Temptation
Temptation
By Evangeline Unity Esaaba Folson
Matthew 4:2-10
2) And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, He was afterwards an hungered.3) And when the tempter came to him, He said, If thou be the son of God, command that these stones be turn into bread 4) But He answered and said, it is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedth out of the mouth of God 5) The devil taketh Him up into the HOLY CITY, and setleth Him on a pinnacle of the temple .6) And saith unto Him, if thou be the son of God cast yourself down for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning thee: and in the hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy food against a stone.
7) Jesus said unto him, it is written again, thou shall not tempt the Lord thy God 8) Again the devil taketh Him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdom of the world, and the glory of them: 9) And saith unto Him, all these things will I give the, if thou wilt fall down and worship me 10) Then saith Jesus unto Him get these things, Satan: for it is written thou shall worship the Lord thy god and Him only shall thou serve.
Temptation in the Biblical sense is a situation in which one; experiences a challenge to choose between fidelity and infidelity to one’s obligation towards God. A perfect example of temptation and how we should escape is given in Matthew 4:1-11.
The bible says I Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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.
The verse above states that all temptation is within our ability to overcome because we trust god in such times, He will show us a way out and help us to endure it. Temptations are supposed to prove our fidelity to God and not to destroy us.
The passage in Matthew 4, shows us the trick the devil uses and how we are to deal with it.
Characteristics of Temptations
First of all, the devil will tempt you when he knows you are vulnerable or when you are humanly tired and unable to depend on your own strength
The devil came to tempt Jesus when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights and he was tired and hungry. His first tempt was to tempt him with food (Matthew 4:2-3) Jesus turned to the word immediately. He said, “it is written ………..”
The devil will use your most pressing need. For example, you are broke and your child is sick. “take some of the church money, you can replace it later or take some of the company’s funds and replace it later”. But you know you are not expecting any large sum of money in the near future. What does the bible say about taking what does not belong to you?
“……….Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s…………… nor anything that is thy neighbor’s”
Instead of taking what belongs to your neighbor, the bible says whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved and God shall supply all your needs (Romans 10:30, Philippians 4:19)
How to overcome temptation.
When you are tempted:
Turn to the Lord in prayer
Jeremiah 33:3
Turn to the word of God to find the appropriate line of action to take. Remember to overcome all the temptation, Jesus quoted the word and Satan had to bow in each case and use a different approach until Jesus commanded him to leave. He obeyed because he knew he was defeated.
Remember
2Thimothy 2:15
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Study the bible and know what to apply or confess in time of need.
REFERENCES
Oxford English Mini Dictionary
