All people experience
temptation, but I’m not writing about being tempted to eat a donut occasionally
or being tempted to get out of your comfort zone to speak to someone you find
attractive or being tempted by a friend to engage in a potentially dangerous
recreation activity. I am writing about our very own thoughts and desires that
can lead to sin, engaging in something that is morally wrong, whether it’s
committing wrong or omitting right in the eyes of God. I am writing also about
influences that can lure us into sinning with our thoughts, desires, attitudes,
and behavior.
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. 15
Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when
it is fully grown brings forth death.
Temptation to sin is not sin
but such a temptation can lead to sin when we give into the wrongful desire and
thought. Example; I forgot to attend a meeting and I’m asked why I did not
attend and I’m tempted to lie about my reason but instead of choosing to lie I
choose to tell the truth. Just because I had a fleeting thought about possibly lying
is not sin. That was a temptation to sin. Another example; I’m sun-bathing at
the beach and notice some slender young female in a bikini walk by and I look
and then I have the tempting thought to lust after her body but instead I just
acknowledge mentally that she is attractive and move on to other thoughts. This
is an example of temptation without sinning. Now, if I had lied or fantasized
about having sexual activity with the beach girl then I would have sinned
according to God’s Word (i.e. Mt. 19:18, 5:28).
All people have experience
with temptation and with sinning (Rom. 3:23, 1 John 1:8). When you do sin, God
has given His people a proper process to go through to get right with Him and
move forward in His grace. Check out my blog entries about this at
Praise God that He is
forgiving but let’s not presume upon His grace and mercy by thinking we have
some sort of license to sin and everything will be okay in the end. No,
instead, let’s be holy as God has called us to be holy.
What I’m really focused on
for this blog entry is consistently overcoming the temptation to sin and this
is possible in Christ when we trust Him and apply relevant biblical principles
to overcoming temptation. This is the short version and if you want to read all
the extra Bible verses you can read the longer version at LINK????.
Check out this early occurrence
of the word ‘sin’ in God’s Word.
Genesis 4:7 NLT You will be
accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then
watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must
subdue it and be its master.”
Here are three principles
to heed from this verse:
A. Acknowledge and learn
more about the temptation to sin conflict
Watch out! There is a real spiritual
conflict related to sin in this world and in our lives! God’s Word proclaims
that we exist in a spiritual war. There are real spiritual enemies of God
including the devil, demons, sinful ways of the world, and our own sinful
flesh/nature.
- Eph. 6:12 For our struggle
is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Cain
did not realize just how vulnerable to sin he was. Let’s ask God to help us have
a greater awareness and understanding of God’s will and of temptation and sin
and the schemes of the spiritual enemies of God and just how weak and
vulnerable to sin we really are. See also Mark 14:38, 2 Cor. 10:3-5.
B. Discern between right
and wrong
Hebrews
5:14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have
their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good
from evil.
Our
greatest resource and standard for such discernment is God’s Word. For example,
from God’s Word we learn about holiness and righteousness and unholiness and
unrighteousness. We learn that selfishness is wrong but humbly serving others
is good and that lying is wrong but telling the truth is good and that sexual
relations outside of marriage is wrong but sexual relations inside a marriage
between one man and one woman is good.
The
Holy Bible gives us a moral compass to live by. There are commandments and
principles of morality for God’s people today. Our road to more consistent
victory over temptation must include our growing discernment between right and
wrong in the eyes of God. This requires regular quality Bible learning/application,
prayer, and discipleship learning from mature Christ-followers. Ask God to show
you from Scripture what is right and what is wrong. Ask Him to give you
discernment to help with decision making, thoughts, desires, attitudes, and
actions. See also 1 John 4:1.
C. Master your temptations
to sin
The master of all masters,
the master over all, is Jesus Christ (Mt. 28:18, 1 Tim. 6:15). The key to our mastering
temptation is based on the person and work of Jesus Christ, trusting Him as
Savior and Lord, and living for the glory of God based on God’s Holy Word.
Here are ten biblical principles
(and several verses) to help you become a master over temptation to sin:
1) Trust God; He’s Powerful and He’s faithful
to His people.
a. Jesus, the God-man, was tempted but did not sin (Heb.
4:15).
b. John 16:33b.. take heart! I (Jesus) have overcome the world.
c. 1 Cor. 10:13 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.
- God
will not allow His people to be tempted to sin beyond their ability to resist. We aren’t tempted to sin in ways that no one else has
ever been tempted with and God is faithful (to His redeemed) in that He won’t
let His people be tempted beyond their ability to resist. God provides His
people a way of enduring and escaping the temptation to the point of not
sinning. Praise God! Expect this. Believe this. Ask God to help you live this.
- Jesus, as well as the Holy Spirit, is greater than
he (the devil or any enemies of God) that is in the world (1 John 4:4).
- God is all-powerful (Rev. 19:6); God has given
Christ-followers the Holy Spirit to help us. Also Eph. 3:20-21
- Victory comes through Christ (1 Cor. 15:57)! Over what?
temptation, sin, and death
- Jesus is our great Deliverer from the bondage of sin
(Gal. 1:3-5).
