Temptation: The Sixth Step of Sin
By Dr. Jerry Lloyd
Outline (Text to Follow)
Temptation (The Sixth Step of Sin)
I-Genesis 39:1-16-Joseph and ______________ wife (Answers in the next outline)
A-V7- ____________
B-V8-9- ______________
C-Proverbs 7:18-21-Comparison
II-I Corinthians 10:12-14
A-V12-When you think you _______________
B-V13
1-Your temptation is common
2-Promises are based upon God’s faithfulness
3-Not be tempted above that which ye are able
4-God never promises the strength to overcome temptation!
5-He promises a WAY to escape
III-James 1:13-14- ________________ of temptation
A-V13
1-Never comes from God
2-God can never be tempted by sin-Hebrews 4:14-15
B-V14-Temptation comes from our own _______________
1-Origin-Our own lust
2-Agent
3-The areas of temptation I John 2:15-17
IV-Matthew 4:1-11-Example of _____________
A-How do we _______________ temptation?
1-Submit to God-Say yes
2-Resist the devil-Say no
B-II Timothy 2:22-How?
1-Follow-Righteousness, faith, charity, peace
2-Running with then that
C-Jesus used Scripture
V-Psalm 119:9, 11
A-V9
1-How to cleanse your WAY
2-Take heed to Word (Listen and do)
B-V11
1-Hide Word in your heart (Memorize)
2-Not sin against God
Conclusion
Problem: Temptation comes from your own lust, Through agents of the world, the flesh and the devil, By using the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life.
Answer: We must run from temptation By following the Scriptures, And those who are living and teaching God’s Word
The Temptations-The Sixth Step of Sin
Introduction: St. Augustine
I-Exodus 39:1-16-Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
A-V7-Listening
B-V8-9-Conversation
C-Proverbs 7:18-21-Comparison
II-I Corinthians 10:12-14
A-V12-When you think you stand
B-V13
1-Your temptation is common
2-Promises are based upon God’s faithfulness
3-Not be tempted above that which ye are able
4-God never promises the strength to overcome temptation!
5-He promises a WAY to escape
III-James 1:13-14-Origin of temptation
A-V13
1-Never comes from God
2-God can never be tempted by sin-Hebrews 4:14-15
a-V14-God is our high priest
b-V15-Tempted in all points like we are
c-V16-Come boldly to the throne of grace
B-V14-Temptation comes from our own lust
1-Origin-Our own lust
2-Agent
a-The world
b-The flesh
c-The devil
3-The areas of temptation I John 2:15-17
a-Lust of the flesh
b-Lust of the eyes
c-Pride of life
IV-Matthew 4:1-11-Example of Jesus
A-How do we resist temptation?
1-Submit to God-Say yes
2-Resist the devil-Say no
B-II Timothy 2:22-How?
1-Follow-Righteousness, faith, charity, peace
2-Running with them that
a-Call on the name of the Lord (They are saved)
b-Pit of a pure heart (Single minded)
C-Jesus used Scripture
V-Psalm 119:9,11
A-V9
1-How to cleanse your WAY
2-Take heed to Word (Listen and do)
B-V11
1-Hide Word in your heart (Memorize)
2-Not sin against God
Conclusion
Problem: Temptation comes from your own lust
Through agents of the world, the flesh and the devil,
By using the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
Answer: We must run from temptation
By following the Scriptures
And those who are living and teaching God’s Word.
The Example of Augustine
The leader of the church in Alexandria, Egypt was a fellow named Augustine. He was the fellow after which the oldest city in the United States was names: St. Augustine. Before he became a Christian he had a pretty disreputable beginning. After he trusted Christ as Savior he became a very well respected writer in the beginning of the reformation. As serving as the pastor of the church there in Alexandria, he had to go into a part of the city that had a very bad reputation. While he was there, he ran into one of his old associates from the time before he got saved, and this lady grabbed him by his coat and exclaimed, “Augustine! It is good to see you!” With that, Augustine’s reaction was that he left his coat and began running. The woman shouted after him, “Augustine, it is only I!”
Upon which Augustine replied, “Yes, but it is not I!”
