Temptation

1 Corinthians 10:12-13

"Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

James 1:13-15

"Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

I have defined in past blogs what the true nature of sin is - to disobey God's command. Temptation is what leads us to sin. It is the dialogoue that occurs just before we decide to indulge in the flesh and turn from God's way. Most people assume that the enemy is always behind this temptation, but they forget the all important fact that before Christ, we were at war with God of our own accord, and "following the desires of our flesh, and following the prince of the power of the air." Our own evil heart is enough to lead us into sinful rebelion against God. I used to teach on 1 Corinthians 10:12 and say that it was talking about being careful to understand that you are never beyond being tempted. We always need to be on our guard; however, after a carfeul reading of it in context--focussing on the "therefore" and looking back a few verses--we find that this is referring to those who assume that they are secure, even though they are living in sin. It is saying that we must not put Christ to the test. Sin is serious. As James writes, temptation tells us that it won't hurt that bad, the sin tells us that we won't be punished, and inevitably it leads to death and separation from God. We must therefore remind ourselves of this fact, when we allow our desires to go unchecked. When we allow a fleeting thought to turn into a gaze--as David did with Bathsheeba. Temptation is our own desires unchecked. We can not play innocent and say, "The devil made me do it." Nor can we throw a pity party when we have sinned, as if we were tricked. The truth is that we must battle sin in our lives with the same ferocious ruthlessness that it uses to try to kill us. If we allow it to continue, it will lead to death, if not in this world, in the world to come. When we do sin, and rebel against God, we need to take responsibility for our actions. We are told to confess our sin, not blame the enemy for it--just as Adam blamed Eve, and Eve blamed the serpant. I wish that I knew the secret weapon for battle against temptation, but as 1 Corinthians 10 tells us, it is a way of escape, and I am not certain that it is a formula for each circumstance. I know that when Jesus was tempted, He turned to Scripture that he had memorized. I think that many could do well against the war against their flesh, if they spent more time memorizing helpful Scripture and reading God's word more. David wrote that he made a covenant with his eyes not to look where he ought not to look. If the struggle is with lust, the temptation is that one look is ok, but it is a lie. If the temptation is greed, whether with money or with food, we must train ourselves in contentedness and selfcontrol. Whatever the temptation may be, God has made a way of escape. There is never "no way out."