A Study on Temptation

(1) Temptation by its very nature is deception, a lie. What is evil is deceitfully presented as good, what is harmful as helpful, what is poison as antidote, what is enslaving as liberating, what is foul as fun. Temptation is what a trap is to an animal. It offers something good, but its true intent is to trap and kill. This is the background for Christ's statement about the devil in John 8:44 "When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies."

(2) Who, according to Scripture does the tempting? Most often the devil. But also our own sinful nature (James 1:14) and other human beings (Matthew 18:7), even well meaning Christians (Matthew 16:21-23). As a lamentable example of temptation by people, consider Solomon. The pagan wives of this wise king tempted him to commit crass idolatry in his old age (1 Kings 11:1- 13). "For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods . . . For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites . . . Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods."

(3) To be tempted is one thing, to sin is another. Jesus was tempted but did not sin. We cannot avoid temptation. Countless individual and corporate monastic attempts notwithstanding, there is no place to go to escape from temptation, for the devil and our flesh are always with us. We can't escape it, but when it comes, we are to resist it, that is, say "no" to it. We are to "resist him [the devil] firm in our faith" (1 Peter 5:10) and "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." (James 4:8).

(4) The goal of temptation is to separate people from God, for non Christians this means keeping them in a state of unbelief until death (2 Co. 4:3-4); for Christians this means tempting them to lose their faith (1 Th. 3:5; Luke 8:13; James 1:14). Here also belongs those passages that say that the devil is a murderer (John 8:44) and that he "prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Though eternal separation from God is the ultimate goal, it is also true that every transgression drives a wedge between us and God.

(5) "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor. 10:13). Notice, it says that God "will not let" us be tempted, which corresponds to what we read in Job (Job 1:6-12). God directly tempts no one (James 1:13), but God allows temptations. This can also be seen from the fact that the same Greek word family (peirazein / peirazmos) can mean either "to tempt, temptation" or "to test, testing." What the devil intends as temptation, God allows as testing. What the devil intends as destruction, God allows as construction. What the devil intends as evil, God allows for good. What the devil intends to tear us down, God allows to build us up. James 1:2-4: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing [or tempting] of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

(6) Vigilance against temptation is not merely a solo affair. It is a community affair, an affair of the Christian community, the Church. This is seen in Galatians 6:1-2: "Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." This is also seen in the 6th & 7th Petitions of the Lord's prayer: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one" (Matthew 6:13). We pray in the plural. We pray this for one another not just ourselves.

(7) There is a method to the devil's madness and Christians should be knowledgable about this method, (schemes,machinations) He often uses a consistent strategy in tempting.

       (a) For example, He often attacks us when we are weakest. The devil   tempted our Lord when He was very weak (after 40 days of fasting). We are told that afterwards, the devil "left him until an opportune time," which probably meant until another time of physical weakness. So also, he often attacks when our bodies are the weakest (see Luke 22:40-46 also 1 Cor. 7:5). Elijah is another example. After his great contest with the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, he went into a tailspin of fear, depression and fatalism when Jezebel threatened his life (1 Kings 18:17-19:4). Exhaustion probably played a roll. (b) The devil also often attacks with temptation following some spiritual victory on our part. Here again Elijah's victory over the prophets of Baal is a good example. This was Elijah's great spiritual victory. But soon after that he succumbed to temptation and fell into fear, depression, and fatalism.

 So it is often with us. When we have just shared the Gospel with someone, spoken out for the truth of God's word, have just started a new habit of Scripture reading or prayer, then we are attacked so that we might quit. Especially when we try to let our lights shine, to "go public" with our faith, we can expect the adversary to violently attack.

(c) The devil often tempts us during a time of idleness. It has often been noted that King David was tempted to commit adultery with Bathsheba during a time of idleness. We read in 2 Samuel 11, "Then it happened in the spring, at the time when kings go out [to battle], that David sent Joab and his servants with him and all Israel, and they destroyed the sons of Ammon and besieged Rabbah. But David stayed at Jerusalem. 2 Now when evening came David arose from his bed and walked around on the roof of the king's house, and from the roof he saw a woman bathing; and the woman was very beautiful in appearance." The words picture a scenario of idleness.

(d) The devil is tenacious and persistent. It is one thing to say "no" to one temptation. It is quite another to continue to say "no" to a persistent temptation. As an example: For a time Samson withstood Delilah's temptations to tell her the secret of his great strength. But we are told that "It came about when she pressed him daily with her words and urged him, that his soul was annoyed to death. So he told her all that was in his heart" (Judges 16:16-17a). Note that what won the day for Delilah was persistence. This is a picture of how the devil also works.

(e) The devil leads us to doubt, then deny God's goodness or wisdom. This was his approach with Eve as recorded in Genesis 3. He injected doubt in her relationship with God: "Did God really say . . ." Then he openly challenged God's goodness and integrity. "You will not surely die . . . For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." This is often his technique with us. Often through other people he injects doubt of God's Word into our minds. Having then weakened us, he openly challenges God's goodness or justice, leading us to rationalize and justify saying "yes" to the temptation.

(8) Know his schemes against YOU! Or as Peter puts it "Be on the alert" (1 Peter 5:8). Know what temptations are used against YOU. It does no good to be vigilant toward temptation if we are totally ignorant of the ways that we most easily tempted. Here are some common sins that we are tempted to commit. Which ones are you especially vulnerable to?

trusting our reason more than God and His Word
loving the praise of men more than the praise of God
complaining instead of thanking and praising God
self-pity
the neglect of prayer
depression, despair
fatalism (giving up, why botherism)
worry
the striving after fame
the neglect of God's Word and Sacraments
false belief and false teaching of God's Word
jealousy / envy
anger (temper)
lust, sex outside of marriage
slander
pride, bragging
laziness
gluttony
rebelliousness
theft, stealing
cheating
lying
coveting, discontent
idolatry
drunkenness and drug use

(9) 1 Corinthians 10:13 promises us that God always gives us a way out when we are tempted, so that we can stand. What resources has God given us so that we can resist temptation? Five of the weapons that God has given us to fight temptation are: (1) God's Word; (2) prayer; (3) the Gospel; (4) fleeing/avoiding; (5) Christian fellowship.

