“Fighting Temptation”
By
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
INTRODUCTION:
There is an old saying that goes “Opportunity knocks once, but temptation beats on the door everyday.” What a true statement, for we live our lives constantly surrounded by temptations. There is no place on earth that we are able to go and escape temptations.
David said in Psalms 139 “whither shall I go or whither shall I flee thy presence. If I ascend into heaven thou art there: If I make my bed in hell thou art there, if I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea thou art there”. We know that David was speaking here of the Spirit of God, but the same can also be said about temptation because the starting point of temptation is within our desires and since our desires are a part of our make up wherever we go temptation follows.
Understand that man is a “Trichotomy”, a 3 fold being, he consist of Body, Soul, and Spirit. Within the Bible the number 3 speaks of solidity, it represents fullness. Fullness is not lacking any essentials, it is being at the highest or greatest degree possible. The number 3 represents the 3 manifestations of God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, which is the fullness of the Godhead. Man is made in the image and likeness of God representing the fullness or the Trichotomy of man, which is body, soul, and spirit.
The Body, Soul, and Spirit of man coexist together and compose the make up of man; however, each one is its own different entity. The purpose of the body is to house the Spirit and Soul of man. The spirit and soul are housed in the body, but are not the material of the body, nor are they mortal like the body. The soul and spirit design the plans and purpose and the body executes what the spirit and soul has designed. The soul is the crux of all emotions, passions, desires, appetites, and it exercises mental faculties. The soul is the element that makes us cognizant of self and fashions our personality. The soul presses to achieve, social acceptance, personal gratification, and maintain a certain image. It diligently and meticulously strives for prosperity and popularity, trying to reach often-unattainable expectations.
The soul of man is comprised of three components, Will, Intellect, and Emotion. Our intellect is the ability to have thoughts, reasoning, knowledge, and wisdom. We are taught how to reason, our knowledge of different subjects are taught to us down through the years. We attend school in order to gain knowledge and wisdom in order to work and function in everyday life. We read the Bible to obtain Biblical knowledge of the things of God. We are capable of thinking and rationalizing any situation that may come our way; this is all part of our intellect. The Bible says in Proverbs 23: 7 “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:” what we believe in our minds, what we allow to determine our intellectual make up will personify itself through the actions that our bodies carry out.
Our emotions are what determine our likes and dislikes and makes us act the way that we do. There are times we are happy and times we are sad, these are our emotions. Emotions are influenced by the worldly desires of the flesh. The outside forces that we are faced with everyday determine the emotion that we will show. Our emotions are influenced by many different situations (temptations) in our every day life and these influences (temptations) will cause us to react in various ways depending on what has final control of the soul. If we allow the body to be in control, then our will, intellect, and emotions, are determined by the (temptations) desires. If the spirit is in control then we will strive to do those things which are pleasing to God and not the flesh. Therefore due to our make up and the lack of control of our thoughts and outside forces no-one is immune to temptations. The apostles faced temptations, the patriarchs of old faced temptations, and Jesus Christ himself had to face temptations. The Bible says in Hebrews 4:15 “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
Since Jesus and the apostles were tempted we must expect to be tempted as well. The Bible says in 1st Corinthians 10:13 “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able to ; but will with every temptation also make a way of escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” So we clearly see that it is inevitable that temptation will come but Jesus gives the perfect example of how to handle temptation and that is without sin.
The question here is with such a tenacious persistence how does one achieve “without sin” like Jesus did. The answer is by fighting temptation.
WHAT IS TEMPTATION:
Ø Temptation comes from the Greek word “Peirasmos” and it means to solicit, to seduce, to persuade to do evil.
Ø “Webster’s Dictionary” says Temptation is the act of tempting or state of being tempted especially to evil, to entice.
NOTE: It is very important to distinguish the difference between Trials and Temptations. Trials are situations (test) that are specifically designed by God in order to develop your spiritual growth. Temptations are (enticements) designed by the devil for the purpose to cause you to sin. The definition of sin is to miss the mark.
