We live in a world where there are a lot of things that try to get us [to sin]. We talked about it a little bit this morning, how the world tries to influence us to do that which is evil. And so, we live in this world and there is a lot in this world that is very alluring. They're designed really to draw us away from God, to seduce us away from God. And so, how do we deal with temptation when it comes?
One of the great, most beautiful, thoughts in the Bible is our relationship with God and His Word and the way it expresses the relationship, our relationship, with God as a Father who chastens His children.
- Hebrews 12:9-10
- 2 Peter 1:4
When you think about this, we have escaped. Keep that word, escape, in mind. It comes from the Greek word apopheugō. My favorite Greek word by far is Pheugō, translated as to flee or flee from. And so they have fled from the corruption that is in the world through lust.
"By availing themselves of these precious and exceeding great promises, they're privileged to share in the divine nature, the holy character that God possesses." — Guy N. Woods
And so, God, as a Father chastens us unto holiness, and we have escaped from the lust of the world with the promises of God. Now, along with these thoughts, there is the haunting awareness, though, of the corruption that is in the world through lust from which we have once escaped. And the awareness of this corruption can take us again captive through lust.
- 2 Peter 2:18, 20
The thought is that those who have clean escaped from those that live in error, those who have escaped from the sin that is in this world can somehow be brought back into it and entangled once again. And, the idea there is like a fish caught in a net, entangled therein and overcome. The latter end is worse than the beginning. And so, you know, there's a great contrast here between standing with God in holiness and you know, that self-inflicted fall into corruption.
What a contrast, a contrast that couldn't be more vivid to go from blessedness to corruption. How can this take place? How does this happen?
In view of this, we consider that we can enter in and bring about the sharp division between good and evil.
Temptation and Sin
The Language of Temptation
I want us to talk about temptation and sin, especially the language of temptation. In the New Testament, there are two Greek words and their derivatives, which are the primary ones to consider concerning temptation.
peirazō - it came from a word that means, means to search into then to attempt a certain thing. Later it came to signify trying something with intention, and finally, it came to mean what it means most often in the New Testament, to tempt with a view that one will fall into sin against God.
Now applied most often in the New Testament, though, is the idea of bringing us into sin.
"Putting to the test with the intention and the desire that the prude may turn, may not turn out up, approve, but reprobates and breakdown under the test. Consequently, it is applied to the solicitations and suggestions of Satan that are always made with a malicious hope." — RC Trench
- 1 Corinthians 7:5
- Revelation 2:10
So again, the devil tempts us. He puts us in situations where we're tempted to go back from following Christ. Satan is called the tempter. And he always reveals himself as such.
- Matthew 4:3
And so there is that word, peirazō, most often translated, as temptation.
dokimazō - the idea comes from the smelting of metal.
And the New Testament has the thought of subjecting the heat, as in, melting into trial in religious topics. So that what is tried is of a genuine nature. It's like how you would know the purity of a sample of gold is tested. You would melt it and see what impurities were there to find out if it was pure gold.
"The ore is thrown into the refining pot in the expectation that though it may be mingled with dross, it is not all draws and some good purified metal will emerge from the fiery trial and the test that God brings as the refiner of his church. His intention is not to find his saints pure gold, but to make them pure gold by purging out their dross. He is the God who tests our hearts." — R.C. Trench
That goes along with the idea of the chastening of the Lord. It is brought about to bring us to holiness, to purify us.
Now that word, dokimazō, and the other Greek word, peirazō, both of the roots behind those words are found in James chapter one.
- James 1:12
- 2 Corinthians 13:5
In other words, look into yourself. See what's there. Consider yourself. Examine yourself, whether you be in the faith, or prove your own faith. And, there is the second word there, dokimazō, to prove your own faith. Put it to the test. Prove your own selves.
And that word reprobate is the word dokimazō negated, is adokimos. That's the opposite of passing the test. That's failing the test, in other words. And so, we've got to put ourselves to the. To make sure that we are in the faith, otherwise, we might fail the test. And that's the point.
What is the Source of Temptation?
What is the birth of sin?
- James 1:12-16
Satan seeks to test God's people hoping that they will forsake God and become submissive to his ways. James provides a most striking discussion of how temptation operates.
