Life is filled with temptation. The Hebrew midwives were tempted to fear man over God. Jesus was tempted to satisfy His physical desires, to seek glory apart from the cross, to put God to the test. We could even say that the Corinthians were tempted to overlook sin in their midst and to allow this leaven to slowly permeate Christ's church. It is a fact, that temptation is common to man. As long as we live in this world our sinful flesh, the devil and the world system that denies God will lure us away from the path of life in Christ.
What are we to do? I think our reading today gives us several practical strategies against temptation.
1. Live Coram Deo (see RC Sproul's article for a greater development of this idea). Simply put that means to live in the presence of God, or as it was said of the Hebrew midwives, live in the fear of God. Recognize who God is. Give Him His rightful place in your life. Understand that you live under His gaze and let that realization guide your every word and deed. Recognize that there is no audience more important than the "audience of One" - our omnipresent God.
2. Fight temptation with the Word of God. Jesus is the prime example of this deft use of Scripture. With each temptation thrown at Him by the adversary, Jesus drew upon His knowledge of the Scriptures, and fought Satan's deceitful lures with the truth. If I remember correctly He uses three passages from the book of Deuteronomy. That's why it is so important to be in the Word. It is one of our most important defenses against temptation. In fact, Paul says it is our only offensive weapon against the evil, for it is the Sword of the Spirit.
3. Consider the cost of giving in to temptation. As I read Jesus' temptations I was struck by the second one. The devil was offering Him all the kingdoms of the world. That means all authority, all power, all glory would be His. Who isn't lured by that? But look at the cost! The evil one says that Jesus could have all this if He "worships" him. The cost of obtaining all this power and glory was the enslavement of his soul to the devil. That's a cost too high for anyone to pay, but sadly we too often take the bait. I wonder how many men (or women) who are being lured to be unfaithful to their marriage vows would plunge ahead into this abyss if they had taken time to consider the costs. They are never worth the moment of pleasure that might have come.
4. Rely on the resources of the Spirit. After Jesus' temptations the Scripture says that He "returned in the power of the Spirit...". From this I deduce that the Spirit was present during those tests empowering Jesus to overcome. The fact is, God does not leave us on our own to fight temptation. Jesus said that He would not leave us as orphans, but would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, who would walk alongside us during our sojourn on earth. So, in the midst of temptation, it is important that we draw upon the strength that resides in us through the person of the Holy Spirit. It will show us the way of escape and give us the grace the live to the glory of God.
As I sign off may we all pray together those words our Lord taught us to pray: "lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the Glory, forever Amen."
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