Ø Temptation itself is not sin, remember Jesus was tempted yet without sin. The sin is when you give into that temptation. Just because you are tempted don’t feel that you have failed God, that is only conformation that you are a child of God and that the devil is on his job; therefore we must stay on ours. We should not feel guilty because we are tempted but we should glory when we are tempted.
EXAMPLE OF A TEMPTATION: - You are going down the street and you find a purse with a great deal of money in it, there is also the person’s driver’s licenses in it and several credit cards. You pick up the purse and see the contents of the purse. This establishes a temptation. You could say well I found it therefore it is mine and keep the money or you can find the person it belongs to and return it. Now the temptation wasn’t a sin, but your actions after you found it would either be or not. W.W.J.D. ???.
WHERE DOES TEMPTATION COME FROM:
We stated earlier that temptation starts within the mind, within the crux of our desires and emotions which are influenced by worldly influences that surround us everyday. We must understand that temptation is never from God. Trials are situations specifically designed by God to produce spiritual growth, but temptations are the lethal weapons of Spiritual warfare that come from the devil himself, for the purpose to kill you, to destroy your vision, and to steal your joy. James 1:13 -14 says “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man, But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and entice.” Many times people will try to use excuses as to why they were overcome by temptation, but excuses only signify the lack of relationship. If we use excuses to say that is why I surrendered to that temptation it only proves that we didn’t have a serious relationship in the first place. EX: - If the temptation of lying in bed relaxing (satisfying the flesh) instead of going to Bible class on Wednesday wins then you must take notice and question your relationship with God. The excuse “Well God gave me these desires therefore I can’t help myself” is just a lack of relationship. The Bible says in Romans 1 : 18 -24 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.”
WHEN DOES TEMPTATION BECOME SIN:
The 14th verse of James chapter 1 says “But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and entice.” When you consciously decided to carry out the act that has tempted you that is when temptation becomes sin. David in 2nd Samuel 11 saw a beautiful woman washing herself, understand that the sight of her was not a sin. The thought entered his mind I must have her. At this point there is no sin that has been committed, but when he inquired about her that temptation manifested itself and became a sin and in so doing caused David to travel down the 7 steps of temptation.
THE SEVEN STEPS OF TEMPTATION:
· Tempted – The thought of evil NOT A SIN YET!!!
· Drawn away – strong imagination
· Lust – self gratification and desire
· Entice – weakening of the will
· Lust conceived – yielding to that desire / carrying out the thought.
· Sin – committing the act missing the mark God has for us to make.
· Death – the result of the sin (Spiritually separated from God).
Let’s take a close look at the process of temptation. A process is something that is marked by gradual changes that lead to a particular result. It is not a sudden collapse or the it just happened excuse. Drawn away is to be lured away from safety. For those who fish know that you place bait on the end of your line to lure a fish to your line in order to catch it. Drawn away is to be lured by some bait that the devil is using to catch you with. The outside influences that surround us everyday. Once we are drawn away we are enticed, our will is weakening and that desire to have that which we should not have is overtaking us. Once our will has become weak the crux of our emotions begins to lust for that which we should not have until the body literally carries out what the soul has longed for. Then we surrender to sin and carry out the act we have been lusting after. Now that I have done that which I should not have done I find that my relationship is now dead all because I allowed myself to travel down the steps of temptation.
THE WORKING OF TEMPTATION
A.) Temptation/Bait – Temptation, the external forces comes from many different sources. It will come mainly in one of three ways: (1). Money/Material things. If we will remember Achan in the book of Joshua the 7th chapter, how he stole and hid what he thought was valuable. It was the material possessions and money that caused him and his family their lives. (2). Power/Recognition The Bible says in Galatians 6:3 “If a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.” Power/Recognition is very tempting, but Proverbs 16:18 says “Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” It was this temptation that caused the devil, Lucifer, to rebel against God and be cast out of heaven. (3). Sexual sin. 1st Corinthians 6:18-20 says “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are brought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s”
B.) Drawn away/Lust – Lust brings forth sin. The temptation comes from the outside forces, but the lust begins in our own imagination and desires. This lust dictates to our will that we must have that which was presented to us. We, like a fish, are drawn away from the safety of the overshadowing protection of Jesus toward that which will lead to death. We have now committed SIN.
