Luke Gourley and Joshua Morris
December 2021
In popular use, temptation can refer to anything that is alluring or enticing. It is related to self-control. If you are trying to reduce sugar, chocolate cake becomes a symbol of whether you will stand fast or not. Temptation could be to skip class on a sunny day or to sleep in on a Monday when you should be at work. In biblical usage, the meaning is more specific. The Bible uses temptation to describe a moral trial. It is more along the lines of a test of character. The Greek word "peirasmos," most commonly translated "temptation," can be found 21 times in 20 different verses. Temptation is a challenge to our integrity or virtue. Under this definition, failing or succeeding in temptation has moral value and impact. It is a conflict between right and wrong. It reveals something in our nature. It determines whether we are consistent with our moral goals. How we view ourselves and how we understand the world is intimately tied to our handling of temptation.
Temptation brings up a number of questions. What is the biblical picture of temptation? Why do we get tempted by the same things over and over? How is it so appealing in the moment, but then we regret it later? How much freedom should we expect? And how are we doing against temptation? We will look at each of these in turn.
We can draw one conclusion from being tempted: we are not morally perfect. If we were perfect, we would not be tempted or we certainly would not fail in temptation. Right?
James 1:13-14 seems to confirm this:
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed."
God is morally perfect and cannot be tempted. Nor does he tempt anyone. Temptation is when someone is dragged away by immoral desires. Since God does not desire to do anything evil, he’s not tempted. Temptation has no appeal. And since he does not desire for others to do evil, he does not entice anyone with temptation. Humans, on the other hand, have wrong desires. We are both tempted and tempt others. By this reasoning, if we were perfect, we would no longer be tempted. The more mature we become, the less we will be tempted. This could lead us create a moral standard based on how much temptation we face. We may even start judging ourselves, or others, based on the level of temptation we feel. The more spiritual we are the less temptation we would experience.
Hebrews 4:15 complicates this picture:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin."
Here the Bible directly says that Jesus was tempted, just as we are. The passage is emphasizing how Jesus is able to intercede for us well because he understands what we are going through. He experienced suffering and temptation himself. Yet, the Bible is clear Jesus was morally perfect as only an unblemished sacrifice could achieve what he did on the cross. And he was God, who is not tempted. This appears to be a contradiction.
One big difference between God the Father and the incarnate Christ is Jesus had a body. This body had needs, such as rest and food, whereas God the Father has no needs. Therefore, Jesus has the capacity for more desires than God the Father. He could be tempted in ways the Father could not be. It is important to note Jesus was tempted but did not sin. Thanks to Hebrews, we know being tempted is not a sin. Moral purity does not mean being "temptation free" but rather being victorious over temptation. This is an important point! Jesus was tempted but did not fail the trials. This is the model for us. Romans 8:5 tells us, "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." Jesus was able to consistently set his mind on what the Spirit desired, rather than what his flesh wanted. He was tempted but emerged victorious each time. Jesus, not the Father, is the closer model for us in this area since we are also tempted. Therefore, our level of temptation is not necessarily an indicator of how spiritual we are. Our goal is to be victorious rather than to never be tempted.
Since temptation is a test of character, it has an upside. Those who succeed have their characters improved. Jesus withstood temptations from Satan directly and therefore proved himself stronger than Satan. In James 1:12, it says, "Blessed is the one who perseveres under [temptation] because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him." Christians who persevere will be rewarded. Those who suffer under temptation but resist will have experiences no one else has. Our characters will be strengthened depending on how we navigate these trials. Temptation is an evil which can be used for good. We will see below, it can also be used to damage us.
Temptation is temporary. Since God does not tempt anyone, heaven will be temptation free. Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, never to tempt us again. Our fleshly nature will also be changed, meaning our flesh will not tempt us either. It is a unique, if unpleasant, experience. The positive is we only have to endure it for a finite amount of time.
If temptation is a trial to build character, why do we get tempted by the same things over and over? Is it not enough to pass the test once? Why is it hard for us to move forward?
In Satan and His Kingdom, Dennis McCallum makes the point, "For Satan, getting a believer to sin is never the end goal but the beginning of a process." He offers three potential end goals Satan may have in tempting us, beyond just the trial of that moment.
First, Satan may be seeking to enslave us. Jesus warns, "everyone who sins is the slave of sin." Every time we sin, we make the chains of sin a little stronger. This is well known in neurology, where repeating patterns of behavior literally wears grooves into our brains, making falling into those same patterns easier and easier. By tempting us with the same things, Satan seeks to make habits. If we fail this time, it will be easier to fail again. It sets up a downward spiral for us to destroy ourselves. It is easier to resist something once than many times, since our resistance decreases. Or sometimes our infatuation increases. We may even harden our conscience as we suppress it in each failure. Any of these are bad for us but good for Satan’s purposes. Enslavement works best if we face the same temptation over and over.
