Temptation: Can We Be Victorious Over It?

Temptation: Can We be Victorious Over It?

Easton describes temptation in this way: "Temptation—(1.) Trial; a being put to the test. Thus God “tempted [; R.V., ‘did prove’] Abraham;” and afflictions are said to tempt, i.e., to try, men (, ; comp. ), putting their faith and patience to the test. (2.) Ordinarily, however, the word means solicitation to that which is evil, and hence Satan is called “the tempter” ().1"

How does the Bible describe temptation? Jesus began His ministry being tempted. In , the Bible says, "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.’ ” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” 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.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ " 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Green writes, "A little girl once said in response to a question about how to deal with temptation: “When Satan comes knocking at the door of my heart, I send Jesus to answer the door. When Satan sees Jesus, he says, ‘Oops, I am sorry, I must have the wrong house.’ ”3

As we Walk with Jesus, we will be attacked. Satan has a good track record. When you are "Born Again", the attacks will become more intense and come more frequently. Because of our sinful nature, our flesh loves worldly things. Satan knows that and you can expect frequent visits from him. Satan is very crafty and schemes against the people of God to get them back as his ambassadors for Hell. He will try to keep you in your sin, he will stop you from reading the Bible, he will keep you from going to church, he will do whatever he can to keep you eternally separated from God. The Bible tells us in ,  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." Satan does not leave out anyone. He tempted Jesus so everyone will be visited by Satan and his demons, everyone will be tempted, the best of people and the worst of people. He tormented Job, he overthrew David, and made Peter deny Christ three times before the rooster crowed. If he cannot steal Heaven from you, he will try to make your life on Earth a living Hell. But he is cunning and sly as a fox, never introducing himself as "tempter" but as the Bible tells us in , as an "angel of light".

Christ had victory over His temptations, but we will only have victory over temptation when we are glorified by God in Heaven! We will always be tempted by Satan while on this Earth. But we can have daily victory over temptation by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we turn over our life to Jesus, He will live in us and the Holy Spirit will fill us. Because the Holy Spirit lives in our hearts, we are greater than Satan who lives in the world. By doing these things, we will fulfill God's plan for our life and live a victorious Christian life.

Amen

Works Cited

1. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (All verses used above). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

2. Easton, M. G. (1893). In Easton’s Bible dictionary. New York: Harper & Brothers.

3. Green, Michael P. (2000). 1500 illustrations for biblical preaching (p. 371). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.