Yes, God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
Three Strategies
Satan more often than not uses the same strategies as He used in Eden's Garden: 1) Pride: ye shall be as gods... 2) Shame: they fled from the presence of God ... 3) Arrogant attacks on God: the woman you gave me ..... But God never leaves us alone to fight for ourselves, God will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1Cor.10:13
Child Training
Blessed is the man who endures Satan’s temptation. Blessed is the man who endures God’s testings – (for the temptations of Satan are used by God in His child training). So blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
We read that: He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. It is not God that places temptation in the lives of believers but the enemy. God cannot be tempted with evil neither does He tempt any man.
Many Christians find this total acceptance by God, very difficult to understand… and they spend much of their lives seeking to remain in His good books, by being 'good', ..and so their foot slips, or temptation strikes, and they think His acceptance of them is lost.
When He came to rest in the glory of the Father's presence, love had conquered every temptation....We, too, are confronted by some of the foes which He had to face, for we have been called to bear the Cross after Him.
A Precious Grace
How dearly must I hold fast to all such tokens of His love for me – especially during those times of difficulty, temptation, discouragement, and pain.
Earlier He refused this callous temptation to dull the senses and thus render scripture void – for we are told that He was to drain the cup of suffering to its entirety.
Removing a frustrating problem may stop the temptation towards impatience, but removing a frustrating problem does not develop the prayed for patience.
Trial and temptations, however dreadful and distressing are the experience of all: for no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man, but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Cor.10:13
Teach me Thy paths, while in Proverbs 3:6 we read: In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.
Spiritual Fruit
This is the man that brings for the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit; Love in times of Hostility; Joy in times of Pain; Peace in times of Trouble; Long-suffering in times of Frustration; Gentleness in times of Oppression; Goodness in times of Evil; Faith in times of Testing; Meekness in times of Irritations; Temperance in times of Temptation.
Guarantee of Escape
But remember, precious child of God… no temptation, anxiety, burden, oppression, persecution… no harassment, attack, wound or pressure has overtaken you, except such as is common to man.
But the Word of God tells us that God Himself is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted or tried or tested beyond what you are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
When circumstances seem impossible, when all signs of grace in you seem at their lowest ebb, when temptation is fiercest, when love and joy and hope seem well nigh extinguished in your heart, then rest, without feeling and without emotion, in the Father's faithfulness; abide in the fact that He loves you infinitely, and even now is working in you faithfully; and honor Him, and put the enemy to flight by taking to yourself the words of Job: Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.' I have prayed for thee' (says the One who ever lives to make intercession for us) that thy faith fail not.' -D.T.
A Tiny Glimpse
Were we to be given the slightest glimpse of the true love of God.. through the lowering clouds of unknowing in the mists of life’s uncertainties, I doubt temptation’s unbelief would ever darken our questioning hearts again.
The temptation to shortcut is especially strong, unless we see the value and submit to the necessity of the time element; in simple trust resting in His hands - “Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus.
God’s Commands
And He commands us: Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. Live by faith and not by sight and don’t get embroiled in signs and wonders. We live under grace and not under the law.Be faithful in the place that God has put you. Be faithful to the point of death. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God.
It is a great temptation to those who serve to be arriving at something above the common standard, but God gives out His best work to less than the least.' His service wants depth, not height. -C.A.C.
destroying faith and hope – God knows how much we can all bear: For no temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1Corinthians 10:13
And many, like Demas and Orphah, turn back to the world. But this is God’s take on that issue: there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will NOT suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the trial also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1Cor.13:10
To do the things you missed out on – things the world has to offer? Do you regret that there are places you never visited – things you never did? This temptation has fallen on every generation. Oh!
It is often the seeking heart that becomes the butt of Satan’s vicious and prolonged attacks:- blessed is the man who endures temptation.. for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12
Sometimes His temptation came through direct taunts and attacks from the tempter. Sometimes His trials came via a subtle suggestion from His family or a dearly loved friend. Throughout His life, Jesus was enticed to leave His path of total dependence on the Father..
Many times we are reminded that God will give us a way to escape from trials: for no temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.
God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1Cor 10:31
Job 13:16 And the prayer of Habakkuk is a timely reminder to hold fast to the faith we posses, for despite the temptation to lose his faith in God – He rejoiced over God’s faithfulness.
Man’s False Perception
Many Christians find this total acceptance by God, very difficult to understand. Many spend much time seeking to remain in His good books, by being “good”, They think that if their foot slips, or temptation strikes, that God’s favour is lost – Not so !!
Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness, when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work.
The other disciples were also confused, and although Jesus warned them to watch and to pray with Him, lest they fall into temptation, they were overcome with weariness and sorrow.
The Bible, from beginning to end, points to Jesus, and this power-packed little book which details the terrible apostasy that is going to overtake the Church in the last days, similarly points to the Lord Jesus as the one and only person who can keep any of us from stumbling so that we may be presented to Him as a pure, chase virgin at His return.There are so many dangers today of which we need to be aware – not only of yielding to temptation and falling into sin, but being able to identify and avoid the influences of false teachers and apostates that are infiltrating the Church today, where an increasing number of false doctrines and teachers are flooding Christendom with another gospel.
Jesus was not advocating for His followers to start amputating their arms and legs or gouging out their eyes or tongues, but emphasising the terrible effect of sin on an individual life.Temptation to sin is not suppressed by self-mutilation, nor is it arrested by physical dismemberment, for the seat of sin is the heart and mind, not in the hand, foot, or body-member that perform a sinful act.
God will never tempt a man to sin, for God hates sin and cannot look upon sin, but God will often use temptation in a man's life to test his faith, patience, and perseverance, and the one that endures the test will glorify God.
Temptation to sin must never be seen as a sin.
Christ Himself was tempted yet He never sinned, and we too can be tempted but do not need to yield to temptation, for God is faithful and will not allow His children to be tempted more than they can stand.
Temptation comes from the evil desires that lurk deep within the heart of all men, for we all have an old sin nature and we can allow these temptations to lure us away from what is good and entice us into sin.
We can either resist the temptation in the strength of the Holy Spirit as we walk in spirit and truth, in our new life in Christ OR we can yield to the temptation and allow it to take hold in our hearts and draw us away from truth and virtue.
How important therefore not to yield to temptation, but rather to turn away from fleshly desires and resist temptation, for all that is evil is of the devil, but all that is good comes from our Father Who desires that we are holy unto the Lord, set apart unto Him for He is holy.
Those who are saved by grace, are to resist temptation and to walk in the unity of the Spirit.
For those who believe, this passage is a great comfort as well as an admonishment towards righteous living and godly behaviour: For IF God did not spare angels when they sinned and IF He did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah... and IF He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction and made them an example to the ungodly, but rescued righteous Lot... THEN the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.
Jesus had called His weary disciples to be earnest in prayer so that they would not fall into temptation.
May we be earnest in prayer so that we will not fall into temptation. May we learn obedience by the things that we go through in life so that we too may be enabled to pray in spirit and truth: Father, not my will, but Yours, be done.
How similar the days in which we live mirror the days about which James was writing, and the lesson that they were to learn is one that we need to understand fully and apply consistently if we are to resist the temptation of Satan who seeks to shipwreck our faith.
The first twenty verses of Mark's Gospel catapult us through the tumultuous ministry of John the Baptist, Christ's baptism, His temptation in the wilderness, and the beginning of His public ministry, with the calling of His first disciples on the shore of the Galilee.
Love endures all things by maintaining an uncomplaining attitude in every affliction and trial, tribulation and temptation, persecution and pain, whether it be for the sake of the saints or for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
John had to resist the temptation to become great in the sight of his followers or to diminish the importance of Christ, and so 'He must become more important, but I must become less important', was his testimony.
She gave in to temptation and fell into sin. She was not only deceived when Satan contradicted God's established Word, but she also disobeyed God's command and ate of the fruit.
Temptation is not sinful, but yielding to temptation is a sin.
There may be times when we are being tempted and tried... times when we think that we are unique and that the assaults of the enemy are focused on us alone - but we must never forget that every born-again child of God knows the same experience of suffering - and like them, there is no temptation that will overtake us that is not common to everyman.
And God has promised: No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man, and God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.
And let us never forget that God is faithful and has promised that He will not allow the temptation to be more than we can bear, but in His grace will provide a way out of it so that we can endure it.
This example of Israel's idolatry in the wilderness is a warning to Christians in our own generation, that we should heed, for temptation towards idolatry is part of our fallen human nature.
