LESSON
29
Overcoming Temptation
Many Christians love
God, pray and read the Word, but still struggle with the temptation to sin. Over the next four lessons
we are going to deal with overcoming temptation. We will look at the seven lies the devil uses
to cause us to fall into temptation. We
will also look at seven keys to winning the victory over temptation.
7
LIES OF THE DEVIL THAT KEEP US BOUND UP AND STUMBLING WHEN TEMPTATION COMES
1.) "I can't resist it."
2.) "The devil made me do it."
3.) "As long as I'm in the flesh, I'm going to sin."
4.) "It came upon me all of a sudden."
5.) "I didn't want to do it."
6.) "I've already sinned this far, I might as well go all the way."
7.) "I'm too old, young, poor, weak, rich, white, black....." You have excuses.
Everyone of us deals
with temptation. Your spirituality is
not measured by your temptations, or lack thereof. Many Christians believe that if you read the
Word enough, or pray enough, or grow to a point of spiritual maturity, that you
will not have to face temptation any more.
This is not the case. Every one
of us will be tempted until we die.
Jesus Himself was tempted.
Heb. 4:15 For
we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as [we
are, yet] without sin.
Temptation is not always
going to be this simple, easy thing. Because
you have grown or matured in the Lord does not mean that the temptations will
get less powerful. Jesus had to deal
with intense temptation throughout His life and especially at the point of His
death.
Heb. 2:17-18 (amp.) So
it is evident that it was essential that He be made like His brethren in every
respect, in order that He might become a merciful (sympathetic) and faithful
High Priest in the things related to God, to make atonement and propitiation
for the people’s sins. For because
He Himself [in His humanity] has suffered in being tempted (tested and tried),
He is able (immediately) to run to the cry of (assist, relieve) those who are
being tempted and tested and tried [and who therefore are being exposed to
suffering].
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There is a suffering
with temptation. Ed Cole says it this
way, "The suffering or torment of the temptation of sin, is nothing in
comparison to the torment of the consequences of sin." Jesus suffered while being tempted. Therefore, He is able to run to our cry and assist us in our suffering through
temptation.
John 8:31-32 Jesus
therefore said to those Jews that had believed Him, "If ye abide in My
word, [then] are ye truly My disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and
the truth shall make you free."
Truth will make you
free. Lies, fallacies or myths will keep
you in bondage. For example, there are
people today in the church who do not know that Jesus will heal their physical
body. They know that He has the power to
do it, but they doubt whether or not God is willing to heal them.
Isa. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with
His stripes we are healed.
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When circumstances come
to those people's lives, they have nowhere to turn except to the medical
profession for healing in their bodies.
When the medical profession says they are going to die, they will die
because they believed a myth that God won't heal them.
Since believing a myth
or lie causes us not to enter into
truth, we must expose the lies and myths of the devil. Let’s look at seven myths about temptation
that can cause us to lose the victory over temptation.
MYTH #1 - "I can't resist it."
1 Cor.
10:13 There hath no temptation
taken you but such as man can bear: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation make also
the way of escape, that ye may be able to endure it.
God will not allow you
to be tempted beyond what you can resist.
God knows where you are at in your spiritual walk. He always provides a way out for you.
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MYTH #2 - "The devil made
me do it."
We may not say it in
that way. We say things like:
"There have been demon spirits tormenting me and they are just too
strong." or "I was doing fine
until some witches cast a spell on me."
They are just creative ways of blaming the devil for your sin.
The devil can't make you
do a thing! The devil is not stronger
than you.
1 John 4:4 Ye
are of God, [my] little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is He that is in you than he that is in the world.
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MYTH #3 - "As long as I'm in the flesh, I'm going to sin."
The Bible clearly
declares that we are free from the power of the sin nature. Never in scriptures does it ever say a
Christian still has a carnal nature. Now
it does say that we can live carnally, but that is totally different from
having a nature that has you bound till the day you die. The sin nature was crucified at the
cross. When we are born again that sin
nature in us is also crucified.
