1 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER
10:12-13: “If Any Man Is Tempted”
By
1.
INTRO:
1.1.
In our last study we looked
at the exhortation that Paul gave to
the Corinthians to learn the lessons of the Israelites (from their failures)
during their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness after being led out of
slavery in
1.1.1. We saw that the 40 years in
the wilderness was designed by God for the Israelites in order to see if they
would truly keep His commandments and keep Him first in their lives
1.1.1.1.That time tested whether or
not they truly loved the Lord
1.1.1.2.God performed miracles each
and every day in the lives of the Israelites in providing for their needs and
protecting them, and yet in spite of all that God did for them they didn’t
trust Him and His love for them, and they insisted on rebelling and going on
their own way apart from the Lord
1.1.1.3.In the context of where we
find this chapter, we saw that as Paul had been exhorting the Corinthians to
run the race of their Christian life and calling in such a way as to win, that
he now desired to reveal to them some of the pitfalls which they should avoid
so as to not fall away from Him and completing that race
1.1.1.4.We saw that the Israelites
themselves failed and fell away from God because they forgot to remember what
God had done in history past. In the Old
Testament we read that over time the nation fell away from God largely because
they forgot to teach their children, as they were commanded to do, about all of
the ways in which God dealt with them in the Old Testament accounts, and events
such as God’s leading the people out of slavery in Egypt, etc.
1.1.1.4.1.Likewise, in the Old
Testament the prophets were constantly giving the people the commandment to
remember all of God’s commandments, and not only so but to be sure to tell
their children about them and their importance
1.1.1.4.2.So, in our study last time
we remembered some of the stories of the Old Testament of God’s dealings with
Israel so that we can be sure to learn the lessons of the Israelites
1.1.1.4.2.1.We saw that this group of
Israelites who were at least two million is number, with women and children,
had been led out of slavery in Egypt and that the Israelites had been given incredible
privileges in seeing the Lord working mightily in their lives day by day
1.1.1.4.2.2.We saw how that the Lord had
split the Red Sea and then miraculously led the children of
1.1.1.4.2.3.We saw how that the Lord had
miraculously provided manna which rained down from heaven each day for the
children of
1.1.1.4.2.4.We saw how that the Lord had
provided all of the water that such a huge group of people would need each day,
as it flowed out of a rock when Moses struck it with his rod or spoke to it
1.1.1.4.2.5.We saw how that the Lord had
caused it to be that the clothes had not worn out on the Israelites nor had
their feet ever swollen during the entire forty years of wandering
1.1.1.4.3.Yet, in spite of all of
these incredible things that the Lord had done for the people, they still
rebelled against the Lord and didn’t believe His word and promises for them
1.1.1.4.3.1.Unbelief in man is such an
incredible thing. In Romans chapter 1 we
read that through the creation itself that God reveals Himself to every man,
yet some choose to worship the creature instead of the creator. Likewise, God reveals His faithfulness over
and over again in our lives. Yet, in
spite of all that God does in revealing Himself to men, some believe in Him and
His promises and some fail to acknowledge that God has done anything at all in
their lives
1.1.1.4.3.2.Even as men saw the
incredible wonders and miracles that Jesus performed did day in and day out
(the works which no other man has ever done) were not acknowledged at all by
most people
1.1.1.4.4.Then, Paul gave the church
several exhortations concerning things that they were to be careful of:
1.1.1.4.4.1.Don’t crave evil things
1.1.1.4.4.2.Don’t allow idols in your
life
1.1.1.4.4.3.Don’t act immorally (any sex
outside of marriage)
1.1.1.4.4.4.Don’t grumble
1.2.
In our study today we are only going to look at two verses as we are
still analyzing Paul’s exhortation to the church at
1.2.1. Did you see the movie, “
1.2.2. In this study, we are going
to primarily look at two more areas that affect how we effectively we will run
that race of our Christian lives:
1.2.2.1.Being presumptuous in
thinking that you won’t or can’t fall headlong in your race and be disqualified
1.2.2.2.How to to view and to deal
with temptations that might come into your life
2.
VS 10:12 - “12 Therefore let him who thinks he
stands take heed lest he fall.” - Paul tells the Corinthians to beware of a
fall if they think they are doing pretty good
2.1.