What godly lives we would live if it were not for the foibles of others!But this life is fraught with disappointments and disturbances and we are warned that murmuring is the consequence of unbelief, while disputing is the product of a discontented heart which brings in its wake grievances, disease, envy, and sin, as exemplified in Israel’s forty-year long wilderness wanderings when the people murmured against God's wisdom and complained about His gracious provision.God, in His wisdom, knows that patient-endurance, humility of heart, and a soul that trusts in the Lord, does not spring forth from a stress-free life but is the out-working of a man or woman who has received God’s sufficient grace to face any temptation or trial which may happen along the way.Paul knew that a Christ-like character is not birthed from a bed of ease and that blameless integrity and spiritual maturity takes many long years, if not a lifetime, to fully develop as one is tried like silver or honed in a millstone of suffering. God uses the storms, sadness, disappointments, and dangers of everyday life, as well as the difficult people that cross our path, to conform us into the likeness of Christ.Let us, therefore, resist the temptation to enter into murmurings and disputes with one another and let us trust the Lord in all things so that our lives will be a living sacrifice that becomes, to Him, a sweet fragrance and we will become blameless and pure children of God, without fault in this warped and crooked generation.
However, John is not suggesting that sinless perfection is achievable in our fallen state, but is letting us know that we have a freewill choice to sin or to resist the temptation to sin.
Praise God that this is not an evil fight but a good fight, for the battle has already been won by Christ’s victory on the Cross and we are to face all the challenges of life by maintaining an unfaltering faith in Him - trusting in His sufficiency to bring us through victoriously.We are to fight the good fight of faith by seizing hold of every opportunity, trusting His all-sufficient grace to bring us through by faith, rather than wilting at the enormity of a problem or caving in to the temptation that faces us.When we fight the fight of faith, we are trusting Him in all things and in so doing we are taking hold of eternal life.
There is no mistake that lack of discipline in one's eating and drinking habits or the temptation to remain long hours in one's bed in preference to rising early and facing the challenges of the day, all have a notably negative effect on one's productivity, which can adversely affect many different areas of life and be the contributing factor to poverty and pain.
One section concentrates on the value of wisdom and the dangers of folly, while others give advice on things like practical morality, pleasing the Lord, the value of righteousness, the dangers of temptation, and the fruit of godly living.
Joseph fled from sexual temptation and ended up in jail, while Daniel faced a den of hungry lions in preference to dishonouring the Lord, and we should be careful that compromise does not creep into our decisions because of adverse circumstances.
We live in times that are becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet, and the temptation is to look at those around at those who appear to be so bountifully endowed with the riches of this world and yearn for a little of what they have.
Every act and action, every temptation and trial, every pain, and every prayer, was preparing Him for this ultimate hour, without which the sins of the world could never have been forgiven and salvation could never have been procured.
Throughout their writings, we discover that despite a temptation to flee from the trials, tribulations, and terrors of this broken world system, and in spite of the many difficulties and dangers that are a part of our everyday lives, our confidence is in the Lord, for He cares for the afflicted and He refines the righteous in His mercy and grace.
During Christ's ordeal in Gethsemane, a number of the disciples fell asleep when their prayer support would have been so welcome, and they had to be admonished: Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.
Too often, it is a temptation to read INTO the text what one thinks it says (eisegesis) rather than reading what the text ACTUALLY says, in the light of the entire Scriptures (exegesis).
James links this into a section that discusses the significance of the Word of God, not only in the trials and temptation we face, but in every facet of our daily lives.
in quick succession to justify his conclusion, which is the same for each example: IF God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment, then...SINCE God did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly, then... IF God condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter, then... SINCE God rescued righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.
Temptation was rebuffed by the never-changing Word of God, and difficulties were infused with a desire to do the will of the Father, through a Spirit-led trust in God.
God is Spirit and in order to be identified with man and take on the role of Kinsman-Redeemer He had to enter the human race in a physical body and live His entire life in exactly the same way that we live: living, breathing, eating, sleeping, working, with His own lifeblood pulsing round His human frame and subjected to every trial and temptation that is common to all humanity.
It was at this point of human vulnerability that Satan sought to tempt Jesus to act independently of His Father, just as the first Adam had succumbed to the same temptation to act independently from God.
Satan also knew that the temptation to act independently of His heavenly Father would have been intensified at the end of a 40 day fast.
And so we hear those universe-shattering words, when Jesus responded to this temptation by saying: It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
When we are tempted to sin, we must not forget that temptation never comes from the Lord but has its root in sin.
Temptation comes to us through the outer enticements of the world and the inner lusts of the flesh.
If we give into temptation we sin, but when we resist sin's evil bait, God turns that temptation into a meaningful trial which He uses for our greater good and His own glory.
