What Is Temptation?

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What Is Temptation?

Read Matthew 26:41 http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2026:41&version=49;

Everybody experiences temptation. It doesn’t matter how “spiritual” you are or how long you’ve followed Christ. Sometimes, it seems like a faint whisper. Other times, it’s an unbearable shout in your mind. Regardless of how it sounds, you know what it’s like to be tempted. But if someone asked, could you define it?

Temptation is simply an enticement to take a God-given desire beyond God-given boundaries. Many people reject this idea. They refuse to believe their temptation could be even remotely related to God. But think about it: in what ways are you most often tempted? Material possessions? Intimacy? Relationships? Food? These are all things that God not only created, but also uses to bless His people. The problem comes when we take those drives beyond the healthy limits God set.

For example, He created sex for enjoyment within marriage. But this divinely approved desire is horribly corrupted by physical intimacy outside of marriage. In those cases, something the Creator designed for His purposes becomes a source of guilt and shame. That’s not what God intended.

One of Satan’s top strategies is to distort a God-given drive for his own evil purposes. You can short-circuit such an attack by reminding yourself of the origins of this drive and praying for the strength to use those drives for God’s glory.

by Dr Charles Stanley.

[dickb]

Thanks for your article on temptation. And I particularly want to point to the Book of James and its first chapter. Recall that James was the favorite of early AAs. Moreover Dr. Bob stated emphatically that James, the Sermon on the Mount, and 1 Corinthians 13 were absolutely essential to the early program. He also said they felt that the answer to all their problems could be found in the Good Book. To that end, I finally pulled together my title The James Club and the Original A.A. Program's Absolute Essentials which is a verse by verse review of the three Bible segments with particular attention to their location or relevance to the Big Book and Twelve Step ideas.

But the thing that caught my attention most was the first chapter which begins with the topic of temptation. And I believe I now understand the emphasis on James. The chapter begins with enduring temptation (not yielding to it). In other words, the early AAs were required to accept "abstinence" as an absolute--not a drop was to touch their lips. But what of temptation? And that is certainly the great weapon of the Adversary who knows the particular weaknesses of each of us. So he tempts us with pleasure. He tempts us with pressure. He certainly tempts us with sin. And the temptation can be subtle--"just a little bit won't hurt you;" "you probably aren't really an alcoholic or an addict;" "moderation in all things--including overeating;" "It's not the first one that gets you; it's drinking to excess and you don't do that;" "remember all the fun it was;" "remember that old gang of yours;" "just let someone else be the designated driver;" "oh well, one won't hurt." And on and on. Or............. "this is the real key to happiness, the solution to all your worries and frustrations, the answer to stress, the nectar of the gods, the
buzz that really gives you courage and strength and success;" and on and on. Or........ "the answer to your wife, your strife, your employer, your fear, your despair, your loneliness, your depression, your poverty, and all that is to get good and drunk;" and on and on.

Pleasure, pressure, sin......... and death, says James.

But help is on its way say the next few verses: If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not. But ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave tossed by the sea. Let not that dude think he will receive anything. So call God off the bench. He's got lots of ways to defeat the Adversary, temptation, and death. Just take David. He was God's favored kid. Yet there was Goliath. The temptation? Fear. Get the heck out of there. This dude is HUGE. But God provided the answer through word of knowledge and word of wisdom. "Get a slingshot," He proposed. David could have said "yea but." Instead, he got the slingshot and a stone to go with it. "Now aim it at Goliath, and let fly." David could have said: "He's got armor on. And he's strong. And he's gonna come after me with all his might. I'm scared to death; and I'm going to take off." But he believed God. He obeyed God. Fear had no place with the shepherd boy. He fired, and the giant dropped. There's a lesson in why and how to bring God off the bench and into the game.

But wait....as the TV ads say. There's more. Deny and resist the great tempter. The next verses are re-assuring. God doesn't tempt, neither can He be tempted. So what is the problem? The great tempter. If you yield, you are enticed; and sin follows; and then death. "Do not err my beloved brethren," says the Creator. "Be ye doers of the Word, not hearers only."

Wow. And they read the Book of James more often that any. James said: Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Wow. God takes care of the problem if you don't yield, if you reject the temptation, if you tell the Enemy to take a hike, renew your mind with the Word of God, believe it, and stand. Stand. Stand. Don't run. Stand. James continues: Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. You humble turn to Him for help, and He is the divine derrick that pulls you out.

That's my comment on temptation--just one of the many solutions that the Book of James was found to offer to the reader and student.

God Bless, Dick B. dickb@dickb.com; http://www.dickb.com/JamesClub.shtml:29: