Temptation

Sister Lin
Jun 26, 2023
3 min read

What is temptation?

Temptation: the act of tempting or the state of being tempted especially to evil :enticement
Enticement: to attract artfully or adroitly or by arousing hope or desire (synonyms - allure, betray, bait, beguile, seduce, solicit)

We all may know the saying which is also in a song “Yield not to Temptation”.

According to the scripture in James 1:14,

But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

Romans 6:16 - Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

2 Chronicles 30:8 - Now be ye not stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into HIS sanctuary which He hath sanctified forever; and serve the LORD your GOD, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you.

Daniel 3:28 - Then Nebuchanezzar spake and said, Blessed be the GOD of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent His Angel and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god except their own GOD.

They glorified God in their bodies through their obedience to God in yielding themselves, not as servants to sin as the majority of others did, but by yielding themselves as a living sacrifice unto the LORD GOD.

The LORD strengthened them in this through His Word, the Law, and He delivered them because they trusted in HIM. Live or die, it was more important to them to uphold the Law of God in themselves than to obey the will of man.

Who is willing to say and do as these men did, and as the apostles in response to those who opposed them, say

We ought to obey GOD rather than men - Acts 5:29

Know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? - 1 Corinthians 3:16

Temptation to sin is just that: tempting, teasing of the senses and of the mind to try to get you enthralled with the idea, to eat or drink of its fruit – the end of which is bitterness.

It must be squelched, put out. Don't let the “fire of desire” burn in you, only the fiery zeal to do the will of GOD.

The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up. - John 2:17

This can only be accomplished by standing on the Word of God (make it your foundation) letting it be established / built up in you. In this way will you be able to stand against the wiles of our enemy, the devil.

James 1:15 - When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death.

Proverbs 23:6-8, 12 - Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.

It is not enough just to know the promises of God, that He will do good for you; with that is also the knowledge that HE will Do good... unto those that be good, and to them that are upright in their hearts. - Psalm 125:4. Thus the promises of God apply to those who walk in the Way of Righteousness, whose desire it is to please the LORD GOD our Father.