Defeating Temptation

True or False?

Temptation can be both a curse and a blessing.

We can defeat temptation successfully on a regular basis.

What were your answers?

There are some things in life that are a sure thing· difficulties, taxes, death and temptation.

As Christians, we should expect to be tempted. Satan does his best to deceive Christians into living a life of sin so that they are useless to God and ministry. Overcoming temptation is something every believer needs to learn how to accomplish. We can also learn to use temptation as a means to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.*

Read I Corinthians 10:1-13

Share historical setting from Moses’ time

1. How Man Deals with Temptation

Man generally deals with temptation in 1 of 3 ways:

a. Some people simply give in to it.

Their philosophy says, "Don’t worry about temptation. If it feels good, do it. Whatever is natural must be right." So they exist like animals, living for their own self-gratification. We have a generation of people who have been taught that they have evolved from animals, and that they are merely a higher form of animal. Sad to say, some live like it.

b. There are others who spend all their time fighting temptation with their own strength.

They fight and fail, fight and fail, fight again and fail again because no one can overcome temptation consistently in his own strength . If we could, Jesus would not have had to come and die for us. These people might hate what they do, but they go on doing it because they do not have the power to stop themselves.

Illustration: Judas

c. Finally, there are those who overcome temptation through the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They turn temptation into triumph. To some that may seem like a pipe dream·but it is not! All of us can learn the spiritual process of conquering temptation. It is possible to experience victory in this life. However, there are several things you must know if you want to experience it.

We are all subject to temptation, from the most righteous person you know to the lowliest criminal. The Lord Jesus was tempted. Peter was tempted. King David was tempted. Each of us are faced daily with an array of temptations: pride, materialism, dishonesty, lust, greed, sexual sin--the list goes on and on. Being saved doesn’t make you immune. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was without sin, yet was tempted by Satan. The Bible says He was tempted in all things as we are, yet remained sinless.

There is one particular area where we are most susceptible to temptation. Look again at vs. 12

The proud man inadvertently tempts the devil to test him. If you think you cannot fall, then you are headed for a big tumble. Pride always leads to failure.

Illustration: There was a ship Captain who had a regular route from California to Columbia. One day shortly before leaving for California some drug dealers sent him a message that offered him $50k to allow a small shipment of drugs to get through to the U.S. He quickly said no. On his next three trips they raised the offer each time until they reached $150K. He hesitated and said ’maybe’. He contacted the FBI - a sting operation was set up and the drug dealers were arrested. One of the FBI agents asked the Captain "Why did you wait until they got to $150K before contacting us?" The Captain replied, "There were getting close to my price."

Some people have asked, "If God really loves us, why doesn’t He annihilate Satan and stop temptation? Why not remove the allurement of sin?" But if God did that, you and I would lose the ability to be overcomers in Jesus Christ.

* Is there any victory in crossing the goal line before the other team has taken the field?

* Is there any victory in stealing home when the other team hasn’t shown up?

Without opposition, there is no victory. God hasn’t called us to a life of ease, but to a life of victory in Jesus Christ. We are all subject to temptation, but those who depend on the strength of Christ can experience triumph over it.

2. The Source of Temptation

The beginning of verse 13 is so true- 13:a...

Don’t think you have a unique temptation: all of us face common, garden-variety temptations. We are all tempted in common ways and they come from the same three sources:

According to Scripture the sources of temptation are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

a. The sinful world we live in.

The Greek word for "world" is cosmos. It means a system, or an order. There is a system the Bible calls "the world" and it is a system that is filled with evil desires.