Dealing With Temptation

What is temptation?

From the Greek (peirazo) To try or prove by solicitation to sin.

From Webster’s: To entice or allure to do something often regarded as unwise, wrong or immoral.

What is the difference between a trial and a temptation?

A trial comes from without, temptation comes from within.
Temptation does not come from God but from our own desires.
What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil

thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander,

arrogance and folly (Mark 7:20-22)

When tempted no man can say “God tempted me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does He
tempt anyone; but each one is tempted, when, by his own evil desire, he is drawn away and
enticed.(James 1:13-14)

What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within

you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.
You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not
receive, because you ask with wrong motives that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (Ja.

4:1-3)

Our focus is critical. Focusing on the earthly instead of the spiritual invites temptation (Ro. 6:8-13,

Col. 3:1-4, Matt. 6:19-24, 19:16-22, Luke 12:13-15, 10:38-42, Gal. 5:16-17, 1 John 2:15, James 4:4)

Three Types of Temptation

(Matt. 4:1-11 and Luke 4:1-13 the temptation of Jesus, 1 John 2:16)

1. Lusts of the flesh

Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, when it is full-grown, its , it gives birth

to death.” (James 1:15)

2. Lust of the eyes (Gen 3:6, Eve)

(Lot’s land choice, Gen. 13:5-13, David watches Bathsheba, 2Sam. 11:2-5)

3. Pride of life

The temptation to rely on your own power vs. on God

When a hungry, fasting Jesus was encouraged by Satan to turn stones into bread he
declined and instead quoted from Deut. 8:3, “He humbled you, causing you to hunger
and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor fathers had known, to teach
you that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the
mouth of the Lord.”