Second, Satan may be seeking to seduce us. His world system is not just full of horrible evils, but also pleasant empty things. Temptation may not be to do something dreadful, but merely to preoccupy us. Time spent on meaningless things is time we are not serving God. We can be distracted from accomplishing his purposes. This is good enough for Satan. We may be drawn into a habit of sloth, wasting lots of time on hobbies, or entertaining ourselves out of an inner life. These conform us to the things of the world, and not to Christ. In order to keep us preoccupied, we face the same distractions frequently.
Third, Satan may be trying to discredit us. Big failures can ruin our witness in front of those who are considering God. Enslaved Christians paint a poor picture of what following Jesus looks like. People may see us as bitter, materialistic, dishonest, slothful, or self-serving like everyone else. Many famous Christian leaders have had their ministry mocked and destroyed after public moral failures. Think of how terrible it would be to work hard at sharing Jesus’s message and building trust, only to have it wrecked by one (or several) moments of weakness. Satan laughs at this havoc.
Another reason we face the same temptation again is we find ourselves in the same circumstance. The rhythms of the world offer a new Monday every week to resist sleeping in. Pornography online is just as available today as it was yesterday. The annoying colleague at work may provoke us to anger just like they did last time. Since our lives are similar from day to day, we would expect to run into the same things again. Rather than be frustrated, we should be prepared!
At the heart of temptation is a desire and a lie. The desire is a felt need, such as being tired or lonely. The lie is what makes a morally poor choice seem appealing. Otherwise, we would solve the need in a healthy way. McCallum states, "Understood correctly, temptation is really a form of deception. We believe our false assumptions about the sin, and that makes it more appealing." Since temptation is deception, the turning point is when the deception is overthrown. It makes sense that while the lie is believed, temptation is appealing, and when the lie is disproved, the temptation falls flat. Often this happens after falling to temptation, when the true need is not fulfilled and so the lie is exposed.
The lies in temptation are varied. It could be that possessions will make us happy, like we feel right before a spending spree. Or that the fake affirmation of pornography will meet our loneliness. It could be that shouting at our kids will make them obey us quickly, and that is better than a longer struggle. We may think engaging in prayer tomorrow is just as good as doing it today. Whatever the case, the more acute our desires, the more powerful the deception. It is entrenched the more we’ve believed the lie in the past. This is why some situations are more tempting than others. We tend to fall to the same temptations. We fall to the lies we believe.
McCallum points out these deceptions tend to be in one of several categories. He mentions a few:
Temptations have power while these lies are ascendant in our thinking. Like other matters of truth, the goal is to resist and replace these deceptions with accurate facts about our situation. Then the power of temptation fades. When we know we do not deserve even the good things we have, we’re less tempted to take a break from being good. When we understand God has given us a spirit of power and grace, we’re willing to stand against fatalism. When we remember we’re accountable before God our Father, we’ll be less likely to excuse or rationalize. When we remember how much we’ve been saved from, we are humble instead of self-righteous. Our susceptibility to temptation rises and falls with our attitudes towards truth and our sense of needs.
It would be great to have freedom from temptation, but given what we’ve learned already, that is an unrealistic goal. Even Jesus was tempted, so no amount of moral maturity will make us temptation free. Plus, unlike him, we have a fallen flesh nature crying out for worldly desires. We see Satan waits for opportunities. And we’ve thought about how the circumstances of our lives regularly put the same offers in front of us. Our goal should be consistent victory over temptation, rather than freedom from temptation.
That being said, the first step towards victory is to reduce the amount of temptation we face where possible. A strong defense is wise. The Bible advocates this clearly in 1 Corinthians 6:18, "Flee from sexual immorality." Some situations are powerful and worth avoiding. We should be aware enough of our weaknesses to try to avoid things we handle poorly. This may mean blocking apps on our phones, getting good sleep, or practicing gratitude every day. Jesus’s example prayer contains, "lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one." He says we should ask God to be led away from temptation. This means some temptation is avoidable. We should pray for God to help us avoid temptations. We should remove ourselves from tempting situations where reasonable.
While specific to fighting pornography addiction, advice in James Rochford’s paper has a wide application. He notes four stages common to falling to temptation:
Victory over temptation would mean we intercede before we act out. Our targets are Preoccupation and Ritual. Rochford advises we attack the ritual stage the hardest. It is difficult not to be preoccupied with felt needs, which often come unbidden into our minds. We will always have stress. But we need to be more careful and attentive to the plans we make. While this whole cycle could last days, it could also storm through our minds in seconds. We may form the plan as the desire bubbles to the surface. If we can redirect ourselves in the planning stage, we’ll avoid the actions. How is it we can subvert immoral plans? Or how could we fulfill our needs in moral ways?