"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:" — James 1:13
God does not tempt anyone with a view of his doing sin. God does put us to the test. He does apply the dokimazō to us, and, and He puts us to the test. He refines us in that way. But He does not tempt us to do evil. There's nothing more emphatic that could be said that God cannot tempt us to do evil. He's not tempted and He will not tempt.
Wherever temptation comes from, it does not come from God. And so, verse 14 tells us where it does come from.
You know, the earliest stirrings that lead the sin arise from our own lust. You know, in contrast to verse 13, he says, "but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed."
This word here, drawn away, means to draw out metaphorically, to lure forth as in hunting and fishing a game. As the game is lured from its hiding place. So man by lure is allured from the safety of self-restraint to sin.
- James 1:14
"[James 1:14...] The language of hunting seems to be transferred here to the seductions of a harlot, personated." — Thayer's Greek Lexicon
The Devil tries to lure us into sin using our own lusts as bait.
- Mark 4:18-19
Here is a picture of one who has heard the gospel. It's been implanted in their heart, and, and they have become a Christian, but over time they're choked out by the cares and the lusts of other things. The cares of this world, we all have those. You know, we all have a job. We all, need to make payments. We need to eat. We need to have a place to live. The cares of the world, though, aren't necessarily evil things.
The lust for other things depends on what we're lusting after, I suppose. But, when they replace our love for God, then we're choked and become unfruitful.
- 2 peter 1:4
What does lust bring? It brings corruption, when we give into that lust,
The passing of time though comes to a point.
"Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." — James 1:15
The birth of sin is clear. Temptations born out of our own lust, coupled with our embracing of those lusts give birth to sin.
It's not a sin to face temptation. We are to face temptation.
- James 1:12
Being tempted is not a sin. Giving in and acting upon that lust and that desire, that's where it becomes a sin. That's when lust conceives and brings forth that evil child, so to speak, of sin. Sin when it is finished, and that word really carries the idea of finished off, it's done its part, it's done what it's supposed to do is used figuratively and passively of something that has completed its action, runs its course, reached a final stage. What began as a desire has now caused the one misled by Satan into failing to hit the mark set for moral conduct by God for His people, which is the essence of sin.
"The picture in James is that of an abnormal birth, like a misshapen animal. He says, I myself have seen a five-legged cow, the fifth leg on the top of the back, standing straight up. When sin is born, death begins at conception and grows in fascinating power till a new birth comes. And lo, this child is death itself. The birth of death follows of necessity when one's death is fully formed for sin from its first beginning carries death within it." — A.T. Robertson
Think about the picture we see here, giving birth, that lust coupled with action, to sinful action, giving birth to this unholy thing, this abnormal thing, this misshapen thing, this thing called sin that will destroy us carrying death within it.
If one assumes the understanding of imagery here in these verses is sexual in nature, the following thought deserves careful consideration also.
"Before one allows sin to develop, the power of temptation is such that unless a stake is driven into its heart immediately, it may well overwhelm us; kings have renounced their thrones, saints their gods, and spouses their lifetime partners. People have been known to sell their souls, jobs, reputation, children, and marriages. They have literally chucked everything for a brief moment of sexual pleasure." — Wade Webster
How Do We Overcome Temptation?
How do we put this together and how do we overcome this temptation? How do we prevent ourselves from being drawn away by our own lust and enticed into sin? You think about the picture where that results from allowing Satan to pull us away from God to corrupt us once more.
How can temptation be overcome? You know, there there's not a quick and easy answer. Nothing that is easy, will suffice.
God Provides a Way of Escape from Temptation
As with all spiritual questions, we've got to turn and find the answers in God's word.
- 1 Corinthians 10:12-14
Notice here he says that, that there's no temptation that you're gonna face that's not common to everyone. All people are tempted. Everyone faces this temptation. God knows that. He knows we're gonna face that temptation and He's faithful. He's going to provide a way of escape.
You know the word, translated as, way of escape, comes from the Greek word ekbasis, which comes from the Greek root word basis, meaning to walk, and ek means out from or out of. And so, literally, God will provide a way to walk out from the temptation, to walk away from it.
That way of escape may only appear once, and then only briefly. So don't hesitate to walk away. That's why he says in verse 14, flee from it. The temptation is a temptation into idolatry. You know, you think about this world and everything in it is an idol, if we let it be, the Chiefs can be an idol, we know that. The Kansas City Royals can be an idol. The Dallas Cowboys can be an idol. If it replaces our love for God, if it comes between us and God.