Therefore we are not to walk after the flesh.
Let me take you into
Romans 7 to show you beyond a doubt that Paul, in these famous verses was not
talking about his Christian experience.
He was describing his experience with God’s word before he was born
again.
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Paul here begins to set
a very detailed stream of thought.
Remember that context is everything in interpreting scripture. Paul has just finished stating repeatedly and
in various forms that we are not under the control of the sin nature
anymore. Now he is going to deal with
the work and effect of the law. He will
go into 3 separate examples to show the distinction between those who try to
serve God by the law and those who have tapped into the power of the grace of
God. Keep in mind these are before and
after examples.
In this first example he
compares the law/grace relationship to a marriage contract. He states that when we accept Christ we’ve
been freed from the old and can move into the new.
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Notice the phrase “when
we were in the flesh.” It is passed
tense. Speaking of a time gone by. Then he states, “but now...” indicating the
present. This is the second time in
chapter 7 he does a before and after statement.
As we begin to look at
the rest of chapter 7 keep in mind this before and after stream Paul has set.
First, notice that twice
Paul says , “I had...”, again past tense.
He is clearly speaking of a former event. Paul said that he would not have known sin
except he had heard the command. He is
speaking of a time when he became aware of the commands of God. This of course would be while he was a
child. Look at this next group of
scriptures.
Rom. 7:9 For I
was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and
I died.
He states that once he
was alive without the law. The only
time we can find that someone is without the law, is when they are young and
are not able to understand.
Rom.
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Paul was not under the law
until he was old enough to be held accountable to it.
He then says...”but when the commandment came”. When did the
commandment COME? When he first was
taught it and could understand.
“...sin revived, and I died”. The sin
nature in him, which was there from conception finally had it’s opportunity and
came alive in him, then he died spiritually.
Now some will say that
the phrase “sin revived” proves that it had been alive in him before, then he
got saved, and then it came back. Even
though this is one of the two ways you can interpret these words it doesn’t
line up with the next three words.
... and I died...
No where in scripture
does it ever say that a born again believer dies every time he sins. If this was the case we would keep having to
be born again. A born again believer
doesn’t die when he sins. Paul is
clearly speaking of his experience as a child.
He then proceeds to talk
about the total futility of his life as a Pharisee; one who is dogmatic for the
law, yet incapable of truly fulfilling it.
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The law mentioned here
in verse 23 is the law of his mind (intellect), not the law of the spirit.
Paul’s struggle was that
which was found by all who would follow the law. He wanted to obey God but couldn’t. But he cries out...I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Because he has been
freed from this struggle and he tells us about his life in Christ in chapter
8. Remember the before and after stream
Paul was setting. Well Romans 7:7-23 was
before Christ and Romans 8 is after.
Here he makes the
glorious declaration that we are free.
We have been freed from the sin nature.
Rom. 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that
it was weak through the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh.
Jesus Christ paid the
price and did what the law couldn’t do.
He didn’t just forgive us for our sins. He freed us from the nature that
entered into man with the original sin.
Paul then makes this
unbelievable statement....
Rom. 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
The amplified Bible says “that the righteous requirements of the law
might be fulfilled...”
Paul is saying that the
righteousness the law required but was
unable to produce in us, Jesus has fulfilled.
There is no carnal
nature in a born again believer that keeps us bound up so we must sin. So if
you are a born again believer you are not bound by the flesh.
So then why do we still
sin? We still have a free will! But as Christians, sin is now a matter of
choice not a matter of nature.
In Review:
1. Who
is tempted?
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2.. How long will we be tempted?
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3. How do we know that we can resist
temptation?
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4. Can
the devil make you sin?
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5. When
is a person no longer a slave to the sin nature?
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6. Since
we are free from the sin nature as Christians, why do we still sin?
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