Expect Temptation
Faith Expectations Part 7
06/15/08 PM
Text: Various
[This lesson and this series are drawn from the writings of Tom Allen in his book “What to expect now that you believe.”]
Faith Expectations
This lesson is another in the series titled Faith Expectations. This series purpose is to explore those things our faith brings to us as we strive to walk in the way of Jesus. It is probably fair to say for many of us, if not all, that when we obeyed the call of the gospel, accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior, and been Baptized into Him there were some expectations of what our faith would do in us, for us, and through us. And we are justified in these expectations:
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
John 10:10b “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
As believers we should never lose the “great expectations” of our faith especially since the greatest expectation is yet to come, that being the return of our Lord and Savior. Until that day it remains for us to balance our expectations with the reality of living as sojourners in this world. And so let us consider a great expectation of our faith: Expect Temptation.
Introduction
A.We have discussed some of the “good news” expectations of our faith: Blessings, Forgiveness, Peace, and Joy.
1.Having already explored Trails and Persecution, we now continue the “bad news” expectations with Temptation.
2.Bad News some might say but I hope through the course of these lessons we will see that even Bad News is pretty good when God is in the mix.
I.We Are All In The Same Boat
A.We can expect temptation.
1.It is a part of life, the same for every born-again believer.
2.Bad News some might say but I hope through the course of these lessons we will see that even Bad News is pretty good when God is in the mix.
B.Watch and pray.
Mark 14:38 “Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
1.Then Jesus exhorted all three, Watch, be alert to spiritual dangers, and pray, acknowledge dependence on God, so that you will not fall (lit., “come”) into temptation.
2.We would not need to “watch and pray” if we were not prone to “fall into temptation.
3.the spirit (one’s inner desires and best intentions) is willing or eager but on the other hand the body (lit., “flesh”; a person in his humanness and inadequacies) is weak, easily overwhelmed.
4.1 Corinthians 10:13a “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.”
5.Temptation, same for me, same as for you.
a.The Devil would like us to believe ourselves to be alone in our struggles with temptation.
b.When we are alone we are more vulnerable, less able to stand fast in our faith
c.But we are not alone; everyone is in the same boat. We may face different seductions but the potential is in each and every one of us.
C.A Crucial Distinction
1.Before we consider the sources of temptation, let us clear up one very important point.
2.Temptations do not come from God.
3.James 1:13 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.”
4.God is a just God; He does no evil, causes no evil, nor entices anyone to do evil.
a.God has no part in the cycle of sin: the enticement, the yielding, and subsequent acts.
b.Righteousness is such a part of God that He will not tempt any person to do wrong nor will He be the cause of our giving in to sin.
c.His desire is to bring every person to do what is right.
[Since we know temptation does not come from God, where does it come from?]
II.Temptations Source
A.The World
1.The fallen world in which we live is corrupt to the core.
2.You do not have to look far or very hard to see the evidence of that.
3.1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.
4.Peter tells us the corruption of the world is caused by evil desires
2 Peter 1:4.
B.The Adversary
1.The temptation from Satan is best illustrated by the example of Eve as recorded in Genesis. Read Genesis 3:1-5
a.A simple but loaded question to begin the dialog.
b.A lie which casts doubt on God’s character and His intentions.
c.Questions and lies is how Satan tempts us.
2.The questions of Satan may be the best way to recognize his traps. God speaks to us directly in commands and statements.
3.Satan may come as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8) but he can also seem as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14.)
4.Which is why Paul advises us in our struggles:
Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”
C.Our own sinful nature
1.Paul and James point directly to the source of most of our temptations: ourselves.
2.Romans 7:21-23
3.James 1:14-15
4.The “evil desire” named by James comes from the “law of sin” portrayed by Paul. We might call it “the flesh” or “the carnal man” or “the old nature” or the “old man.”
5.It is the inner urge we have to follow the dictates from our own fallen nature, it is within all of us and it is the greatest source of our temptations.
D.The death cycle of sin
1.The cycle of sin is outlined in the passage from James
a.Stage One: We are tempted by our own desires
a lustful thought, angry words formed in our minds, realizing a chance to do wrong.
b.Stage Two: We compromise our own conscience
“dragged away and enticed”, now we are mulling it over, giving it some thought.
c.Stage Three: We commit the sin
The deed is done, lust has given birth to a sinful act.
d.Stage four: We are destined to die
2.The result of sin is the same in both Old and New Testaments:
Ezekiel 18:4 The soul who sins is the one who will die.
Romans 6:23 The wages of sin is death.
3.The child of lust is sin and the grandchild is death.
[But no matter where we may be in the cycle of sin, there is good news: Just as we can expect temptation, we can expect deliverance!]
III.Breaking the Cycle of Sin
A.God is not the source of temptation but He is the source of our victory over it.
1.2 Peter 1:3 “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness…”
2.1 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, so that you will be able to endure it.”
3.Just as we can expect every temptation common to man, we can also expect God to be faithful and provide a way for us to break out of the cycle of sin.
4.James 4:7 “Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
Conclusion:
We can expect temptation from the world, from Satan and even from ourselves but victory comes from God!
Invitation
