How to Overcome Temptation

(1 Thessalonians 3:5)

Temptations to sin are sure to come. That’s what the Bible tells us in Luke 17, verse 1. So it is even more critical to understand the source of temptation and how to overcome temptation.

This scripture I am looking at today shows how serious Paul thought the issue of temptation was. He was fearful that the people of the Thessalonians church may have succumbed to temptation and that the work he and others had done would be lost and in vain.

But we will see later that they had not fallen to temptation as they had clearly learned how to overcome temptation.

Temptation is everywhere

Everywhere you look there is temptation. And the ability to be tempted is part of human nature.

We hear about the challenges of temptation all of the time in our daily lives. Some are relatively innocuous, while others are downright dangerous and evil.

And different people are tempted by different things. The smoker who is quitting may be tempted to take it up again in a social situation. The recovering alcoholic may be tempted to drink at a party or function. A dieter may be tempted to indulge in high calorie sweets or binge on foods that will destroy the work they have done.

As I said, temptations are everywhere and all around us. And they differ from one person to the next. A person who has never been a smoker and can’t stand the smell of cigarettes is unlikely to be tempted to take the habit up. But to a smoker who is trying to quit, the very smell of cigarettes or smoke can be like the finest aroma on the planet.

And then there are much more serious examples of temptation.

Someone may be tempted to steal from someone else. A man or woman may be tempted to enter into an adulterous relationship. Someone else may be tempted to steal from their workplace. Another may be tempted to do violence to someone where they have suffered a slight or perceived slight.

Temptation is everywhere. And marketers and sales people use temptation to try to lure people to but their products. There is an old marketing adage that says, “Sex sells.” It is the reason why often we see handsome men and beautiful women, often scantily clad, in advertisements for things like cars, boats, and other things. The idea is that the marketer can tempt a customer into watching the commercial and hopefully buy the product.

So with all of the temptations that exist, including the manufactured ones, it is necessary to understand the source of temptation, and then how to overcome temptation so we don’t fall prey to it.

The sources of temptation

As I mentioned earlier, temptation is part of human nature. It is part of the makeup of all human beings and we can all be tempted if we allow ourselves to be tempted.

The bible gives us some good insights into the sources of temptation, so it is worth listening to what it has to say.

One of the big sources of temptation is greed.

9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

The love of money, or greed for wealth, has tempted many people over the years. It is one of the worst forms of temptation that exists in the world and it has destroyed many people.

Even within the church it has wielded it’s destructive influence. We see it today tempting Christians through the Prosperity Gospel that is preached in some parts of the church.

Prosperity Gospel is a lie. It is just a veiled form of temptation to seek wealth, and as the scripture above says, it leads only to evil.

Another of the big sources of temptation is lustful desire.

But because of the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:2)

The Lord has appointed marriage so that men and women can come together without the temptation of lustful desires.

Sadly there are those who step outside of the marriage to take part in lustful fornication and adultery. But this was never meant to be so. Marriage was designed to help fight the temptation by both men and women, and it works for most. It is only those who have not learnt how to overcome temptation who fall prey to the temptation of lust.

I have pointed out these two above for the purpose of leading into this final description of the sources of temptation. Both of the above are really sub-sets of the ultimate source of temptation, which is human passions and desires.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he himself tempts no one; 14 but each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. (James 1:13-14)

It is the human passions and desires of the heart of a person that drives temptation. All of the human emotions, passions, lusts, and desires can be the base motivation for temptation.

Consider the most basic desires that people have and you can quickly recognise the temptations that occur. Hunger can be tempted by food binging. Thirst can be tempted with alcohol. Insecurity can be tempted by wealth and power. Lust can be tempted by adultery, fornication, and pornography. Anger can be tempted with violence. Envy and jealousy can be tempted with spite and lead to theft, slander, and malicious thoughts and actions. And the list goes on.

In all of these things it essential that if we are to avoid evil, we must learn how to overcome temptation.

To complicate things further, we have the one who is called the “tempter.” That one is the devil who plays on our human passions, desires, lusts, greed, and weaknesses, especially when we are weak, to tempt us to do wrong.

This scripture today especially talks about the tempter.

