Overcoming Temptation

(Hebrews 2:16-18 – Overcoming Temptation)

When He was on the earth, Jesus was tempted. He was like any other person on earth and He was tempted just as we are.

But unlike the rest of us, Jesus never succumbed to temptation. He understood the keys to overcoming temptation. And as a result He never sinned because temptation never had a hold on Him.

In His example we gain two powerful insights. First, an example to follow for overcoming temptation in our lives. And second, the understanding that Jesus can relate to our situation because He was tempted in every way, but without sin. He can understand our weaknesses and help us in overcoming temptation because He knows what it is like.

What causes temptation?

Simply put, desire. It is desire and human passion that causes us to be tempted. We desire things that may not be good for us, or a not ours, and it is that desire that leads us into temptation.

We must remember also that the devil uses our desires to tempt us too. He puts temptations in our path for the purpose of leading us to sin. The devil wants us to turn away from God, and if we are not following God’s way, then we are following the devil.

It was the devil who tempted and lured Eve in the garden to turn from following God. The devil twisted the truth that God spoke and Eve was lured into sin. And then she led Adam into sin as a result of temptation, which is why we die.

Today’s scripture shows that even though Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted, He did not succumb to temptation. And because He was tempted like us, He understands what it is like for us and both can and will help us in overcoming temptation.

16 For surely it is not with angels that he is concerned but with the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make expiation for the sins of the people. 18 For because he himself has suffered and been tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:16-18)

Human nature has many passions and desires. It is these that lead us into temptation and cause us to sin. When desire is driven by emotion, it loses all rationality and can lead to sin.

Consider the case of Cain and Abel. The first man born on earth murdered the second man born on earth because Cain was envious and jealous of his brother. (Remember, Adam and Eve were not born but were created). And consider the words of warning from God to Cain.

3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? 7 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 4:3-7)

The Lord accepted Abel’s offering because they were given in faith. He offered the first fruits of his flocks. But Cain offered only some of the produce of the fields. They were not the first fruits and there was no faith involved.

Offering first fruits is an act of faith because there may not be any second or third fruits. There is no guarantee that the latter fruits will be good if they appear at all. Abel did not know whether his flocks would have more lambs or not. And yet still he offered the first fruits. Thus it was an act of faith.

But Cain offered from the produce of the fields. He already had this produce and he had already harvested his crops. He knew what his harvest produced, so there was no faith involved. And because there was no faith in his action, God had no regard for it. It’s easy to offer when you know the full sum of the harvest, but it is difficult to give all of your first fruits not knowing whether there will be more.

Faith is the key here. Abel showed he was a man of faith, but Cain did not. And he became jealous. His desires overtook him and he murdered his younger broth.

This is exactly what God warned Cain about. He was tempted to kill, and rather than overcoming temptation by mastering his emotions, he succumbed and murdered his brother.

Why is overcoming temptation important?

Overcoming temptation will dampen and remove the desires that lead to sin. The scripture tells us that passions and desires are the things that drive people towards sin. So, overcoming temptation is a key factor in preventing sin in our lives by controlling the passions of the flesh.

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. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin; and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death. (James 1:13-15)

God tempts no-one. He does not put temptations in our path because He does not want people to stumble and fall into sin.

Instead, it is God’s will that by overcoming temptation we will learn to walk closer to Him and be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Remember to the example prayer that Jesus gave us, and one of the key points about overcoming temptation.

Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread; 12 And forgive us our debts, As we also have forgiven our debtors; 13 And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. (Matthew 6:9-13)

When the disciples asked the Lord to teach them how to pray, this was what He showed them. It was an example prayer from which we can learn much. It was never intended to be used as a prayer and repeated over and over, but the lessons we can learn from it will help us greatly.

When it comes to overcoming temptation, we see that it is good and right to ask the Lord God to, ”Lead us not into temptation…” From the perspective of overcoming temptation it would be much easier if temptations did not arise.

We know that as we walk with Christ we will be tested. We know that temptations will come to try us. But it is alright to limit the number of temptations by seeking the Lord God to keep us away from temptations until we are strong enough to withstand them.

It is the devil who is the great tempter of all mankind. When we ask God to help in overcoming temptation by keeping us away from temptation, we are asking for God’s protection. What better way than to keep the devil away from us? That is certainly part of our appeal to, ”Lead us not into temptation…”

We also have to do our part in overcoming temptation too. There are three matters that come to mind in this matter: how to avoid temptation, resisting temptation, and overcoming temptation.

How to avoid temptation

Avoidance is the first thing we can do when we know what our weaknesses are. If we know that we have a particular passion or desire of the flesh that leads us to sinful ways, then avoidance is a good strategy.

How to avoid temptation is as simple as staying away from the thing that tempts you.

For example, if alcohol is your weakness, stay away from places that sell it. Or if lust for the opposite sex is your issue, separate yourself from the people and places that drive that lust. If you are prone to anger, wrath, or violence, remove yourself from the situations that cause those passions to rise up in you. And if your weakness is substance abuse, then avoid temptation by removing yourself from the places or people where that weakness is tempted and fed.