The Example of Joseph
That may be a fable, but it is supposed to be history. However, we see an actual historically accurate story that is somewhat similar. In Genesis 39:2-12 we read, “The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian.
V3-And his master saw that the LORD was with him, and that the LORD made all that he did to prosper in his hand.
V4-And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand.
V5-And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
V6-And he left all that he had in Joseph’s hand; and he knew not ought he had, save the bread which he did eat. And Joseph was a goodly person, and well favoured.
V7-And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.
V8-But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand;
V9-There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
V10-And it came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, or to be with her.
V11-And it came to pass about this time, that Joseph went into the house to do his business; and there was none of the men of the house there within.
V12-And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.
V13-And it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth,
V14-That she called unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew unto us to mock us; he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a loud voice:
V15-And it came to pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment with me, and fled, and got him out.
V16-And she laid up his garment by her, until his lord came home.”
We have learned that there are eleven steps of sin. We have studied the first five already. The first step of sin is hearing or listening to evil things. The second step of sin is seeing or watching the wrong things. Those are the two ways we feed the flesh in the battle between the flesh and the spirit births. Then the third step of sin is to begin to think about whatever sinful things you see and hear. After the third step of sin, then you begin to do the fourth step of sin which is talking about the evil things which you have been thinking about. The fifth step of sin is to begin to desire or lust after the evil things about which you have been talking.
The Solution-Run!
If you have continued down the steps of sin as far as lust, what is the solution to the step of sin of lust? It is to run from it! That is what Joseph did. That is what Augustine did.
The Sixth Step-Temptation
The sixth step of sin is temptation. When lust meets opportunity, the result is temptation. The solution to temptation is the same as the solution to lust. The solution is to run from it as well.
Look back at verse 7 of our text: “It came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me.” How did the situation that got Joseph into trouble with Potiphar’s wife start out ? The fact that Joseph did not give in to sin shows us that even if we continue to the sixth step of sin, you do not have to give in to it. You can take the solution which is to run from it. Notice what Joseph had to overcome. It started off by what she said to him.
Example of the Harlot
Proverbs 7:18-21 tells us how the harlot forced the young man by her words. She said, “Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves.” Sounds like Potiphar’s wife does it not? “For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey.” That sounds like the situation with Potiphar. “He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.” “Hey! We can be alone!” She had made the other servants scarce.
Then in Genesis 39:8-9 we find out what Joseph’s response was: “He refused, and said unto his master’s wife, ‘Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?”
Joseph’s Failure
He engaged her in conversation about the sin they were considering! It was actually a relatively lengthy conversation. He was talking about evil. He reasoned with her. It is extremely dangerous to reason about sin. Sin does not come from Satan, but Satan is pretty good at reasoning. In general, we find that temptation does not come from Satan, but when you start reasoning with Satan over sin, he can out reason any man any time, so don’t match wits with the witless. Satan’s brain was created by God himself. Our brain was born of sinful parents with thousands of years of sinful deterioration working in their genes. Do not try to reason with temptation. Just run from it.
It sounds like he did the right thing, by talking about this great sin that his master’s wife was trying to entice him into. right? Well, let us look at the outcome. Listen to what happened in Genesis 39:19-20: “It came to pass, when his master heard the words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, After this manner did thy servant to me; that his wrath was kindled.
V20-And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison.” Joseph ended up spending several years in jail. Rather than engaging in a conversation with this woman about sin at the outset, he should have just run! Could Joseph have avoided those years in jail if he would have run at the outset? Maybe not. We will never know this side of heaven, but he had descended to the fourth step of sin when he talked about the adulterous proposition with Potiphar’s wife. He heard her proposition, he saw her, he thought it over (so he would know what to say, then he engaged in conversation about the sin she was proposing. Now he was at the sixth step of sin which is the temptation, and he did what he was supposed to do then. He ran, but there were consequences for violating the other steps of sin, even though he did them in ignorance and innocence.
What Is Temptation?
The word used for “temptation” means “enticement to sin.” It can also mean trials and tribulations.
In II Corinthians 10:12-14 we see instructions that God gave us about temptation to which Joseph was not privy. “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.”
