December 30, 2002

LifeWay Family Bible Series for Jan. 12

God provides an escape from every temptation
___ James 1:13­15; 1 Corinthians 10:6­13
___By Rick Willis
___First Baptist Church, Roscoe
___All Christians continue to struggle with temptation, sometimes to the point of feeling helpless to win. It is difficult to resist, but not impossible. The Bible has good news of encouragement in the battle with temptation. God provides the coaching of the Holy Spirit that says, "You can do it!" And God also provides the warning, "You are accountable to God for your response to temptation."
___Heed God's warnings
___The place to start is with a sober reminder of the consequences of sin. What happens when I fail to resist temptation? James 1:15 says, "it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."
___The death warned of in this verse has a wide range of meaning. It can be the death of peace within, the death of self-respect, or the death of positive influence in the lives of people we love. For those who never trust Christ as their rescuer from sin, death means separation from God's Spirit, the interminable terminal illness that is hell. The harsh reality of sin's danger is a pote nt motivation to resist temptation.
___Paul describes four instances from the Exodus and wilderness wanderings of the people giving in to temptation and facing death and disaster (1 Corinthians 10:7­10). He says these were typical examples of the consequences of sin. They are warnings for all of us to heed that God holds us accountable for turning against him (10:6, 11).
___A wise New Testament teacher has said that only cruel, heartless indifference would tell children playing at the edge of a cliff: "Run along! Have fun! Nothing can happen to you." When love sees children playing at death's door, it cries out with thunderous authority, "Stop!"
___One of the means God uses to guard and keep us for salvation on the last day (1 Peter 1:5) is the real and dire warning that willful sin leads to death. Those who belong to God hear and obey. Therefore, "if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" (1 Corinthians 10:12).
___Take responsibility
___There are two extremes that try to make excuses for giving in to temptation. On the atheistic end of the scale, there's the excuse that evolution is to blame. Humans are powerless over primeval instincts that control us. On the theistic end of the scale, there's the excuse that God is to blame. The divine dealer has stacked the deck against us (compare Genesis 3:12).
___Apparently, there were some of James' readers who excused their sins by saying, in effect: "I can't help it! God made me this way!" When faced with temptation they attributed it to God (James 1:13), and they pleaded that God couldn't fault them for walking into a trap God himself set.
___But James corrected this plea with the assertion that God is neither subject to temptation nor is he the author of temptation. Instead, the allure and enticement to sin comes from within us ourselves (1:14). It is in our own desires to take God out of center stage and place ourselves in his place.
___There's a hard word of guilt in this. But there's also a great word of encouragement. Because if we are responsible for giving in to temptation, then we are capable of resisting temptation.
___Rely on God's power
___Even though the Bible strips away any excuse that temptation is irresistible, it still gives encouragement to those who know the painful struggle of addiction or habitual sin. The point is not that we can pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps and beat temptation (see Romans 7:15­24). The point is that we are accountable for our response to temptation.
___1 Corinthians 10:13 assures: "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 also will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." The verse is worthy of full quotation since it is often taken out of context as a promise that God will never place you under more difficulties than you can bear.
___Instead, what the verse says is that God is on your side in the fight against temptation. Temptation is not a cul de sac into sin, but it is a fork in the road. At the point of temptation, God will provide an alternative to sin. You can exit the temptation through God's escape hatch. It might be by means of a friend whom you've asked to help you control a weakness. It might be through counseling or a 12-step program. It might be through medical help.
___We are in fact powerless over temptation when we rely only on ourselves. The Bible makes this point every time it calls us "slaves" of sin or of the "sinful nature" (John 8:34; Romans 6­7). Even to have a clear understanding of what God wants is not enough (Romans 7:22­23). The hope of resisting temptation comes from God's power, not ours.
___Questions for discussion
___ Have you ever seen sin bring death and destruction into people's lives? How? (Be careful to use very general descriptions in a class discussion.)
___ How many examples of an escape hatch from temptation can you think of?

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend



News of religion, faith, missions, Bible study and Christian ministry among Texas Baptist churches, in the BGCT, the Southern Baptist Convention ( SBC ) and around the world.

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!/ Signup for FirstLook