DELIVER ME FROM TEMPTATION

DELIVER ME FROM TEMPTATION                             July 7, 2024

Jesus was tempted (Matthew 4:1-11; Hebrews 4:15).  We struggle with temptation.  It is simply part of the human condition.  Each of us battle inward desires which can bring sin into our lives (James 1:13-15).  Satan is the tempter (Matthew 4:3).  We must engage him in spiritual warfare by the strength which God supplies (II Corinthians 10:4-6; Ephesians 6:10-13).  We better get our minds firmly set on the life and death struggle each of us must face or be lost through our own carelessness or neglect.

Satan makes temptation attractive.  He sugar-coats sin.  He wraps it up in a nice, little package.  Sin has pleasures associated with it (Hebrews 11:25).  These pleasures manifest themselves in many ways.  Satan knows that all people are not tempted in the same way.  So, like a skillful fisherman, he makes each lure appropriate to the person being tempted.  Each person is “tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own desires” (James 1:14).  Sin feels good.  But, its consequences are heart-breaking (Romans 6:23).

No one is immune to the evil influence of Satan’s temptation.  Deliverance is more than a sentence-prayer (Matthew 6:13).  We must not be ignorant of Satan’s schemes against us (II Corinthians 2:11).  We must keep watch in prayer (Matthew 26:41).  We must treasure up God’s word in our hearts as a safeguard against sin (Psalms 119:11).  We must trust God completely rather than lean on our own strength (Proverbs 3:5).  We cooperate in the process of deliverance by making firm resolutions (e.g. Daniel 1:8); by putting ourselves in the company of those who will encourage right choices (Hebrews 10:23-25); and by fleeing before temptation has opportunity to ensnare us in its web (II Timothy 2:22).  Above all, remember that God is faithful and will provide the way of escape (I Corinthians 10:13).  Deliverance is ours through faith in Christ Jesus (I John 5:4; Romans 8:37).

By Glen Elliott