The word “temptation” here means “enticement to sin.” While it can also refer to trials and tribulations, in view of the context it is clear that the word refers to enticement to sin in this passage. The children of Israel were tempted in the wilderness after they had lusted after fornication, flesh, and they also tempted or tested God.
Who Is Tempted
Notice in the first verse of the passage that this verse is written to Christians who think that they are pretty strong. They think that they have the strength to stand against the wiles of the devil. They think they are going to associate with people, places, things, or ideas as strong witnesses who are ready to make a strong witness to these people. When a person thinks he is going to violate God’s warnings in order to do ministry, he is ready for all fall.
Notice that the next verse asserts “There is no temptation taken you…” When we think we are about to make a stand for the Lord, that is when we are overtaken by temptation.
“But such as is common to man.” Do not think that your case is a special case. Do not think that your situation is unique . You will fall, and you will fall for the same ploys that have been the downfall of so many other Christians, because the temptations are common to man.
God’s Promise Concerning Temptation
“But God is faithful.” That is very important, because He is about to make a couple of promises concerning temptations that, if heeded, will make it easy for you to avoid falling through temptation; and He bases these promises on His own faithfulness. However, there is a condition.
Some of God’s promises are unconditional. All we have to do is believe them. That is the way it is with salvation. He says that He gives salvation to all who believe in Him for eternal life. All we have to do is believe it. That is the condition. You do not have to work for it. You do not have to join for it. To obtain eternal life, we have to do it His way. If you try to make a commitment of some kind, or promise to work, join the church, are water baptized; that is not God’s way of salvation. That is not what He said to do for salvation. What is His way? God says to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Trust Him for it. Believe that He is God, and that He did everything required to get you to heaven by taking your sin onto Himself, dying for them, then coming back from the dead. But if you are depending on your turning around or being sorry, then you are not doing it God’s way. In salvation there is a condition. You must trust His work. You must trust Him. You must rely on Him.
Other promises are given to those who obey or make some sort of commitment, but here God shows us that, when the condition is fulfilled, he stakes His reputation of faithfulness to do what he promises. So we need to see what He requires and then trust His faithfulness to fulfill His promise.
So what is the condition here, and what is His promise?
God “Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able.” What a wonderful promise! So you have the ability to have victory over any temptation. God stakes His reputation on that! The second promise is “He will make a way to escape to escape that ye may be able to bear it.”
So what is the condition? The Bible tells us in the next verse. “Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee!” He says to flee from idolatry. Idolatry encompassed all forms of immorality and rebellion against the one true God. Nowhere in this passage does God promise the strength to overcome temptation no matter how much you pray, study your Bible, witness or go to church. The promise of victory over temptation is extended to all those who fulfill the condition, and the condition is to run from it! Run from what? Run from people, placers, things, and ideas that have the potential to entice to sin.
“You don’t understand,” many have said, “I only go to those places so that I can find lost people to witness to,” or “only hang around that person so that I can be a positive influence on their life.” That might be the case, but God has commanded to flee from those things. If you flee from those things, God promises that there will a way to escape, but you’ll never find it if you are not fleeing.
That is kind of like the guy that took his date down a dark lonely road to park and talk to her about the Lord. Then he wondered why he gave into a sexual sin.
Remember, God never promises the strength to overcome temptation. He promises a way to escape.
Let us learn a little bit more about from where temptation comes. In James 1:13 God tells us: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.” One thing that we can know about temptation is temptation never comes from God. Testing does come from God, and testing is the same Greek word as Temptation, but it is a very different meaning. Just as a palm tree and a palm of your hand are the same word, yet they have very different meanings. The point is that enticement to sin never comes from God. This is another promise that relies on God’s faithfulness. There is no condition that you must fulfill to obtain this promise, therefore it is an unconditional promise. This is a character promise, because it relies on His character. He cannot be tempted with evil, therefore He is not going to tempt you with evil.
In Hebrews 4:14-16 God says, “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens (speaking of Jesus Christ), Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession (We ought to keep on witnessing).V15- For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;” (Jesus CAN be touched with the feeling of our infirmities). Infirmities are not talking about sin or enticement to sin. Infirmity is talking about physical bodily weaknesses. When you do not eat or sleep, you get weak or sleepy. Those are infirmities. An infirmity is some way you are infirm. They are why we have infirmaries.
