Temptation or Sin? Thinking It Through: 1. What are the two weapons of Satan, and how do they relate to each other?

Transcription

1 Lesson 8 Thinking It Through: 1. What are the two weapons of Satan, and how do they relate to each other? 2. Describe the three functions of the soul? 3. Before we were born again, why couldn t we discern between what was of our sinful nature and what was of Satan? 4. What hinders many Christians from discerning the voice of Satan? 5. Define temptation? 6. How does Satan use our emotions against us? 7. What evidence do you have that points to who controls you? 8. How does knowing that the Holy Spirit controls us and not we who control the Spirit give us hope? Temptation or Sin? 15 Intermediate Discipleship 201 Intermediate Discipleship 201 a

2 Lesson 8 Preamble What is the difference between temptation and sin? Day 1: Read the narrative of Adam and Eve, Genesis 3:1-13. What did you learn about temptation? Day 2: Read the narrative of Job, Job 1:6-22. What did you learn about temptation? Day 3: Read the narrative of Job, Job 2:1-10. What did you learn about temptation? Day 4: Read the narrative of King Ahab, 1 Kings 22:1-29. What did you learn about temptation? Day 5: Read the narrative of Jesus, Mark 14: What did you learn about temptation? Day 6: Read the narrative of Peter, Luke 22: What did you learn about temptation? Day 7: Compare James 1:13-15 to James 1:2-4. What is the difference between the two Scriptures? Memory verse: No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And 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 stand up under it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 1 Intermediate Discipleship 201 not submit to God s law, nor can it do so. ( Ro.8:5-6) The world is a dichotomy as people are controlled by either the sinful nature in which we are born or by the Holy Spirit when we are born again. Those controlled by the sinful nature have the mindset of sin, but those controlled by the Holy Spirit are controlled by the mindset of God. This directly affects our actions: The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and selfcontrol. (Ga.5:19-23) The acts of the sinful nature are a product of our predisposition to sin, but the fruit of the Spirit is called fruit because it is produced by the Spirit and not ourselves. Jesus taught this clearly. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn.15:5) Our holiness is a product of the Spirit, and without the Spirit there will be no fruit. God does not force us against our will, but His Spirit predisposes us to holiness, changing our desires to be like Him: Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Php.2:12-13) God works in us to will and to act so that we will not serve sin, the sinful nature, or Satan again; for the Sprit is greater than all else: We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. (1Jn.5:18) If you have given the control of your life to Christ, then He will keep it safe. We are only secure if God lives in us. Paul was confident of the control of the Spirit:...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Php.1:6) If Christ has control of your life, then you are secure in Him: I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no-one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no-one can snatch them out of my Father s hand. (Jn.10:28) Therefore the Christian life is all about God controlling life. Have you given Christ control of your life? You may think your soul has control, but it is a mere puppet of the sinful nature and Satan, if you are not born again. Intermediate Discipleship

3 Lesson 8 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. (Ro.7:5) Paul bore fruit unto death. He was controlled so that the good He wanted to do He could not do but the bad he did not want to do he kept on doing. As a mother passed aids to her baby, Eve passed on the sinful nature: Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. (Jn:3:6) Everyone born of Adam was controlled by the sinful nature. The only reason why we thought we were in control was the fact that when the sinful nature invoked a desire, we yielded to it. This gave us the illusion that we were merely following our own desires. It is when we want to live contrary to the sinful nature that the control of sin is experienced and a battle begins. This is the natural condition of the soul. The solution is to place ourselves under something that can exert an even greater control: So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. (Ga.5:16-17) In the same way that we used to be in submission to sin, we are now controlled by the Spirit the control of righteousness: When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. (Ro.6:20) Our souls can only be controlled by one of two things: either sin or the Holy Spirit. There are no other options: Don t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? (Ro.6:16) We were born in sin due to heredity of being descended of Adam: Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. (Ps.51:5) Now through Christ we have the opportunity to escape the control of sin by placing our lives under the control of someone greater. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Ro.8:9) If we place our lives under the control of the Holy Spirit, then we are free from the control of the sinful nature. You are controlled by one or the other, but ever since the fall, mankind has not controlled their lives: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does 13 Intermediate Discipleship 201 Two Weapons After sharing the truth that we died to sin in our baptism and that we are born again with Christ living us, some people usually say, "The sinful nature is not gone; you would be appalled at my thoughts. Some of you have been dealing with the concept of our sinful nature being crucified with Christ, and yet you experience many wicked thoughts. As Christians we need to know that Satan can simulate the sinful nature with a constant attack of temptations and accusations. The Bible teaches that Satan is the tempter: Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (1Co.7:5) Unlike the sinful nature which used to reside in man, temptations are thoughts and feelings that Satan places in man coming from outside of man. The Bible gives Satan the title of tempter : For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless. (1Th.3:5) Many Christians do not realize that temptation is only one of Satan s weapons. Many times Satan has placed temptations in my mind then masqueraded as the Holy Spirit with an accusation of being wicked and that we are not a new creation. There is a difference between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the accusation of Satan. Satan masquerades as the voice of God: And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (2Co:11:14) Satan is like a boxer wearing two gloves: one glove is temptation, and the other is accusation. Between the jabs of temptations and the hooks of accusations, he hopes to give you a combination that will make you fall. Satan can place a succession of depraved thoughts in our minds, then in a voice of an angel accuse us in the hope to get us to despair and give up: For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. (Re.12:10) Satan is both tempter and accuser which can clearly be seen in Job s life. Consider Job; the first two chapters record the two temptations of Job. The next 34 chapters record Job being accused by Satan through his friends to make him lose heart and fall. Some people are more susceptible to temptations to sin while others are more susceptible to accusation and guilt. Therefore, it is vitally important that Christians know the difference between temptation and sin; otherwise, we would think that we have sinned when in reality it was temptation. Intermediate Discipleship 201 2

