This is the third and final message in our series on temptation. We’ve been dealing with a number of topics over the last couple of weeks that have to do with temptation: Why it’s important to talk about temptation; How the Bible talks about temptation and last week, what the Bible teaches about the sources of temptation. This week the focus will be on breaking the chain of temptation.
There is a chain of events that takes a person from temptation to sin. In order understand this chain of temptation, let’s look at the classic temptation – the devil tempting Eve in the Garden of Eden:
[1] Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” [2] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, [3] but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ” [4] “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. [5] “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” [6] When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. (Genesis 3.1-6)
The first thing that we see happening is temptation being brought to Eve by the devil. Last week we talked about the sources of temptation (devil, world and our sinful nature). Here we see the devil – in the form of a serpent - coming to Eve to tempt her. Mother Eve faced what often confronts us – the option to engage a temptation or to run from it. This is step 1 in the temptation chain: 1) the temptation is presented.
Now think about this: Eve was near the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This is the tree whose fruit God had prohibited. The entire Garden of Eden was available to Eve. She could have gone any place else. And yet she chose to be in the proximity of the prohibited tree. What took her there? Perhaps the old saying, “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” can inform our thinking. The prohibited fruit looked good to Eve. She thought that she could do better than what God had given to her. So step two in the temptation chain is: 2) Being discontented or unhappy with God’s provision.
Alright – we have Eve next to the tree and the devil enticing Eve into a conversation by asking, “Did God really say…?” Eve responded by giving her take on the commandment: we can’t eat that fruit – nor touch it or you will die. Only problem is that God never said not to touch the fruit. The problem with that misquote is that that if the devil could get Eve to touch the fruit and nothing happened, then it would be easy for the devil to get Eve to doubt the rest of what God had said. So step three in the chain of temptation is: 3) Doubt or ignorance about what God has said.
Let’s look at the next link: Verse six from Genesis tells us: “… the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye.” That stuff that we shouldn’t do – it was looking pretty good. The eye deceived the heart. Turning back is getting less and less likely. So the next step in the chain of temptation is: 4) Desire for what God has prohibited.
Then it happened – the text from Genesis says, “She took some [of the fruit] and ate it.” Eve no longer saw the consequences of disobedience. She only saw the pleasure of doing what had been prohibited. The temptation finally resulted in disobedience of God. So step five in the chain of temptation is: 5) Disobey God.
Have you ever noticed how when folks are really engaged in some heavy duty debauchery that there is normally a crowd? Same thing happened with mother Eve. The Genesis text says, “She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Mother Eve brought Adam into the disobedience. Now I’m not sure what Adam’s story was – but we do see that the final step in the chain of temptation is: 6) Deceive others.
Temptation and ultimately, falling to temptation do not occur in a vacuum. There is a chain of events that lead us to sin. The question then is: “How do we interrupt this chain?” How do we keep from being dragged from link 1 all the way through to links 5 and 6 in the chain of temptation? That’s what the rest of this message is about.
Let’s begin with the temptations originating from the first source – the devil. Here – in a nutshell – is the devil’s strategy: First, he’ll say something like: “Come on, don’t be a fuddy-duddy; try it – you’ll like it!” And when you do fall to the temptation, you will get this from the devil: “Now you’ve done it. God can never love a sinner like you. You are doomed! That is the way that the devil has deceived people for eons.
Friends – do not be deceived - we need to recognize that we don’t have the capacity to withstand the temptations of the devil on our own. We need help. The devil is simply too old, too evil and too wily for us to deal with him without God’s help. [Introduce scene 2 of Luther movie here.]
The very best defense against the devil is to rely on Christ. It is to put yourself into Christ’s hands and to ask God to deliver you. Christ has won the victory in the fight with satan. Remaining in Christ means understanding what we have in what God offers us: forgiveness; his Body and Blood; our Baptism; our community – one people of God united around the Cross. When we are in Christ, Jesus becomes the frontline of our defense against temptation.
