Understanding Temptation

In this Plan we will study how we can overcome temptation – it’s a thrilling and exciting part of our discipleship.

Paul does not back-peddle or hesitate when describing our place in Christ in Romans 8. He is clear; not only ‘is there now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus’, 8:1, (and v33-34), but through Christ’s death and the gift of the Spirit, ‘the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit’ 8:4.

Then he goes on to state; ‘But if by the Spirit you put to death the desires of the sinful nature, you will live for those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God’ Romans 8:13-14

To understand this we need to begin by thinking carefully; what is temptation? What exactly is sin?

Let’s start with temptation.

James describes our common human experience at the beginning of his letter;

‘But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death’ James 1:14-15

Look at this process. Temptation begins with a desire - an evil desire, perhaps a desire to wish harm on someone, or to hate them, or to distort the truth, or to take something that you want that doesn’t belong to you. As we dwell on the desire and nurse it, it begins to take hold of us. This can happen instantly, as happens in an argument, or it can form and grow slowly, step by step perhaps over months and years. Then the desire starts to become a substantial force in our lives, something we reflect on and pursue and revisit.

And then one day we act on it. We lose our tempers, we tell a lie, we gossip maliciously about someone, or we act on sexual desire and go beyond what God has prescribed, or we take what does not belong to us. We allow jealousy envy or hatred to drive what we do. When we act and follow through on an evil desire then we sin. Sin leads to death; death in the spiritual life, death in our souls, and death in our bodies.

Now it’s absolutely imperative to understand that temptation is not sin. Hebrews 4:15 tells us that when Jesus lived on earth he was ‘tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin. And, ‘because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he can help those who are tempted’ Hebrews 2:18.

We’ll study what sin is, but as we start this plan let’s think about how temptation works in our own lives. Think about an area of your life where you know you are vulnerable to temptation. What are the things that cause you to be tempted? Think about how you first feel when temptation comes. Are there other areas in your life where you know you are vulnerable to doing what Jesus doesn’t want?

The good news is that in Christ there is a way to overcome temptation.