4 Lesson 8 The Soul There are only two fronts on which Satan can personally attack a Christian. These are understood when we realize that every person is a trinity, having body, soul, and spirit: May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1Th.5:23) Satan can attack the body through physical attacks of violence and sickness. These are easily understood by most Christians. However, the most devastating attacks are mounted against the soul aspects of which are contained in our heart and mind: Jesus replied: " Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (Mt.22:37) Even though the heart, mind, and soul are separate by definition and perform different functions, Scripturally they are generally referred to as the soul. In the Bible, the Greek word usually translated as soul or life is psuche : For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? ( Mt.16:25-26) The Greek word psuche interpreted both as life and soul indicates that our life is run by our soul. The faculties of the soul are basically intellect, emotion, and will. The soul life is animal life: a dog can be smart or dumb, happy or sad, obedient or strong-willed. The Scriptures teach that all animals have a soul: The second angel poured out his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that of a dead man, and every living thing (psuche) in the sea died. (Re.16:3) Even though animals have souls, they do not have spirits and therefore are not eternal. The soul is the non-corporal part of man that Biblically resides in our hearts. It is the seat of emotion with attitudes and conscience. My soul is deeply grieved, (Mt.26:38 NASB ) My beloved in whom my soul is well-pleased ; (Mt.12:18 NASB) The soul is also credited with the thoughts, for it is from the heart that our thoughts originate. Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Ge.6:5 NASB) The mind is the physical organ that thinks, but it is the soul that decides from the heart and that is the source of all we think and imagine: My soul continually thinks of it (La.3:20 NRSV) But the Jews who disbelieved stirred up the minds (psuche) of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren. (Ac.14:2 NASB) And the soul is the source of our will, containing our volition the power to will and to chose. 3 Intermediate Discipleship 201 the will to change: I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. (Ro.7:18-20) Paul, prior to receiving Christ, knew what God wanted and desired to please Him; but he could not overcome the power of sin in his life: For in my inner being I delight in God s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. (Ro.7:22-23) The sinful nature forced Paul, against his will, to do the things he hated. The sinful nature also allowed Satan access into our lives, causing us to complete his agenda. Hence, Satan also had control over our lives: We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. (1Jn.5:19) To try to guard your minds with its thoughts and your heart with its emotions will do little in keeping them from sin since you do not have the will to do as you ought. For this reason, you must deal with the weakness of your soul. We wanted to do good, but in the end, none of us could live a life pleasing to God: We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. As it is written: "There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one." (Ro.3:9-12) All of us were controlled by sin. God told Adam and Eve that the day they ate the forbidden fruit, they would surely die. However, they did not die physically or eternally; but they surely did die. For the moment Eve comprehended that she had a choice whether or not to eat the fruit, she died to a free will, predisposing us to sin. Paul experienced the same things: Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. (Ro.7:9-11) The moment Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, they lost their innocence and with it free choice. Free choice only exists when man does not have a preference either way; one being as likely as the other. Once man has acquired a taste for something and a repulsion for another thing, they can no longer freely chose between the two as they have become biased. When they ate the forbidden fruit, man became predisposed to sin: Intermediate Discipleship

