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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And 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.
1 Corinthians 10:12-13
This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Temptation, especially as it relates to sin, is a part of the human condition and it’s been that way since the dawn of mankind.
We know this because God’s word reveals it in the beginning of its very first book, the Book of Genesis. There we find this:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as He was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3:1-14
God had issued a clear command to Adam, His first created man.
“You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” Genesis 2:16-17
Note that this command wasn’t directly spoken to Eve, the first woman, but it’s obvious that Adam had filled her in after God formed a rib removed from Adam’s body. I say this because it’s Eve who shares God’s command with the wily serpent in Eden’s garden.
Now, people like to pin the temptation that led to the advent of sin into a perfect world on the serpent but the real temptation was the fruit on the tree of knowledge and good and evil, wasn’t it?
Eve especially had her eye on the fruit which looked so good and pleasing to the eye. The fact that it also would bring wisdom was just a proverbial cherry on top. She wanted it oh so badly but there was that nagging command from God in the back of her mind which provided the narrowest of inhibitions that kept her from sinning. All she needed was a little nudge and the serpent was ready to oblige.
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
That was all that was needed to push Eve over the line drawn by God, the line keeping sin from being born. And so first she, and then Adam who followed her lead, ate the forbidden fruit and changed the narrative for creation. Iniquity entered the world and it wouldn’t take long for it to show up in a much bigger way than eating banned fruit. For as we see in Genesis 4, Cain, Adam and Eve’s first born son, kills his brother Abel in cold blood out of mere jealousy and then takes his sin to the next level as he lies to God about what he had done. The first murder had happened and God’s word was just four chapters in.
Since these first incidents of sin, the temptation to break God’s commands has existed and continues to exist today, following the same basic formula.
First, there is something that draws the attention of the sinner, something that God prohibits.
Second, the sinner’s desire to give into the temptation rises up to point of giving in.
Finally, there is some final impetus that removes inhibition and raises the gate blocking the sinner from the sin. The sinner gladly passes through and violates God’s word and will.
Given this, you shouldn’t be surprised to see God’s word address the problem of temptation.
Why that approach?
Because if you can deal with what leads a person towards sin, you can stop them before they cross the line.
Look at what the Apostle Paul writes to the Christians in Corinth where it’s obvious that people were being tempted to sin.
So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And 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. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13
First, note that Paul issues a warning.
“So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!”
Sometimes I think Christian believers feel they are bulletproof from temptation. They are standing firm, or at least they believe they are, and can adopt an attitude that sin is a problem that other people have, not themselves.
Paul warns against this because Satan is always looking for opportunities to take people down and he loves to target the spiritually vulnerable. Those in this category aren’t just new Christian believers like Paul’s readers in Corinth but also more experienced Christians who let their guard down and fell into temptation’s trap. All of God’s people need to be hypersensitive to sin’s advances but what should someone do when temptation comes?
Paul provides us the guidance:
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And 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.
First of all, no one should be surprised when temptation comes.
“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.”
If you’re being tempted, join the club. So is everyone else. This is the message the apostle is trying to convey.
So what is the solution to this problem that affects every single person ever created?
The solution is God.
“And 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 is the answer. It’s true with temptation just as it’s true with anything else in life.
When a person is being enticed to break God’s commands, they only need to turn to Him for the way out. He never allows us to be tempted beyond what we can bear because we can bear anything with His help.
Want to turn away from sin?
Turn to God. He will give you the strength to resist transgression and bless you when you do so. It’s the only way we can properly handle temptation and avoid the sin that God despises.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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