In our last study, as we were remembering all of the Old Testament
stories of how for the Israelites the Lord had constantly provided daily manna
to eat, water to flow from the rock, a divine cloud by day and a divine pillar
of fire by night with them revealing God’s presence with them, their clothes
and shoes never wearing out, etc., we were surprised that the people could then
have gone and walked in unbelief and rebellion against the Lord. However, we began to understand this more as
we considered the fact that we ourselves have also had God reveal Himself over
and over to us in such incredible ways, and yet we too have turned away from
God so often and doubted and rebelled against the Lord.
2.2.
In this verse here, Paul uses the word ‘therefore’, and as I so often
mention, I would have you take a minute here and think about what this
‘therefore’ is there for. In the
scripture, a ‘therefore’ is usually the application or the culmination of some
argument that has just been developed, and in the context of this verse we see
that what Paul is telling the Corinthians through this verse then is that in
light of all of the failures of the Israelites who had had such incredible
privileges to see God’s works and yet who rebelled and didn’t believe, they
themselves needed to beware that they would not likewise fall themselves.
2.2.1. While we live in these
sinful bodies on this earth we must always have a healthy respect for our
propensity to fall into sin.
2.2.2. Just as Paul tells the
Corinthians here, we today need to be careful of ever feeling that we would not
or could not ever fall into unbelief and rebellion.
2.3.
But, in these verses even more than just saying that we will fall if we
don’t realize the propensity we have to sin, Paul writes in this verse that if
the people felt that they would not or could not fall that they were headed
directly for a fall.
2.4.
When several of the men in our fellowship were building the facility
where this church was initially going to begin to meet on Sunday mornings, we
were always needing to use a ladder to stand on to work somewhere up high or on
the ceiling. We used to joke around that
we should write this verse on one leg of that ladder which we always used, “Let
him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall,” and on the other leg
write Prov. 16:18, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall”.
2.5.
The Corinthians had obtained a bit of self-righteousness and
pride. They thought that they had gotten
to that place in their spiritual walk were they had “arrived” in their
relationship with Christ, and therefore Paul warns them in this verse that they
should therefore beware because they were about to fall away from the Lord if
they didn’t be careful and repent.
2.5.1. In our lives, we Christians
should never think that we are strong enough that we will never fall away from
the Lord.
2.6.
If we are afraid that we might fall in any area of
our life, then we will constantly be careful to seek the Lord’s help and
strength to keep us from falling, and by God’s strength and grace this constant
vigilance to beware of falling and looking to the Lord for strength is what
will keep us from falling.
2.7.
We all know that we can fall into sin in those areas of our weaknesses,
and in those times when we are hungry, sick, tired, etc. However, Paul is warning here about falling
in the area of our strengths. There is a
sense in which for everyone that our greatest strengths can also be our
greatest weaknesses, and that it is easy therefore to fall in the area where we
are strong for we are trusting in our own strength. Someone has once aptly pointed out that, “the
very area where we think that we are strongest and least likely to fall is
probably the area that we are most likely to fall”.
3.
VS 10:13 - “13 No temptation has overtaken you but
such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be
tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way
of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”
- Paul tells the Corinthians that God
will not allow them to be tempted beyond their ability to resist
3.1.
We would do best to always be afraid that we might fall in any area of
our life, rather than think that we are strong enough that we will not
fall. We Christians need to beware of
times of temptation and learn to fear them because though at times our
temptations may not seem to be too scary, temptations have led many many people
who were greater, more mature, and more spiritual than ourselves down a path
which trashed their Christian walk and testimony before the Lord. This story I ran across of the mouse and the
elephant illustrates that we need to beware of temptations, “The elephant, big brute as he is, is afraid of a
mouse. Fantastic as it may seem, this great mountain of flesh positively
shrinks from a tidbit of a mouse. A mouse will make an entire herd noisy with
fright, and a rat will put them in a condition of desperate fear. There is a
good and sufficient reason for it. An
elephant may defend itself against a lion, tiger or any natural enemy, but the
insignificant size of a mouse baffles his concept of warfare. The mouse is too
quick to be crushed underfoot or to be caught by his trunk, and can
tantalizingly scamper over his rough hide with impunity. Realizing his
helplessness against such a diminutive foe, the elephant learns to fear it as
he fears no other animal.”
3.2.
If Jesus, after His baptism, was led by the Holy Spirit into the
wilderness and tempted by the Devil for 40 days, we Christians must expect that
the Lord is also going to allow us to go into at least a degree of temptation.
3.3.
God brings a degree of temptation into a believer’s life to prove,
purify, strengthen, and equip them.
3.4.
James 1:12 tells us that when we victoriously endure temptation that we are
blessed and that we will also receive a crown of life as a reward, “12 Blessed
is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive
the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”
3.5.
