Three Secrets About TemptationsSýnishorn

Temptations are never unique just to you but are common to everyone.

1 Corinthians 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man”

After one men’s meeting when I was speaking about personal holiness especially in sexual areas, a young man approached me, obviously under conviction.  He whispered he needed to break free from his immoral lifestyle but just couldn’t.  He shared that he was living with a woman at the present and had slept around with others. I asked him why he didn’t choose to stop his immoral lifestyle and he said he wished he could but he just felt powerless in the face of his powerful sexual temptations. 

I nodded my head and smiled, “Your sex drive must be really strong.” His face lit up, “Well, I’m glad you understand. My sex drive is so unbelievably powerful that my temptations overpower me.”

I nodded, “Your sex drive is probably many times larger than the normal man’s, isn’t it?”  He blushed sheepishly and nodded in quick agreement. Finally, it appeared, he had found someone who understood—his sin wasn’t really his fault—it was those giant, overpowering temptations that were unique to him. 

I asked him if it would make any difference to him if those giant, massive temptations were brought down to normal size, like those a normal man might face. “Wow!” he exclaimed, “I’d give anything to have normal temptations. Why I’d finally be able to say ‘no’ and stop.” 

Then I turned and scanned the audience, “So, if your temptations were the more common size like Chuck’s or Bob’s or Forest’s what would you do?”  He brightened and replied, “Well, I’d move out from my girlfriend’s today and stop being immoral.” It was obvious that he knew no one could fix his problem—he was trapped, without hope. It wasn’t really his problem because God unfortunately gave him such a powerful sex drive.  

So, I turned in my Bible to this verse, 1 Corinthians 10:13 and had him read it out loud. When he came to this phrase ...

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man

... he almost choked on the words.  I quietly said, “Your temptations are not unusual or stronger than anyone else’s—they are the garden-variety of temptations present in every man’s life.” 

He had bought into the lie that his temptations were not common but unique, far larger than anyone else’s. But, the Bible revealed they weren’t.  I pointed to some of my friends who had shared some of their sexual temptations with me and said, “each man has the same temptations as you do—only they said ‘no’ and you said ‘yes.’”  

This illustration provides a clear explanation why we have a session just focused on the truth about our temptations—because all of us can become self-deceived about our temptations and believe that they become so powerful that we cannot help but sin. Never forget, the Bible clearly states that your temptations are the same as everyone else—they are common to everyone!

1 Corinthians 10:13 states that every one of our temptations are experienced by every other member of the human race. The Greek word anthropinos simply means “after the manner of mankind” or “of human nature.”  James 3:7 uses the same word:  

 For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  

This truth is further underscored by Hebrews 4:15:  

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  

Because Jesus was fully a man, he experienced the same temptations that all people face.  

Therefore, never again buy into one of the universal traps set by the temptation horde. Your temptations are not unique but just like everyone else in the world.  You can choose, however, to weaken your resolve by repeatedly choosing to sin in any given area—but the basic temptation is the same as everyone else.