This
lesson also had a lot of discussion so it will be in two parts. A lot of
discussion is a good thing. Hayward
Sometimes temptation is only something
like a 500 calorie piece of chocolate cake, which does not leave too severe of
a consequence unless we give in to the temptation again and again.
Other times the stakes are high and consequences are indeed very painful and very serious. Some temptations start adding up and get stronger until it becomes almost impossible to not give in.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about temptation and how to deal with it.
Do Not Be Surprised By Temptation:
If Satan was so bold as to tempt the Son of God (Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Matthew 4:1) then he will have no trouble in tempting us.
A man who came to the theologian Charles Finney said this:"I don't believe in the existence of a devil." "Don't you?" said Finney. "Well, you resist him for a while, and you will believe."
The Scriptures do not teach us that we will be temptation free after we come to the Lord. In fact we are warned many times about facing temptation. Jesus himself said “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
One person might be tempted by something and have a real struggle . whereas it might not be a temptation at all to another Christian.
We may find ourselves being prideful and say, "I would never do that" and yet there could be another temptation trap that we would be susceptible to fall into.
There was once a poor country pastor who was livid when he confronted his wife with the receipt for a $350 dress she had bought "How could you do this!" he exclaimed. "I don't know," she wailed, "I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, "Gee, you look great in that dress. You should buy it." "Well," the pastor persisted, "You know how to deal with him! Just tell him, "Get behind me, Satan!" "I did," replied his wife, "but then he said "It looks great from the back too." J
Other times the stakes are high and consequences are indeed very painful and very serious. Some temptations start adding up and get stronger until it becomes almost impossible to not give in.
The Bible has quite a lot to say about temptation and how to deal with it.
Do Not Be Surprised By Temptation:
If Satan was so bold as to tempt the Son of God (Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted there by the devil. Matthew 4:1) then he will have no trouble in tempting us.
A man who came to the theologian Charles Finney said this:"I don't believe in the existence of a devil." "Don't you?" said Finney. "Well, you resist him for a while, and you will believe."
The Scriptures do not teach us that we will be temptation free after we come to the Lord. In fact we are warned many times about facing temptation. Jesus himself said “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Matthew 26:41)
One person might be tempted by something and have a real struggle . whereas it might not be a temptation at all to another Christian.
We may find ourselves being prideful and say, "I would never do that" and yet there could be another temptation trap that we would be susceptible to fall into.
There was once a poor country pastor who was livid when he confronted his wife with the receipt for a $350 dress she had bought "How could you do this!" he exclaimed. "I don't know," she wailed, "I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, "Gee, you look great in that dress. You should buy it." "Well," the pastor persisted, "You know how to deal with him! Just tell him, "Get behind me, Satan!" "I did," replied his wife, "but then he said "It looks great from the back too." J
So we do not need be surprised when temptation comes to us.
We need to hear Peters warning in1 Peter 5:8, "8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."
We may feel the temptation more when we are tired or under stress, when we are alone or away from home, after a spiritual high, when we are not expecting it, or when we are not attending church and not around our Christian friends. Or when we put ourselves in bad situations.
Some people take the view that they should isolate themselves from every temptation and therefore they will be successful. In other words – just avoid all contact with outside influences.
This could be good in some cases such as: not going to a bar if you are an alcoholic. However, victory comes not through the avoidance of the assault but through the resources of the Holy Spirit. We can have victory in the middle of temptation.
Scripture tells us: “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:21).
When we read about Jesus' temptation we find that after the temptation, Satan left him and the angels ministered to him. (Matthew 4:11). So it was over! NOT!
What is interesting to note is in the same account of this temptation in Luke 4:13; that “13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.” Satan said “I’ll Be Back”!
Satan and the spiritual forces of wickedness are relentless. We need to realize that throughout our faith journey on this side of eternity that we will never "arrive" at a place where we are temptation free.
C. S. Lewis made these observations about temptation: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good. We are never so spiritual that something cannot get to us.
There is an old story concerning sin that is worth sharing.
One
night an Arab had settled in for the night and had just fallen asleep when his
camel stuck his head in his tent because it was awfully cold. Then the camel
asked permission to just stick his legs inside the tent to keep them warm.
Granting him permission the Arab went back to sleep. A little while later the
camel woke him up a second time and asked permission to stick his head in.
Again permission was granted. This continued on throughout the night until finally
the Arab woke up to find the entire camel in the tent with him. When he told
the camel that there just was not enough room in the tent for the both of them
the camel suggested that the Arab might want to leave.
That is exactly what Satan does. That is exactly what sin does in our life. Sin slips into our lives a little at a time and one day we wake up and find that there just is not enough room for both the Devil and Jesus in our lives. To which the Devil suggests that we ask Jesus to leave.
Not only should we not be surprised when temptation presents itself to us, but we need to realize that temptation is not necessarily bad. Why, because it allows us to test our convictions.
It has been said "Your convictions are only as strong as they hold up under pressure. A person has not shown true obedience if they have never had the opportunity to disobey."
Temptation is not meant to weaken us but to make us emerge stronger from the ordeal. Earlier in the lesson read the verse where we find that Jesus was "led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." We may wonder why would the Spirit lead Jesus into a situation to be may be, "Hey, this is not a good thing! Excuse me! "Wait a minute!"
That is exactly what Satan does. That is exactly what sin does in our life. Sin slips into our lives a little at a time and one day we wake up and find that there just is not enough room for both the Devil and Jesus in our lives. To which the Devil suggests that we ask Jesus to leave.
Not only should we not be surprised when temptation presents itself to us, but we need to realize that temptation is not necessarily bad. Why, because it allows us to test our convictions.
It has been said "Your convictions are only as strong as they hold up under pressure. A person has not shown true obedience if they have never had the opportunity to disobey."
Temptation is not meant to weaken us but to make us emerge stronger from the ordeal. Earlier in the lesson read the verse where we find that Jesus was "led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil." We may wonder why would the Spirit lead Jesus into a situation to be may be, "Hey, this is not a good thing! Excuse me! "Wait a minute!"