- See also 2 Thes. 3:3, Col. 2:13-15, Heb. 2:14, 18
- Christ’s atoning work on the cross for our sins
struck a death blow to the devil and demons. Jesus is greater than them and we
have victory over them in Christ and it’s just a matter of time before they are
all imprisoned in the eternal Lake of Fire (Rev. 19-20). God has all the power
we need to overcome this temptation to sin issue.
2) Pray for victory over your temptation.
God teaches us through His Word of the importance of
praying to Him, that we need the Holy Spirit’s help in praying, that we are to
ask in the name of Christ, that we are to pray with genuine faith and according
to God’s will, that such prayer makes a
difference. Our real victory is in Christ, so pray for victory and thank Him
for it.
James 5:16b NLT The earnest prayer of a righteous person
has great power and produces wonderful results.
See
also Eph. 6:18, Rom. 8:26, John 14:13-14, James 1:6, 5:15; 1 John 5:14, Matt.
6:13, 1 Cor. 15:57.
Here
is an example relevant prayer to starting the day out (i.e. The Holy Foundation
Stage): Holy Father God in the name of Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit,
I pray that You protect me spiritually and practically from the enemies of God
and the weakness of my flesh. May I be dead to worldly influences and fleshly
passions that are wrong in Your eyes. When I am tempted to sin help me find a
way out of it, acknowledging that You, Jesus, have overcome the world and that
the Spirit of God within me is greater than he who is in the world. Help me not
give the devil or anyone else a sinful foothold in my life. Help me learn from
past experiences and consequences of sinning. Help me experience consistent victory
in Christ over temptation. Thank You, Jesus.
Here
is an example prayer when you are being tempted to sin (i.e. The Holy Fighting
Stage): Holy Father God in the name of Jesus Christ by way of the Holy Spirit,
I rebuke the enemies of God and the weakness of my flesh right now. Frustrate
their plans. Jesus, reign in my life right now, in my thoughts, my emotions,
and my body and spiritual life. I want You to be on the throne of my life right
now. Help me identify any unconfessed sin right now. I confess those. Help me repent of my sin. Fill me with the
Holy Spirit. Help me find a way out from this temptation to sin. Help me submit
to You and resist the devil and he will flee from me. Deliver me from any
footholds of sin and any bondage to sin in my life. Help me experience victory
over these temptations and the enemies of God; a victory that comes by my
belief, faith, and trust in You Jesus, Your name, Your blood that was spilt on
the cross to atone for my sins, and Your resurrection. Thank You, Jesus.
And
you can include other various relevant Bible verses (like those found in this
blog) in such prayers.
3) Keep God's Word close to
your heart.
Ps.
119:9-11 How can a young man keep his
way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my
whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11
I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you
Jesus
used Scripture when tempted by the Devil (See Mt. 4). The Word of God is
foundational to our life of holiness and foundational in experiencing victory
over temptation and sin.
Think
of this spiritual war in terms of your offense and defense. The offense
includes preparing for battle, preparing for the attacks of the enemies of God,
building on the foundation of Christ day to day with increased faith in Him,
learning and living out biblical principles individually and in Christian
community, and honoring the Lord. I call this The Holy Foundation Stage. This is how we are to live daily according
to God’s Word. Then there is the defense that includes responding to specific temptations
by crying out to Christ and praying some ‘go to’ prayers and Bible verses, and
reaching out to mature Christ followers for help. I call this The Holy Fighting Stage. Consistently
overcoming temptation must include both of these stages.
To
illustrate, imagine that Saturday night is usually when you are most tempted to
lust and give into sinful pleasures of the flesh. Your holy living throughout
the week matters in this moment. It’s foundational in your spiritual maturing
sanctification. The more you invest in this stage the more you will be prepared
and discerning about the temptation and how to avoid sinning. Then comes
Saturday night when you experience the furnace of temptation moment but,
remember, you have been laying a holy foundation daily and now you know that
you must cry out to Jesus in faith, and pray some key Bible passages, reach out
to an accountability partner and flee the situation. You have been training and
preparing for this moment and now you trust God to help you through the
temptation and avoid sinning. Don’t try to experience victory over temptation
by doing only one of these stages or neither.
Of
the two example prayers above, #2, the prayer to start the day is part of The
Holy Foundation Stage and the prayer for when you are being tempted to sin is
part of The Holy Fighting Stage.
4) Christ followers are to stand strong
in the Lord and put on the full armor of God.
Eph.
6:10-18 Finally, be
strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and
blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic
powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the
heavenly places. 13 Therefore take
up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day,
and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand
therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, 15 and,
as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of
peace. 16 In all circumstances take
up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of
the evil one; 17 and take the
helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit,
with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance,
making supplication for all the saints,
-
God’s Word teaches that strength comes from the Lord and we are also exhorted
by God to be strong. We partner with God in this process. We know that He is
the true source of our strength and yet we have a responsibility to be and do
what He calls us to be and do. Let’s be courageous and strong, standing firm in
Christ as we consistently use the full armor of God. I recommend you study and unpack
the meaning of the pieces of armor and the principles in this passage.