I want to stress at the outset that it is not a sin to be tempted, for
we all are tempted, and even Jesus was tempted.
3.5.1. Campus Crusade has a good
illustration of the fact that temptation in itself is not sinning, “You
can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from
building a nest in your hair.”
3.5.2. It is only when we give in
to the temptations and let that temptation take root in our heart that we have
sinned.
3.6.
Before we embark on this exhortation of Paul’s concerning how to view
and to deal with temptation in our Christian life, I want to first of all talk
about what ‘sin’ really is:
3.6.1. In 1 John 3:4, we
read that sin is the transgression of one of God’s laws, “4 Whosoever
committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law.”
3.6.1.1.We know that in the Old
Testament God has given us ten commandments which represent the bulk of His
moral law, and that these ten commandments detail what things are sinful in our
lives as Christians.
3.6.1.1.1.Here is a list of the 10
Commandments taken from the Old Testament scriptures:
3.6.1.1.1.1.You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and might - (Deut. 6:5). Likewise,
You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself - (Lev. 19:18).
3.6.1.1.1.2.You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol or any likeness of what is in
heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.
3.6.1.1.1.3.You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3.6.1.1.1.4.Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.
3.6.1.1.1.5.Honor your father and mother.
3.6.1.1.1.6.You shall not murder.
3.6.1.1.1.7.You shall not commit adultery.
3.6.1.1.1.8.You shall not steal.
3.6.1.1.1.9.You shall not bear false witness.
3.6.1.1.1.10.You shall not covet.
3.6.1.1.2.God did not give us “10
Suggestions” but rather “10 Commandments”, and if we fail to keep these
“commandments” of the Lord we have sinned.
3.6.1.1.3.Each
of these 10 Commandments can be broken by actual deeds or by thoughts of the
mind and heart.
3.6.1.1.3.1.Jesus
said that if you become angry or hate your brother you have committed murder.
3.6.1.1.3.2.Jesus
said that if you lust upon your neighbor’s wife you have committed adultery
with her.
3.6.1.1.3.3.Etc.,
Etc.
3.6.1.2.In
the New Testament, we know that the scripture also gives us numerous commands
from the apostles, and the commandment from Jesus to “love one another.” The commandments given to us by the apostles
in the books of the New Testament are also not suggestions, they are to be
obeyed as they are commands which come to us from God. For instance:
3.6.1.2.1. We have seen in the book of 1 Corinthians
that Paul wrote to us not to do anything that will cause a weaker brother to
stumble.
3.6.1.2.2.Paul
wrote to the Philippians that we are to consider our brothers and sisters as
more important than ourselves, and consider their interests as well as ours
(Phil. 2:3-4).
3.6.1.2.3.Paul wrote here in 1
Corinthians chapter 7 that if a brother or sister in Christ had their spouse
die that they were no longer bound to that person and therefore were free to
marry, however only in the Lord (or to another believer in Christ).
3.6.1.2.4.If we know the right thing
to do in a situation and don’t do it, it is sin to us (James 4:17).
3.6.1.2.5.Etc., etc.
3.6.2. The Greek word used for sin
in the New Testament, ‘hamartia’, is an archers word, and it means to miss the
mark. Thus, to sin means to miss the
mark and fall short of God’s holiness and righteousness.
3.7.
Understanding then that sin is missing the mark, like with a target,
and also that it is the transgression of God’s law, we Christians must realize
that it is God who sets the mark that we are to be attempting always to meet.
3.7.1. This past week I watched a
TV special on Walter Payton, the legendary running back for the Chicago
Bears. He is believed by some to have
been the best football player to every play the game. Mike Ditka said in the special that he
coached every man on his team except Walter Payton because God coached Walter
Payton. Walter would not do his daily
workouts throughout the year at the Bears complex with the rest of the
athletes. The reason was that the
standard there set by the trainers was too low.
Walter had seen the Russian sprinters in a previous Olympics and saw
that they were the fastest on the earth at that time. He did some research into how they trained,
and so he set up his own training regimen based on how they trained. He found a hill that had a very hefty
incline, and every day he and his brother would do wind sprints up to the top
of this mountain. He got in such shape
that he and his brother ran 25 wind sprints up to the top of this steep
hill. You see, Walter was the best
running back perhaps of all time because he set a standard that was higher than
everyone else’s. We as Christians must
be careful not to allow ourselves to be content with reaching a standard that
is lower than the standard that God sets for our life. We must not look around at other Christians
and churches and see the standard that they are living up to and decide that we
will be content if we just do as well as they do. What we must do is to come to the Bible and
see what it is that God says should be the standard that we should live up
to. This must be our goal, and nothing
short of this.