God's going to give us that way to escape if we choose to take it. But the word here, flee, I love this word. My favorite Greek word is Pheugō. You know, it just sounds like something that emphatic, pheugō, get out of here. Flee. Run away. That's what it means to flee away, to seek safety by flight, to be saved by flight, to escape safely out of danger.
I made up this little point a long time ago about Joseph. When temptation reared its ugly head, Joseph shed his coat and fled.
He ran away from that temptation. He didn't stick around and listen anymore. He put up with it for a while with Potiphar's wife. But when the time come to get out, he ran away. He didn't care what would happen to him afterward.
- 2 Timothy 2:22
That's part of why we examine ourselves, whether we're in the faith. Part of examining ourselves is to know and identify what we are tempted with. There are things that may tempt you, that don't tempt me at all, and there may be things that tempt me that are not a temptation to you.
We need to know what tempts us because I know who does know. The Devil knows what tempts us. We need to identify that. We need to know what it is. So that we can flee from it when we see that situation start to come up. Get away from it, run away, flee.
And so you know, God's going to provide that way because we have free will. He's given us free will and no one can force us against our will to turn on Him. Now they can kill us if we don't. And they can put us in a situation to give us that temptation where we might. You know, somebody might put a gun to my head and say, denounce Christ, or I'm pulling this trigger. You know, there's gonna be some temptation right there.
A way of escape may not be to live on this earth anymore. A way of escape may be, you know, my free will, I'm not giving in. I'm not giving an inch. And the next thing I know, I might be in Paradise.
That's the plan anyway. And so, another thing we need to consider, is we read it. That's why I wanted to start with verse 12.
- 1 Corinthians 10:12
You know the thought that is in our mind, preceding the temptation is of major importance. The word thinketh indicates an ongoing, however, an ill-placed idea that one is too spiritually strong to fall victim to sin.
I've heard people make a foolish statement like that, that they could go and be in the presence of naked women, be in places where people were drinking, and partying, and not be affected in any. Foolishness! Absolute foolishness!
Scripture Teaches How to Turn Away from Temptation
The way out of temptation I think could also be when we recall Jesus' victory over the tempter. What did He say? Every time to every temptation He said, it is written twice.
The Devil used scripture, twisted it, and perverted it. And, Jesus overcame the temptation, It is written. You know, remembering that the Lord was tempted in all points, such as we are, yet without sin, helps us also.
Also, the thought that we're going to reap what we sow.
- Galatians 6:7-8
And so, you know, it helps me to be faithful. It helps me to overcome temptation knowing that have I sow to the flesh, I am of the flesh going to reap corruption.
- Psalms 119:11
- 1 Corinthians 10:12
If you think, like verse 12, that you stand, take heed lest you may fall. Don't be arrogant and think that you've got it all figured out. You know, it takes humility, to understand that I am susceptible to sin. It takes humility to admit it to myself, to others, and to admit it to God. We've gotta be humble enough to recognize our own sins, to recognize the things that allure and entice to sin, and to stay away from those things that allure and entice. We've got to recognize when we do sin that we've gotta repent and turn back.
Jesus said you're gonna face temptation. You're gonna face trials, is what He told them there in Revelation two, and in verse 10, he says, "But be thou faithful unto death and I will give thee a crown of life."
You know, temptation may seem like something that you just can't overcome. There may be people in the world that, when they think about it, their idea of Heaven, just is may be insufficient. They don't recognize how great and wonderful it's going to be and they think it can't beat whatever these 10 minutes of temptation that I'm gonna give into, whatever that's going to bring me, can't be topped by Heaven. They don't understand what Heaven's about. We understand what it means to enter thou into the joy of the Lord and live there eternally than anything in this world, no matter how tempting it may seem. We know as Moses recognized when he left Egypt, you know, not willing to [enjoy the pleasure of sin for a season]. But was willing rather suffer with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin, which are but for a season. Heaven is so much greater than anything that we could be tempted to do on Earth. So let us not do anything to turn to be turned away from God, to be turned away from our course.
Perhaps you have never obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ. You have not escaped the pollutions that are in the world through lust. You need to escape. Jesus Christ died so that you can, He shed his blood to wash away your sins. If you have not obeyed Christ, we urge you to put on Christ in baptism.
If we can help you to become a faithful follower of Christ, please contact us.