The way how to avoid temptation is basically to step away from people, places, circumstances, and situations where your weaknesses are being tempted. In a nutshell, avoidance means to stay away or separate yourself from the problem.

But that works only if you can separate yourself from the temptation. Sometimes it isn’t always possible. That is when you need strategies for resisting temptation.

Resisting temptation

When you have a weakness of the flesh and passion and desire is driven by temptation, it can be hard to resist. Resisting temptation is difficult because the temptation cannot be avoided in some situations.

Resisting temptation is then about finding a coping mechanism to reduce the temptation to a level that is controllable.

When we have a passion or desire that is strong and a temptation is put before us, our entire focus is on the temptation. Our desire wants whatever it is that is tempting us and if nothing is done, we will succumb to that desire, which leads to sinfulness.

This is important, because if we know what the temptation is, we can take steps to reduce it. If we understand how the temptation affects us, then we can find ways to fight back.

I mentioned that when we have a particular passion, it fills our mind so that nothing else matters. This is especially true when temptation arises that drives that particular passion of the flesh.

If avoiding temptation by moving away is not possible, then we need to tackle the hold that this temptation has over our mind. We succumb to temptations when we can think of nothing else. We become so desperate that the only thing that can remove the craving is to cave in to temptation. Our mind cannot be at peace until the craving is removed.

And that is the key. Knowing that it is what we are thinking that is driving the temptation. Our thinking, driven by the weaknesses, passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh must change. If we can take our mind off the temptation, we can resist it. The scripture gives us two good strategies that help with this.

3 For though we live in the world we are not carrying on a worldly war, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ(2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

And;

6 Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do; and the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:6-9)

Temptations to sin drive our passions when we think about those things. So, if we change our thinking, we can resist temptation. We ”…take every thought captive to obey Christ” by recognising when we are thinking on things that tempt us. Resisting temptation then involves changing our thinking. And as the second scripture tells us, we ought to change our thinking to think about whatever is good, graceful, honourable, noble, and so on.

You can resist temptation by changing how you think. This then leads to the third matter, which is overcoming temptation.

Overcoming temptation by overcoming the passions of the flesh

Avoiding temptation is about removing it or removing yourself from places and people who tempt you. Resisting temptation is like putting up a wall between yourself and the temptation. But overcoming temptation is like destroying the passion, lust, and desire in you that the devil uses to tempt you with. Overcoming temptation is about changing your fleshly nature to be like God’s nature.

To truly overcome temptation, we must overcome the passions of the flesh. That is not something we can do ourselves. We need the help of God because only He can alter our nature fully and completely to transform us from people of the flesh to His children in the spirit.

Fortunately for us, this is exactly what the plan of God is for us in Jesus Christ.

We overcome the passions of the flesh by the work of the Holy Spirit. That is why God gives us the Holy Spirit. The work of the Spirit is to transform us into the image of Jesus Christ, who is in the image of God, who is the epitome and essence of love. When we learn how to walk by the Spirit, then the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh are or can be destroyed in us. When that happens, temptations no longer affect us. But it is a slow process. This is what the scripture says.

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would. (Galatians 5:16-17)

When you learn to walk by the Spirit you do not feed the passions of the flesh. And if you do not feed the passions, lusts and desires of the flesh, overcoming temptation is easy. Temptations no longer affect us because the lusts of the flesh no longer have power over us. And the devil cannot use our physical desires against us by tempting us. Note this next verse well.

12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh– 13 for if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14)

The deeds of the body are those things driven by the passions of the flesh. Overcoming the passions of the flesh and overcoming temptation then becomes a matter of putting to death those things in you. The scripture here tells us that YOU have to use the power of the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the body.

So, how can YOU do this? Quite simply by turning every passion, lusts and desire over to the Holy Spirit whenever those things rise up in you. Whenever you are tempted, pray. And even better, pray in the Spirit using the gift of speaking in tongues. If you do not have this gift, seek it by asking God to give you His Holy Spirit. Overcoming temptation and destroying the passions of the flesh cannot be done without the power of the Holy Spirit working in us because this transforming power comes from the Spirit. We cannot change ourselves into the image of Christ, but the Spirit can because that is His work in us.

17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)

The work of transformation into the image of Jesus Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit. This work cannot happen and be successful without receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit from God, and especially the power of prayer in the Spirit through speaking in tongues. In fact, that is what speaking in tongues is. It is the Holy Spirit speaking to God on our behalf, especially when we are weak, such as being tempted and under the power of the passions of the flesh. But when we speak in tongues at those times, it is the Spirit speaking on our behalf to God to overcome.

The key to overcoming temptation completely is in overcoming the passions of the flesh. And the key to that is to learn how to walk in the Spirit correctly.

God has not left us without the necessary weapons of spiritual warfare that will enable us to do this, but has provided all we need. It is up to us to learn how to stand and win in this battle in the spiritual realm. To learn more on how to do this, I recommend this free training course on Spiritual Warfare. It will train you in all you need to know for overcoming temptation by overcoming the passions of the flesh.

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