How To Overcome Temptation

Introduction

As we continue our series through the book of Genesis, we now come to chapter three: the most tragic story in human history, save the crucifixion. In fact, all tragedy can be traced back to this particular story. In it, we are introduced to the devil, to temptation, and to human sin.

What we will be focusing on today is the nature of temptation and how to overcome it.

It is important to go back to the first instance of temptation in the garden if we are to understand the enemy’s tactics. As we will see, he employs the same strategies today as he did back then.

If we ever hope to withstand temptations to sin, we must first understand how temptation works. We must know our enemy, in other words. Then, we must consider what weapons and tactics to use against him. That being said, we will be considering the answers to the following questions as we work through Genesis chapter three:

Where does temptation come from?

How does temptation work?

How to overcome temptation?

What to do after we give in to temptation?

Where Does Temptation Come From?

By the end of Genesis 2, all is at peace. Everything is good. All things work in harmony. There is no fear. No sickness. No sin. No death. Then, all of a sudden, everything changes in chapter 3. A serpent enters the scene. A serpent who is crafty and deceptive. This establishes the important and sometimes neglected point that the temptation to sin originated outside humanity, not from within humanity. It came to us from a fallen angel—the deceptive serpent we call Satan. We are not told explicitly how or why he fell; only that he did in-fact fall. We are also not told explicitly why the Serpent made it a point to tempt Adam and Eve. However, I think we can come to a solid conclusion on his reasoning.

It is well known that Satan’s chief sin was pride—a sort of self-obsession that made him aspire to be worshiped. He wanted to be God, which meant getting God to bow the knee to him. Of course, this was not in any way possible and it seems that when he tried, he and the foolish angels who followed him were cast out of the heavenly realm and were cursed to roam the earth. We are sure that this hardened him even more in his ridiculous resolve to exalt himself above the Most High. If God would not bow down to him, then how would Satan become God? That is when it must have occurred to him: “I may not be able to get God to worship me, but maybe I can get his images to do it.” And so it was that Satan set off on the most heinous quest of all: getting man to worship and obey him instead of God. Unfortunately, as we know all too well, he was successful in his quest.

There is much to learn from all of this, but there is one often neglected truth I want to make plain. We are no strangers to the fact that we are all drawn to sin because of our sinful hearts. In other words, we are tempted by desires internal to us. This is true and is a very important point. But what I fear we may sometimes fail to see is how our internal temptations are nearly always being prodded on by an external source: namely, Satan and his demons.

Why is this important? Because it helps us see the bigger picture. Our temptations to sin aren’t merely internal struggles. They are part of a larger, cosmic struggle between light and darkness; between good and evil; between angels and demons.

Now, to be clear, it is unlikely that Satan is personally tempting you to sin. Satan is not able to be present in multiple places at the same time. Only God can do that. Yet the Scriptures do speak of Satan as being responsible for the temptation and persecution of God’s people. How is this so? Well, it is sort of like saying Hitler killed millions of Jews during Word War 2. Hitler did not personally do it, but those Nazi soldiers who served him did. In the same way, Satan may not personally be tempting you, but one of his evil minions most certainly is.

And this is to be expected, is it not? Angels were made to tend to humans. Remember the Scripture:

Hebrews 1:13–14 ESV

13 And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?

Angels were designed to worship God and serve humans. It seems they were made with some sort of capacity to tend to us in unique ways. They cannot get away from this design. It is built into them. It makes sense then that demons would still be preoccupied with humans, even after they were cast out of heaven, since demons are still angels. They are still bound to tend to us, yet sin has twisted their capacity to help us into a capacity to harm us.

This is why the Apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:10-12

Ephesians 6:10–12 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

In our materialistic age, we are bent towards forgetting the reality of the spiritual realm. In other ages people might have been too obsessed with it—to the point of being a slave to the fear of demons. Satan is perfectly happy with either. He is just as happy with the atheist as he is with the witch or occultist. Neither give their worship to the true God and that is most pleasing to Satan.

It is vital that we start with this point because so often when we attempt to fight against temptations to sin, we focus solely on our own sinful hearts, often to the neglect of the attacks of Satan and his demons. Of course, it is possible to have the opposite problem of focusing too much on the external and not enough on the internal, but if I know my congregation—and I believe I do—I think we are far more likely to neglect the external. And so we will begin with that.

How Does Temptation Work?