5) Holistically submit
yourself to godliness.
We are holistic beings. We have a mind (thoughts). We
have emotions and feelings and attitudes. We have a physical body. And we have
a spirit.
a. Rom.
12:1-2 I appeal to you therefore,
brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living
sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good
and acceptable and perfect.
- We are to present our bodies daily to the glory and
honor of God.
- Our mind is a battle ground, a mission field because
our mind and our thoughts are tempted to think and act in sinful ways. What we
see, read, hear, and think about matters. We need God-honoring influences and
God-honoring thinking to take place.
b. Eph. 4:19-24 They
have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to
practice every kind of impurity. 20But that is not
the way you learned Christ!—21assuming that you have heard about him
and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22to
put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and
is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23and to be renewed
in the spirit of your minds, 24and to put on the new self,
created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
-
See
also Rom. 8:6, 1 Pet. 1:14-15, 1 Pet. 4:2, Gal. 5:24, 2 Cor. 10:5, Gal. 5:16-17
- Don’t
give in to the weakness of the flesh, sin nature. View your body as dead to the
sin nature and live to righteousness in Christ. Our attitudes and desires are
to honor God. Also, we must be careful not to be feelings and emotions driven.
We need to believe God and believe His Word for His people today. Our feelings
can deceive us. We need to trust God and His revelation to us.
6) Abstain, resist, and flee.
a. Eph. 4:27 and give
no opportunity (NIV foothold; leverage against yourself)
to the devil
b. James 4:7 Submit yourselves
therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you.
c. 1 Peter 5:8-9 Be sober-minded; be
watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm
in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being
experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.
d. 1 Cor. 6:18 Flee from sexual immorality.
Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral
person sins against his own body.
-
Joseph is a good example of fleeing from sexual immorality. He ran away from
Potipher’s wife after her sexual advances.
e. 1 Thes. 4:3-5 For this is the
will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from
sexual immorality; 4 that each one of you know how
to control his own body in holiness and honor,5 not
in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God;
- See also 2 Tim. 2:22, Col. 3:5, Rom. 13:14, 1 Pet. 2:11,
Tit. 2:12
-
Abstain from things that might lead to compromising situations, to sinning. Don’t just say “no” to temptation to sin, say “yes”
to holiness and godliness in Christ.
7) Be an overcomer by faith in Christ.
1 John 5:4 For everyone
who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome
the world—our faith.
- Christ-followers are ultimately overcomers by the
fact of their salvation in Christ. But there is also a need to emphasize and
mature in our daily living faith in Christ. Ask Christ for increased faith (Luke
17:5). Pray that your faith will not fail when tempted (like Jesus did for His
disciples; Luke 22:32). Saving and
Living faith upon Christ as your Savior and the Lord of your life is essential
in having victory over temptation (i.e. 1 Pet. 5:9, Eph. 6:16).
8) Be an overcomer with good.
Rom. 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome
evil with good.
See also 1 Pet. 2:8-11
- You won’t overcome evil by wallowing in sin. The
good in these verses is the kind of good that pleases God not some form of
selfish good or ulterior motive good or fleshly good. God is truly good and true
goodness is part of the Fruit of the Spirit in the life of Christ-followers who
are also created in Christ to do good works for God’s glory. Seek to be good in
Christ and to do good in the name of Christ.
9) Walk the way of the wise and
understand the Lord’s will.
Eph. 5:15-17 Look
carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the
days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what
the will of the Lord is.
- Don’t be foolish or lazy. Redeem your time and ask
God for wisdom for living. Prioritize your time around God’s will for your life
(James 1:5-6, 4:13-15).
- There is much about God’s will that is
understandable (with God’s gracious help) or this Bible statement by Paul would
not be true. Much of God’s will for us is already revealed through Scripture;
sometimes in specifics and at others times with principles to live by.
10) Do all to the glory of God.
1
Cor. 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all
to the glory of God.
This
is an over-arching purpose verse for us. Whatever the
thought, desire, or decision to make, ask yourself, ‘If I move forward with
this, will I be glorifying and pleasing the Lord according to His Word and
character and will?’ We have a choice to please God or not with our thoughts,
desires, attitudes, actions, and spiritual lives. Let’s choose holiness according
to God’s standard. Let’s choose to honor God and glorify God with our lives.
Let’s trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and live for Him.
As you can see, God
provides and promises His people all kinds of help in the battle with
temptation and sin.
His
divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has
granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you
may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption
that is in the world because of sinful desire. 2 Pet. 1:3-4
In Christ, we can
consistently overcome temptation to sin by trusting
Jesus as Savior and Lord and living for the glory of God based on God’s Holy
Word.
What are your thoughts about
what I’ve posted here regarding overcoming temptation?
Mike
Note: All Bible verses are ESV unless otherwise noted.
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