Biblical Perspective on Tests & Temptations

Introduction

Every person in the world, including yourself, will encounter various trials throughout life. Satan seeks to defeat you by tempting you to trust your own wisdom, to live according to your self-centered feelings, and to gratify the desires of your flesh. In contrast, God’s will is for you to be an overwhelming conqueror in all of these tests for His honor and glory (based on Genesis 3:1-6; Proverbs 14:12; Matthew 5:45; Romans 8:31-39; Galatians 2:20, 5:16-17; 1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 2:16-17).

The Difference Between Tests and Temptations

A test is an opportunity for you to practice Christlikeness by obeying God’s Word, thus giving honor to Jesus Christ (based on Job 23:10; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 2:9; James 1:2-4, 12; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

A temptation, which cannot originate from God, is a solicitation for you to disobey God’s Word and to gratify your fleshly desires. When you yield to temptation, you inevitably experience consequences (based on 1 Thessalonians 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:9; James 1:13-15).

In any circumstance, the appeal to your self-centered feelings and fleshly desires is used by Satan as a temptation to entice you to sin (Genesis 3:1-7; 2 Samuel 11; James 1:14-15). In stark contrast, the same circumstance is used by God as a test to help strengthen you as you obey His Word. Your response in this circumstance determines whether you will stand firm in your faith and please God or fall to temptation and please yourself (based on Galatians 5:16-17; Colossians 1:10; Hebrews 4:15; James 4:7-10; 1 Peter 5:8-9).

God & Tests

God tests individuals (Genesis 22:1-19; Job 1:8-12, 2:3-6; Daniel 3:17-18, 28; Jonah 1-4; Luke 22:31-34). He also tests groups of people (Exodus 16:4; 20:20; Deuteronomy 8:2, 16; 13:1-4; Judges 2:22, 3:1; Hebrews 10:32-39; 1 Peter 1:6-9, 4:12-19), and He uses tests to refine His people (Job 23:10; Psalm 66:10; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7).

God’s tests are designed to strengthen your commitment to follow Him and obey His Word, no matter what the cost. For your benefit and instruction (Romans 15:4), the Old Testament records examples of God testing His people regarding their obedience (Genesis 22:1-19; Exodus 15:22-26, 20:20; Deuteronomy 8:2; Judges 2:21-23; Malachi 3:10). The same emphasis on obedience to God is recorded in the life of Jesus (Philippians 2:5-8; Hebrews 5:8) as well as in the lives of His followers (John 6:52-69; Acts 6:8-7:60; 9:10-17; 11:1-18).

God forbids people to test (tempt) Him and His character (Deuteronomy 6:16; Matthew 4:7; 1 Corinthians 10:9; Hebrews 3:7-11), unless He specifically asks them to do so (Malachi 3:10). People test (tempt) God when they forget His past blessings and power exercised on their behalf, when they harden their hearts, and when they fail to live by His Word (Numbers 14:22-23; Psalm 78:40-42, 56-64; 95:8-9; 106:13-15). It is important to remember that God will discipline people when they test Him, because testing the Lord is in itself an act of disobedience and disbelief (Psalm 95:8-11; Acts 5:1-10; 1 Corinthians 10:9).

God promises to rescue His people in any difficulty (Psalm 34:19; 2 Peter 2:9). Scripture states that God will never allow any temptation to be more than His children can bear but will always provide a way of escape from sin (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Satan & Temptations to Self-Gratification

Satan’s very nature is to tempt (solicit to do evil) (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5), and he lives to devour people (1 Peter 5:8).

As the ruler of this world (John 12:31; Ephesians 2:2), Satan uses the three attractions of the world - the lust of the flesh (gratification of desires and living by one’s feelings), the lust of the eyes (coveting, greed, desire for money), and the boastful pride of life (self-centered living) (1 John 2:16) - as an enticement for you to do evil. His diabolical efforts (2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:11) are designed to seduce you away from your devotion to Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3) so you will gratify your lusts and selfish desires (James 1:13-15).

In Satan’s initial temptation of mankind (Genesis 3:1-6), he used all three worldly avenues of attraction (1 John 2:16). In viewing the forbidden tree, Eve noticed that it was “good for food” (lust of the flesh), “pleasant to the eyes” (lust of the eyes), and “a tree desired to make one wise” (pride of life). Eve became deceived, yielded to temptation, and chose to disobey God. Adam also yielded to temptation and willfully chose to sin (Genesis 3:6).

In Satan’s temptation of Job (Job 1:8-2:7), Satan appealed to Job’s self-centered feelings and desire for self-gratification by taking away Job’s possessions, his children and servants, his health, and his notable position of prestige among his contemporaries. All of these trials were aimed at the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; but Job was not overcome in these specific trials because he trusted God and did not yield to his own self-centered feelings and desires (Job 23:10-12, 42:1-6).

In Satan’s temptation of Jesus, he tempted our Lord through the three attractions of the world. Satan tempted Jesus through hunger and challenged Him to turn stones into bread (the lust of the flesh), asked Jesus to throw Himself off the temple (the pride of life), and promised Jesus the kingdoms of the world (the lust of the eyes). However, Jesus overcame this temptation by obeying God and His Word (Matthew 4:1-11).

Three Levels of Temptation

For your instructions, Scripture records examples of those who yielded to the appeal of temptation (Romans 15:4). For example:

Eve was tempted by the lust of the flesh (“saw that the tree was good for food” - Genesis 3:6), the lust of the eyes (“saw…that it was pleasant to the eyes” - Genesis 3:6), and the pride of life (“saw…a tree to be desired to make one wise” - Genesis 3:6).

Note the failure to resist temptation at the “feeling,” “doing,” and “heart” levels of life.

Failure at the “feeling” level began when gratifying the flesh became more important than remaining obedient to God. Not surprisingly, after giving in to temptation, the “feeling level” was dominated by fear (Genesis 3:10).

Adam and Eve’s failure at the “doing” level was evidenced when they listened to Satan instead of God, ate the fruit, tried to hide their sin by hiding themselves, and tried to shift the blame for their sinful behavior to others (Genesis 3:2-13).

Their failure at the “feeling” and “doing” levels revealed the orientation of their “heart,” which was directed at pleasing themselves instead of pleasing God. Their unrepentant, self-centered hearts were also evidenced in their failure to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness from the Lord and from one another (Genesis 3:8-24).