If you threw me into a lake that was over my head, and I was struggling to swim, you could say to me, “Just go down and walk across the bottom until you get to the shore.” While I may be tired and weak, I am not going to be tempted to do what you said, because I do not have the ability to breath under water.”
It is the same way with Jesus. When He was tired and weak, He was not tempted to sin, because He cannot sin. So the temptation was available to Jesus, but it was impossible for Him to be enticed by it.
“But was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” That is the reason that temptation is common. We all have bodily weakness in common, but Jesus’ weakness did not include the enticement to sin. V16- Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”
What is the throne of grace talking about? It is a seat on which the king sits. And grace is underserved mercy. So the throne of grace is what the mercy seat was in the Old Testament. You could call it the seat of grace or the throne of mercy if you wanted to. Where was the mercy seat? It was on top of the ark of the covenant in the holy of holies where the presence of God resided. So God is saying in this passage that we can come boldly into the holy of holies into the very presence of the glory of God, because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So we can pray directly to God the Father. We do not need some earthly priest or elder.
James 1:13-15 says, “ Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.”
In the next verse we see where temptation came from. Temptation does not come from Satan. Listen to God’s explanation. V14-“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” You see, you cannot get away from temptation, because temptati9on comes from your own lust. When you cultivate lust by seeing and hearing sinful things, then you strengthen that evil desire by thinking about those evil things and talking about evil things, then the only thing your flesh needs is an opportunity to participate in evil actions is the opportunity. When lust meets opportunity, the result is temptation. To even be able to run from temptation, you need to weaken your flesh by starving the flesh by ending its exposure to seeing and hearing evil. So if you keep exposing your flesh to evil things, then you keep strengthening your flesh, and when the lust of the flesh meets opportunity, you get temptation.
You can limit the exposure of your flesh to evil things by staying away from persons, places, things, and ideas where there is sin.
Joseph was tempted, and he had success by running from the temptation, but the experience cost him dearly.
Many years back there was a comedian that became famous when he would say, “The devil made me do it!” Nope! When we are tempted, we have made five sinful choices that brought us to the place of temptation. So we are drawn away of our own lust and enticed. Do not blame the lust on the devil. He could have provided the opportunity, but he did not cause you to lust after the sinful thing. That was your choice. Now it becomes difficult to defeat sin, because you have strengthened the flesh. By this point all you have to do is yield to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life, and you will actively participate in the outward action of sin. The other steps are inward sins, albeit sin nevertheless, but when you yield to temptation, then you actively participate in outward sin.
In I John 2:15-16 God points out the areas of temptation. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world.” What is it that bring temptation? Temptation comes from our own lust, and temptation is simply when lust meets opportunity, but what brings the opportunities to sin? The things that bring temptation is the world, the flesh, and the devil. You might call them the delivery boys of the opportunities to sin. The world itself would bring temptation even if there were no devil. We will see this in the millennial reign of Jesus Christ on earth, when the devil will be chained in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, yet man will continue to sin. So we do not have to have the devil to be tempted. Even the world will be renovated during the Kingdom reign, so it will not be advertising the lusts on every street corner like it is today, but there are going to be sinners in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and their sin will still be corrupting the world.
So what is the world will be the big deliverer of temptation? “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.”
So “If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” So the world is doing all it can to satisfy our every lust. In verse16 we see the three areas in which the world appeals to our lust. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Those are the three areas we will be tempted.
V17-“And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.”
If doing the will of God is required for us to abide forever, what does God say His will is that we must do to abide forever?
Some of God’s promises are unconditional. They are true no matter what we do. God has promises about how to have a joyful life, how to earn crowns in heaven, How to receive the desires of our heart, and also how to have eternal life. The conditions are different for different promises. So what is the conditions we must fulfill to have eternal life and abide forever?
God says in John 6:35 that we come to Him by believing on Him. He says, Jesus said unto them, “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” So we come to Him by believing on Him.
