Near the end of the Lord’s Prayer found in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in the sixth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus teaches that we should ask God to “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” However, we also know that God is never the source of our temptation. James, the half brother of Jesus wrote in his epistle that “God cannot be tempted with evil, nor does He tempt any man” (James 1:13).
That means that the source of our temptation is Satan. Furthermore, the ultimate decision as to whether or not to give into that temptation falls on our shoulders. On the surface, it’s easy to say, “I can avoid temptation!” However, when we’re actually faced with something it’s much more difficult to stand firm on our faith and refuse to give into the temptation.
Make no mistake about it; this is not a “self-help” piece. The only way for humans to avoid giving into temptation is to fully rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit as a means to direct us into the paths of righteousness. Yes, there are some things that we can do (and we will certainly discuss those things), but the ultimate key to not falling into temptation’s trap is to be completely dependent on God in everything that we do.
Does that mean temptation will never come? No. Does that mean we will never slip and give into temptation? Absolutely not. However, applying some of these Scripture-based principles to your life can help limit the frequency at which you experience the guilt and shame associated with giving into the temptations that come up in your life.
Understand that Temptation is Close
Genesis 4:7 (ESV)
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.
God spoke these words to Cain when Cain was upset over the fact that God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but rejected Cain’s. God didn’t reject Cain’s offering out of anger but based on the fact that Cain tried to give God his leftovers instead of his best. In that moment, Cain was being tempted to murder his brother out of jealousy. In the very next verse, we read that Cain “rose up against his brother Abel and killed him” (Genesis 4:8).
The temptation to act out of jealousy and go into a rage was “at the door.” What door? The door to Cain’s heart. God warned Cain that sin was close by, crouching in wait for him. However, God also told Cain that he could rule over that sin. Cain’s failure came when he chose to let that sin rule over him. In a moment driven by envy, he murdered his brother and the world’s first family fell into disarray.
Temptation and sin are always close by. However, we are not obligated to give into that sin. Instead, we can rule over it by living in submission to the Holy Spirit.
Identify Your Temptations
Galatians 5:16-17(TPT)
As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self-life. For your self-life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self-life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self-life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.
To better understand the point that Paul was making in his letter to the Galatian church, let’s look at a natural example. Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution to get into better shape? According to Statista (an organization that studies statistical data), 50% of Americans said they planned on getting into better shape starting in 2021. However, other studies show that 80% of resolutions fail by February.
If you’re among that number, undoubtedly, you meant well. You probably had plans on joining a gym, eating better and doing a better job at taking care of yourself. If you’re like 80% of resolution makers, you just didn’t follow through. That’s nothing to be ashamed of, it’s simply a fact that something made you not follow through on that resolution. Perhaps it was the fact that you craved your favorite snack food. The craving for snack food and the craving to get into better shape are contradictory, and one of them has to win.
Similarly, Paul says that pleasing the flesh and pleasing the Holy Spirit simultaneously is impossible. Each of us have different temptations. The person who is tempted to respond angrily to anyone who crosses him does not have the same temptation as the woman who is tempted to lie in order to get ahead at work. However, those temptations are all contradictory to the Holy Spirit.
A great way to avoid temptation is to identify what tempts you. Knowing what tempts you puts you in a better position to make decisions that lead you away from those temptations, and instead you will please the Holy Spirit and the new creation life He brings about.
Accept Responsibility
Genesis 3:12 (ESV)
The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate.”
Adam spoke these words to God shortly after the first sin had been committed. God had told Adam and Eve that they could do anything they wanted in the Garden of Eden other than eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17). Genesis 3 opens with an interaction between Eve and Satan, who had taken on the form of a serpent. Satan tempted Eve to eat of the tree with the promise of power and knowledge, Eve passed along the message and the fruit to Adam and sin entered the world. However, look at Adam’s response to God’s question about his decision.
“The woman that you gave me gave me the fruit.” Up to this point, the only two beings that Adam had ever interacted with were God (Genesis 3:8) and Eve. In an attempt to justify his own sinful behavior, Adam blamed them both! “The WOMAN that YOU gave me gave me this fruit.”
Adam refused to accept responsibility for his own wrongdoing. No one forced Adam to eat of the fruit. No, he chose to do that. In fact, no one forced Eve to eat of the fruit. Satan, who is a tempter simply planted an idea in Eve’s mind and she chose to go with it. In turn, Adam followed suit and humanity was doomed to be separated from God by our own temptation.
In order to avoid sin, you must accept responsibility for your own actions. When you accept the fact that you are fallible, prone to sin and not above all reproach, you can better handle the temptations that come up along the way. What was Adam’s motivating force behind his sin? We don’t really know. Perhaps he was drawn to the same potential power that Eve wanted when she allowed the serpent to deceive her. However, Adam tried to dodge responsibility and push the blame onto Eve and even onto God for giving Eve to him. Accepting responsibility not only shows personal growth, but it is also a sign of spiritual maturity.
As long as we are residents of this world but citizens of Heaven, we will face the same tempter who convinced Eve to fulfill her own selfish desires. None of us are immune from temptation. In fact, Jesus even experienced temptation (Hebrews 4:15). While we are to strive for holiness, we will never achieve perfection. However, avoiding temptation allows us to more fully enjoy the presence and the power of God in our lives. When we stumble and fall, we have a Father who forgives us and encourages us to give it another try.
A Closing Prayer:
God, you know my weaknesses and the areas in which I am tempted. Help me to better recognize them so I can live in a way that avoids those temptations and doesn’t fulfill the cravings of my flesh. Give me the power to overcome those temptations and help me to be focused on pleasing You. In Christ’s name, Amen!