Articles
Lessons from Jesus being Tempted
Nothing demonstrates the humanity of Jesus more than the fact that He was tempted by the devil. Jesus is God (Jn. 1:1), but He also became flesh (Jn. 1:14). Also, let’s remember that James, writing by inspiration, stated, “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.” (Jas. 1:13). Knowing all of this, let’s learn some important lessons from the fact that Jesus was tempted.
Temptation is common to all
Some Christians may look at other saints who are strong in their faith and think they don’t face the kind of temptations others face. It’s as if they think the strong don’t face as much temptation. Look at Jesus. No one could ever accuse Jesus of not being strong yet He faced temptations often. Not only that, He faced some very tough situations during His life (Matt. 4; Matt. 16, etc.). When it comes to temptations, we can truthfully say that they are common to man, even to Jesus (I Cor. 10:13; I Jn. 2:16).
Temptation, no matter how severe, can be resisted
It wouldn’t make any sense for God’s children to be told to resist the devil if it wasn’t possible to resist (Jas. 4:7). At the same token, why would anyone suffer the consequence of death for transgression (Rom. 6:23) if one had to sin at times? Since our Lord is just (I Jn. 1:8), there is only one possible conclusion as to why everyone is punished for breaking God's law. That is, they didn’t have to disobey. On top of all of this, Christians are told that they will not be tempted with anything that is beyond their ability to resist (I Cor. 10:13).
Temptation resisted makes you stronger
The benefit that comes from resisting temptation is that we gain strength. Therefore, we count it all joy when we face various temptations (Jas. 1:2-4). When Jesus taught His followers to pray about temptation, the Lord did not tell them to pray that they don’t face any. What our Savior did say, was to pray that you don’t enter into it (Matt. 6:13). Asking our Father to remove all temptation would not make us stronger. When we look at the life of Jesus and all that He faced, one can be certain it played an important role in Him being able to endure going to the cross.
Temptation is not sin
Jesus was tempted in all points as man but never sinned (Heb. 4:15). Even though this is true, this doesn’t mean we play with fire. In other words, if you are tempted with fornication, you flee (I Cor. 6:18). We are also told that evil companions corrupt good morals (I Cor. 15:33). The lesson is clear; we need to remove ourselves from situations that can lead us into sin. Therefore, we must learn to say no, walk away, or simply run.
Temptation will only end when we die
Being told to be faithful until death (Rev. 2:10) can only mean that there is a danger of falling short, right up to the end. The adversary didn’t let up on Jesus, even at the very end of His life on earth. Knowing that Satan is our adversary and that he wants to devour us (I Pet. 5:8), he will be relentless to the end. The comfort for us is knowing that the only thing the devil can do is tempt us; he can never make us sin. We need to remember this our whole life. One of the wiles of the devil (Eph. 6:11) is to tempt us to believe we eventually just have to give in because the battle has gone on for so long. Yes, it will be our entire life, so let us resist, knowing one day it will cease.