When we come to Him in faith, God will for Jesus is that He never cast us out. In verse 37 Jesus says that if we come to Him in faith, He will never cast us out. We do not ever have to worry about being cast out of salvation once we gain eternal life. He says in John 6:39, that if we come to Him in faith, He will never lose us. He says, “And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing.” So what is God’s will for Jesus when we come to Him by faith? His will is that He will never cast us out, and that He will never lose us.
Why will He never lose us? He will never lose us because He is true to His Word, and he tells us that the reason for that is He is keeping us to salvation by His power because of our faith in I Peter 1:5. He says that we are kept, “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” So when you have faith, the power of God keeps you to salvation. You care not kept by your faithfulness, or by your power, or by your will. You are kept by the will of God and by the power of God.
What is the power of God?
In Romans 1:16 God tells us what the power of God is unto salvation. He says, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.”
What makes the gospel so powerful? In Romans 1:4 Go tells us that He was “Declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead.” What makes the gospel so powerful? It was His resurrection for the dead.
If there were something ion your life that is more powerful that the resurrection of Jesus Christ, then there would be the possibility that you could lose your salvation.
What is the most powerful thing in the universe besides God? The sun? a galaxy? A black hole? No! Other than God the most powerful thing in the universe is sin. Why? Because there was only one thing that has affected the whole universe. Our sun diodes not affect the whole universe. A black hole does not, nor does any galaxy? The only thing that has affected e very single thing in the universe is sin. How has sin affected the universe?
God created the universe incorruptible with the potential to exist forever so that we could live and inhabit it forever, but when sin entered the universe, suddenly every single thing in the universe became subject to the second law of thermodynamic. Everything became corruptible. Everything began to run down and die. Before sin there was no death. After sin entered, everything in the whole universe began to age, run down, die and rot. All of creation that used to be incorruptible, and began to run down. Now it only continues to exist because God is still holding everything together by His power (Colossians 1:16-17 “ By him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”
So the most powerful thing in the universe is sin, except for God’s power, and God has demonstrated His power by His resurrection. How does the resurrection demonstrate that the power of God is more powerful than sin?
All of the sin of all mankind of all time in the whole universe was placed upon Jesus Christ, then He died and destroyed all of the sin. He paid for it. All we have to do is be kept by that power of God through faith unto salvation.
What is it we need to believe? We need to believe that He will never cast us our, He will never lose, and we are kept saved by the power of God which is the resurrection.
Then Jesus tells us what we have to do to obtain this salvation and accomplish the will of God so that we can eternal life in John 6:40 where He says, “This is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life.”
“See the Son.” That means you understand Who Jesus is and the things He has promised. Then what do you have to do? You must believe it. You must believe that Jesus is God the Father who came tyo earth to pay for all of your sins, and that by His death, burial, and resurrection He will never cast you out, He will never lose you, and that He will keep you by His power.
When you do that, you have accomplished His will for abiding forever. All you have to do is trust what He already did 2,000 years ago.
Back to I John 2 we find that the three areas of lust and sin are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The perfect example of Satan using those three areas to try to deliver temptation is expressed in Matthew chapter 4:1-11 in the temptation of Jesus Christ. Of course this was Satan’s “attempt” to tempt Jesus, but we have already learned that Jesus cannot be enticed to sin. There was never any possibility for Jesus to sin.
V1-“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
V2- And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
V3-And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
The first thing we see here about Satan’s ploys is he begins by questioning God’s authority. “If you be the Son of God…” Satan knew full well who Jesus was.
When Satan tries to confuse the lost he begins by questioning who Jesus is. There are two things we must believe to obtain eternal life. They are the person and work of Jesus Christ. We must believe that He is God the Father who came to earth in the flesh. Second we must believe in the work of Christ. We must believe that His work on the cross is enough to save us and keep us saved. So the first thing that Satan does is he tries to undermine the person of Jesus Christ.
V3-“And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.”
It is kind of an interesting side light that years ago there was a song performed by a group of singing artists called “We Are the World.” One of the more disturbing parts of the song stated something about “When Jesus turned the stones to bread.” The disturbing part of that is that, while Satan tried to get Jesus to turn the stones to bread, Jesus never did turned the stones to bread.
