It is not a sin to be
tempted.
Temptation
comes our way in all sorts of forms and sizes. Our minds are like a hotel. The
manager cannot keep someone from entering the lobby. However, he can certainly
keep that person from getting a room. Likewise, it is not a sin when a
temptation passes through our mind. The sin comes when it does not do that,
when it doesn’t pass through our mind. The sin comes when we give that thought
a room in our mind and let it dwell there.
One should not
confuse temptations with trials that come our way.
Most
often, trials are allowed, or even sent, by God to cause the Christian to
stand. Temptations are sent from the devil to cause the Christian to stumble.
Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’;
for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each
one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. — James
1:13–14
The devil never made
us do anything. He simply dangles the bait in front of us.
Then we
are tempted; we are “drawn away by [our] own desires and enticed” by that which
is outside the boundaries laid out for us in God’s Word.
Make no
mistake about it: we will be tempted. As long as we are encased in human
flesh, it desires to rebel against what is good and godly. We never have to
teach our children to disobey. They pick right up on it. We have to teach them
to obey. So it is with us and the issue of temptation. It is a reality that is
not going to go away. Consequently, it behooves us to know how to deal with
temptation when it comes.
Some
people live with the erroneous concept that the longer we walk the Christian
path and the deeper we go with God, the less we will be tempted. None of us
will ever arrive at the place when temptation will not be looming before us in
some form or fashion.
Most of
the great heroes of the Bible faced their greatest temptations near the end of their
pilgrimage rather than in the beginning.
This
was certainly true of Moses, Elijah, and David. There is a word of assurance
here for those who may feel a sort of pseudo guilt over being tempted: it is a
reality. “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man.” It
is inevitable. Temptation is “common to man.”
Life
may have its shadows, but one thing is certain: they are never caused by God’s
turning or by His changing. He is faithful.
James
reminded us that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow
of turning” (James 1:17).
God provides a way of
escape for us.
The
word picture here is of a mountain pass. The idea is of an army that is apparently
surrounded, and then suddenly they see an escape route to safety through a
mountain pass.
None of
us needs to succumb to the temptations that come our way. Jesus will make a way
of escape. Many who have fallen into sin did so willfully because they refused
to take the path of escape that the Lord put before them.
You
say, “I am tempted.” The Lord says, “What else is new? I, too, was tempted in all points as
you, yet I was without sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus taught us how
to overcome our temptation.
For
forty days He was tempted by the devil in the wilderness of Judea. On each
occurrence, Jesus overcame by quoting Scripture.
The
Word, hidden in our hearts, will also keep us from sin when applied by faith to
our lives.
We
should not be surprised when temptation comes our way. It is, after all,
“common to man.” But Christ Himself is our way of escape. And one thing can
certainly be said of Him — “He is faithful.”
Meditate
on the words of James:
Blessed
is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will
receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. — James 1:12
* * *
Your Turn
Have
you ever felt guilty for being tempted? Have you ever felt as though after
years of walking with Christ you should not be tempted any more? Does your
spirit feel cautioned at the reminder that so many of the Bible heroes faced
their greatest temptations near the end? Spend some time with God today and ask
Him what areas of your life you need to be particularly careful about, especially
conscientious.
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