A Wholesome Respect for Temptation

by Paul Earnhart

In 1 Corinthians 10:13, the apostle Paul, having warned his readers of the real danger of falling away from Christ, gives a word of encouragement:  "But God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted above what your are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."

We need to know two things about temptation - that it is a serious and dangerous business not to be toyed with, and yet it is not impossible to resist and defeat it if we act wisely.  Temptation is not sin.  The sinless Son of God was tempted (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21-22).   But temptation is a serious occasion for sin and playing with it is an invitation to disaster.

In Proverbs 7, Solomon describes a foolish young man who is seduced by a woman of easy virtue.  One could almost feel sorry for this naive youth who is completely overwhelmed by the knowing charm of a wily seductress, save for one fact.  Solomon says that he was "a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house."  He was not on her street accidentally, and he did not go near her house by chance.  This young man was titillating himself with temptation, putting himself squarely in its way and daring it to take him.    He was much like the young boy who, having been warned by his father not to swim in a certain stream, came home one day trying to conceal his wet swimsuit.  "Why did you disobey me?"  His father asked him.  "I didn't mean to, but I was suddenly tempted," the boy said.  "But why did you have your swimsuit with you?" the father continued.  "Oh," the boy answered, "I took it along just in case I was tempted."

The Lord has promised a way of escape from every temptation, every trial - a way to endure it.  But there will be no escape for those who approach sin's invitation with interest rather than with fear.  Satan, Peter says, goes about "like a roaring lion" seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).  It makes no sense to put your head in the lion's mouth.  Young people do this by hanging around the drug crowd or militant adolescent rebels.  Husbands and wives do it by developing a too easy and carefree relationship with friends of the opposite sex.  Preachers do it by carelessly counseling women alone and in private.  Christians vulnerable to covetousness do it by collecting too many "things" and gathering associates and friends whose whole world revolves around money.

It's a dangerous thing to hold long conversations with the Devil like Eve did.  One is apt to find himself in the position of Lewis Carroll's owl:

"I passed by his garden and marked with one eye

How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie;

The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy and meat,

While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.

When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,

Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon;

While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl

And concluded the banquet by eating the Owl."

Better we take young Joseph's example and run from the presence of temptation as fast as our legs can carry us.  "Flee sexual immorality," warns Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:18.  "Flee from idolatry," he urges in 1 Corinthians 10:14.  "Flee youthful lusts," he says in 2 Timothy 2:22.  So, when sin comes asking for a conference, it is time to run, not to hang around and think about it.  Running from temptation is running for your life.

But the flight from temptation must be more than a running from sin.  It must be a running to God.  When Satan conspires to seduce us, we need, like frightened children, to seek our Father's side.  There s no idea, which inhabits the Psalms so much as God's certain care of His people.  "God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.  Therefore will we not fear…"   (46:1-2)  "How precious is thy lovingkindness, O God!  And the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wing" (36:7).  "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  I will say of Jehovah, He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in whom I trust"  (91:1-2).

God is sure refuge from temptation because He "cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempteth no man"  (James 1:13).  God is a certain haven from Satan's alluring lies because in Christ all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden (Colossians 2:3).  It is in the certainty of His Father's word that our Savior took refuge when meeting in the wilderness the fierce onslaught of the Devil.  We should be so wise.

  

Other Articles by Paul Earnhart
The Search for Assurance
A Living, Transforming Hope
Sin Doesn't Work