What would have been wrong with Jesus turning the stones to bread, anyway? I have heard it said that he would have been obeying Satan’s suggestion, and that compromise would have been sin for Jesus to do. That may be the case, but I do not think that is why Jesus refused. Think about it. How many miracles can you name that Jesus did that was strictly for Himself. For Jesus to turn stones to bread in this desert place would have done little or nothing to accomplish the purpose of the miracles which was to instill faith in unbelievers. The only thing it would have accomplished was to fill His own belly for a while. I do not think Jesus did any miracles for Himself.
Maybe we should learn from this. Would it be wrong to pray for a miracle for ourselves? Are our efforts simply for ourselves or are they primarily for others. In your decision making, do you consider what you want more than what is best for others? Satan tried to get Jesus to do a miracle to simply consume it upon His own flesh. So what would this temptation be? It would be the lust of the flesh.
V4- “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”
Notice how Jesus answered Satan. He quoted Scripture. It would be hard for a child of God to quote Scripture to defeat temptation, if he has not memorized any Scripture.
V5- “Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
V6-And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
What temptation would this be? The pinnacle of the temple was the highest point of the wall of the temple. It was where everybody in the temple could see Him both in the temple, and outside the wall. So what was he try8ng to get Jesus to do? He was tempting Him to show off. This was an appeal to the pride of life.
Have you heard of any believers that you know that like to show off. When they give, they want everybody to know how much. They will not go anywhere in public without make up. They won’t do any work around the church unless it is something that will get them noticed.
Notice what Satan did this time. He used Scripture against Jesus. He misused Scripture. I guess it is not enough to memorize a few key verses, but we must have a greater familiarity with things others might twist to try to confuse our doctrine (Ephesians 4:14 “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.”)
Again Jesus answered with Scripture.
V7-Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
V8-Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them.”
Now what did Satan do? He showed Him! What I that? Here Satan tried to appeal to the lust of the eyes.
V9- And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
V10- Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written.” Again Jesus quotes Scripture. “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”
V11-“Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.”
Jesus demonstrates mastery over all three areas of temptation and sin. Therefore, when the Bible says, “ He have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”
We can also understand what God means when He said, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man.” When we are tempted, Jesus can relate, because we have the presentation of the three areas of temptation in common. Yet, Jesus remained without sin.
Let us now look at successful attack on mankind by Satan using these three areas of temptation.
In Genesis 3:1-6 we see the temptation of Eve.
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
V5-For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
V6- And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, (That is the lust of the flesh), and that it was pleasant to the eyes, (That would be the lust of the eyes,) and a tree to be desired to make one wise, (That would be the pride of life,) she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; (Notice that Adam was there with her. He could have stopped her!) and he did eat.”
God gave Adam the instruction concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He did not give the instruction to the woman. It was u to Adam to explain them to his wife. So Adam knew what the instructions were, and either he misquoted God to Even when explaining what God required concerning their responsibility concerning the tree of knowledge of good and evil, because in verse 2 that she misquoted God by adding to His instructions, or she misquoted Adam, and he said nothing about it.
I think that Adam added to what God said to discourage the eating of the tree. Be careful of adding to the Word of God, even if your intentions are good.
V1-“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said…” The first part of the temptation was simply questioning the Word of God. Satan is working overtime in this dispensation as well doing his best to undermine the Word of God. Satan is not undermining your flesh or your lusts. He undermines the Word of God. If Satan can get us to doubt the Word of God, then we have no weapon to fight the world, the flesh, and the devil. Remember, in every temptation Jesus responded by quoting the Word of God. So, if Jesus overcame temptation by quoting the Word of God, then that must be our way of escape as well. We defeat temptation by knowing and doing God’s Word, because therein is the way of escape revealed. The way Satan prepared Eve, and the world, and us to fall to temptation is to undermine the Word of God.
“Was there really an ark? Was Jonah really swallowed by a whale Was there really an Adam and Eve? Did Jesus really feed the five thousand families with five biscuits and a couple of panfish? Maybe he just influenced the crowd to share. Maybe Jesus really didn’t die. He probably just swooned, and he wasn’t really raised from the dead; He simply revived in the cool of the tomb.”
I have, actually, heard these arguments made from pulpits.
