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JAMES 1:13-15 LET NO MAN SAY WHEN HE IS TEMPTED, I AM TEMPTED OF GOD: FOR GOD CANNOT BE TEMPTED WITH EVIL, NEITHER TEMPTETH ANY MAN: BUT EVERY MAN IS TEMPTED WHEN HE IS DRAWN AWAY OF HIS OWN LUST, AND ENTICED. THEN WHEN LUST HATH CONCEIVED, IT BRINGETH FORTH SIN: AND SIN, WHEN IT IS FINISHED, BRINGETH FORTH DEATH. JAMES 3: 14-16 IF YE HAVE BITTER ENVYING AND STRIFE IN YOUR HEARTS, GLORY NOT, AND LIE NOT AGAINST THE TRUTH. THIS WISDOM DESCENDETH NOT FROM ABOVE, BUT IS EARTHLY, SENSUAL, DEVILISH. FOR WHERE ENVYING AND STRIFE IS, THERE IS CONFUSION AND EVERY EVIL WORK.
These verses say that evil cannot tempt God and that God himself does not tempt anyone. We are drawn away to evil by our own fleshly lusts and evil desires. The dictionary definition of tempting is: alluring, attractive, seductive. According to the two sets of verses mentioned above, it seems that we don't just fall away all in one week or short period of time. Usually it's a gradual thing that starts with just getting in the flesh. I know it's easy to get in the flesh, and I think we all do that from time to time. None of us are perfect and can live the kind of life that Jesus lived when he was on the earth. But since he was tempted, being the perfect Son of God, it seems pretty sure that we will be tempted, too. Even if we do get into the flesh, we can still recognize it and change our ways before Satan is able to set up a stronghold in our lives that will take a lot more prayer and work to get rid of than just the flesh realm. Temptation means an enticement to sin, which is eventual spiritual death. A person who is a gambler doesn't start out that way. It starts out as one time, and then another, and pretty soon you are doing it more often. Slowly you get hooked and a lot of times you don't even realize you are hooked for a while. Satan tells you that you have control over the situation and that you can stop anytime you want to. The above is only one example of things that Satan can use to entice you into something that puts a stranglehold on your whole life. The initial confrontation with the flesh doesn't always have to be a horrible thing for you. Sometimes it might even make you feel better for a short time or you might even think it will solve a problem in your life. Many times Satan will let sin look and feel good during the initial stages to get you hooked. He knows that if he can ever get a stronghold in your life, chances are that you might not be able to break it, or at least it will be very hard to do so. And Satan knows that only the most determined person would persist long enough to break the ties of bondage.
That's why it is CRUCIAL that we break Satan's power over us as soon as the Holy Spirit reveals to us that we are in the flesh. No matter how good sin makes you feel, you have to know that the end result is spiritual death, sometimes even physical death.
When you are tempted to do something that you have a few nagging doubts about, first ask the Holy Spirit to show you the truth, and always line things up with the Word. If you always do that, you might get in the flesh for a short while, but you won't stay there. Always do what the Word and the Holy Spirit tell you to do. Sometimes it might look like you are taking the harder road, but in the long run you will see that you are so much better off and don't have to deal with all the problems of getting out of sin and bondage.
ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT SATAN NEVER TELLS THE TRUTH. IT'S HIS DESIRE TO DESTROY YOU AND MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE.
The only way to prevent Satan from sending us to spiritual death is to: 1. Stay in the Word. 2. Live it Daily. 3. Always be obedient to the Word and the Father. 4. Stay in an attitude of prayer. 5. Ask for Discernment from the Holy Spirit. We must learn to hear Him and walk with Him. The more of God we put in us, the less we will have to fight with being in the flesh. But Satan is always lurking around for the moments when we are too busy to be with God and read His Word for discernment and knowledge. Satan will never give up, but the closer we are to God, we will be able to recognize Satan's methods earlier and put a stop to his plans for our lives. REMEMBER, fleshly lust, small or large, is like when the windows of your car fog up and prevent you from seeing as well as you should in order to drive safely. If you don't clear the fog, you will eventually crash into something and you might destroy yourself.
Text written and authored by Cathy Deaton and is her own work. |