Everyday Christianity: Testing (2)
Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10.12, 13
Count on it
Today, as you prepare to launch out on your mission, into your calling, make sure you are prepared to deal with temptation.
German evangelical theologian Helmust Thielicke wrote, “To be in temptation means to be constantly in the situation of wanting to be untrue to God. It means being constantly on the point of freeing ourselves from God” (Between God and Satan). Thielicke reminds us that temptation is constant. The devil or one of his minions are always whispering to us, “Yea, hath God said?” Temptation engages our desires. What do we want? What will we choose? Which do we love the most, God or sin? And temptation can lead us into a condition of “freeing ourselves from God” and thus being untrue to Him.
Martin Luther is reported to have said concerning temptation, “You can’t stop the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair.” We don’t have to give in to temptation. God has promised that, with every temptation, there is a way to escape it. Temptation will come at us today, as every day, to divert us from our calling, hinder our mission, becloud our focus, distract us from the path of righteousness, and make a mockery of our faith in the Lord.
Temptation can take many forms. Stretch the truth a bit here? Gossip about someone? Become unreasonably angry? Cut a moral corner? Lust for more things? Ignore your spouse?
Count on it: You will be tempted today and every day of your Christian life. We’d better prepare for temptation, therefore, before we get too far into the day.
How can we do that?
Recognize temptations
Most important in dealing with temptation is recognizing it as such. And the way to do that is to make sure we are feeding on God’s Word daily, beginning with and including His Law.
Paul said he would never have known sin unless the Law of God had revealed it to him (Rom. 7.7). The psalmist said that one sure way of keeping free of sin and steady on the path of God is to hide His Word in our heart, that is, that to make God’s Law—and all His Word—our guiding desire (Ps. 119.9-11). If we will begin each day joining with the psalmist, “With my whole heart I have sought you” (Ps. 119.10), then the truth and will of God will be lively and powerful in our soul to enable us to recognize temptation in all its forms and deal with effectively (Heb. 4.12).
These days it is fashionable in some Christian circles to downplay the importance of God’s Law. We often find, in those same circles, an unspoken practice of downplaying sin. This is to make of our souls a playground for the devil, where we either fail to recognize temptation when it confronts us, coaxing us to indulge, or we don’t consider sin all that important, We all sin anyway, right? And, hey, Jesus forgives us. What’s the big deal?
Sheep or goats, that’s the big deal (Matt. 25.31-46).
We cannot recognize error unless we are grounded in truth. The commandments of God, and all the ways those are illustrated and enlarged upon throughout Scripture, are the sure foundation on which we will be able to recognize temptation as it attempts a landing in our hair.
But then what?
Fall in or grow through
Every kind of test is from the Lord. He allows us to undergo temptation to test the mettle of our soul and help us continue forward toward Jesus. When temptation comes, we have a choice to make. The more we make the right choice, the easier it will be to deal with temptation at every turn.
When we find ourselves in temptation, we will either fall through it into sin or grow through it into a greater measure of sanctification and Christlikeness. Obviously, every day we will want to choose the growth path. To do so, we must discover the way of escape through temptation that leads to growing closer to Jesus.
The psalmist Asaph shows us the ways of escape that are available to us when temptation comes (Ps. 73). Asaph was faced with the temptation of covetousness, and he was just about ready to indulge himself when he turned to the ways of escape. First, he remembered that sin not only offends God, it betrays your Christian friends (v. 15). Our friends need us to be faithful in our walk with the Lord so that we can help and encourage them. Sin makes us weaker for them, not stronger.
Second, Asaph came before the Presence of God and there, third, remembered the long-term consequences of sin (vv. 16-20). Fourth, he repented even of considering sin and remembered how weak he was in heart and mind (vv. 21, 22), so that, fifth and sixth, he clung to the Presence of the Lord, drawing on His strength and renewing his devotion to and trust in the Lord (vv. 25-28).
These same ways of escape through temptation are available to us. Let us learn to use them skillfully so that every temptation may prove an opportunity to know more of the Presence of the Lord and to grow in the likeness of Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 3.12-18).
For reflection or discussion
1. Why is temptation so constant a test for us? Why can’t we just not be tempted to sin?
2. Obviously, prayer is important in dealing with temptation. Write a prayer to get you started dealing with temptation when it comes:
3. Are you ready to recognize the temptation that will face you today? Do you think temptation is a big deal?
Next steps—Preparation: Review the prayer you wrote above. Add the promise of 1 Corinthians 10.13 to it, then memorize your prayer and use it every time you are tempted to sin.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
This week: Our Read Moore podcast is from the book, Patrick: A Devotional History. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are studying examples of the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. And in the daily Scriptorium column we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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