V2-“And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
V3-But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
The next error mankind makes that prepares for temptation is what Eve did. She added to the Word of God. Now to be sure what she said was good. It is good advice not to touch things you are not supposed to eat. We should not mess around with things God about which God warns us. But God did not say not to touch it.
Sometimes we feel like we have to help God out and add all kinds of rules and regulations to what God has said. That is kind of like the Pharisees No wait! That is exactly like the Pharisees. I do not care how well intentioned it is we ought not to add to the Word of God. Advice not to touch it, but if God does not say it, then let us not say He does.
V4-“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die.”
Now Satan denies God’s Word outright, and he comes out and tells a bold faced lie.
V5-“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
This sound like the second step of sin. “Your eyes shall be opened.”
Where was the serpent? He was there at the tree of knowledge of good and evil. So, apparently, Eve was at the tree of knowledge of good and evil, too. We should we avoid to avoid temptation? Persons, places, things, and ideas. Eve did not avoid the place of temptation. She was right there qt the tree. Satan was waiting for her right there, and she engages his in conversation.
That is the same thing that got Joseph in trouble. He did not avoid the presence of Potiphar’s wife. He engaged her in conversation. He had enough sense to run from the situation, but he had already compromised his reputation. He did not fall to temptation, but he did fall. He fell out of the favor of Potiphar. He did not participate in the act of adultery, but he still got into trouble.
If there is temptation lurking, run from it, do not reason with it. Do not try to match wits with the witless.
How do we run? Where do we run? In II Timothy 2:22 God says, “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
So, let’s run! But when you are going to run, how do you know which direction to run? What path do you take? Which way should you go? Where do you go to learn the way of escape from lust and consequentially the temptation which springs from our own lust according to James 1:14 (“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.”)?
We are commanded to flee youthful lusts, but then are told how to find the way to flee, because we are told what to follow. “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” It is not so much that you are running away from lust as much as you are following righteousness, charity, and peace; and you find out that these characteristics are found in “them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” So, we are supposed to ruin with believers. You see if the believers believe the Word of God, they are going to run from temptation and run toward righteousness, charity, and peace. However, those who do not believe the Word of God are likely to, actually, run TOWARD youthful lusts. That is where the yoke becomes unequal, because the two oxen are heading in opposite directions. So it is important to make sure the people with which you run around are believers.
Secondly, these people with which we are to run should have a pure heart. The normal thing we think about when we use the term “pure heart” would be someone who does not do impure things or think impure thoughts. True enough. Those are pretty good standards, but, actually, a pure heart is speaking about being single-minded. It is not so much that we determine not to do this, that, or the other; but that we have chosen single-mindedly follow the Lord.
In particular which we do we flee. Maybe we have become the leader of a group, or we are the most single-minded person in the crowd. That really is not as outrageous as you might think. So if you are the one everybody is looking to follow, then where do you look for the way to escape?
In Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Here is the way
To have a pure heart. Here is the way to flee. Here is the way to clean up your act.
What does taking heed? It means to pay attention and do it. That is the reason that the first thing Satan does to get the world ready to fall to temptation which comes through what we see and what we hear is to undermine the Word of God. That is how he prepares the ground for temptation so that he can plant the seeds of evil thoughts, evil talk, lust and temptation.
God says in verse 11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” So, God instructs us that the way to keep from sinning against God is to memorize Scripture. We memorize God’s way of escape.
Knowing me, I feel sure that even though I may have memorized the Scripture I need to know the way of escape from some temptation, I would forget the passage when I was under pressure. So God takes that pressure off us by promising to bring to mind the things we memorize when we need them. In John 14:26 God promises, “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” Furthermore, in Proverbs 16:1 God promises, “The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue, is from the LORD.” So if we prepare ourselves by memorizing God’s Words, God promises to bring the verses to mind that He wants you to remember, and then He will give you the answer you need to say.
The next things we must do after we memorize God’s Word, is to think about God’s Word. The third step of sin is to think about evil things, so we counteract that tendency by thinking or meditation upon God’s Word.
So what is the conclusion of this struggle with temptation?
Temptation comes from your own lust through the agents of the world, the flesh and the devil. That is the problem. Lust comes from your own flesh once you have whet the appetite of your flesh by seeing evil things, and hearing evil things. Then the world the flesh ands the devil works on bring and opportunity for to yield to the desires of your flesh.