Jesus guides us with, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." We are caught off guard by temptation when we are not watchful. When we allow ourselves to be spiritually empty through a weak inner life. When we are unreflective it is easier for deceptions to take hold. One proactive step is to pray daily for watchfulness for temptation. Ask God to make us reflective and slow down our fulfillment of our own needs.
What if we are already in the middle of our struggle? Simple deliverance prayers can be said rapidly without any preparation. Shouting to God, "help me!" or "save me!" is an act of dependence and God will hear us. The Bible says, "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 endure it." God promises every temptation has a potential ending where we are victorious. He does not promise we will not be tempted, but he does promise each temptation can be overcome at some point in the process. Though we should realize this includes the time before we are tempted and during the temptation, not just the final moments. The longer we let the temptation play out, generally the more difficult it is to be victorious. The positive side is God wants to rescue us and he wants us to succeed!
McCallum suggests we face our temptation and identify it clearly. What are we thinking about doing? What lie is behind it? Confess this to God as you think it through. Talk to God about the temptation in prayer, resist the urge to shove spiritual things from your mind. Remember where this sort of sin led to before. McCallum exhorts us to understand the power of habit. Every time we fail keeps the habit alive, but every time we win weakens the habit. We should ask God for a vision of freedom and talk to believers who have more freedom than we do. Find something redemptive to do!
Another key to victory is being confident in our new identity. When we are self-focued we feel unsatisfied, needy, and fatalistic- all the ingredients for temptation! Each person is tempted by their own evil desires, but the Bible says these desires are not who we are. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" We are no longer determined to fail, to be lost, to sin or to be defeated. These apply to our former life and are now lies, no longer applicable to us. The Apostle Paul reminds us, "our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin." One result of having Christ’s death apply to us is that we are no longer ruled by the old self. We are not destined to be slaves to sin but can now have freedom. Realizing we can have victory motivates us to stand harder and be more proactive. It dispels fatalism and excuses.
Identifying with Christ helps us to look to him instead of to Adam. While humanity as a whole is broken and continually makes mistakes, we look to the perfect example. We model our lives after Jesus’s prayerful meditation. His steadfast friendships. His missional perspective. And his stubbornness in the face of tremendous suffering. All of these attitudes and actions will help us defeat temptation. His strong inner and relational life keeps us full instead of needy. His active and purposeful work keeps us engaged. His will and toughness helps us endure.
We must be honest with ourselves. Are we aiming for victory? Or are we already defeated? Have we been fighting hard against temptation? Or do we have things we’ve been enjoying, even though we know they are wrong? Our initial attitude is going to make a big difference. Sometimes we want to fail because we go in believing the lies before the opportunity is even pitched to us.
We have been set free from sin in order that we would experience freedom from sin. As growing Christians, we can have increasing freedom. We have the option to offer ourselves to God, and be welcomed by him. We are urged, "do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Our minds can become peaceful, calm, righteous places. Our actions would be honorable, rewarding, and satisfying, instead of regretful. Our reputation would be stellar and respectable. This is the powerful life we want. Nothing to hide and nothing to lose.
We may feel this advice is too late. We’ve already screwed up often and big. We have destroyed a friendship, or a marriage, or a child’s trust. We are stuck deep in dark patterns and habits which are hard to break. This is where grace comes in.
The Bible encourages us, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently." This applies to us as well. We should restore ourselves gently and repent. Gently does not mean taking only small or simple actions, it could be we need a serious overhaul in resisting temptation. But it does mean we can be kind to ourselves and others. Instead of dwelling on guilt, which paralyzes us or increases our sense of need, we focus on moving forward and repairing our lives. If you’ve asked for forgiveness from God, you are just as close to him today as you were at your highest point in the past. He loves you just as much. Maybe he has not been pleased by your actions, but he loves you unconditionally.
Guilt encourages us to retreat from the things we need like friendships and prayer. It makes us pity ourselves and lash out. It makes it easier for us to give in next time. It interferes with us being diligent to fight hard. It is not congruent with our new identity. We are people of freedom. Galatians states, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Even if you have fallen hard, Jesus came to set you free. He wants you to stand firm next time and to refuse to be put under slavery again.
Temptation is common to us all. The Bible says, "no temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind." We expect temptation. We know we will not avoid it all, but we pray that we can avoid it as much as we can. God promises us victory is possible. We should remember temptation is a desire combined with a lie. We do not want our lives ruled by lies. We should fight temptation with all the energy we can muster. Let us follow the Spirit’s path and fight the good fight. When we fall, we know Jesus is waiting to help us move forward again.