C.) Death – Once a fish has been caught the next phase of their life is death. If we yield to temptation we are separated from God and experience a spiritual death and ultimately a natural death if we fail to repent.
THE PURPOSE OF TEMPTATIONS:
The purpose of temptation is to cause you to sin. Temptations are enticements that are personally designed by the devil to bring out the worst in you, to cause you to fail to miss the mark of gaining eternal life with Jesus Christ, to cause you to spend eternity in Hell. Every temptation is not designed for every person, but each person has a temptation that is designed just for them. Understand people of God that there is conspiracy to destroy you. Your temptation comes into your life at a precise time in your life for a specific purpose in your life. Your temptation is the manifestation of a meticulous, strategically spiritual plan by an adversary who is utterly determined to destroy you before you are able to reach that level that God has destined for you. Temptations are sent into the life of those doing the will of God to assassinate them that have the potential of tearing the kingdom of the devil down.
For some that temptation may come in the form of a cigarette. For someone else it may come in the form of an alcoholic beverage. For someone else it may be crack cocaine. For someone else it may be a job, a house, a car. Oh baby it may come in any of many different forms, but it is only a temptation that has come for the sole purpose to destroy you.
Understand that the devil knows exactly what to send you. He has studied you and calculated up the statistics and knows just what to send your way. He has been studying you all your life and he knows what it could take to cause you to cross that line. So many times people try to play patty cake with the devil, thinking it’s some kind of game or that they are able to win in a game of tug-o-war by trying to say oh it’s okay if I just do it this one time, but understand that the devil is not playing a game. The Bible says in Revelation 12 : 12 “…Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” Because he knows his time is short He is not going to waste his time on spitballs, but he is going to come with temptations of mass destruction. Realize that the devil will not offer you something that you wouldn’t want to have. If you have never had a problem with alcohol then he will not use alcohol to try to terminate you, because he knows that it will not affect you. However he has a specially made weapon that is perfectly tailored for you just like he did for Samson. He has a bullet with your name on it.
Be not deceived the devil knows when to tempt you. He is not going to tempt you when you are speaking in tongues and high in the spirit, but when you come down be ready. He knows what to tempt you with and he knows where to tempt you. Often times temptations are so cleverly disguised that they appear not to be seen as evil. They may even appear to be good, which is just another device that the devil uses to cause us to fall. The Bible says that the devil can transform himself into an angel of light and if it were possible be able to fool the very elects of God. Therefore we must try the spirit (temptation) to see if it be of God.
HOW TO FIGHT TEMPTATION:
The Word of God is our weapon to be able to fight against temptations. 2nd Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of stronghold; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
STRONGHOLDS are the weapons that the devil uses to fight this spiritual battle against us. A stronghold is a mind set that is impregnated with hopelessness that causes a person to accept as unchangeable something in their lives even though they know it goes contrary to the will of God. Remember temptations I said has its starting point in out mind. The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3 “Thou shalt keep him imperfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
The Bible says in “Ephesians 6:11 says to “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” What are the wiles of the devil, they are the tempting forces that he uses to cause us to sin. Verse 13 says “Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Verse 14 Stand therefore having, your loins girt about with truth, your loins is that section between your belly button and your thighs, it is the section that controls our passions and our sexual desires.
When you have your loins girt about with truth you will understand that sexual relationship is a covenant between a husband and a wife, therefore when your loins are girt about with truth then you will say you can’t go there unless you’re my husband, you can’t go there unless you’re my wife and that’s the truth. Therefore overcoming the sexual temptation the devil uses because you followed what the Bible said do.
