Dealing with and Surviving... Temptation

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"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man..."
1 Corinthians 10:13

The word temptation has come to mean something bad to us today, but we tend to use the word in the wrong way. Temptation itself is not sin; it is something we are bound to face simply by virtue of being human. Not to be tempted would mean that we were already so shameful that we would be beneath contempt. Yet many of us suffer from temptations we should never have to suffer, simply because we have refused to allow God to lift us to a higher level where we would face temptations of another kind.

A person's inner nature, what he possesses in the inner, spiritual part of his being, determines what he is tempted by on the outside. The temptation fits the true nature of the person being tempted and reveals the possibilities of his nature. Every person actually determines or sets the level of his own temptation, because temptation will come to him in accordance with the level of his controlling, inner nature.

Temptation comes to me, suggesting a possible shortcut to the realization of my highest goal - it does not direct me toward what I understand to be evil, but toward what I understand to be good. Temptation is something that confuses me for a while, and I don't know whether something is right or wrong. When I yield to it, I have made lust a god, and the temptation itself becomes the proof that it was only my own fear that prevented me from falling into the sin earlier.

Temptation is not something we can escape; in fact, it is essential to the well-rounded life of a person. Beware of thinking that you are tempted as no one else - what you go through is the common inheritance of the human race, not something that no one has ever before endured. God does not save us from temptations -He sustains us in the midst of them.

"Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted." - Hebrews 2:18

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:15-16

[Excerpted from the 1935 devotional classic... My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers]

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Satan and his demons stalk the path of every believer, offering all manner of enticements to lure the Christian away from an obedient and faithful walk with Christ. No one is immune to Satanic attacks, and no one is completely successful in countering them either (I John 1:8, 10).

Unfortunately, some Christians succumb to temptation so often that they see no hope for victory. They give up and give in without much struggle. This is an unfortunate condition, born of despair, and it blinds the believer to the marvelous provision God has made for overcoming temptation.

The first thing the Christian must learn is that God does not lead us to sin. The Apostle James clearly condemns the attitude of blaming God for tempting circumstances (James 1:13-15). God may test His children, a process designed to purify and strengthen, but He does not lead us into sin. Without exception, sin results when temptation strikes a sympathetic chord in the human heart, and man has no one to blame but himself. Sin is and always has been “an inside job”... emmanating from within us from desires born in the heart.

Blame has to be fixed at the source, us, if we are to be forgiven. Our age is one in which blame is passed to society, to the pressures of the times, or to some other faceless, nameless creature. If one is to be forgiven, you must first humbly admit, "I have sinned." As long as you look for someone or something else to blame, you will be totally helpless in combating temptation.

The Christian needs to recognize the role of Scripture in overcoming temptation. The Psalmist stated, "Thy Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalms 119:11). When God's Word becomes an integral part of a believer's life, it fortifies that person against temptation's power. Christ Himself demonstrated the Word's power when He submitted to Satan's temptations with a quote from the Old Testament (Matthew 4:7). A systematic, prayerful study of Scripture is an absolute prerequisite to defeating temptation. The Word not only warns of Satan's methods (II Corinthians 2:11), but it empowers against attacks (Ephesians 6:11-17).

Another essential to victory is to avoid temptation. On several occasions, Christ told His disciples to pray that they might not fall into temptation (Matthew 6:13; Luke 22:40). Some believers understand that temptation is not the same as sin, so then feel that they can enjoy the enticements of temptation without any harm. This behavior becomes a type of game - seeing how much titillation one can 'enjoy' without falling into overt sin. Such an attitude is sinful in itself, for it fails to take seriously God's commands for holiness in attitude as well as in action. One of the most crucial passages concerning temptation is I Corinthians 10:13.... "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, that you may be able to endure it."

This verse is God's guarantee that He will never allow Satan to go too far. The temptation's intensity and the escape route will be uniquely tailored to the individual, and will not exceed your capacity to handle the circumstances.

Knowing there is a way of escape, and using that way of escape, may be quite different things. If one is ignorant of God's Word, one will likely not recognize the escape when he sees it, for he won't know how God works. Whether or not he uses the escape, though, the believer can never truthfully claim that the temptation was so strong that he had to give in to it.

Another promise is that no one in this universe is uniquely tempted. While no two people are exactly alike, the temptations confronting each individual are basically the same as have confronted others throughout the ages. Consequently, the Bible can say that Jesus Christ was tempted in all points like we are, and even suffered in those temptations, but did not sin (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15-16). He is, therefore, a sympathetic Savior, knowing from His own incarnate experience the pressure that temptation can exert.

Since no one is uniquely tempted, Christians can help and learn from one another. Merely knowing that another Christian has overcome greed, for instance, may be just the assurance that someone needs to make another attempt to overcome it in his own life. The Christian who has grown in one facet of spiritual life is responsible for helping other Christians who have not yet grown in that area. In this manner, Christians can edify or, "build up" one another in their faith (Ephesians 4:15-16).

The Scripture contains no promise of help in overcoming temptation for those who are unsaved. Indeed, until one repents of his sin and accepts by faith Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and submits to baptism for the “forgiveness of sins” (Acts 2:38) he has no capacity for pleasing God. But those who are saved may appropriate the power and wisdom of the Word, relying upon God's grace, and can therefore experience victory, even over Satan's most subtle and compelling temptations.