5 Lesson 8 set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Ro.8:5) Since the Spirit lives in us, He changes both our minds and our desires; this will have a direct affect on our actions. If Christ lives in our hearts, then what we think and feel about sin has changed. Since Satan can mislead us by our feelings, we need to discern as to their origin: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1Pe.2:11) We must discern our feelings, whether they are from the Spirit, from our former way of life, or from Satan, who is trying to get us into old patterns of attitude. Whether anger, despair, discouragement, depression, or lust, these are not from the Spirit but from Satan and must be put off: Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Co.3:5-11) It is not good enough to deal with only the actions that are sin. Paul is telling us that we must now deal with the emotions behind the actions. At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. (Ti.3:3) Christ has dealt with the attitudes of our hearts so effectively that the only way we can describe it is in the terms of old self versus new self: You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph.4:22-24) A Christian has put off the old self with its desires and attitudes, having received the righteousness and holiness that are from God: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Ga.5:22-23) We must be in a constant state of discernment as to the origin of our emotions. Therefore, a Christian is no longer driven by the emotions of a wicked heart what they feel like doing; but they are now controlled by the Spirit, resulting in righteousness and holiness. The Sacrifice of Soul The third aspect of the soul is the will: the soul s right to itself. Before we came to Christ, many of us were tired of our life but did not have 11 Intermediate Discipleship 201 So that my soul would choose suffocation, (Job 7:15 NASB) My soul waits in silence for God only; (Ps 62:1 NASB) My soul refused to be comforted. (Ps.77:2 NASB) The natural man s soul is the essence of their being and is the part of man that allows Satan access into lives. The soul is the place where Satan wages war against thoughts, emotions, and will your soul: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. (1Pe.2:11) Satan attacks your thoughts, emotions, and will to keep you captive to sin. However, Christ has freed you; but you must believe it in order to realize it in your life. Therefore, the soul forms the personal front where Satan does battle. The Battlefield of Your Mind The mind has thoughts, but where do thoughts originate? Our thoughts naturally originate in the context of the physical world around us and our circumstances, but the Scriptures present that our thoughts can originate from a spiritual source. Jesus asked the disciples who they thought He was. Some said one thing, others another; then Peter said: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. (Mt.16:16-17) If Peter would have been asked, he would have said the thought originated from within himself. Peter did not realize that he was having a spiritual encounter, for Jesus said that Peter s thoughts originated from God. Later, Jesus started talking about His death; again Peter was quick to speak: "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!" Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling -block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mt.16:22-23) Again Peter had a thought which he would say came out of his love and devotion to Jesus. He would have said it originated from within himself. However, this time Jesus does not even address Peter but addresses the originator of the thought, Satan. Satan placed the thought in Peter s mind, and he can place thoughts in our minds as well. This is what the Sovereign LORD says: On that day thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil scheme. (Eze.38:10) We may be walking along and all of a sudden without prior inclination, a wicked thought comes into our minds. Where did it come from? It is not from our sinful nature, as it died with Christ in our baptism; rather, it came from the outside Satan. For this reason, we must learn to discern the origin of our thoughts before we let them develop in the recesses of our minds and deal with them accordingly the moment they enter. Before we came to Christ, there was little difference between the thoughts Satan placed in our minds and our own thinking that was controlled by the sinful nature. For before Christ, the Bible states: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds Intermediate Discipleship 201 4

