[Open Parking Spot]
A man decided it was time to shed some excess pounds. He took his new diet seriously, even changing his driving route to avoid his favorite bakery. One morning, however, he arrived at work carrying a gigantic coffeecake. His friends scolded him, but he kept smiling.
"This is a very special coffeecake," he explained. "I accidentally drove by the bakery this morning and there in the window were a host of goodies. I felt this was no accident, so I prayed, "Lord, if you want me to have one of those delicious coffeecakes, let me have a parking place directly in front of the bakery."
"Sure enough," he continued, "the eighth time around the block, there it was!"
Today our topic is temptation. John read about the very first temptation recorded in Scripture, when Eve was tempted by the serpent. Is temptation the same as sin? NO! Temptation is not wrong. Jesus was tempted and he was perfect.
[Tom Brock]
Listening to the radio yesterday – Pastor Tom Brock was on. Tom was “outed” in the gay and lesbian magazine, Lavender, last summer (rather unethically, I might add). Tom was attending a confidential support group for men struggling with chastity. Is Tom’s struggle with homosexual thoughts sin? No, not if he says no to those thoughts and actions. It’s no different than an engaged couple fighting to remain pure before their wedding day.
Eve was being tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, fruit they were commanded NOT to eat.
Genesis 3:1-5 “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”?’ The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 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.”’ ‘You will not surely die,’ the serpent said to the woman. ‘For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’"
Has Eve sinned yet? No
Genesis 3:6 “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…” Has Eve sinned yet? Perhaps in her mind, longing for something that she shouldn’t have longed for.
Genesis 3:6 “…she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Eve has now definitely moved from temptation to sin.
Not many of us analyze why we sin. We don’t examine how and why we move from temptation to sin.
The Lord gives us insight into this process through his servant James:
James 1:13 “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone…”
First of all, James touches on the origin of temptations and he makes it clear that it is not God who tempts us. So where do these temptations come from?
Ephesians 2:1-4 “As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.”
1. World
2. Devil
3. Sinful nature
Secondly, this teaching on temptation comes in the midst of his teaching on trials.
Test/trials (G3986)
Temptation (G3985)
God tests; Satan tempts.
1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation (G3986) has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted (G3985) beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted (G3986), he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
Temptations are a kind of test for us. Will I walk in God’s truth or Satan’s lies? Will I follow God’s will or my will? Temptation is me standing at the fork in the road. It’s not wrong to stand at the fork in the road. What is wrong is me stepping off of God’s path – that is sin.
Then James gives us a progression: desire > disobedience > death
James 1:14-15 “…but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
Dragged away (G1828) = lure away, to trap
Enticed (G1185) = to catch by bait, to bait a hook
2 Corinthians 11:3 “But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”
Plain and simple: temptation’s goal is to lure us away from doing God’s will. Often these temptations don’t come from a little devil sitting on our shoulder. They are packaged in pretty paper:
1. It will make me happy. Doesn’t God want me to be happy?!
2. I deserve it. I’ve worked hard for you God.
3. It’s just once. I won’t make it a habit.
4. It won’t hurt anyone.
No matter the wrapping, the goal of every temptation is to lure us away from doing/obeying God’s will.
This is what the serpent did with Eve – and, according to Scripture, it starts with desire:
Genesis 3:4-6 “You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 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.
Desire (G1939) = lust, craving, longing, desire for what is forbidden
Romans 1:24 “Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts…”
Romans 6:12 “Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.”
If we dwell on the desire too much, it comes to life. And after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin. The Greek word for sin is an archery term that means to miss the mark (the bullseye). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We all miss the mark, God’s standard.
Isaiah 53:6 “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way…” We’re that sheep standing at the fork in the road: do we follow the voice of the shepherd or do what we want? We’re prone to wandering, prone to choosing the wrong path.
Back to James: “And sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” This is the warning from God. Do not eat from this tree or you will die.
So here is the progression: desire > disobedience > death
How many of you want to live? It’s simple: obey God. If disobedience leads to death, obedience leads to life.
You see, I think a lot American “Christians” don’t quite grasp that fact that God demands obedience! God is not looking for fans; he is looking for followers!
Ephesians 5:17 “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Psalm 40:8 “I desire to do your will, O my God; your law is written within my heart.”
That was Jesus’ desire. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus cried out, “Abba Father! All things are possible for you; remove this cup from me; yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36)
People love Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
But ignore Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
People love John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
But conveniently ignore John 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
God expected obedience in the Garden of Eden and he expects obedience today. Choose to disobey and it will lead to death. Period. No matter how happy you might feel in your disobedience right now, know that it will lead to death. Remember God is truth and there is not lie in him. Satan is a liar (you will not surely die) and there is no truth in him.
Do you want to live? Be obedient to the Lord. Follow him. At every fork in the road, choose him! Easier said than done, right? If we struggle with disobedience, we must look at our desires.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”
Genesis 3:6 “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.”
What are desiring this morning? What attracts your attention? What things occupy your thought life? Are these desires in line with God’s desires as found in his written word?
First of all, if you’re not redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, your desires are not going to align with God’s desires. Remember, apart from Christ, we’re all like sheep that go astray.
We must be crucified with Christ. We all must come to cross. In Christ, we are new creations, the old is gone, the new has come.
Galatians 5:24 “Those who belong to JC have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.”
And now, because of God sanctifying work in us, we can begin to desire Godly things…
Titus 2:11-12 “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age…”
2 Timothy 2:22 “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
Flee = run away from
Pursue = run after
1 Peter 1:13-14 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”
1 Peter 2:11 “Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.”
[Fighting temptation]
A little boy snuck into the pantry and took down the cookie jar. His mother, hearing a noise, said,
“Willie, where are you?” He told her he was in the pantry. “What are you doing in there?” Willie said, “I’m fighting temptation.”
[Charles Spurgeon]
What settings are you in when you fall? Avoid them. What props do you have that support your sin? Eliminate them. What people are you usually with? Avoid them. There are two equally damning lies Satan wants us to believe: 1) Just once won’t hurt. 2) Now that you have ruined your life, you are beyond God’s use, and might as well enjoy sinning. Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.
Hebrews 4:15 “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.”
Hebrews 2:18 “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
