Temptation

How Does That Work? (part 1 of 3)

This is the first in a series of three Bible studies entitled, "How Does That Work?"  Our first installment delves into Temptation.  In "The Process" portion of this post I incorporate several key ideas from Kris Lundgaardt's excellent book entitled  "The Enemy Within".  I highly recommend its purchase.

So, how does temptation work?  I recently posed this question to a friend and he replied, "very easily".  While his answer contains much truth, it makes for a short Bible study.  Therefore, we're going to try and get past the over-simplistic ways of thinking about this and other subjects.  In fact, I believe that once you have a better understanding of how each of these subject works, you'll be better equipped to live a life that honors God and leads to blessing in your life.

We begin by looking at James chapter 1:12

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.”  (James 1:12-13 ESV)

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1.  The Preface

[vv.12-13] There is a difference between trials/testing (v. 12) and temptation (v.13).  Occasionally these three words are used interchangeably.  However, based on the context of this passage, we see two usages or definitions emerging:

Definition 1:  Prove that something is genuine; purge and strengthen it  (vv.2-12)

• Evidenced by outward adversity
  
• Its reward is blessing
  
• This will be referred as trials and testing during this study
  

Definition 2:  Lure something with (or to) evil to cause it to fail  (vv.13-16) 

• Evidenced by inward solicitation to evil
  
• Its reward is enslavement and death 
  
• This will be referred as temptation during this study
  

Based on this understanding, the next points make sense:

[v.13] God cannot be tempted (lured by an evil inward solicitation) .  Why not?  He does not possess a sin nature (or indwelling sin).

[v.13] God tempts no one (does not lure others by an evil inward solicitation).  Why not?  He is holy, and all His ways are just.

[v.13-16] We shouldn’t blame God for the kind of temptation spoken of here.  We can only blame our sin nature for this kind of temptation, and we can only blame ourselves for succumbing to it.  The Bible speaks of those who relented...and those who resisted.

Those who relented (gave in)

• Adam & Eve (Gen. 3…gave away their life for a bite of fruit)
  
• Esau (Gen. 25…gave away his birthright for a bowl of soup)
  
• Isaac (Gen. 27...gave away his blessing a for bite of meat)
  

Those who resisted

• Joseph (Genesis 39:6-10)
  
• Job (Job 27:2-6), esp. 4
  
• Christ (Matt. 4)
  

[16, 22, 26] “Temptation” is closely linked with “Deceit”.

• God cannot be deceived, and
  
• God Himself does not deceive, yet
  
• God allows deceit (see Matthew 4 and the devil’s temptation of Jesus)
  
• God owns the deceived and the ‘deceiver’ (Job 12:16) and therefore can use its existence for His glory
  

2.  The Process

Lure away (mind)

“The thoughts of the righteous are just; the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.” 
(Proverbs 12:5 ESV)

“The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who live in the clefts of the rock, in your lofty dwelling, who say in your heart, “Who will bring me down to the ground?””  

(Obadiah 1:3 ESV)

“And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””

(Mark 4:13-20 ESV)

“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,” and again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.””  

(1Corinthians 3:18-20 ESV)

“But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.”

(2Corinthians 11:3 ESV)

Enticed (affections)

“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.””  (Matthew 26:41 ESV)

“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” (1Corinthians 10:13 ESV)

“For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.”  (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15 ESV)

Conceiving sin (in the will)

“If a man does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and readied his bow; he has prepared for him his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts. Behold, the wicked man conceives evil and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies. He makes a pit, digging it out, and falls into the hole that he has made. His mischief returns upon his own head, and on his own skull his violence descends.”  (Psalms 7:12-16 ESV)

Birth of sin (in actions, words, thoughts, etc.)

Death by sin (enslavement to it)

3.  The Prescription

• Prepare our minds for action
• Remember who is tempting and deceiving you (enemy & sin)
• Remember who it is you are offending (God) when you sin

“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.”

(Genesis 39:9-10 ESV)

“Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord GOD of hosts.”

(Jeremiah 2:19 ESV)

• Remember who brought you grace
  

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,”

(Titus 2:11-12 ESV)

• Remember who it is you will be seeing soon 
  

“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

(1Peter 1:13-16 ESV)

• Remember who is in you and with you - vv.18, 21; Psalm 118
  
• Remember your desperate need for the word and its application in your life:

1. Read:  It may seem obvious, but we must be in the Word everyday...no exceptions.  That’s because we need it.  Desperately.  When was the last time you skipped a day’s worth of meals?  Not recently?  Not often?  That's because food is a need.  The Word is also a need (not just a want).  I suggest a systematic Bible reading plan.  The one I’m using right now is borrowed from Donald Whitney’s “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life”.  It has me reading five chapters each day...one chapter from five different parts of the Bible beginning in Genesis (Law), Joshua (History), Job (Poetry), Isaiah (Prophets), and Matthew (New Testament).  However one should only read as much as one is able to soak up the Word.    

2. Meditate:  We’re not talking the Yoga variety here.  No, this isn’t an exercise in freeing the mind by emptying it of all thoughts and distractions.  Biblical meditation (the kind commanded and modeled in Scripture) is quite different.  It’s an unhurried  and focused concentration upon the verse(s) or passage(s) with which you just filled your mind...for the purpose of understanding, application, and prayer.  Your mind is like a cup of hot water and the Word is like the tea bag...the longer it stays immersed, the more if affects the water.  The goal isn’t consumption, but saturation.  Smaller doses of reading coupled with more meditation may actually serve you better if you find retention to be a struggle.

3. Memorize:  This idea is flat out scary to some and seemingly impossible to others.  God has also commanded memorization in order to help us avoid sin and enjoy more of His blessings.  The key here is creatively using your time, along with persistent practice, review, and recitation.  If you were told that you’d receive $1000 for every verse of Scripture you memorized, would you still struggle with motivation?  

“...the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.  More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.”  (Psalm 19: 9b-10)

4. Quote:  By this I mean verbally, audibly, reciting verses and passages from the Bible.  When Satan confronted Christ in the wilderness, Jesus didn't simply think about the Scriptures.  He spoke them, and authoritatively.  Far too often we stop short of reciting verses out loud, opting to simply think about those verses during a moment of need.  And yet, God's Word is our primary weapon for fighting our sin nature (which confronts us internally) AND for fighting the enemy (who confronts us externally).  My wife participated in a Beth Moore Bible study last year in which Beth shared a powerful insight...and that is, “The enemy can’t read our minds”.   She's absolutely right.  Why would we expect the enemy to flee when we never unsheathe our weapon?  Ever since my wife and I began to implement this practice, we have noticed a positive and demonstrable change in our lives!

5. Obey:  This is an action word because it involves work...hard work.  Although it’s hard work, would we prefer the “fruits of laziness?”  If we don’t act upon the truth of the Word, we’re like a person who wakes up with bad breath, whacked-out hair, and dried drool on the cheek...then gleefully marching off to work like that.  

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.  For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”  (James 1:22-24)