6 Lesson 8 set on what that nature desires; The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. (Ro.8:5-8) Because of our sinful nature, we could not discern between the thoughts that originated from our sinful nature through the physical stimuli and that which Satan placed in our minds. However, once we have received Christ, the sinful nature has died because He lives in us; and we have received a new mind, the very mind of Christ: But we have the mind of Christ. (1Co.2:16) Now that we have a new mind which is Christ s, our thoughts are now naturally contrary to the thoughts that the devil would give us. Now we can identify and discern as to their origin. However, there is a need to transform our thinking patterns, away from our natural thought patterns: Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Ro.12:2) Many Christians are not renewing their minds; rather, they keep their old thinking patterns that were developed before they gave Christ their lives. We develop our thinking patterns by what we read, the programs we watch, and our friends. For this reason, we need to change those things that influence our thoughts: Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person such a man is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no-one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. (Eph.5:1-7) The people we associate with and our entertainments are either causing us to imitate God or are influencing us to imitate the world. Garbage in, garbage out a man s actions reflect what he as been feeding his mind. Worldly friends will erode our holiness as they tell the off-colored joke with sexual connotations: Do not be misled: "Bad company corrupts good character." Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God I say this to your shame. (1Co.15:33-34) Do not expect God to transform your thinking patterns if you are still engaging the same media (magazines, novels, videos, music) you did before you were saved. For all forms of worldly entertainment are 5 Intermediate Discipleship 201 young people fall in love, their feelings will try to lead them to compromise their stance on their moral purity. Even though Satan tempts us in our minds with thoughts of immorality, he uses our emotions to manipulate us to sin: Each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (Ja.1:14-15) Before Christ, the chain of events that led an unbeliever is: temptation, desire, sin and death. Satan would tempt us with thoughts, our emotional response was that we felt like doing it, and then we did what God commanded us not to do for which we will go to hell. The Scripture clearly shows the condition of our hearts without Christ: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer.17:9) Without Christ, we did not have a pure heart, causing our desires to find fulfillment in evil. However, after we gave our lives to Christ to be our Lord, a significant change took place: He purified our hearts by faith. This dealt with our evil desires: God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. (Ac.15:8-9) God purifies our hearts the moment we believe. The Scriptures tell us that if we want to live eternally, we need to purify our hearts; otherwise, we will not see God: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. (Mt 5:8) Christians have purified their hearts, for the only prayer that is acceptable to God is one out of a pure heart: Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. (2Ti.2:22) The whole of the Christian life is affected by the purifying of our hearts. What used to be emotionally gratifying, God has transformed; where hate used to be so prevalent, now love motivates our lives. The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. (1Ti.1:5) Our hearts used to be self-centered, consumed by sinful desires and focused on emotional-gratification; but now the Scriptures teach us that if we belong to Christ, we have dealt with not only the sinful nature but its passions and desires as well. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (Ga.5:24-25) Now that the Spirit lives in us, He changes our hearts desires and we no longer continue in sin. God has made a permanent change in our hearts: Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds Intermediate Discipleship

7 Lesson 8 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; (2Co.10:5 KJV) The moment a thought that is not in the character of God or in agreement with the Scripture comes to your mind, rebuke the spirit of the temptation, commanding it to leave. When an inappropriately dressed woman comes into a room, the initial thought should have been judged the moment it enters the mind and the demon rebuked and commanded to leave in Jesus name. Satan tempts on the installment plan a little closer to sin each time; nip it in the bud, commanding the spirit of the temptation to leave. Therefore, do not be deceived; today s thoughts become tomorrow s actions. Do not allow the spirits of temptation to set up shop in your mind. The Heart s Feelings We do not need to only judge our thoughts but our attitudes as well. Our attitudes are really emotions which drive the essence of our character. These originate from the heart which controls us, setting our desires on either evil or good. Satan places the thoughts in our minds, but our hearts determine whether we will either develop them or follow through in our actions. How many times has a day been wonderful until something happens which justifies a bad attitude. It sets the emotional foundation for the rest of the day and spills negatively into the lives of others. It is all a matter of what you feel like doing. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double -edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (He.4:12) We need to judge our emotional attitudes, for Satan can place them in our hearts our emotions are stronger than our thoughts. One time, while my wife was driving, she suddenly felt utterly depressed. She judged the attitude of her heart and then rebuked the spirit of depression. It left and then the joy of the Lord returned as she sang songs of praise. Our emotions can be manipulated by Satan as he places thoughts of peoples words or actions out of context, making something out of nothing to maneuver us into the emotional state that is conducive to sin. For this reason, our emotions must also be judged by the Word of God. You might ask a child why they did what they did, and the answer is because they felt like it. How many times did you know what you should do but did not feel like doing it, hence you never did it? Before we came to Christ, our desires were evil by nature, making it easy for Satan to control us by our sinful attitude: All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (Eph.2:3) Our emotions and desires are as influential in deciding our course of action as our thoughts. This is especially true with the emotion of love. When 9 Intermediate Discipleship 201 preconditioning you to respond in a specific way, should you ever find yourself in a similar situation: Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. (Eph5:18-19) Rather then fill our minds with the pastimes of the world, we need to make the conscious effort to fill ourselves with the things of God. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Ro.13:14) We need to not only put to death those actions which the Bible calls sin, but we need to nip the perspective of sin in the bud in our thought life: Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable if anything is excellent or praiseworthy think about such things. (Php.4:8) We need to change our thinking patterns, for Satan through the media has preconditioned our mindset to get us to fall when tempted. Many Christians fall into the devil s trap and eventually sin due to sloppy thinking and worldly distractions. If we have let God s Word penetrate our minds through study, then we will be able to discern between the thoughts that are of God and those which originate from Satan s camp. For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double -edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (He.4:12) Therefore, we need to learn to discern through the Word of God the origin of thoughts and feelings. Once a thought enters our minds, when is it temptation and when is it sin? The Bible teaches that Jesus was tempted in all the ways that we are but was without sin: For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. (He.4:15) If Christ was tempted in every way that we are, you can be sure that we will be tempted like Him till the day we die. The Bible never tells us that we will be free from temptations, whether in our minds, by our thoughts, or in our imaginations. This is clear as James writes: When tempted, no-one should say, "God is tempting me." (Ja.1:13) Satan is like a fisherman; a fisherman puts a lure on his line and casts it out into a stream a number of times. If he does not get a bite from the fish, he changes the lure until he finds the right one that the fish are biting on that day. Satan places thoughts in our minds till he gets one that we are biting on that day. These thoughts are called temptations. There is significant difference in the way we react to temptations before Christ was Intermediate Discipleship 201 6

