Temptation

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Temptation is a word that usually describes an act that indicates lack of self control. If we are tempted by something we are probably talking about something that is not good for us. This of course is a secular view for this term. You know it would be easy to leave it there, but nothing is easy about trying to live a righteous life, so what does God think about Temptation? The beginning of this problem for the human experience has its origins in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, they were tempted by the serpent to eat the infamous apple and hence the introduction of sin into the world as a problem for human beings.
For Christians temptation is a word that indicates the participation in an act that leads to sinful behavior. In other words we are being lured away from our commitment to living a life outside of sin by some type of temptation. When I say live outside of sin I mean that we are never completely free of sin, we can only do our best through the aid of the holy spirit and gods word not to be succumbed by it. Having said that falling victim to sin can pose real problems for us in a few ways. For one when we turned our lives over to Christ we made a commitment to change our lives. "If any man be in Christ Jesus he is a new creation, old things are passed away and all things become new." God has now placed his holy spirit within us to lead and to guide us. So any act of purposely committing a sin grieves Gods holy spirit and we should be convicted by it. Finally God says the penalty for sin is ultimately death, first physical and then spiritual. Temptation has very serious consequences in the eyes of God.

As I indicted earlier temptation is a problem that all individuals have to deal with on some level Christian or not. But for Christians it is a tool utilized by Satan to keep us bound to a life of religious mediocrity. In other words we never reach our full potential in our Christian walk because we are constantly being subdued by sin. To the mind that is ill informed about Gods word and the battle being waged right here on earth between good and evil this is a lot of nonsense. The bible says in Ephesians 6:12 "12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." So our adversary Satan is as real as the nose on your face. His intent is to destroy you, both physically and spiritually in your sin so the same fate that awaits him will await you. What awaits him is being condemned to eternal damnation in hell.

Finally the bible says, that god does not tempt us nor can he be tempted. We are tempted when each person by his own desires and thoughts is lead away to commit an act of sinfulness. The bible also says that God will not allow any of his chosen or the elect to be tempted beyond what your capable of with standing. In other words he will provide a way out. But we must properly equip our lives with his word and with the assistance of the aid of his holy spirit, with these tools properly utilized we can overcome any and all temptations and ultimately experience success in our everyday battle with temptation.

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