Then it goes on to say having on the breastplate of righteousness, when you have on the breastplate of righteousness, temptations can’t penetrate your heart, that silver bullet that the devil has tried to tempt you with is unable to get to you, why because you followed the instructions and put on the breastplate protecting your heart.
It goes on to say and you feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Your feet or very important, when your feet are shod with the preparation of peace then they will not be able to run to that temptation, but will be established by the word of God.
It goes on to say above all having the shield of faith wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. A shield is something that protects you, it absorbs all the stuff that comes your way every fiery dart, and every missile of temptation and destruction that the enemy shoots at you God is standing there taking every blow. Saying come on my child everything is going to be all right all you gotta do is follow the instructions.
Finally Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God. The helmet is the mind of Christ, Let this mind that is in Christ be also in you, if you have the mind of Christ the enemy can’t penetrate your mind and find out your deepest secrets, the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.
The Word of God is the weapon that will enable us to defeat the temptations of the devil anytime, anyplace, every time.
UNDERSTANDING TEMPTATION REQUIRES SPIRITUAL MATURITY
Ø We must be realistic: Remember James 1:13 - 14 says “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God; for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man, But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and entice.” Temptation is a part of life. Jesus was tempted yet without sin, therefore we should expect to be tempted. The misconception is that when we start our walk with God that all temptation will stop, but this is when the devil gets busy. If you are not being tempted by the devil at some point in your Christian walk then you better check your salvation. The devil will not waste time on those he already has.
Ø Take Responsibility: Many times people like to blame someone else, the devil, and sometimes even God for their struggles. “I remember a story of a preacher that was walking into the church and saw the devil sitting on the steps crying. The preacher asked the devil what was the matter, the devil said it’s those people in there, they keep blaming me for everything and I ain’t done nothing yet.” Before you begin to blame the devil, someone else, or God remember what the Bible says in verse 14 of James 1 “…when he is drawn away of his own lust and entice.” Sure the devil will do his job, but you have a responsibility yourself.
This is a good example of taking responsibility: “I went to my psychiatrist to be psychoanalyzed to find out why I killed the cat and blacked by husband’s eyes. He laid me on a downy couch to see what he could find and here is what he dredged up from my subconscious mind: When I was one, my mommie hid my doll in a trunk, and so it follows naturally that I am always drunk. When I was two, I saw my father kiss the maid one day and that is why I suffer now from kleptomania. At three, I had the feeling of ambivalence toward my brothers and so it follows naturally I poison all my lovers. But I am happy now that I’ve learned the lesson this has taught, that everything I do that’s wrong is someone else’s fault.”
We will never grow in God if we fail to take responsibility for our actions and be realistic about temptations. When Adam and Eve sinned and ate of the tree of good and evil, when God asked Adam what he had done he began to blame Eve, Eve began to blame the serpent. They should have taken responsibility for what they had done and repented right then.
Ø Be Ready: Matthew 26 : 41 says “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 1st Peter 5 : 8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” 1st Peter 4 : 1 says “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from evil.” Being ready consist of being fasted and prayed up, to have hid the Word of God in your heart. It is going through spiritual basic training.
1. You must do push-ups: You must push yourself away from the table and fast.
2. You must do knee-bends: You must bend you knees and pray.
3. You must run: You must run with patience the race that is set before you.
Ø Dwell: Psalms 91 says “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The word dwelleth = to remain for a time, to stay. So many people have what I call winter salvation. When its winter they’re in church, but just as soon as the weather begins to get warm they leave the church, turn their back on God and wonder why all HELL is breaking loose in their lives, its because they haven’t dwelled, they didn’t stay in the secret place.
The word secret = a: kept from knowledge or view, constructed so as to elude observation or detection.
The word place =: 1 a: physical environment: b: a way for admission or transit c: physical surroundings: 2 a: an indefinite region or expanse b: a building or locality used for a special purpose 6 a: a proper or designated niche b: an appropriate moment or point.
