War Zone- Week 9 Tactics of the Enemy vs. Strategies of the Believer (Temptation Part 1)

Today we will continue our study on the tactics of the enemy: Temptation. This will be part one of the study on temptation.  

Temptation is nothing new. The enemy has been working on tempting “treats” for God’s image bearers since creation.  

In the Bible, temptation is an enticement to act in disobedience to God’s will. Its sources are the world, the flesh, and the devil.i Temptation is not sin.  When we give into our sinful desires/lusts is when the sin occurs. Everyone is tempted, even Jesus! 

Truly any situation you face in life will either promote your growth or promote your destruction. The determining factor is what you decide in your heart to do.ii 

1 John 2:15-17, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. (ESV) 

In the passage above we are given the three categories that all temptations fall under. 

First, the desires of the flesh (other versions call it the lust of the flesh). 

Galatians 5:19-21, Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV) 

We will look at three Biblical examples of the desires of the flesh. Our first example is Ananias and Sapphira. 

In Acts 5:1-11, you will find the account of Ananias and Sapphira. During that time in early church history, we know that the believers were working together to build the body of Christ. There was no lack among the believers because when there was a need, someone who was able stepped up to meet it. Many, at that time, were selling property and giving the proceeds to be used to help those in need. There was no sense of compulsion by church leaders to do this, the people were moved by Holy Spirit to give.  

It is during this time of generous giving that we find Ananias and Sapphira. Having sold a piece of land they conspired together to lie to the church leaders about how much they received and only gave a portion of their proceeds. Now the issue was not how much they gave or if they gave at all, the issue was that they lied to look impressive. Maybe they were jealous of the attention given to others who had donated, or maybe they wanted to “one up” someone else. We are not given the why, we are only told that they lied, giving into the desire of their flesh and instantly fell dead.  

Our second example from scripture is Esau.  

In Genesis 25:29-34 we read, Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.)  Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?”  Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. 

The birthright consisted of three parts: The functions of the priesthood in the family. A "double portion" of the paternal property. The official authority of the father. 

Esau, being tempted by Jacob’s stew and his hunger, gave up the rights and authority that should have been his. He chose to give into the temptation at a high price!  

Our third example from scripture is Samson.  

In Judges chapters 12-16 we read the account of Samson, who had been given supernatural strength through the Holy Spirit. His hair was the symbol of that strength. As a Hebrew man, Samsom was not supposed to marry anyone who was not a Hebrew. Samson however, he was tempted by the desires of his flesh and chose to first marry a Philistine woman, then have a relationship with a Philistine prostitute, and finally have a relationship with Delilah who was also a Philistine.  

We see that each time he gave into temptation it led him deeper into sin, culminating in the loss of his supernatural strength. When he opened his heart to Delilah, he inadvertently set himself up to lose his strength through revealing its source.  We know that Samson ultimately lost his life because of his failure to resist temptation and obey God rather than his flesh. The devil will attack us at our weak points, not our strong ones. As Richard Sibbes observed, “It is Satan’s practice to go over the fence where it is lowest.”iii 

Secondly, the desire of the eyes (other versions call it the lust of the eyes).  

Shakespeare said, “The devil hath power to assume a pleasing shape.” 

Our first example of falling for the temptation of desire of the eyes is Eve and Adam.  

In Genesis 1:15-17 we read, The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (NLT)   

Picking up again in Genesis 3:1-7, The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”   

“Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”   

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”   

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too.  At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. (NLT)  

Eve took the enticing bait, hook, line, and sinker. She saw that the fruit of the tree was beautiful. Her initial temptation was the desire of her eyes. We do not know for sure, however, it seems likely that she was lingering close to the tree when the serpent spoke to her. Her second temptation was the pride of life – being like God (more on this later.)  

