“The devil made me do it!” This declaration is often used after we give into temptation and do something that is contrary to the Word of God. Unfortunately, the statement is theologically untrue, as Satan does not have the power to make God’s people do anything. When we accept Christ as our Savior, we submit our lives to the power of the Holy Spirit. However, even God doesn’t override our free will. Instead, He allows us to make our own decisions, whether they are good or bad. If God does not take control of our actions, Satan (who is obviously not as powerful as God) cannot make us do anything.
Instead, Satan simply presents the opportunity for sinful behavior. He doesn’t force us into sinful behavior, instead, he simply uses what he knows about us to present us with a tempting situation. In that moment, it’s up to us to resist temptation and seek the help of the Holy Spirit to maintain our self-control.
Understanding what the Bible says about resisting temptation is paramount. God’s Word is the standard for His people. Fortunately, within Scripture, we can find multiple stories and verses about how we can improve our own self-discipline. Understanding how to resist temptation is one of the most important parts of living a life that is pleasing to our Heavenly Father.
“The Devil Made Me Do It”
James 1:14 (TPT)
Instead it is each person’s own desires and thoughts that drag them into evil and lure them away into darkness.
As we mentioned earlier, blaming the devil for our sinful behaviors is simply not a Biblical concept. Instead, Scripture teaches us that our own desires and thoughts are to blame for our sinful actions. This concept was the root of the world’s first sin (in the Garden of Eden) and has been the basis of every sin that has been committed since.
In Genesis 3, we find Adam and Eve living in the Garden of Eden as the only two humans on Earth. Up to that point, sin had not yet entered the world, and the pair only had one rule that God had given them: they couldn’t eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Essentially, God did not want them to become privy to the fact that sin is always available.
However, Satan appeared to Eve one day and made her question what God had said to them. Satan did not force Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Satan didn’t make Eve give some of the fruit to Adam so he could eat of it too. Instead, he simply presented an opportunity, made Eve reconsider what she knew to be true, and left her to make her own decision.
As we know, Eve ate the fruit and sin entered the world. Did Satan force Eve to sin? No! She was dragged into evil and lured into darkness by her own desires and thoughts.
The first step to resisting temptation is practicing self-control over your own thoughts and actions. Before you act, take a moment to consider whether or not those actions are contrary to the Word of God.
Just Say No
James 4:7 (ESV)
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Years ago, there was an anti-drug campaign that was prevalent in schools across the nation. The catchphrase of the program was simply, “Just say no to drugs.” It sought to empower young people to simply refuse to give into peer pressure and dabble in drug use.
According to Scripture, we can just say no to Satan! Isn’t that incredible? When we think about Satan, we think of this super-powerful force of evil that is greatly superior to us. However, that’s not the version of Satan that is presented in Scripture.
James, the half-brother of Christ taught us that overcoming temptation is a two-step process. It begins with submitting yourself to God. That means that we embrace His teachings and put ourselves under the subjection of the Holy Spirit. Once that has been achieved, we can simply resist the devil’s temptations.
Resisting him doesn’t just ensure that we don’t make bad decisions. Instead, our resistance results in him fleeing from us! You have the power to make Satan run away from you. Now, that doesn’t mean that he won’t ever return. Instead, it just means that he will move on to someone else for a season.
However, when he comes back to tempt you again, you can simply resist him again. Our continued resistance to his advances ensures that we are constantly living a life according to the truths of God’s Word.
We’re Not Facing Temptation Alone
Hebrews 2:17-18 (TPT)
This is why he had to be a Man and take hold of our humanity in every way. He made us his brothers and sisters and became our merciful and faithful King-Priest before God; ass the One who removed our sins to make us one with him. He suffered and endured every test and temptation, so that he can help us every time we pass through the ordeals of life.
When we move on from an excuse for our sin that involves blaming Satan for our behavior, we often revert to another untrue statement. We say something along the lines of, “No one knows what I’m dealing with!”
You may truly believe that you’re the only one who faces the kind of temptation that you face. It’s easy to fall into the trap of self-isolation, especially when dealing with behaviors that are contrary to God’s Word. However, the unknown author of Hebrews refuted that claim. In fact, he or she didn’t only refute the idea that we’re the only ones who have faced the level of temptation that we face. Instead, the author said that Christ Himself was tempted in exactly the same ways that we are!
Isn’t that powerful to know? The same Savior who you asked to forgive you of your sins faced the same types of temptation that you face every day of your life. However, He provided the roadmap for how we can resist those temptations.
In Matthew 4, just after He was baptized, Jesus went into the wilderness to fast and pray for 40 days. At the end of His fast, when He was physically weak, Satan appeared and began tempting Jesus. We can read about three different instances where Satan tempted Him. However, in all three cases, Jesus refuted Satan’s temptations with Scripture. Every time Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus responded with the phrase “it is written” and then quoted Scripture that applied to the temptation at hand.
We can use the same strategy. When we treat Scripture as our standard for living, we can stand on Its truths to refute the temptations that come into our life. We can also rest in the fact that our Savior was tempted in the same ways that we are. Since He lives in us, we can resist temptation the same way that He did.
A Closing Prayer:
God, I know that you do not lead us into tempting situations. Help me to practice more self-control when faced with tempting situations. I know that Satan knows my weak spots, but I also know that I can resist him according to Your Word. Help me to stand on the truths of Scripture when faced with temptation. I know that You have a wonderful plan for me, and it involves resisting Satan’s tempting offers. I submit my life to You and ask that You would hold onto me. I declare today that my life is Yours and I will live according to Your Word. In Christ’s name, Amen.