5 For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labour would be in vain. (1 Thessalonians 3:5)

The devil looks at people seeking the times when they are weakest and then puts temptations in their path so as to destroy them.

It is bad enough that there are temptations everywhere, but when you add the evil work of the devil into the mix it becomes even more critical that we learn how to overcome temptation.

The whole current state of man and the reason we die is because of the devil and his work of temptation in the Garden of Eden. The devil tempted Eve with the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, and she disobeyed God by taking the fruit, eating it and giving some to Adam. It was the devil who tempted Eve with lies and half-truths and the effects of his evil work are with us to this day.

Likewise, the first man born on the earth murdered the second man born on earth when Cain slew his brother Able. Cain was tempted and lured when the Lord accepted Able’s sacrifice but did not pay heed to Cain’s. And the Lord warned Cain saying:

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” (Genesis 4:7)

Sadly, he did not master it but succumbed to the temptation and killed his brother.

But the good news is, it is possible for us to overcome temptation. It is possible to learn how to overcome temptation, and the Lord has provided the means for us to do this.

How to overcome temptation

First, let us look at the example when Jesus was tempted by the devil after spending forty days in the wilderness without food. The devil pushed three different temptations at Jesus to try and get Jesus to bow to the devil’s will.

But the devil failed because Jesus knew how to overcome temptation.

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will give his angels charge of you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; 9 and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! for it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” 11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

This is a great example of how to overcome temptation.

After forty days and nights without food, there is no doubt that Jesus was in an extremely weakened physical state. He was hungry and probably suffering from exposure.

It is then that the devil came to Jesus to test Him. And the devil does the same to us. When we are at our most weakened state, the devil attacks with temptations.

The first temptation was against the hunger Jesus was suffering from. The devil suggested that Jesus take some stones and turn them into bread, which Jesus certainly had the power to do. We know from other scriptures that Jesus turned water into wine, and He created bread and fish to feed the five thousand and the four thousand at different times from small quantities.

But Jesus did not succumb to temptation even though He must have been starving. And Jesus understood that the REAL temptation was much like that which the devil used against Eve. The real temptation was not just about satisfying hunger, but by doing so Jesus would be bowing to the will of the devil.

And that is often the case when we are being tempted by the devil. He uses the weaknesses driven by our passions and desires to tempt us to do something and in doing so we subject ourselves to the will of the devil.

But Jesus knew how to overcome temptation. He responded to the devil with scripture by stating, “It is written…” and then threw off and overcame the devil’s temptations through power of the word of God.

The devil continued to tempt Jesus, and he does the same with us. The devil is a persistent adversary and does not give up at the first failure. He did it with Jesus and he will do it with us. He then tempted Jesus with fanaticism and then with power and wealth. But in each case Jesus overcame the temptations through the word of God, proving how powerful is the wisdom of God in the word. Even when the devil twisted scripture to tempt Jesus, he was not successful because Jesus knew the word of God and rejected the temptations.

We need to do the same. If you want to know how to overcome temptation, then the first place to start is to study and learn the word of God. You need to be immersed in the word so that it flows from you when temptations arise.

Another powerful way to overcome temptation is through prayer. As soon as you feel tempted, walk away and begin to pray to the Lord for the strength to overcome the temptation.

A third way how to overcome temptation is to learn how to walk in the Spirit. I have written much about walking in the Spirit on this website, and I point you to some of the article links below if you want to find out more.

In closing let me say that this is an important matter for all Christians. We must learn how to overcome temptation if we are to grow into maturity in Jesus Christ, and inherit the kingdom of God.

You might also like:

The Temptation of Christ
Jesus Foretells His Death And Resurrection
Temptations To Sin Are Sure To Come
Jesus Prays In The Garden At Gethsemane
Jesus In The Wilderness
Let This Cup Pass
The Temptation Of Christ 2
Resist Temptation
Remove This Cup From Me
The Peace Of Christ
Speaking In Tongues
Jealousy The Green Eyed Monster
Greed Leads To Loss
Why We Suffer
Change Your Behaviour
What Are You Thinking About
Walking In The Spirit
Tongues Build Up
Praying In Tongues
Using Tongues Properly
Deliverance
Weapons Of War
Walk By The Spirit
How The Power Of The Spirit Can Help You
Overcoming The Passions Of The Flesh