I would like to deal with something every Christian is faced with, sometimes everyday. That something is TEMPTATION. It is inevitable. If you are born again you are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christ has broken the POWER of sin over your life (Romans 6:6-7). Sin has no power over you any longer. You are free! Your identity has been changed. You have a new lease on life. You can be whomever you want to be. You can go back to acting like that old man but that wouldn’t be too smart. You are a new creation. Not only that you have been given power to be a son of God (John 1:12). Sin and the devil have no more power over you than you give them. If you invite them back in then you give them power. But He has not broken the PRACTICE of sin. That is up to you. He does not take away your power of choice. If you choose to sin you can still choose to sin. The enemy and your old nature are going to do their best to persuade you to sin. Read Romans 7, even Apostle Paul dealt with it. This is called temptation. It is not a sin to be tempted. We all are tempted. Don’t let the devil condemn you because you are tempted. It is what we do with the temptation that determines whether it becomes a sin or not. Let’s read James 1:14-15, ”14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.”. What did it say? Every man is tempted. (When Bible says things like ‘every man’ it means every man, woman and child, not just men.) And he goes on to explain. You are drawn away of your own lust. In other words each of us will be tempted by something the devil thinks will appeal to us. He knows he won’t be successful tempting you with some things. Then it becomes desire, then it becomes sin, if we fall to it.
Now, go with me to Matthew 5:27-28. “27 You have heard that it was said by them of old time, you shall not commit adultery: 28 But I say to you, That whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.” This is one of the most misunderstood verses in the Bible. Jesus is trying to teach us something here. He is trying to teach us that sin begins with a thought. The temptation is before you, whatever it is, in this example, adultery. He is saying stop it at the eye, at the first thought, before it goes any farther! If you let it go farther it already has a grip on you, a foothold. You may not ever commit the physical act, but it is possible. Why? Because you didn’t take authority over it before it had a chance to take root in you. I can’t emphasize how important it is to guard your thought life! Proverbs 23:7 says “as a man thinks in his heart so is he.” The battle is in your mind. It is the battleground. It is where you win or lose. If we control the mind, we win! Resist temptation before it has a chance to control you. Have you ever heard this saying? : “You can’t help it if a bird flies over your head but you can keep it from nesting in your hair.” Think about it. You’ll get it later.
Let’s read 2 Corinthians 10:3-6. “3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”. Cast down imagination before it becomes a stronghold. Paul tells us in this scripture that this is something we must do. The Bible wouldn’t tell us to do it if we didn’t have the power to do it. Let’s understand what a stronghold is. It is nothing mystical. It is any dark place the enemy can rule you from. If we are honest, we have to admit we all have them. That ‘button’ the enemy knows he can push when he wants to torment you. That weak place you don’t quite have victory over yet. But it has to come down. And the less we yield to it and do what the Word says, the less power it will have over us and eventually it will be pulled down and have no power over us at all. But the best defense is a good offense. That’s what Jesus, James and Paul are trying to teach us. Stop it before it becomes a stronghold! Stop it when it first comes to you. What do you do when you are tempted? Make a stand right then and there. Resist it in Jesus’ name. “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). That verse literally means he will run in terror away from you. Don’t give in to temptation. Know your limitations. If you were an alcoholic, don’t go to a bar! The Word says, “Abstain from the very appearance of evil.” (1 Thessalonians 5:22). Watch what you watch on television, what websites you view, what magazines you look at. If someone is talking filthy or lusty on the radio change the station. And that includes various sitcoms full of sexual innuendoes and fornication. You know what I’m talking about? They don’t actually display nudity or say a cuss word they just hint at it but you know without a doubt what they are talking about. It plants a seed. Your brain takes it and runs with it. We fill in the blanks. Sometimes we even get our own pictures in our mind or the enemy will gladly help your imagination out and fill in the blanks for you. I’m telling you it will take a toll on you. You will not grow and mature spiritually. You will become argumentative, rebellious and defensive defending something you know is wrong. And it isn’t all visual.
Don’t forget that audio pornography you are listening to. You don’t have to listen to gospel music only but when someone starts singing about things you know are wrong, turn it off. It isn’t worth it. Music is a powerful medium. Why do you think they play some beautiful, sweet melody in the background while two unwed people jump in bed with one another. It can rock you right to sleep and you don’t even think about what you are watching. Clean house if you need to. Make a stand. Throw out those books, magazines and DVD’s that you shouldn’t be watching. And don’t just do it in a legalistic way. Make a stand and ask God to cleanse your desires so you don’t even desire those things anymore. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). That verse isn’t just about physical death. We all die. It is talking about a living death; death to our relationships, death to our spirituality, not even being able to look ourselves in the face in a mirror for the guilt we feel in what we have done and finally wishing we were dead as we forever burn in hell’s flames. It isn’t worth it. Sure sin is pleasurable for a moment or it wouldn’t even be a temptation to sin, even Bible says it is pleasurable for a season (Hebrews 11:25). The Bible says Satan appears as an angel of light to deceive the very elect of God if possible (2 Corinthians 11:14. Mark 13:22). What does that mean? It means he dangles sin before you in a form that he thinks will tempt you. Have you ever seen a cigarette ad with someone dying of lung cancer or a beer ad where some drunk driver killed a child? No, of course not, he never shows you the consequences of sin. He is a liar. He wants you to think you’ll get all the good-looking dates and be popular if you do this or that. Think about it! He is ripping you off. See through Satan’s schemes and resist temptation. One sin can change your life forever. It is a trap. Resist temptation while it is only a temptation. Don’t be lukewarm. Make a stand. Jesus said if you were lukewarm He would spew you out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16). Why do you spew something out of your mouth? Because it makes you sick. Jesus would rather you be hot or cold. At least then you would have conviction of who you are. That doesn’t mean you have to be perfect overnight but stop resisting what the Word says. Set your heart to obey Him. Resist temptation. Don’t let it take root in you. Better to build than to repair. It is a lot easier to deal with temptation than to deal with the fallout of a sin you have fell to.
You are made up of body, soul and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This is an important distinction and will help you understand the workings of spiritual things if you will grasp this. Basically, the human spirit is the only part of you that can communicate with God, and the spirit world in general for that matter. So, beware, don’t talk to any spirits except God. It is where your intuition and conscience dwells. The body, of course, is your physical body, the part of you that interacts with this physical realm. The soul is like a bridge between your body and spirit. It is where your mind, will, intellect, personality and emotions dwell. The soul can be influenced by your body (fleshly desires) or your spirit (spiritual desires). The spirit can be evil or good depending on who indwells you. If you are born again the Holy Spirit dwells in you and will guide you if you yield to Him. You will be ruled by your flesh or your spirit depending on who you give control to the most and which side of you that you feed the most. An understanding of the inner workings of body, soul and spirit will help you to be in control rather than thinking you are out of control. Read Romans 6. You are free. You are limited only by the choices you make and whom you yield control to! God dwells in the spirit, self dwells in the soul, while senses dwell in the body. Don’t think of yourself as a body with a soul. Think of yourself as a spirit being that has a soul that lives in a body. This way of thinking will help you keep things in perspective. It will help you understand where your priorities should lie.
Benjamin Raven Pressley is a prolific writer and ordained minister and has authored many books and blogs. He is an author, artist, Bible teacher and philosopher. His Cherokee heritage and his knowledge of living in harmony with the planet and God are evident throughout everything he writes. Raven welcomes your questions, input, and visits to his website at WalkingSpiritually.com. Check out Raven’s latest book God B.C. Before Christianity.