3.7.2. In Matt. 5:46-48,
Jesus was teaching His disciples about how that they must come to love others
more than the Gentiles in this earth and that if they didn’t show love that was
greater than the Gentiles that they hadn’t really done anything, and He then
told them that they were to strive to be perfect just as their Father in heaven
is perfect, “46 “For if you love those who love you, what reward have
you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same?47 “And if you greet your
brothers only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the
same?48 “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
3.7.2.1.In Lev. 19:1-4, Moses
records that as the Lord was giving His people His law (what we call the law of
Moses), that the Lord told them that they were to strive to be holy just as He
is holy, “1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,2 “Speak to all the
congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I
the Lord your God am holy.3 ‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and
his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God.4 ‘Do not
turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God.”
3.7.2.2.In Deut. 18:13, the
Lord told Moses that they were to be blameless in their lives and holiness, “13
“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God.”
3.7.2.3.In 2 Cor. 7:1, Paul
wrote about how that through the blood of Christ we Christians are to cleanse
ourselves of all defilement of sin in our lives and perfect holiness before
God, “1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse
ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God.”
3.7.2.4.What separates man from God
is his sin, and it is only when our sins are covered by the blood of Christ
when we receive Him into our lives that our sins are forgiven and now they do
not separate us from the Lord. However,
now that we have come to know Christ personally as our Lord and Savior we must
also continue to flee from sin otherwise we will again become separated from
Christ in fellowship. Then, if we just
continue on living in sin, we will be separated from Him for eternity. If we do sin we must confess and repent of
that sin that our fellowship with Christ is not broken because of it.
3.7.2.5.So, we Christians need to
dedicate ourselves to be holy and pure before the Lord and vow that we will not
live our lives in the sinful lifestyle that His word tells us He is going to
condemn.
3.7.2.6.Someone once said these
words which I have found to be so true, “God is more concerned that you be
holy than that you be happy.” God is
committed to disciplining His children to cause them to be holy as He is holy,
for He knows that by doing so that they will find true joy and blessing in this
life and the next.
3.8.
Beware of complacency. My mind
also goes back to the story of the fall of King David. In 2 Sammuel 11:1-5, we read about how
that King David who had been courageously leading the Israelites in battle for
years, and God had been with him in all of his battles for he had sought the
Lord’s direction and help in all that he did, got complacent one day and let
down his guard and thus ended up falling into adultery with a woman named
Bathsheba, “1 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
3.8.1. There is never a time when
we as Christians must feel that we are safe and that we can just sort of sit
back and let down our guard, so to speak.
The Devil is roaming around looking for someone to devour and we will
fall right into his jaws if we are not constantly being vigilant in our walk
and never letting our guard down.
3.8.2. Expect that the Devil is
constantly trying to set up a trap for you to cause you to stumble in your
walk.
3.9.
We Christians must realize that we must judge our experiences in the
light of God’s word, and not visa versa.
There is no area I can think of that truth is more important that this
area of temptation.
3.9.1. Many times I have known
Christians who have justified their sinning by saying things like:
3.9.1.1.There was nothing else that
they could have done in the situation.
3.9.1.2.That I should not judge them
because I just don’t really understand their situation.
3.9.1.3.That it was really God’s will
for them to commit this act which God’s word strictly forbids as being
sinful.
3.9.2. We Christians need to
believe God’s word to be true, and then if and when we fail to live up to what
God commands found in His word, we need to accept that we have sinned and
determine to repent (turn from committing) of that sin.
3.10.
Temptations and trials are not easy for any Christian to endure. However, God ordains that all of His children
go through trials and testings as this is the primary way by which our
character is to be molded by Him.
3.11.
A lot of times we Christians fail to realize as we should that our
struggles are actually with the spiritual forces of wickedness in high
places. Paul wrote in this in the
paragraph in Ephesians chapter 6 which details how to wage spiritual warfare
says, particularly Eph. 6:12, “For our struggle is not against
flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world
forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the
heavenly places.”
3.11.1. We aren’t battling mere
earthly forces and temptations.
3.11.2. When we think of things from
that vantage point, we realize that we could so easily be overcome by some
temptation that the devil or another demon places in our lives. Satan has thousands of years of experience
tempting Christians, and He is fairly good at it.
