WHERE DOES TEMPTATION COME FROM?
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But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.
TEMPTATION IS OF MAN AND OF HIS OWN LUST
TEMPTATION IS OF MAN AND OF HIS OWN LUST
1. There is lust and enticement. Every man—there are no exceptions—is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lusts and enticed.
The word “lust” means to crave either good or evil.
There are good desires and bad desires.
The word “enticed” means to lure and bait just as a person lures and baits a fish.
The picture is this: man has good desires, natural and normal desires.
Therefore, when he begins to think about or look at something, he very naturally desires it.
His desire is normal behavior.
The problem arises when the thing is forbidden or is harmful.
If he looks at and thinks about the forbidden or harmful thing, he begins to lust and to be enticed or lured to go after it.
This is the very beginning stage of temptation.
Man takes his desire and focuses it upon the forbidden or harmful thing.
He begins to pay attention to what he should not look at; he begins to think about the things of the flesh and of the world.
Thereby he is tempted and drawn away by his own lusts and enticements.
2. There is the conception of lust and the birth of sin.
The above point, point one, is what is called the conception of lust.
It is a picture of birth.
When a person actually begins to look at and think about the forbidden thing, desire and lust are conceived in his mind.
He pictures the pleasure of the desire; that is, sin is actually born.
Picturing—looking at or thinking about the desire—is sin.
The point to note is this: temptation begins with the normal and natural desires of man and with his thoughts.
A person sees, smells, tastes, hears, touches, or thinks about something—something that is forbidden and harmful—and he fails to turn away and flee from it.
It may be something as simple as hearing or listening to suggestive music, music about the intimacy of a relationship.
Instead of fleeing, the person allows his mind to conceive the thing.
He pictures the pleasure and begins to desire or lust after it.
Sin in born; the wrong is committed right there in his mind. His heart is set upon the forbidden thing.
He may never do the act, but he would if he had the chance and courage.
The way to overcome temptation is essentially
The way to overcome temptation is essentially
1) If the temptation attacks our thoughts, then we must push the wrong thought out of our mind, and then begin to immediately focus our thoughts upon Christ and some passage of Scripture.
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;
These thoughts and imaginations come to exalt themselves against the knowledge of God in you, these thoughts must obey God’s word and be cast down. They cannot remain there, do not let them linger, recognize that it’s a thought from the enemy and cast it down immediately.
2) If the temptation comes from some attraction to our senses—seeing, hearing, tasting, and touching—then we must turn our head or body away and flee the temptation.
Then immediately we must focus upon Jesus Christ and prayer and review some Scripture passage.
Let the words of my mouth,
And the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
3) There is the result of lust and enticement: death.
Man dies physically, spiritually, and eternally because of sin.
When God created man, He did not create man to die.
Man has chosen to die, and he dies because of sin (The basic meaning of death is separation. Death never means extinction, nonexistence, or inactivity.)
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
William Barclay has a thought on temptation that should challenge us to turn our total being over to Christ.
“Now desire is something which can be nourished or stifled. A man can...by the grace of God, eliminate desire if he faces it and deals with it at once. But...
-he can allow his steps to take him into certain places and certain company.
-he can encourage his eyes to linger on certain forbidden things. he can spend his life fomenting desire.
-he can use mind and heart and eyes and feet and lips to nourish desire.
“[However, a man] can so hand himself over to Christ and to the Spirit of Christ that he is cleansed of evil desire.
He can be so engaged on good things that there is no time or place left for desire.
It is idle hands for which Satan finds mischief to do; and it is an unexercised mind which plays with desire, and an uncommitted heart which is vulnerable to the appeal of lust.
“If a man nourishes and encourages desire long enough, there is an inevitable consequence.
Desire becomes action.
If a man thinks about anything long enough if he allows himself to desire it long enough, all the chances are that in the end he will do it. Desire in the heart in the end begets sin in the action”
ILLUSTRATION:
Along the banks of the Amazon River lives a species of large, colorful spiders. When one of these creatures spreads itself out, it looks exactly like the blossom of a brilliant flower. Bees and other insects lighting upon it expect to find nectar. But instead, the spider secretes a deadly poison.
If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.