Resisting Temptation

Intro:

When Facing Temptation, Beware of Satan’s Lies (1-6)

1. To Question God’s Word (1)

“The most vulnerable point of Adam and Eve was that their confidence in the trustworthiness of the Word of God wasn’t where it should be.” -R.C. Sproul

“The test we’re going through today is the test of if we are going to live in trust of the Word of God or whether we’re going to negotiate it with unbelief.” -R.C. Sproul

2. To See God As Burdensome (1-3)

John Paul Sartre said, “Unless man has autonomy, he does not really have freedom.”

The tendency of man’s thinking today is that any restrictions mean absolutely no freedom.

3. To Think God is Holding Out on You (4-5)

When Facing Temptation, Know There Are Consequences (6-19)

1. Immediate Guilt & Shame

Take note of their immediate behavior in v7-8

Take note of the blame-shifting in v9-11. (Note the grace in God’s calling)

2. Physical Judgement

To the Serpent (14-15)

To eat dust and to lie on his belly would be a symbol of humiliation and subjugation.

To the Woman (16)

She would face pain in childbirth

To the Man (17-19)

The pain and toil in labor.

It is important to notice that snakes slither, women are wives and mothers, and men are workers. It seems that because of sin, the areas of greatest purpose and fulfillment in the lives of these three have been hit with pain and heartache.

3. Relational Fracturing

To The Serpent (15)

There is now enmity between him and the Woman. This is the promise of the conquering One to come.

To the Woman and Man (16)

There is now disunity in their marriage. Take note of the word, “desire” and the fact that they were naked but are no longer.

When Facing Temptation, Know There Is A Way Out (20-24)

1. The Serpent Crusher

This is the promise of the protoevangelium, or “the first good news”. That there would be a deliverer who would come that would deal the final blow to this Serpent conquering him once for all.

This great Serpent Crusher is Christ, who bearing the sins of His people and rising from the dead to conquer death, Hell and the grave now, through the Spirit has brought forth the Church who, by Christ’s might, is an army of Serpent Crushers.

The New King James Version Chapter 16

And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

2. Adam’s Faith (20)

Here we read of the fall of man resulting from Adam's rebellion against God. As the Father delivers His judgment to Adam, He pronounces that mankind would, following a life of toil, taste death. However, here in the very next verse Adam names his wife, "Eve", for she was to be the mother of all living. This is a testament to Adam's faith. In the midst of judgement for his rebellion, God has graciously promised the Deliverer, and Adam, though informed that he is marching toward his final breath, displays great faith in the promises of God that there would be a blessed Deliverer, and it would seem that here, as well as a few other passages, that they had full hope that He would be given at any time. The thought from this ties into our final point:

3. The Focus on The Promise

The Tree of Life which had stood in the midst of the Garden would have been a standing testament of God’s gracious command and promise but Adam has said that he can trust his rule, his opinions, and his wisdom over God’s and has sinned in choosing to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and now they are not allowed to eat of the Tree of Life which would grant them eternal fellowship with God. By putting the angels here, God has rescinded His presence from before them and cut off all hope of getting to the tree. Why is this significant? Because now they’re only hope is in God’s promise of the Serpent Crusher.

My thought for us is this: God has graciously delivered unto us, as Ephesians 6:15 calls it, "the gospel of peace". We have indeed been redeemed by that great Serpent Crusher God told of so long ago in Eden, yet we often march on through our lives consumed with fear as though the God of Heaven hasn't delivered to us such a blessed message of hope. So, let us rest in the gospel of grace today, going onward with full hearts of expectation and assurance.

As we look at v17 we see that God tells Adam that He’s listened to the wrong voice. Are you listening to the wrong voice in your life? In Psalm 1, we are told that it’s not the self-righteous people that are blessed, but it is the one who meditates on God’s Word day and night in order to tell the difference from good mentors and dangerous people.

Conclusion

1 Corinthians 10:13 (NKJV)

13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Aren’t you thankful for the phrase, “No temptation”? That covers them all. Whether you’re tempted to complain, or to fight, or dealing with sexual temptation, there is an escape that God promises to us as His children, but how do we handle it? One author gave three things from this verse that I believe will help us:

Look for an escape.

God promises for an escape here and we can take Him at His Word. He writes, “Temptations are promises. The temptation to sinfully grumble is a form of the promise that if you can be your own god and have your own way you will be happy.”

Be Prepared to Not Want an Escape

Remember what we spoke of on Sunday? When you’re dealing with consuming passion, you don’t think clear but you’ve got to fight! You’ve got to rest in the Spirit’s strength and be prepared for the flesh to resist!

You must be prepared to trust the promises of God over the false picture that the Devil has painted for you in whatever you’re dealing with!

Be Comforted By His Grace Grace

When and if we’ve fallen, we must not allow Satan to convince us that we’re now too sinful to come to the Lord, on the contrary. When you have sinned, you can come to the Lord and find grace and strength for the journey.

1 John 1:9 NKJV

9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.