Title: How to overcome temptation? / Matthew 6:13
The past sins are forgiven, but the problem is to overcome the trials to come. Even in a beautiful and clean place like the Garden of Eden, there were trials. How many trials will there be in this corrupt and sinful world?
I. Types of exams
Some of the temptations come from God and some from Satan. The prayer to lead us not into temptation here refers to the latter case. It is also necessary to distinguish whether it is a test to do evil or a test to raise the grade. “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you face trials of various kinds, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2-3). it said It is like a test to offer Abraham his son Isaac as a sacrifice. This comes to us as persecution, sickness, despair or abuse from family and friends. Through these tests, God strengthens the Christian's faith. When such temptations come, we should rejoice and know the sufferings we suffer through them as glory.
But James speaks of another test. It is not from God. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). This is the test of sin. But James said, "But each man is tempted, because his own desires are drawn away and deceived" (James 1:14). Such a test cannot rejoice. This comes from our sinful nature, and we will have to overcome this temptation.
Finally, it speaks of being attacked by the devil. “Therefore, submit yourselves to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
The temptations mentioned in the prayer the Lord taught do not refer to the first or second of these. It is not a test from God to strengthen our faith. Nor is it a test that comes from the sinful desires within us. The temptation Jesus spoke of is a temptation that comes directly from Satan to the believer.
II. obedience and rebellion
What is the secret to resisting this kind of test? It is to obey God and resist the devil, as mentioned earlier (James 4:7). Avoid temptations that come from the body. "Flee the lusts of youth" (2 Timothy 2:22), "Flee from fornication" (1 Corinthians 6:18), to resist the temptations that come upon us from the world, "Renew our hearts and be transformed, so that You must discern His will” (Romans 12:1-2). But when the temptation comes from the devil, submit yourself to God and resist the devil, and he will flee from you. How to obey and resist?
How to resist Satan's wisdom and tricks? It is true that Satan is stronger than us. Therefore, we cannot fight against it by our own strength. We have no choice but to ask for help from the one who defeated Satan. He will one day imprison Satan forever.
What does it mean to submit to God? It refers to the submission of human will to God. Since we cannot be independent from our personal relationship with God, we must communicate with God through prayer. It is no coincidence that the prayer, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil," entered the last part of the Lord's prayers. The words 'Hallowed be your name', 'Thy kingdom come' and 'Thy will be done' are the believers opposing the devil, but it is possible only after they first submit themselves to God.
What does it mean to oppose? how to fight We oppose it with the word of God, that is, the word of the Bible. What Jesus said to his disciples, "You have already been cleansed by the words I spoke to you" (John 15:3) is that we have become our own by eating and learning the Bible. “I have put Your word in my heart, that I may not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11), and Paul said, “Take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).
III. Jesus' example
The best model for resisting the devil is the behavior of Jesus recorded in Matthew 4 when he met temptation. Jesus said there was no sin, so how can He be tempted like us? (Hebrews 4:15). Yes, because Jesus is without sin, there is no temptation from the sinful nature. And there are no tests from the world, such as pride and lust for domination. But if Jesus had a temptation, it was a temptation that came directly from the devil. It is as if Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan. Before the Fall, Adam and Eve had no sin nature. But Satan tested him.
What do we see when we read the trial of Jesus? The temptation to make bread out of stones is a physical test; The temptation to jump yourself from the top of the temple in Jerusalem is a test to gain worldly fame in a worldly way; The temptation to worship Satan was a clear spiritual test in which Satan tried to take the place of God by directly opposing God. All of these temptations were manifested as temptations of the flesh, of the thalamus, and of the devil, but they were essentially from Satan. Therefore, the temptation of Jesus was given in the way we receive it. These temptations were more cunning and stronger than ours because of their origin.
How did Jesus overcome this temptation? Some think that the divinity of the Lord was probably mobilized. So I think that Jesus could have overcome because he had more power than we do. Of course, Jesus is more powerful than us. However, nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus overcame temptation by mobilizing his divinity. Jesus is both human and God. But he resisted temptation as a human being. For this reason he is our example in temptation.
How did Jesus overcome temptation?
1. He fasted and prayed for 40 days.
2. He defeated Satan by telling him the Bible in everything.
In response to Satan's temptation to make bread out of stones and eat it, the Lord responded with God's word, "so that you may know that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" (Deuteronomy 8:3b). said When he said that he would jump from the top of the temple, he answered with the words, "Do not put the LORD your God to the test" (Deuteronomy 6:16b). The final test was also resisted by saying, “You shall fear the Lord your God, and you shall serve him, and swear by his name” (Deuteronomy 6:13).
Like us, the Lord overcame temptations with the Word and prayer. If we pray like the Lord and have the knowledge to learn the Bible like the Lord, we will be able to overcome temptations. We should pray that God will protect us from Satan's temptations. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10: 13).
The prayer the Lord taught us ends with "Thy kingdom and power and glory forever be." This is not a requirement to make it a reality. If we are children of God, we should not worry about the future. There is no doubt that God can indeed take care of us. We have nevertheless been concerned about our little nation, our power, and our glory. But we realize how foolish we are when we learn that the kingdom of God is certain, that his power is sufficient in all circumstances, and that his glory is ultimately all-inclusive.
This prayer showed that there is a possibility that everyone can fall into temptation, but that there is also a way to overcome temptation.
Satan chooses the subject of temptation. He chose Eve to tempt Adam and the serpent to overthrow Eve.
① The person who wants to believe for the first time
② Those who boast that they have received grace
③ Those who feel lonely (Joseph and Bathsheba)
④ Zealous people (seeds of pride, heresy, strife)
⑤ A disgruntled man (I asked for relief from the woman who broke the alabaster in Judas Iscariot)
⑥ The sleeper of faith (the enemy sows weeds while he sleeps)
are the subjects to be tested.
Satan's temptation is to:
① They try to break the prayer line by making the members discouraged.
② To prevent them from repenting (Judas Iscariot)
③ Let gratitude cease
④ This is to prevent disloyalty.