"Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
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Lesson 27: Facing temptation:
Review
So far in this series we have considered...
1. The power of the
cross of Jesus to break the curse of sin upon man’s life and to provide
the way for the seed of the second man to be sown in the believer’s
heart.
2. The life of the
second man can be lived by the believer who humbly submits with a
broken and contrite heart.
3. See Micah 6:8 “He
has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of
you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”
In this lesson we shall consider the human struggle with temptation.
1. We will look at
where it comes from;
2. The ways Satan
tempts us;
3. And what we must do
to overcome temptation.
Our objective is...to recognise that temptation is not sin, and that
with every temptation there is a way of escape, and that the believer
can learn to overcome at all times.
1. The cycle of temptation.
James 1:13-15
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt
anyone. But each one is tempted when he is
drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown,
brings forth death.
2. Satan’s methods in temptation.
Genesis 3:1-7
1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said,
‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees
of the garden;
3 “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,
God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you
die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took
of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves
coverings.
Matthew 4:9
And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall
down and worship me.”
John 12:6
This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a
thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
Acts 12:21-23
So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and
gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, “The voice
of a god and not of a man!” Then immediately an angel
of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he
was eaten by worms and died.
1 Corinthians 10:10
nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by
the destroyer.
Colossians 3:8-9
But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice,
blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one
another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
3. The purpose of
temptation.
2 Chronicles 32:31
However, regarding the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, whom they
sent to him to inquire about the wonder that was done in the land, God
withdrew from him, in order to test him, that He might know all that
was in his heart.
Deuteronomy 8:2
And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these
forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what
was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not.
Psalm 66:10
For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is
refined.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master
builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let
each one take heed how he builds on it. For no other
foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one’s work will
become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed
by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it
is. If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will
receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer
loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
Hebrews 12:25-29
See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape
who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we
turn away from much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him
who speaks from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth; but now He
has promised, saying, “Yet once more I shake not only the earth, but
also heaven.” Now this, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of those
things that are being shaken, as of things that are made, that the
things which cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since
we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace,
by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly
fear. For our God is a consuming fire.
James 1:2
My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
1 Peter 1:6-7
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be,
you have been grieved by various trials, that the
genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour,
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,
4. Overcoming.
Matthew 4:1-11
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted
by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty
nights, afterward He was hungry. Now when the tempter
came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these
stones become bread.” But He answered and said, “It
is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that
proceeds from the mouth of God.’ Then the devil took Him up
into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to
Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is
written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their
hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’
“ Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You
shall not tempt the LORD your God.’ Again, the devil took Him up
on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these
things I will give You if You will fall down and worship
me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan!
For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only
you shall serve.’ Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels
came and ministered to Him.
Matthew 26:41
Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak.
2 Timothy 2:22
Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace
with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.”
2 Peter 1:5-9
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith
virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control
perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly
kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are
yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the
knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these things is
short-sighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was
cleansed from his old sins.
Ephesians 4:27
nor give place to the devil.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 6:10-18
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His
might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole
armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your
waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of
peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will
be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all
prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with
all perseverance and supplication for all the saints;
Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 2:18
For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid
those who are tempted.
Malcolm Vine, Cornerstone Ministries. September 2004.
To contact the Bible School email: bibleschool@cornerstoneministries.org.uk
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