Watch this: When you dwell in the secret place of the most high, its like being in the ark, you are perfectly sheltered in Him and are able to pass through the storms (TEMPTATIONS) of this life without the devil being able to do you any harm, why because you are in a secret, safe, and secure place and that’s in Christ Jesus. As long as we do the will of God and dwell under His protection then He is obligated to protect us, but when we are drawn away of our own lust and desires then we fall to temptations and it no-ones fault but our own.
Ø Commit: We must commit to spend time alone with God. We must go into our secret closet and communicate with God on a one on one basis for communication is the most important factor in any relationship, you must commit to develop your relationship.
THE REWARDS OF FIGHTING TEMPTATIONS:
The Bibles says in James 1 : 12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.” God promises a reward for those that withstand temptation and that is the crown of life. However this crown is not obtained until we are with God in heaven, for Paul said there is a crown laid up for me. However there are rewards for fighting temptation now.
Blessed is the man…What does it mean “Blessed” in the human concept it emanates the meaning of being blessed from the human self-interest of mankind. Carnal minds believe materials are the basis of being blessed. Spiritual minds understand that being blessed is not based upon: “What you have” but “Who you have” God said in Matthew 28 :20 “… lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”
The Rewards of the Blessed.
1.) Strength. Strength to fight the devil.
2.) Security. One reward is always having God on your side.
3.) Joy. Joy unspeakable and full f glory.
4.) Peace. Peace that passeth all understanding
5.) Life more abundantly. Prosper in all things – in health as your soul does prosper.
6.) Stability. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water. A tree planted by the rivers of water has security in health and substance. It’s near the life-sustaining source of God’s spirit.
7.) Durability. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
SUMMARY:
Temptation is something that we all must face in this life. Jesus had to face temptation and overcame it without sin; therefore we must be aware that we too must face temptation. We must understand that the temptation itself is not sin, but our response to that temptation could be. Sometimes God allows trials to come into our lives that have been specifically designed by him for the purpose to obtain spiritual growth in us. We must fully understand that there is s difference between trials and temptations. Temptations, when allowed to be acted upon by the desires of our flesh will lead us down a spiral staircase that gets further and further away from God and will ultimately cause us to spend eternity in utter damnation.
When temptations comes our way we must realize that this is nothing knew, it is not something that is just unique to you. The type of temptation my be specifically and meticulously designed to fit your situation, but the tempting is not something that has not happened to someone else. Since these temptations are nothing new God has seen them all then we can rest assure that He will bring us out of them, but we cannot allow ourselves to yield to the temptation.
We must realize that no matter how intense that temptation my become in our life, that God will make a way of escape, all we have to do is stand upon His word and wait for the escape to manifest itself.. We must realize that the devil can never back us into a corner without God make a way out.
We must realize that Jesus was tempted yet without sin. He is our perfect example of how to fight and overcome temptation. Jesus was tempted by Satan so He could expose the enemy’s tactics to us in this spiritual battle and show that we to can be victorious over our enemy. We have been shown by the example that Jesus did that we too can defeat the devil and overcome temptations by the Word of God. We have the same resources that Jesus had to fight against the adversary and that is the Word, for Jesus said it is written.
Jesus defeated the temptations of the devil by doing a few things and we too are able to defeat the devil by doing these same things.
1. We must spend time alone with God
2. We must be lead by the spirit.
3. We must rely on the Word of God as our weapons.
4. We must let God be first in our lives.
5. We must prepare ourselves.
We must be sober minded and on constant guard for the devil will often tempt us in times of desperation and despair. We must realize that we need to dwell in the secret place of the most high constantly abiding under the protection of the mighty hand of God. The devil can, does, and will misquote scripture in order to tempt you, that is what he did with Eve in the Garden of Eden.
If we remember to acknowledge God in all our ways then He shall direct our path, we will not fall to the tricks of the devil, for the Bible says no weapon that is formed against you shall proper, but we must do as God said do and follow the instruction. If we follow the instruction we can take the weapon of the Word of God and defeat the adversary in every temptation that he uses against us and be victorious every time, any time, all the time.
Elder Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
Boanerge Ministries.
