, friends.
We cannot be lead astray with lies and seeds of doubts if we are rooted in truth.
How can we overcome temptation like Jesus?
You might be thinking, “Of course Jesus could overcome temptation. He is God! How am I supposed to do that?”
The answer is the Holy Spirit and hiding Scripture in your heart and mind.
There is also a theological theory that Jesus “put off” His Godhood in order to experience humanity fully. This is why He needed to eat, sleep and rest as we do. This is also why He was able to be tempted like we are. He was fully human.
The same power that Jesus had to overcome his tempter is the same power that lives within us. The same truth that Jesus had written on his heart and in his mind is available to us, but we have to do the work.
One of the very best things we can do to overcome temptation is to saturate our lives with Scripture and memorize it.
I use a beautiful spira-bound index card journal from The Daily Grace, co. to record the verses I want to memorize and quiz myself. Deuteronomy 6:13 from above is one of the verses I’ve chosen to memorize to remind my heart that God is the only one I am to serve. This is a great reminder when I feel other things in my life creeping into first place.
What do we do if we have given in to temptation?
No one is perfect, including me. If we have indulged or given ourselves over to temptation, that is the time to repent and seek forgiveness. If we confess our sins to him, He is faithful to forgive us (1 John 1:9).
This is when we seek to repair relationships that our sin has damaged and even when we begin to seek accountability and counsel to fight against temptation. This might look like a support group, a dedicated accountability partner, counseling, rehabilitation treatment, pastoral counseling, personal Bible study regarding the topic or Celebrate Recovery groups at your church.
The first and most important step is to admit our weaknesses and surrender fully to Christ, because His strength in us is made perfect in our weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Once we recognize it and admit our shortcomings, we can begin to ask for help and support and begin to heal.
If this was encouraging to you, would you share it? Thanks, friend.