8 Lesson 8 in our life and after the Holy Spirit took control of our life. Before Christ came into our life, temptations had a place on the inside the sinful nature causing us to naturally yield to the temptation. However, once Christ lives in us, temptation can only come from the outside through Satan s emissaries. The difference between pre and post Christian experience with temptation is better understood when we consider the temptations of Christ: The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." (Mt.4:3) In this the first temptation of Christ, Satan presented Jesus with an initial, complete thought proposing a course of action this is all part of temptation and not sin. The actual temptation was not in the turning of stones into bread because it is no more sinful then turning water into wine. The temptation was not in the act itself, but if Christ had accomplished it, Satan s next step was to tempt Christ to eat it. The Holy Spirit sent Christ into the desert to fast for forty days. Satan s temptations usually come in increments, the not so sinful to the sinful. In Christ s second temptation, we read: Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. (Mt.4:5-6) In this the second temptation, Satan not only presented Jesus with an initial, complete thought proposing a course of action, but He was in the desert when Satan took Him to the highest part of the temple in Jerusalem. When we find ourselves in a place where it is not wise to be, this is also part of the temptation and not a sin. With Christ, even though the promise of God s protection was real, Satan proposed an application that was outside the promise s intended purpose. Satan was also appealing to the feeling of pride as this temptation was one of spiritual showmanship which could lead to self-glorification rather then meeting real needs of real people for God s glory. It is true that many people might have believed in Christ if He jumped from the highest point of the temple, but what would have been the end result? In the third temptation of Christ, we read: Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." (Mt.4:8-9) In this the third temptation, Satan did not merely take Jesus to a place of temptation where He was presented with an initial, complete thought proposing a course of action, but He experienced visualizations. Christ could not see all the kingdoms of the world from that mountain in Judea, but He visualized them with all their splendor. Jesus came to redeem the world from sin, self, and Satan; here Satan was offering Him direct authority over the world without suffering, if Christ would place Himself under the authority of Satan. There is no right reason to do a wrong thing:...learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over 7 Intermediate Discipleship 201 against another. (1Co.4:6) The Bible prophesied that Christ was going to redeem the world through His death on a cross, and Satan was offering Christ a painless but only partial redemption of mankind. Also take notice that Jesus was tempted with Satanic worship; do not be surprised if some vile thought comes into your mind. It does in no way reflect your spiritual condition; it only reflects the depth of depravity to which Satan is willing to stoop. If in all these temptations Jesus was not guilty of sin, then we too can be tempted like Jesus and not be guilty of sin. Therefore, temptations are initial, complete thoughts that Satan places in our minds, which could include finding ourselves in places where it is not wise to be, or with visualizations of things we should not see all originating from Satan or his demons. Reclaiming Our Minds There are two things that I make note of at this time. First, even though Christ used the Scripture to discern the temptation, He did not argue with the devil but used Scripture and His authority to command the author of the temptation to leave: Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only. " Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him. (Mt.4:10-11) The Scripture does not say that these were the only temptations Christ faced in the desert or doesn t specify the interval of time between these three temptations. The Bible teaches that He was tempted throughout His life: When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Lk.4:13) The Scripture is clear that when Satan s temptations come in rapid succession, we have the authority, as Christ demonstrated, to command Satan or one of his emissaries to discontinue placing thoughts in our minds and to leave. We also saw this in Christ s temptation through Peter when Jesus commands: "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling-block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men." (Mt.16:23) We have authority over Satan and all his demons. They must listen when a Christian tells them to leave. For Satan does not tempt us audibly; he proposes temptations in our minds this is not sin nor is it evidence that our sinful nature is still alive. Second, I must warn you that if we continue to develop the initial thought in the theater of our minds, we have moved from the place of temptation to the point of sin: But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Mt.5:28) We do not have to commit the sin physically in order to sin; to go beyond the initial thought in the theaters of our minds is sin. The imagination is one of the ways Satan tempts a person, but to develop the thought in our minds is just as much sin as the act itself. For this reason, we are commanded: Intermediate Discipleship 201 8