Temptation
is something with which all people struggle.
Temptation comes in a lot of different forms from the simple to the
complex. A person can be tempted to eat
too many cookies, stay up too late, tell lies, or have an affair. We have likely said life would be a lot
simpler without temptation all around us.
Temptation is an unfortunate reality, which we must take very seriously.
The less seriously we take it, the more vulnerable we are to succumbing
to its allure.
The next
phrase in The Lord’s Prayer is “Lead us not into temptation.” This line may seem a bit puzzling to us. We might wonder why we need to ask God, not
to lead us into temptation. Does God tempt people? Can He
tempt people? We do not get very far
into the pages of Scripture and we are confronted with the reality of
temptation. After the fall (Gen. 3), and
right before Cain kills his brother Abel (Gen. 4) we have God speaking to Cain
in regards to why He did not receive Cain’s offering but did accept Abel’s
offering. God asks “Why are you
angry? And why has your countenance
fallen? If you do well, will you not be
accepted? And if you do not do well, sin
lies (crouches) at the door. And its
desire is for you, but you should rule over it.” (Gen. 4:6-7) Cain did not heed the Lord’s words of warning
about temptation. He rather allowed his
feelings of jealousy, hatred, and resentment to lead him to rise up and kill
his brother (Gen. 4:8). God knew Cain
was angry, but there was a test for him in it all. How would he handle his anger? Would he submit to God, or act out his anger
by sinning?
In
Deuteronomy 13:3 Israel was given an assurance that false prophets, who
basically “led people into temptation” would be punished and people were warned
to test them and know that they were not of God. We read “You shall not listen to the words of
that (false) prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is
testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and
with all your soul.” (Deut. 13:3)
In the
Lord’s Prayer (Mat. 6:13a) “Temptation” is a “test” or “trial.” This test reveals how far you are able to go
in doing what is right while avoiding doing wrong. Temptation itself comes from our own sinful
desires so we are constantly in the midst of a test or trial. What should be our attitude toward this
reality? James tells us in his epistle;
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that
the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3) Temptations/tests/trials can be seen as both
good things and as bad things. It is
good in that it produces good things in us, but it is bad becaue it is often
tough and painful to endure. How can
something be both? A good example to
help us understand would be our jobs. We
are thankful we have a job but, at the same time, we moan and groan when the
alarm clock goes off on Monday morning at 6 AM! Another thought to help us understand would be
our retrospective on discipline from our past.
I reached the point in adulthood where I was able to truly be thankful
to my parents for spanking me and administering other forms of discipline. Further, I reached a point where I was
thankful to my teachers for making me write papers, and study for and take
tests. Also thankful to coaches for
making me work so much harder, etc.
Proper perspective only comes through maturity.
If all this
is true, why then are we to pray that we can avoid
temptation/trials/tests? There are three
primary reasons. 1) Satan “The Tempter”
(Mat. 4:3; 1 Thes. 3:5) tries to exploit every situation for our ruin. 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour.” Jesus knew from His temptation
experience in the wilderness (Mat. 4; Luke 4) how cunning, crafty, and
deceptive Satan can be. 2) The pressures
in times of trial can be overwhelming.
We naturally shrink from the thought of having cancer, losing our job,
losing our spouse, or losing a child. No
one would pray for that to happen. We
desperately seek to avoid this sort of pain.
3) The knowledge of our own proven weakness and past failures. We, better than anyone else, know how weak
and vulnerable we are in the face of trials/tests/temptations. Satan attacks us and exploits us with
skill! 1 Cor. 10:12 says “Therefore let
him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” Satan knows the more times we fail, the more
self-distrust we will have of ourselves.
In the
Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus found His disciples asleep and said to them “Watch
and pray, lest you enter into temptation.
The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mat 26:41). What prompted His comment was the struggle He
Himself had had as He battled the flesh.
“Watch” suggests a soldier on
guard; alert for the first signs of enemy attack. We must be on the alert and know the
potential for danger that lurks and be ready to act. Martin Luther wisely said “You cannot keep
the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.” We will inevitably be tempted/tried/tested,
but we do not let Satan have the satisfaction of defeating us. We do not even have to mope and complain when
trials come.
We can have victory over temptation. We must recognize that temptations themselves
do not come from God. They are part of
our sinful, fallen nature, but God is still able to use them to accomplish good
things in our lives. We read in James
1:13-15 “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God;’ for God
cannot be tempted by evil nor does He Himself tempt anyone, but each one is
tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives
birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown brings forth death.” There is no doubt sin is tempting, even
alluring to human beings with a fallen nature.
The Sirens
from Greek Mythology were beautiful, melodious, yet dangerous creatures who
lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and singing voices to
shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island.
Sin has led to “shipwreck” in many lives. The Bible is very clear however, “No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is
faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but
with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to
bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13) If/when anyone
falls into sin and they claim the temptation was just too strong, they are
calling God a liar!
The way a
person successfully deals with temptation in his/her life is to practice what
Paul exhorted the Romans to do in 12:1 where he writes “I beseech you therefore
brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” We must “continually” present our bodies, our
minds, and everything to God. It takes a
deliberate effort.
When Jesus
teaches his followers to pray that God will not lead them into
temptation/trials/testing, He knows the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the
flesh and how easily we can fall victim to our own desires. With His grace and help we hold the potential
to experience victory!
In Christ,
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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