We can allow ourselves to be a slave to sin OR a servant of righteousness; to yield to the temptation and dishonour God by sinning OR to resist the temptation and give glory to God by resisting the temptation.
As children of God, we are exhorted in many passages to resist temptation and to choose the path of righteousness.
Yielding to temptation or resisting temptation is a matter of individual choice, and we alone are responsible for the choices we make in our own life and the consequences that follow.
Truth hurts, especially when we try to justify our sinful choices, but the Bible makes it clear that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and when we yield to temptation and then try to make excuses for our own sinful choices, our defence freezes on our lips.
Anyone who gives in to any type of temptation stands silent before God, for it is his own inner passion that carry him away and which serve as sin's bait.
Temptation is likened to a worm on a hook which entices a little fish out from its hiding place, or a snare in a forest which entraps its unsuspecting prey into its dangerous, deadly iron teeth.
The source of temptation comes from within our fallen heart but it is only translated into sin when by thought, word, or deed we yield to its tempting bait.
However, when that same source of temptation from within is resisted, the coin is flipped over and the temptation to sin becomes a test of faith that God will use for our eternal good and for His greater glory,
But with the exhortation to gently and lovingly restore a brother in Christ, we are also warned to be careful not to fall into the same temptation ourselves: Watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted, for however mature a believer may be, we are all cautioned to keep watch on ourselves lest we too are tempted to sin.
Paul knew that seeking after the glittering prizes of life and the accumulation of riches, can often lead us into temptation or entrap us within a materialistic mind-set, which can so speedily catapult us into ruin and destruction.
We need to reflect on the motive behind all that we say and do, so that we do not fall into the temptation of trying to carrying out hypocritical actions in our own fleshly power in order to impress God or others of our piety in order to receive their warm applause.
It was only right that Paul offered this well-earned encouragement and reassurance to these beleaguered saints... to persevere in the midst of terrible trials, by commending them for their Christian commitment when they were undergoing such pressures, persecution, temptation, and trials.
I couldn't help it, is often the excuse we make, when we fall into temptation and sin.
Not only is He the Creator of the brilliant sun and the Maker of the starry heights but He is the Well-spring of all spiritual light and the Fountain-head of all wisdom and goodness and grace, while Satan is the father of darkness who kindles all sorts of evil against us and instigates every kind of deception, temptation, wickedness, and sin.
And God uses trials for our eternal benefit while Satan sends temptation to harm us and hinder us in our spiritual growth.
Christians should never say that it was God Who tempted them, for all temptation arises from sin and Satan, which is designed to entice us away from the godly path of righteousness.
Whether it is the lust of the flesh within or the lure of the world without, all temptation is rooted and grounded in sin.
If we succumb to the temptation we sin.
If we resist the temptation we do not sin and God will often turn that temptation to sin into a meaningful trial for good, which He graciously works together for our eternal benefit and for His eternal glory.
Probably the most important way to turn a temptation for evil into a trial that God will use for good, is to maintain a close relationship with Him through continuous prayer, ongoing praise and a thankful heart for all His goodness and grace towards us.
Paul lists the essential qualities older women should cultivate, such as teaching the younger, less experienced women about godly living and what is good and honouring to the Lord, knowing that they may be subject to fleshly temptation or exhibit shallow behaviour.
He resisted temptation, learned obedience by the things He suffered, and lived a perfect life by depending on His Father, listening to the guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit, standing on every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God, and praying without ceasing... in thanksgiving and praise.
keep watching and keep praying, He urged them, that you may not enter into temptation.
Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation.
When Scripture is read in context, the temptation to modify meaning, corrupt the content, or falsify truth disappears, and enlightenment floods the heart.
After laying this prophetic foundation and a brief reference to Christ's baptism in the Jordan, His temptation in the wilderness, and John's disgraceful imprisonment, Mark plunges straight into Christ's extended Galilean ministry.
In order to overcome the temptations of the enemy, we are simply instructed to resist; resist the devil, resist the temptation, resist the sin, resist the evil.
When temptation hammers on the door of our mind, we are to simply to say NO!
We are to decline that sinful temptation and turn down that lustful desire.
When doubt and discouragements rise in our hearts or when we are surrounded by trials, troubles, and temptation, we should shoot out a quiver of prayer arrows to the Lord for His help and guidance.
We are not to drift through our Christian life in a careless and carnal way, but rather we are to give close attention to entering into God's rest by resisting temptation, by listening to His truth, by applying His Word, submitting to the Holy Spirit, and by being utterly dependent upon our Lord Jesus Christ.