The bible says that we all are tempted. Romans 1:14 says,
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
It also says that when it is given into, it can bring forth death, spiritual death, but also, depending on the circumstances, physical death in verse 15.
15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
We all are tempted everyday. We cannot escape it. Whether is it the temptation to lie, steal, kill, whatever it is, we all get tempted. And every temptation brings an opportunity to either give in or turn away. And we can either save ourselves the heartache of giving in or the blessing and peace of turning away from it. The choice is ours. We must choose wisely. Unfortunately, we don’t most of the time.
Some may think that to be tempted means we have already sinned, but that isn’t true. Temptation is not a sin, giving in is a sin. Even Jesus was tempted. In Matthew 4:1-11 when Satan tempted him as Jesus was in the wilderness.
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and *said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written,
‘He will command His angels concerning
7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.
But how did he address the issue with his own temptation? He used the word of God. But so did Satan you might say. The difference is, Satan used it wrongly. Jesus used the word correctly. Satan used it in an attempt to trick Christ into sinning, and in order to control him in Christ’s most vulnerable moment. This is something that has happened to me number of times. People have used the word of God in an ungodly manner to trick me and manipulate me while I was in my most vulnerable moments. And that is what Satan was trying with Christ. But it didn’t work. Christ fought back with using scripture correctly, without taking it out of context.
But God addresses the issue all through the bible, both Old and New Testaments. And like all through the word of God, he gave people a way of escape, as he does us. But we have to take it. We do not have to give in. We can choose the right path and walk away from it, because God will give us a way of escape. We just have to take the escape path. 1 Corinthians 10:13 addresses the way out.
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
And if you are like I have been in my life when it came to temptation, you make excuses and say that we can’t help but give in, the temptation was too strong. That just means we didn’t take the escape, because God will always plan a way to get out. Plus we ignore the passage in Philippians 4:7, where it says that if we resist, the devil must flee.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Satan must flee if you resist him, and we have to SUBMIT. an action we hate to do. We give in, because we don’t want to flee and we don’t want to submit to God. Our human nature likes to sin, that is why it is called the sinful nature. It desires to fight against the will of God. The flesh craves it. But if we are believers, then we are supposed to resist. We are supposed to rely on the holy spirit for strength to resist temptation. For as 1 John 4:4 says,
You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
Relying on the power of God, resisting the devil, and using the words of the bible, and remembering that Christ is greater than Satan in fighting the temptation can we overcome. I know that it is hard, and at times we have weak moments. Even Christ said in Matthew 26:41,
“Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
It is not easy, I know. But with God all things are possible, and it is possible to resist the temptation to sin. We just have to be willing to resist it. But more we do, the more we build a resistance to it. It can be done. Christ resisted, so can we.
God bless you all