So the answer to this problem is to run from temptation. How do we do that? We run from temptation by following Scripture, and those who are living and teaching God’s Word.
Dr. Jerry Lloyd
Memory Verse
“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
I Corinthians 10:13
What does God say about the unique temptation that caused you to fall into sin?
“There hath no temptation taken you
but such as is ____________ to man.”
What does God promise concerning temptations?
“Will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are ____ ;
but will with the temptation also make a _____ to escape,
that ye may be ____________ to ___________ it.”
Make no mistake about it. God never promises the strength to overcome temptation. I do not care how strong or close to the Lord you are spiritually; God does not promise the strength to overcome temptation.
What does God promise so we can overcome temptation?
“Will with the temptation also make a _______ to escape.”
If we use His way of escape, what will that accomplish?
“Ye may be able to _____________ it.”
On what does God base this promise? “God is ________ .”
Verse 14 tells us what to do. “My dearly beloved, flee.”
“Wherefore, my dearly beloved, ________________ .”
Memory Verse
“And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.” Genesis 39:12
This is the true story of Joseph’s response when he was confronted by temptation from Potiphar’s wife.
What did Joseph do to overcome this temptation?
“He _____________ his garment in her hand,
and ___________, and got him out.”
Temptation, which is the 6th step of sin after (1) Listening, (2) Looking, (3) Thinking (4) Talking, then (5) Lusting, happens when lust meets opportunity.
Joseph was exposed to the 1st five steps of sin before the temptation presented itself. Even if we violate the first five steps of sin, there is still a way of escape, albeit in Joseph’s case it cost him dearly.
Memory Verse
“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” James 1:14
What is the origin of temptation?
“Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away
Of _______ __________ __________, and enticed.”
Back when I was young there was a comedian that would often use the phrase to excuse his character’s evil doings by saying, “The devil made me do it!”
While the agents that bring the temptation are the world, the flesh, and the devil, and the areas of temptation they use are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life; the origin of our temptation is our own lust.
Remember, once you whet the appetite of the flesh, that lust will always be there. So, run from it!
Memory Verse
“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” I John 2:16
What areas does the world use to tempt us?
“All that is in the world, the _________ of the __________,
and the _______ of the _____, and the _______of _____,
is not of the Father, but is of the world.”
These are the three areas Satan used to tempt Eve, when she and Adam fell; and this is also the three areas Satan used to tempt Jesus. Only, in Jesus case, He did not fall. Besides the fact that Jesus cannot be tempted with sin, it is significant that even God Himself used Scripture to resist the temptation of the devil. Eve, on the other hand added to the Word of God, and then Satan questioned the integrity of God’s Word altogether.
Memory Verse
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
How can we get the devil to flee from us?
“ ________________ the devil, and he will flee from you.”
I heard one Bible teacher accurately and descriptively give the example of “resisting” as when some kids tried to throw him off a dock. He struggled until he could remove himself from the situation.
On the other hand there was another time when a group of kids tried to throw this same fellow into the lake, and he submitted. He did not put up a fight.
When we give in to temptation, we have submitted to Satan. When we obey God’s will as revealed in His Word, we submit ourselves to God.
Memory Verse
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalms 119:11
What must we do to keep from sinning against God?
“Thy word have I ____________ in mine heart.”
That means to memorize Scripture.
God tells us that the way to defeat temptation is to free from temptation according to I Corinthians 10:14, but how can we know the way to flee? When God tells us in I Timothy 2:22 to flee from lusts, He tells us which way to go when He commands, “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
We flee by following “righteousness, faith, charity, peace.” That means, that, as we run, we should run “with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” So, follow those that display righteousness, faith, charity, peace.
Memory Verse
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9
As we run from temptation, what must we use to know the right way to go?
“By taking heed thereto according to thy _____________ .”
What must we do to use the Word of God to deliver us from temptation?
“By taking _____________ thereto according to thy word.”
Many read, study, and memorize God’s Word, but they do not take heed to what God says there. Taking “heed” Simply means to apply its teaching to our lives. So, to cleanse our way, we must apply the teaching of the Word of God to our life.