Week 6: Resisting Temptations
Hey! I'm Mariah , and I'm the guest writer of this weeks lesson. I'm excited to share this with y'all, and I hope you enjoy!
Please, feel free to comment anything along the way, whether it be sharing a relatable time, or correcting me, I love constructive criticism!
Before we start, like every other time, I have a video for you to watch! It's by one of my favorite YouTubers Chelsea Crockett, and she briefly covers a lot of what we are going to be talking about today. It's a tad bit long, but not too long, if you know what I mean, but it covers the perfect amount of what we are going to talk about, and its relatable.
For those of you that cannot see the video, just go to YouTube and search "Christian Advice: How to Resist Temptation" or something around the lines of that.
Now that you've watched the video, let's talk about it!
Here, we are going to talk about:
1. What Is A Temptation?
2. Who or What Causes Temptations?
3. Who Can Be Tempted?
4. Why does God Allow Us To Be Tempted?
5. What Temptations Lead To
6. What We Can Do To Stop Temptations?
7. Questions
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What Is Temptation?
Temptations, as the dictionary on my device defines it, is:
Temptation: noun. A desire to do something, especially something that is wrong or unwise, or a thing or course of action that attracts or tempts someone.
Temptations could be anything from biting your nails to wanting to eat that last chocolate chip cookie you know your little brother wanted.
That's not what I'm here to talk about, though if you do want to eat that last cookie, please split it with your brother.
The kinds of temptations I'm talking about are the ones that are probably a bit worse than eating a cookie.
Maybe you have the sudden urge to watch that movie, tv show, or YouTube video you know your parents wouldn't allow you to watch. Maybe you have the sudden urge to lie about that window you broke while playing baseball in the yard. You might have had the idea to cheat on the math test you have to take by looking at the smart guys test, or to take your older sister's earbuds, or to argue with that one strict teacher that you were right. It's not like your parents will know, or your teacher won't find out, or your sister will never know if you just put them back, right?
News flash: They will notice.
These are all great examples of temptations. I know, some of you may be thinking that these aren't as bad, but if you keep doing this, it becomes a habit, like biting your nails. But we will get to more of this in a few.
A great example of a temptation story takes place in Genesis. We all know the story of Adam and Eve, right?
Well if you don't, here's a quick summary:
God created the world, and all the animals, and Adam and Eve, and all was good in the world. Until they met a snake. The snake lied to them, and tempted them to eat from the forbidden tree. Eve gave in to the temptations, and ate the forbidden fruit. Eve then tempted Adam to eat the fruit, so he gave into the temptations and ate the fruit.
Now, remember my examples and how I told you that the others would find out? This happened to Adam and Eve.
God instantly knew that Adam and Eve gave into the temptations, and tried to find them. When he did, he asked them why they were clothed, and they answered him and told him that they ate the forbidden fruit. He then banished them from the garden of Eden, and took away their immortality.
Adam and Eve are a good example of being tempted. They were tempted by the snake, and disobeyed God, causing consequences.
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Who/What Causes Temptations?
First off, I'd like to start this part off by stating the fact that God does not lead us to temptations. James 1:13 says that "Let no man say when he is tempted "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone." This is basically saying that when you are tempted, do not blame God, because he does not tempt you to sin and evil.
Can anyone guess who tempts us towards sin and evil?
If you said Satan, you are right!
It is, in fact, Satan who tempts us to do evil. He tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, in the form of a serpent, and he tempted Jesus too. More on that later.
God has a limit on how much Satan can test us, though. Just like you can put restrictions on your device, or web browser, God has placed restrictions on Satan so he doesn't tempt us too much. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." In other words, God will not allow Satan to tempt you over your abilities, and if it does get to that level, if you ask, He can help you find an escape so you can be able to bear it.
Satan also has to ask permission before he can tempt anyone to their limits. Job 1:12 states: "And the Lord said to Satan, 'Behold, all that he [Job] has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.'" This means that Satan was allowed to tempt Job, but he was not allowed to harm any of his family or friends.
Temptation also comes from our lusts, or wants. 1 John 2:16 says "For all that is in the world -- the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life -- is not of the Father but is of the world." This signifies that the lusts and temptations of the world, whatever that might be, is not from God, but from humans themselves. James 1:14 also says "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed." This means that humans can be tempted when they focus more on their wants than on the better things in life.
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Who Can Be Tempted?
Everyone on Earth can be tempted, including you and me. Only God cannot be tempted: hint back to James 1:13 for more info on that.
Even Jesus was tempted during his life on Earth. Let's look at Luke 4:1, - 4:13.
"Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the spirit into the wilderness, and being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" Then the devil, taking Him high up on a high mountain, showed Him all of the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'" Then, the devil took Him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you,' and 'In theirs hands they shall beer you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" And Jesus answered and said to him "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'" Now, when the devil ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."
The moral behind this part in the Bible is that even Jesus was tested, and you can overcome temptations. He was tested on three levels: "the lust of the flesh", "the lust of the eye", "and the pride of life". This is what God meant by saying that he was "in all points tested as we are" in Hebrews 4:15. Though, he did one thing: He never sinned. He fought back against the devil, and showed him why he didn't give in to the temptations by using Scripture. This makes Him a great role model for us to look at when trying to overcome temptations. More on this later.