3.11.3. If it were not true that God
does not allow a temptation too great for us to endure, and if Satan had free
reign to place temptations in our lives, we would fall headlong into sins and
never be able to get up again.
3.11.4. However, by God’s grace and
mercy, we learn from scripture that the Lord only allows Satan so much freedom
to tempt His children.
3.12.
We cannot blame God nor the Devil for our sinning for James 1:13-15
teaches us that temptation to sin actually comes from within our own sinful
hearts, “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by
God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt
anyone.14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his
own lust.15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin
is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
3.13.
In this verse then, Paul gives to us some very key points that we need
to comprehend and remember regarding times of temptation which come into our
Christian life:
3.13.1. Paul tells them that the
temptations and testings that they are having in their lives are no different
than the temptations and testings that all believers go through.
3.13.1.1.Sometimes we think that we
are the only person on the earth that is going through this particular trial or
temptation, however God says that our temptations are common to all, for all
Christians have experienced very similar things.
3.13.1.2.The great English preacher Spurgeon
once preached about how that all of us Christians experienced the same depth
and type of despicable temptations to sin in this life, saying, “Ah! but you will find that apostles have been along
that way, confessors have been that way, martyrs have been that way, and the
best of God’s saints have been tempted just as you now are. “Oh, but!” says
one, “I am tempted, as you said a little while ago, with blasphemous and
horrible thoughts.” So was Master John Bunyan; read his Grace Abounding to the
Chief of Sinners, and see what he had to pass through. Many others have had a
similar experience, and among them are some of us who are alive to tell you
that we know all about this special form of temptation, yet the Lord delivered
us out of it. “Oh, but!” says another tried soul, “I have been even tempted to
self-destruction.” That also has not been an unusual temptation even to God’s
dearest saints; and, though he has preserved them, and kept them alive, yet
they have often felt like Job when he said, “My soul chooseth strangling, and
death rather than my life.” “Ah!” cries another, “I am tempted to the very
worst sins, the foulest sins, I should not dare even to mention to you the
abominations Satan tempts me to commit.” You need, not tell me; and I trust
that you will be kept from them by the almighty power of God’s Holy Spirit; but
I can assure you that even the saints in heaven, if they could speak to you at
this moment, would tell you that some of them were hard beset — even some of
the bravest of them who walked nearest to God were hard beset by temptations
which they would not have told to their fellow-men, so troubled were they by
them. Perhaps yet another friend says, “I have been actually tempted to
self-righteousness, which is as great a temptation as can befall a man whose
whole coufidence is in Christ.” Well, so was Master John Knox, that grand
preacher of justification by faith. When he lay dying, he was tempted to glory
in his own bravery for Christ, but he fought against that evil thought, and
overcame it, and so may you.”
3.13.1.3.Our struggles have some
uniqueness to them since everyone’s life is different, however our brothers and
sisters can relate to our struggles, and they are going through very similar
struggles that for them are not easy to go through.
3.13.1.4.When we realize that our
brothers and sisters are struggling in the same areas as we are, then this is
encouraging to us and helps us to press on in our walk with the Lord.
3.13.2. This Greek word for
‘temptation’ can also be translated ‘trial’, and only the context of the
scripture determines its rendering. In
every trial there is a temptation, and in every temptation there is a
trial. The two concepts are inextricably
linked.
3.13.3. Paul tells the Corinthians,
‘God is faithful’, in the midst of their temptations. In other words, in the midst of our temptations
He keeps all of His promises to His people, and He is merciful and gracious to
all.
3.13.3.1.We saw God’s faithfulness to
the Israelites in the previous study, and the author of the book of Joshua
wrote about God’s faithfulness to His people after the Israelites had crossed
the Jordan river and conquered all the peoples in the land of Canaan at God’s
command: Joshua 21:45, “Not one of
the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass”.
3.13.3.2.We read in Num. 23:19
of the Old Testament that Balaam said of God, ““God is not a man, that he should lie; neither
the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it ?
or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?””
3.13.3.3.I have been shocked at times
to hear someone in the fellowship say that God let them down. God never let anyone down, He wouldn’t and
the scripture says that He couldn’t even let them down, for to do so He would
have to be lying about one of His promises and He cannot do that.
3.13.4. God is in charge of our
temptation. Paul tells the Corinthians
that ‘God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are
able’.
3.13.4.1.The Devil could not tempt
Job any way he chose, he could tempt Job only with God’s permission and as God
allowed him to tempt Job. The Devil can
also only tempt us to the degree that God gives Him permission to tempt us.