Satan and his demons have many tactics for getting us to sin, but they can all be boiled down to two points: twisting God’s word and contradicting God’s word.

Twisting God’s Word (Genesis 3:1; Matthew 4:6)

Genesis 3:1 ESV

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

Notice first that Satan isn’t merely trying to cause doubt on God’s word. He is twisting it. He quotes God as saying “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden.” When in reality, God said the exact opposite.

Genesis 2:16 ESV

16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden,

God’s command was actually quite simple. “Eat freely from all that I have made—just don’t eat from this one particular tree. But really, the rest is yours. Enjoy!”

This isn’t the only time we see this tactic employed. Satan does the same thing when he tempts Jesus in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:1–6 ESV

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

Satan quotes Scripture out of context to manipulate Jesus into putting His Father to the test, which is a sin.

Satan and his demons do the same thing with us. Out of the options of twisting God’s word and contradicting God’s word, the enemy usually starts with a sly and crafty twisting. It is his best tactic, at least against Christians. He plays on our double-minded allegiance to serve both God and ourselves. If he can present an option for us to seemingly do both, what “fool” wouldn’t take him up on his offer?

For example, your conscience might be prodding you to give some money to someone who is struggling financially. It is just then that the enemy shows up and says, “Now, now, remember that you must be a good steward of the resources God has given you. You are better off saying a prayer for the poor fellow and going on your merry way!”

Notice how the enemy pits the command to be generous with the command to be a good steward. In reality, there is no contradiction here, at least for those who are thinking clearly and wisely. But for others, the apparent contradiction is just enough leverage for the enemy to manipulate in his favor.

Of course, this could just as well cut the other way. Satan would be just as happy with a man who gave all his money to the church or charity while his family regularly suffered for it and became bitter towards him. I supposed this scenario may be more rare, but a possibility none the less.

But this tactic of twisting God’s word does not always work. So instead, he will move on to his other tactic.

Contradicting God’s Word (Genesis 3:4; Matthew 4:9)

Getting back to our story in Genesis 3, the woman actually corrects Satan, though imperfectly.

Genesis 3:2–3 ESV

2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

Adam had apparently passed on the command that he received directly from God prior to Eve’s creation. However, she seems to have added on to it. She rightly acknowledges God’s command for them not to eat of the fruit but includes the further restriction not to touch it. However, there is no indication that God ever said not to touch the fruit. It could be that when Adam reiterated the command not to eat from the tree, he told her not even to touch it. Or maybe the restriction was one that Eve placed upon herself. Regardless, what we can learn from this is that adding external restrictions to prevent disobedience is not fool-proof. We are masters at skirting around God’s law to get what we want.

Be that as it may, it seems to me that Adam and Eve adding to God’s command is rather peripheral in comparison to what comes next.

Genesis 3:4–5 ESV

4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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.”

And it is here that we see the second strategy of the enemy: contradicting God’s Word. God said “You shall surely die” but Satan says “You will not surely die”. Who was to be believed? It was God’s words or Satan’s words. And it is always and only these two options. When you want to lash out at the person, or take another lustful look, or twist the story just so to make yourself look better, God’s word to you is “NO” and Satan’s word to you is “YES”. Which one will you obey? When you ought to get up to help your wife with the kids, or speak a kind word to your husband, or get out of bed so you can get to church on time, or give that bit of money to that person in need, God’s word to you is “YES” and Satan’s word to you is “NO”. Which one will you obey? Though sin can feel very complex, if we cut through all the tape, we find these two options. Will we obey God or Satan?

Satan usually starts with a crafty twisting of God’s word. But he rarely ever stops there. He is always out to get us to deny God’s commands all together and obey him instead. It must make him more smug than he already is, knowing that he got a human to obey him instead of God. Though admittedly, when he makes this attempt, it is far more risky for him. He only gets away with it by offering a reward in return. Listen to verse six:

Genesis 3:6 ESV

6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.

He tells Adam and Eve that they would acquire God’s wisdom if they ate the forbidden fruit. He also implies that God is internationally holding back on them. Which of course is ridiculous. They had all that they needed. None the less, they did not have at present what they would have in the future: namely, reward and glorification. In fact, many scholars agree that the wisdom symbolized by the tree of knowledge would have been acquired by Adam and Eve had they resisted temptation successfully. They would not have remained “children” so to speak, but would have grown up into maturity. It seems that God intended this process to take some time. Time that would require Adam and Eve to trust God. And it is exactly at this point that Satan attacked. He offered immediately what God offered eventually.