Listen to these words from Scripture - Saint James tells us: Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (Saint James 4.7) When we are in God, He provides the strength to resist the devil. And when resistance is made - the enemy will run. Saint Paul encourages believers to put on the full armor of God. This armor is – the salvation Christ won for us; the Gospel of truth; the righteousness of Christ; in order to stand against the tempter. Paul tells us: …be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. (Ephesians 6.10) So – the most important defense against the devil is Christ. The first way we can break the chain of temptation is to be in Christ and to rely Him when temptation comes our way.
Let’s get into the next thing that will help us avoid temptation. We saw that mother Eve wandered near the place where God had warned about. Now last week we compared the devil to a chained dog. We are most susceptible to harm by the devil when we get too close to him. So the lesson here is to keep one’s distance from those places where we know that we can be tempted.
Picture an advancing forest fire. Firefighters will sometimes cut a fire line through a field to eliminate brush and vegetation that can feed the fire. When the flames reach that fire line the fire stops because there isn’t anything to burn. God lays a fire line for us to separate us from danger. He tells us in his Word where the dangers are. Listen to the words of the psalmist: I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. (Psalm 119.10)
In practical terms this means – don’t get into situations where you know that you will be tempted. If we stray by intentionally being on the side of the fire line that is burning, we put ourselves in danger. If we go to South Padre on spring break or to New Orleans during Mardi Gras – we move to where the fire is. If we follow that link on the computer screen – we put ourselves where the fire is. Listen to the words from the book of wisdom – Proverbs: Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. (Proverbs 19.27) and also: A man who strays from the path of understanding comes to rest in the company of the dead. (Proverbs 21.16) [the story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife here]
Like Joseph, wisdom tells us to do everything that we can to get away from the temptation – even if we have to run from it! Shut down the computer when tempted by a link that will lead to impure thoughts and actions. If your friends invite you to go places where ‘stuff happens’ – don’t go. These are all examples of staying behind the fire line! So the second way to break the chain of temptation: stay behind the fire line – don’t stray beyond it!
Here is the next thing we can do to protect ourselves from temptation: Know what God’s Word says. The devil used Eve’s misunderstanding of God’s Word to deceive her. The psalmist writes: “I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119.104-105) Without God’s Word – we are in the dark as we face temptations. Even Jesus relied on the Word when He was tempted by the devil. The devil said, “Turn these stones into bread;” Jesus said, “It is written…!” The devil said, “Jump off the cliff so God can save you;” Jesus said, “It is written…!” The devil said, “Worship me;” Jesus said, “It is written…!”
If we know what is written – we can use God’s two-edged sword – his Word - as defense against temptation. So the third thing we can do to break the chain of temptation is – be in and learn God’s Word. Take advantages, dear brothers and sisters in Christ of the opportunities to learn God’s Word through opportunities at Church and with your own Bible. Learn God’s Word so that you can rely on it when temptation comes.
Another defense that God gives us against temptation is prayer. Jesus said to his disciples: “Watch and pray so that you do not fall into temptation.” (Mark 14.38a) Friends, God wants to help us find a way out of temptation. God will absolutely provide a way out of temptation when we ask Him to help us. So then the fourth way that God gives us to break the chain of temptation is prayer – directly seeking God’s help when temptation arises.
Here’s the final thing we need to consider - when our comportment is driven by desire to find happiness in things – we open ourselves up to a whole slew of temptations. We find many examples in Scripture of people who – because of an inordinate desire to get things – fell to temptations. We don’t have time to get into the all the different stories, but here are some of the people the scriptures mention: Lot; king Saul; the people of Israel; Ananais and Sapphaira and the list could go on and on.
Saint Paul writes: “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4.11b-13) So another way to break the chain of temptation is to find peace and contentment with what God provides.
All right – we’re at the end of the line with this sermon series. We’ve talked about a number of ways to fight temptation: Being content with God’s provision; Prayer; God’s Word; Staying behind the fire line; And most importantly – by remaining in Christ.
Here’s the really cool thing about our life in Christ – Listen: "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for[a] the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2.1-2) And listen to this: "Everyone born of God overcomes the world." (1 John 5.4) Beloved, you are Christ’s. He has won you through his Cross and Resurrection. Hey – if Christ was willing to die for us, don’t you know that He will also see us through the temptations we face. Remember, everyone born of God overcomes the world. That means you, dear ones – that means you! Amen.
