COPING WITH TEMPTATION
COPING WITH TEMPTATION
Virgil Warren, PhD
INTRODUCTION
A. One of the first things in the Bible is Satan’s temptation of Adam and Eve. The first thing in Christ’s life after his baptism by John was his temptation by Satan as he was entering upon his role as Messiah. Note three parallel biblical segments:
Genesis 3:6 good for food delight to eyes make a person wise
Jesus’ temptation stones to bread kingdoms of world cast yourself down
1 John 2:16 lust of flesh lust of eyes pride of life
B. Different usages of the term temptation
1. Test
2. Lure (objective)
3. Be drawn (subjective)
C. God allows temptation.
1. Not something that happens because matters are out of control
2. Not something to destroy us but to let us grow in ways we would not grow
without the challenge of opposition
3. Not able to blame God for it; we take responsibility for temptation
.
I. SOURCES OF TEMPTATION TO SIN
The sources of sin are sufficient to yield the practical result that everybody sins:
Romans 3:23.
A. Bodily drives
There is nothing wrong with the drives themselves, but we are tempted to fulfill
them in excess or in the wrong way.
B. Social existence
1. Sinful example
2. Misunderstood good example
3. Social pressure
4. Social reinforcement
In the cases of bodily drives and social existence, previous failure
compounds the pull of present temptation.
C. Ignorance
1. Lack of knowledge
2. Viewpoint of consciousness
We see the world from our own eyes without thinking how it looks from another person’s perspective; so we act without thinking—or perhaps believing—our actions affect others that they do.
3. God’s invisibility
With all these sources of temptation, we can be sure that we all fall from time to time.
II. PROCESS OF TEMPTATION
James 1:12-15
Temptation . . .
A. comes from us as well as to us. SUBJECTIVE COMPONENT
Much of what temptation is we bring to the temptation situation.
Beauty (and lust) is in the eye of the beholder; hence, it is not just what is there,
but how we look at it.
Temptation is temptation because of the certain inclination we feel toward what
the lure calls on us to do.
B. gets worse the more we yield to it. LAW OF DIMISHING RETURNS
Yielding to temptation increases the power of temptations.
Instead of increasing satisfaction, it increases desire.
C. occurs in the interaction of all aspects of ourselves and our associations.
LAW OF INTERDEPENDENCY
When we yield to one kind of temptation, we tend to yield to others. The
weakening of the will becomes a generalized habit.
Inappropriate ways of dealing with temptation
asceticism: deprivation and abuse of the body (Stoicism)
antinomianism: satiation of the body (hedonism)
Both derive from Greek dualism.
III. COUNTERACTING TEMPTATION TO SIN
PRIMARY FORMULA: PREVENTION
Dealing with the problem ahead of time.
Dealing with the problem before we get in its “force field.”
Prevention is easier than cure.
A. Practicing avoidance (Proverbs 4:14-15)
To prove ourselves strong, we mistakenly see how close we can get. To minimize differences from the world, we can try too hard to get into the world’s mix. We try to stay as close as we can to the unchristian things around us because we do not want to be noticed, singled out, to stick out in the eyes of peers. Sometimes we want to try to get in on a little of the fun without getting hurt by the consequences.
Removing ourselves.
Removing the temptation.
1. Staying away from evil people: 1 Corinthians 15:33 (Proverbs 1:15; 4:14-
15)
2. Staying out of situations we cannot handle or function in ethically: John 18:12-24 (Luke 22:54-62): “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14).
3. Making a covenant with our eyes: Job 31:1
4. Not pursuing goals that implicate us in unwholesome activities: 1 Timothy
6:9.
Using space and time to control the impact of temptation.
B. Substituting alternatives
Sin has many characteristics of habit;
overcoming sin is comparable to breaking a habit;
the best way to break a habit is to substitute an alternative.
1. Meeting the drives of the body in acceptable ways
God has not given us any needs that he has not also given us wholesome
ways to provide for.
a. Sex drive: 1 Corinthians 7:2
b. Hunger: Genesis 3
2. Keeping busy
The idle mind is the devil’s workshop: 1 Timothy 5:13-15.
Not having enough to do can degenerate into seeking pleasure to make life interesting.
C. Building strength
1. Practicing the spiritual exercises. Prepare the inner man for
temptation from the outside.
a. Prayer: Matthew 26:41; 6:13; Luke 11:4
b. Bible reading (for conviction and devotion) These collectively
increase God-
c. Fasting (for desensitizing drives) consciousness.
d. Meditation
e. Communion
f. Fellowship: Hebrews 10:24-25
"Practice the presence" (Hebrews 4:16). "Temptations lose their power
when you are near."
2. Trusting God
God is allowing this for our growth: 1 Corinthians 10:13.
3. Remembering who we are
We wear the name of Christ.
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife: Genesis 39:6-9.
4. Considering consequences.
Doing an action tends toward its recurrence.
a. Remembering that sin has consequences
(1) adds the pull of past failure on the power of present lure
(Hebrews 4:15) so temptation returns sooner, easier, and
more forcefully.
(2) hardens the heart (Hebrews 3:13)
(3) Thinking what a sin destroys: family, our own body/mind
b. Remembering the effects of righteousness
(1) “Resist the devil and he will flee.” (James 4:7).
Getting started is half the battle.
(2) Breaking the habit of living by impulses
(3) Opting for delayed gratification
5. Practicing the exercise of the will
Fasting, for example, provides an opportunity for using the will in a
tangible, down-to-earth experience.
Discipline does not mean not doing what we want to do or doing what we do not want to do; instead, it means taking charge of our life. It means, for example, not being led around by our stomach.
Exercising the will meets the “call to decision”; it means authentic
existence.
Doing shapes wanting shapes willing shapes doing.
Physical exercise strengthens our resolve not to let the body tell us what to
do and how hard to work.
6. Rewarding ourselves when we overcome sin
We can use a kind of behavior modification technique on ourselves.
7. Involving other people
Not only in fellowship that strengthens, but in having them monitor us:
Hebrews 3:13; 10:24.
8. Consolidating our problems by doing everything “as to the Lord”
Dealing collectively rather than individually,
All our difficulties directly relate to the Lordship of Christ.
9. Recognizing our responsibility to help other people
We help ourselves indirectly by helping others.
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