This is how he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.

Matthew 4:8–9 ESV

8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

This was a legitimate temptation. Jesus came for the kingdoms of the world. But he came to acquire them through the shedding of his blood and a slow conquering over the next several thousand years through his Spirit and Church. Satan was offering an easy and immediate way to get them.

This is how he tempts us as well. Satan offers us a quick and easy fix to what we want or need. Which seems much more appealing to our impatient and sinful flesh than God’s longer and more difficult way around. But as is so often the case, the longest way around, is the quickest way home. The “short cut” that Satan offers is not a short cut at all. It is a dead end; a detour if you will. A detour to hell.

He whispers that stealing that money is going to be much easier than taking the time to earn it, but in the end, if you listen to the enemy, you will end up losing far more than you bargained for.

He tells you that flirting with that coworker or looking at pornography is going to be much easier than putting the work in to win-over your spouse romantically.

This is his tactic. He offers the easy road and it ends up being the hard road.

How then do we overcome these temptations? Thankfully, the Scriptures say much on this.

How Do You Overcome Temptation?

All resistance to temptation can be summed up in two steps:

Submit to God

Resist the devil

Listen to the scriptures:

James 4:7 ESV

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The order of these steps is vital. So often we attempt to resist the devil first.

Another way to visualize this is to think of preparing for a battle. Would you go to war without armor and a weapon? Would you equip your armor and weapon after the battle? Certainly not. You would equip your armor and equip your sword.

When it comes to temptation, submitting to God is putting on your armor and sword. Resisting the devil is using your armor and sword.

How To Draw Near to God (Put on your armor)

Prayer

Matthew 26:41 ESV

41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

The most fundamental aspect of drawing near to God is getting on your knees before him. The Lord’s prayer is something we are to pray regularly and it says, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Part of our regular pray life is to be asking God for help against temptation and sin.

I do this by praying specifically against sins I am tempted towards.

One problem some Christians have in our day is that their pray life is too spontaneous. We have bought in to the emotionalism that says a prayer isn’t “real” unless you feel something in your heart. And it isn’t real unless it is spontaneous. These are both lies form the enemy. Your conversation with your spouse or friend is real, even if you don’t “feel” particularly passionate when you talk to them.

Another problem is neglecting the posture of the body in prayer. We assume our body has nothing to do with our spirit and we are quite wrong about that.

Fellowship with Christians

Hebrews 3:13 ESV

13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Hebrews 10:24–25 ESV

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

How To Resist the Devil (Use your sword)

Practice with your weapon (scripture meditation)

Psalm 119:9–11 ESV

9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10 With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

If you want to be good at fighting with your sword, you need to know how to use it.

You must store up or treasure God’s word in your heart. You must be familiar with it. It is only then that your instinctual reaction to temptation will be to draw your sword.

Take the war seriously

2 Timothy 2:1–6 ESV

1 You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.

This is a matter of life and death; heaven or hell. Take it seriously. The enemy is roaming about, seeking to devour you and your house. This is war time, not peace time.

Know your enemy (be prepared)

Proverbs 4:14–15 ESV

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

Pay attention to the situations in which you are tempted to sin most. If they are situations you can avoid, then it is best to do so.

If it is a situation you can’t easily avoid, such as a coworker who is flirtatious, take whatever steps need to be done to mitigate temptation. Be mentally and spiritually prepared as you walk in to work.

Think through what in your life needs to be changed. Are there any weak spots in your armor? Are there any gates of your city unlocked? Take action. Batten down the hatches.

This may mean taking drastic measures like cutting out certain forms of entertainment, changing personal or family routines, or even changing jobs.

Be on the offensive, not just defensive

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

The point here is to be proactive about sin and temptations in your life. Look for sin in your life and seek to kill it before it attacks you. We all have sin strongholds somewhere in the recesses of our heart. We still have rooms in the house of our hearts that need to be unlocked and cleaned out so that Christ can move in. Go to war and destroy the strongholds of sin.

Take heart, because you have the Holy Spirit.

CONCLUSION: What Do You Do If You Give In To Temptation?

Not What Adam and Eve Did (Genesis 3:7)

Genesis 3:7 ESV

7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

Go to God the Father through Christ

Hebrews 4:14–16 ESV

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 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. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

God is merciful to humble sinners.

Proverbs 24:16 ESV

16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.

The measure of a true Christian in this life is not perfection, but repentance.