Resisting Temptation

All of us are tempted (to try to get to do wrong, especially by a promise of reward) and all of us give in to temptation: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’ Romans 3:23 We all sin.

We sin because of our evil desires. No one can blame God (or even the devil) for sin:
“When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting 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 dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” James 1:13-15 Our sinful nature is why there is sin: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature…” Romans 7:18

We have evil hearts because of Adam’s sin: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” 1 Corinthians 15:22

Because of His death on the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for our sin:
“For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.” Colossians 1:19-20
“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7

Jesus is the only one who was tempted but never sinned. He was tempted so He can sympathize with our weaknesses:
“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” Hebrews 2:18
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are–yet was without sin.” Hebrews 4:15

Jesus is on our side—always watching and taking care of us. In fact, He has recorded events that happened down through the ages to warn us of impeding temptations:
 “For I do not want you to be ignorant (unknowledgeable) of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud (guided by God—a cloud during the day and fire at night) and that they all passed through the sea (they all experienced God’s saving power—He parted the Red Sea so they could escape from the Egyptians). They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea (they were all given the spiritual privilege of Moses—their leader). They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (They were all given a more than fair chance to accept Jesus, just as we are today. Notice that although He was not called Jesus before He came to earth, He had always been here and is the One, the “spiritual rock” people need to know.) Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. (Most of them did not recognize Jesus as their Lord—just as today).
Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: "The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry” (“pagan revelry” is idolatry) We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did–and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did–and were killed by snakes (“sexual immorality” resulted in being “killed by snakes”—not unlike being killed by sexually transmitted diseases and other consequences of sexual sin). And do not grumble, as some of them did–and were killed by the destroying angel (grumbling resulted in being “killed by the destroying angel”—grumbling is the opposite of faith and praise—notice the severe consequence to grumbling which many of us do not consider much of a sin).
These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 God carefully monitors our temptations, not giving us any more than we can bear, and always providing us a way out. We just have to pray and obey—being open to the way out.

He does not give us more than we can bear. Like He allowed evil for the good of the Israelites, He allows battles for us to fight:
“But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.  Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.” Exodus 31:29-30
“The LORD your God will drive out those nations before you, little by little. You will not be allowed to eliminate them all at once, or the wild animals will multiply around you.” Deuteronomy 7:22

It is because of God we can keep from sinning:
“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. He trains my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You give me your shield of victory, and your right hand sustains me; you stoop down to make me great. You broaden the path beneath me, so that my ankles do not turn. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till they were destroyed. I crushed them so that they could not rise; they fell beneath my feet. You armed me with strength for battle; you made my adversaries bow at my feet. You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed my foes.” Psalm 18:32-40 (see 2 Samuel 22:33-51)

Obeying God is the key to victory:
"If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” Psalm 81:13-14
“By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:11

Memorizing and studying His word is an excellent way of defeating sin:
"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him.” 1 Samuel 22:31(Psalm 18:30 Proverbs 30:5)
“And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times.” Psalm 12:6
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil by quoting God’s word which He had hidden in His heart (see Matthew 4:1-11 Luke 4:1-13).

Jesus wants us to pray against temptation: “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. ‘” Matthew 6:13 Luke 11:4 Satan, the devil, is the evil one–the author of all evil.

"Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Matthew 26:41 Mark 14:38 Luke 22:40, 46 Like the disciples our body is weak. We might want to do the right thing, but do not have the power to do so without the Lord’s help. The disciples were tired and under great stress. It was natural for them to sleep. The reason for them to pray was that Jesus specifically asked them to pray. It is so difficult to pray when we do not see a real need to pray. Peter thought that he would never deny Jesus. He had no idea that the very strong temptation to deny his Lord would soon come.

When we do sin we just need to come to God with a sincere heart and repent of our sin:
“The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.” Psalm 51:17
The New Testament also gives a definition of repentance: “Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you: what earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done…” 2 Corinthians 7:10-11

If we are His children, the temptations we have will work for our good, and we will eventually have victory: “He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.” Proverbs 2:7-8 Learning to deal with temptations will work for our good. They are part of His great love for us.