3.13.4.2.God knows our
weaknesses. He knows how much any of His
children can endure.
3.13.4.3.Paul tells the Corinthians
that God (who knows all of their real limitations) will not allow a trial or
temptation so great that they will not even be able to flee or resist it.
3.13.4.4.We can have victory over
every temptation if we will look to God’s resources in that temptation.
3.13.5. Paul tells the Corinthians
that God ‘will provide a way of escape’ from the temptation, that you may be
able to endure it’.
3.13.5.1.There is no excuse for sin
in the life of a Christian, for the Lord will provide the way for us to
faithfully ‘endure’ and have victory in that temptation.
3.13.5.2.A Christian cannot blame God
or the devil for falling into sin, because God always provides a way of escape
from the temptations.
3.13.5.3.If any person sins, it is
his own fault, and he will never be able to blame anyone but himself.
3.13.5.4.We Christians must realize
that God provides a ‘way of escape’ out of our temptations, and therefore in
order to have victory in our temptations we must flee them when they
occur.
3.13.5.4.1.Many times we Christians do
not flee a temptation when the opportunity presents itself, and instead we put
God to the test by keeping themselves in the midst of the temptation and trying
to battle it out with the devil.
3.13.5.4.2.We almost always end up
falling when we fail to take the way of escape when it is provided. Satan is always going to win that battle
because our will power will not be able to overpower the power of the
temptation when we have refused to do what scripture tells us and flee it.
3.13.5.4.3.I believe that the reason
that at His disciples’ question about how to pray that Jesus taught His
disciples to pray, “and lead us not into temptation, ” is that it is not good for us to be led
straight on into lots of temptation. We
tend not to do so well when the degree of our temptation is very high. We need to pray that we be kept from
temptation, and that when we are tempted that we be delivered from the evil
one.
3.14.
James in James 4:7 told us the way to have victory over the
Devil when he comes and tempts us to sin, “7 Submit therefore to God.
Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”
3.14.1. We first need to make sure
that we are submitted to God, for it is God who is the One who has the power
over the Devil.
3.14.1.1.If we have committed sins
which we have not confessed and repented of, we should first confess and repent
of these sins as we submit ourselves into God’s hands and will for our life,
and then we are ready to deal with the Devil and demons and temptations.
3.14.2. Satan and his demonic hordes
are the tempters of God’s people. God
has given us authority over all of the power of the enemy, as we read from
Matt. 10:1, however we need to attempt to exercise that authority only under
God’s leading for it is not a rogue authority that we’ve been given but rather
authority that as we walk with Jesus in His will that He will in situations
reveal His will and as He reveals that to us He will also give us His authority
to cast out demons in His Name and authority, “1 And having summoned His
twelve disciples, He gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them
out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness.”
3.14.2.1.Remember, in Matt. 28:18
as Jesus was giving His disciples His Great Commission that He told His
disciples that “all authority” had been given to Him, “18 And Jesus came
up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and
on earth.”
3.14.2.2.We then are just acting as His
representative and under His leading when we exercise His authority over
demons.
3.14.2.3.Gayle Erwin tells the story
of once playing on a basketball team and having a great big tall guy named Dave
on his team. The goal in their offence
was simple, they were just supposed to get the ball to Dave. Then, Dave would dunk the ball. They couldn’t miss or lose if they just got
the ball to Dave. In the same way, we
Christians need to go to Jesus in all of our trials, difficulties, and
temptations, and submit to Him as we ask Him to give us the victory. As often as we go to Jesus in this way, the
Devil loses the war in trying to tempt us.
3.15.
We Christians need to persevere in following the Lord in this life,
regardless of the trials and temptations which we may encounter. We will be tempted because God has ordained
it to be so, and He will with the temptation make us much better saints, for He
is more concerned that we be holy than that we be happy. We must rely upon His reservoir of strength
when we go through the valley of our temptations, and know that if we are
proven to be faithful through those temptations that we shall be greatly
strengthened and empowered by the Holy Spirit so that we can help others to go
through their times. If we should fail
in our temptation because the Lord purposed to reveal to us the wickedness of
our own sinful flesh and pride, then we must allow the Lord to forgive and
cleanse us yet again and strengthen us for the next greater hill we shall have
to climb. John Ryland once wrote
the following lines which should inspire us to persevere on in our walk of
faith with Christ, “Through
floods and flames, if Jesus lead,
I’ll follow where he goes;
’Hinder me not,’ shall be my cry,
Though earth and hell oppose.”