(a) God's Word

When Paul describes the full armor of God we need to withstand the devil's attacks, the only offensive weapon he mentions is "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God" (Eph. 6:17). Whether Paul was thinking of Jesus when he wrote this, our Lord Jesus is the greatest example of using God's Word as a weapon to defeat Satan. In the Gospels (Matthew 4:1-11 and parallels) we learn that when the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, Jesus fought Him with the Word of God. Three times he was tempted and three times Jesus quoted Scripture to drive off the enemy. What catches my attention is that each passage Jesus quoted was a passage that confronted the specific temptation. In the same way, we should confront whatever is tempting us, with a passage that speaks to the sin we are being tempted to commit. For example, if we are being tempted to cheat, we should confront the devil and our sinful flesh with the 7th Commandment: "It is written, "You shall not steal."

Another way to use God's Word as a weapon is to be so immersed in the Word that you know right from wrong and therefore know when you are being tempted. Here I have in mind passages like Psalm 119:11 "Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." If we don't have a clear understanding and memory of what God says is right and wrong in His Word, we will not know when we are being tempted.

(b) Prayer

Prayer is a second, and an extremely important, weapon, that God has given us to fight off temptation. Jesus made this clear already in the Lord's Prayer. The last two petitions are devoted to praying against the devil and temptation: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We also remember Jesus' words to Peter, James, and John and the garden of Gethsemane: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak" (Matthew 26:41). Of course this means praying both when we are being tempted, that God might help us say "no;" and it means praying daily that God might keep us from succumbing to temptation.

As we pray we should remember that our Lord Jesus Christ, our merciful High Priest, is uniquely qualified to help us when are tempted. Because He also has endured the suffering of temptation. He knows what it is like. In fact, Scripture says that He was tempted in every way that we are . . . but without sin. Therefore He sympathizes with our weaknesses. Thus we are invited to approach His throne of grace and mercy to find help in time of need (temptation). See Hebrews 2:17-18; Hebrews 4:15-16. I believe that this means both when we are being tempted and after we have succumbed.

(c) Gospel

Using the Gospel as a weapon means confessing your baptism and faith in the Gospel as Paul outlines in Romans 6. It means affirming your new identity in Christ in the face of whatever is tempting you. It means saying, for example, "Devil, you who are tempting me, you have no power over me. I am a Christian. I have been baptized. Through baptism, I have died to sin but am alive to God through Christ Jesus. I belong to Jesus Christ, who, by His perfect life and death, has saved me, forgiven me, and set me free from slavery to you, sin, and death. Sin has no power over me for I am under grace. I believe that Jesus Christ lived and died for me. I now dwell in His kingdom, not yours. Therefore, begone!"

I also believe that this is what Paul is up to in the famous armor section of Ephesians 6:10-18. It is not by coincidence that each piece of armor that Paul describes is given a name that refers to the Gospel, the joyous news that God has saved us by grace through faith: " the belt of truth," "the breastplate of righteousness," "the shoes of the gospel of peace," "the shield of faith," "the helmet of salvation," "the sword of the Spirit." To "put on the full armor of God," therefore, means confessing your faith in the Gospel in the face of temptation, confessing who you are in Christ as described in the paragraph above. This is the true cross before which the devil has to flee as the vampires did in the movies of old!

(d) Avoid and Flee Temptation

The fourth weapon I believe God has given us is a matter of common sense - but it is also found in the Scriptures. We are to fight temptation by avoiding it and fleeing from it. By "avoiding" it, I mean not foolishly putting ourselves in a position or place where we will be easily tempted. For example, Psalm 101:3 says "I will set before my eyes no vile thing." We will be tempted far less, if we avoid situations and places that tempt us. We will be tempted far more, if we willingly invite things that tempt us into our lives.

We are also to flee temptation. When we find ourselves in a situation where we are being tempted, we should flee, run away from it, rather than foolishly think we are strong enough to withstand it. In this spirit, Paul writes in 1 Cor. 6:18: "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." And Joseph is a great Old Testament example. When Potiphar's wife tempted him he fled out of the room (Genesis 39:1-20).

(e) Christian fellowship. When it comes to resisting temptation, there is strength in numbers. We are stronger together than we are apart. Christians who are being tempted should seek the help of other Christians (prayer, Christian counsel, etc.).

(10) Finally the Gospel. All Christians WILL succumb to temptation, despite our best efforts. Remember our enemies are not flesh and blood but powerfully fallen angels (Ephesians 6:10-14). Therefore it is not surprising that we are often bested on the field of battle. When such happens we need to confess our sin and need to hear and believe the Gospel.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world (1 John 1:8-2:2).

This forgiveness is available because of Christ's victory over the devil. His victory over temptation becomes ours through faith. Because of this, the Christian who has fallen to temptation is able to say by faith, "Devil, I may be weak, but my Jesus is strong. I may have said "yes" to temptation; but He said always "no." I may fall, but He stood strong. I may be bested in the field of battle, but the mighty one bested you in the battle and in the war. I am disobedient. But He was obedient. And through baptism and faith all that is His is mine and all that was mine became His. Therefore I am forgiven. Therefore, in the end, I win."