In the moment Eve and Adam ate the fruit their eyes were opened to understand a lesson that God was not ready for them to learn: the knowledge of evil. They had only just begun to learn of God’s goodness.  God had created the beautiful garden for them to enjoy. He had provided everything they needed for a bountiful and pleasant life. He even came to walk with them each evening. Their primary job was to rule over and care for everything in the garden. There was only one rule, don’t eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  In the moment they broke that rule their death, physical and spiritual began.  

Our second example is David. 

In the book of 2 Samuel 11 we read the account of King David and his affair with Bathsheba.  

Matthew Henry in his commentary says that three things lead to David’s affair with Bathsheba: Neglect of his business (he stayed home and sent Joab to war instead of leading the army himself - 2 Samuel 11:1). Love of ease, and the indulgence of a slothful temper (he dozed away the day in idleness – verse 2). A wandering eye (he saw a woman bathing – verse 2). David’s wandering eye led to the desire of his flesh/lust.  

We know that David gave into temptation, and it cost him dearly. The child conceived through his adultery died shortly after his birth. David’s sin also cost the life of Uriah the Hittite, Bathsheba’s husband.   

Finally, the pride of life. 

The pride of life can be defined as anything that is “of the world,” meaning anything that leads to arrogance, ostentation, pride in self, presumption, and boasting. John makes it clear that anything that produces the pride of life comes from a love of the world and “if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15).iv 

Our first example from scripture is Adam and Eve. 

In Genesis 3:6 we see that the enemy enticed Eve by telling her eating the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would make her like God. Pride took hold. I can almost hear her thoughts? “Was God holding out on them?” “Why shouldn’t they be like God?” Hello, she was already like God. She and Adam were image bearers. They were made in the image of God. They were given godly authority to rule over creation. If and/or when God chose to teach them about evil was up to God not them. Their responsibility was obedience. However, like a selfish child, who wants what they want, when they want it, Eve chose not to wait on God but to push ahead and choose her own path and her own timing. Thus, forfeiting the blessings and beauty God had prepared for them. Not only did they lose their place in the garden, but pride caused them to lose their dominion over the earth and opened the door for the enemy dominate mankind until God’s chosen redeemer took back that authority and returned it to God’s people.  Thanks be to God that Jesus did just that!  

Our second example of pride is King David.  

In 1 Chronicles 21 we read about David’s act of pride in taking a census of the people of Israel. God had told them not to take a census. Joab tried to stop him from taking the census, but the temptation of pride spoke louder than Joab’s voice and David ordered the census to be taken. After the census was taken, God was not happy with David. God allowed David to choose his own punishment, resulting in the death of 70,000 people.  

When we fall into temptation it hurts not only us but those around us. David acknowledged this in 1 Chronicles 21:17, And David said to God, “I am the one who called for the census! I am the one who has sinned and done wrong! But these people are as innocent as sheep—what have they done? O Lord my God, let your anger fall against me and my family, but do not destroy your people.” (NLT) 

Temptation, while it is not sin, if it is dwelt on and allowed to grow in our minds will lead to sin every time. In closing I want to share the powerful words of Missionary Amy Carmichael: All the great temptations appear first in the region of the mind and can be fought and conquered there. We have been given the power to close the door of the mind. We can lose this power through disuse or increase it by use, by the daily discipline of the inner man in things which seem small and by reliance upon the word of the Spirit of truth. It is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of His good pleasure. It is as though He said, “Learn to live in your will, not in your feelings.”v 

In part two we will discuss the strategies we can use to overcome temptation.  

Works Cited:

i https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/temptation-and-testing/

ii https://accountable2you.com/blog/overcoming-temptation/#:~:text=Temptation%20succeeds%20when%20your%20heart%20is%20unprepared%20for%20it.&text=in%20the%20Lord.-,It%20is%20not%20enough%20only%20to%20deny%20ungodly%20desires%3B%20you,(Psalm%2037%3A4).

iii https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/temptation-and-testing/

iv https://www.gotquestions.org/pride-of-life.html

v Quoted in Elizabeth Skoglund, Amma: The Life and Words of Amy Carmichael (Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2014), 193.