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Why Does God Allow Us To Be Tempted?
God allows us to be tempted and tested for a few reasons actually. The primary reason he allows us to be tempted is, if we overcome the temptations, we will be perfected and sculpted into better people. Job 23:10 says "But He knows the way I take, When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold." This means, if you overcome the temptations, you will be made into a better person, and you will not have sinned. James 2:2-4 also says "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing." This means that when you have tests and temptations, be patient, because when you overcome it, you will be a better person because of it.
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What Do Temptations Lead To?
This question could be answered in many ways, due to the fact that it all depends on whether you fall into sin, or avoid the temptation.
I'm going to start this section out by explaining that we have a choice on what we don when we are confronted with temptations. We can either A) overcome it with God's grace, or B) yield it into sin.
If you choose the first choice, which is to overcome it with God's grace, you will receive "the crown of life." James 1:12 says "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised for those who love Him." This means that if you triumph over temptations, God will give you the crown of life, which can mean a lot of different things, depending on who you are. I'll leave that to your interpretations.
If you choose the latter, and yield it to sin, the result is death. James 1:15 says "Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when it is full grown, brings forth death." This shows that when you follow your desires, it leads on to many other bad things.
You might be sitting here thinking "WHAT?!?! I'M GOING TO DIE IF I GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION?!?!?!?!" Not exactly.
Think about it like this. If you say, take your sisters earbuds, then you will want to do it again, right? You may even come up with an excuse, saying that she won't ever find out if I put them back, right? It's not like she uses them. Well, if you continue to do this, and you keep doing this, you will know that you can get away with more things than you previously thought, and you will want to do even more bad things, like maybe you start taking your parents stuff, and soon enough, you will be digging yourself a deep, deep hole you can't get out of. Think about it, it's hard to get out of a hole unless you have a rope, or a ladder, right? This is where God steps in.
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What Can We Do To Stop Temptations?
There are quite a few things you can do to get you out of that hole you dug. The first step is to look at us as humans, and our natural tendency to sin. If you look back at James 1:14, it tells us that we can be drawn to sin by our earthly desires. It is normal for humans to be tempted, so the first step to be prepared for when we are tempted.
Another thing you can do is run away from the temptations. If you look back to 1 Corinthians 10:13, it talks about God offering a way out. When you are falling towards temptations, look for the way out God offers, and then run towards it.
Another thing you can do when you are face to face with temptation is fight back with the word of God, like Jesus did when he was tempted in the desert. Hebrews 4:12 says "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." This shows that the word of God is mighty and powerful, and can help you with temptations. Don't believe me? Check out 2 Corinthians 10:4-6: "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled." One of the weapons happens to be the word of God. If you feel yourself being tempted, read the Bible. Reading the Bible not only when you are being tempted, but every day, will fill you with knowledge and help you be ready with Scripture when temptation strikes.
Have you ever been tempted while you were praising God? Probably not, right? When you praise or worship God, you take your focus off of yourself and you pay attention to Him, causing you to forget your earthly desires. You may not be strong enough to resist temptation alone, but when you give your praise to the Lord, he will inhabit it, giving you the strength to walk away from sin.
It is also important to know to repent when you do fall to sin. Notice I say when here, not if. There are many places in the Bible that tell us to flee from temptation, but sometimes we forget to flee. It is part of our nature to give in to temptation, and we all make mistakes, so it's ok if you do give in to sin. You just have to know how to get out of the hole. Remember the scenario from the last part? Think of it again. It isn't the end of the world if you don't flee from temptations, but it is very dangerous to stay there. Going back to James 1:15, it tells us that desires lead to sin which leads to death.
To close off our lesson here, I'd like to inform y'all that we must fill ourselves with the knowledge of what we are going up against. 2 Corinthians 2:11 says "Lest Satan shall take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices." This explains to us that if we are going to fight the temptations Satan throws at us, we will have to know what we are fighting. Think about it: it's not useful to go to battle and not know who we are fighting.
We should not fight each other, for they are not the main reason we have temptations. Ephesians 6:12 says "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places." This explains that we should not fight the people like us, but we should fight the devil, for he tempts us. As we all know, Satan is one of the best in dealing deception and temptations. 2 Corinthians 11:3 says "But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is of Christ." This shows us that the devil can tempt our minds, which have yet to be under subjection of Christ. With this knowledge, you now know what we are going up against when we fight temptations.
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Questions:
After this lesson, I just have a few questions.
1. What did you think of the video? Did it explain everything that it needed? Was it too long?
2. What kind of temptations have you had? Do you think now that you can fight them? (First part is optional)
3. Do you have a good understanding of who causes temptations?
4. Do you have a good understanding of why we have temptations?
5. After reading this lesson, do you think you will be able to fight any new temptations easier?
6. Did the lesson make sense? Was it too lengthy?
7. Do you have any questions?
8. Do you have any ideas of what we should do for the next lesson?
9. Do you have any new videos/music you think we could feature in our lesson?
10. Did you like the lesson? If not, why? Would you take anything out, or add anything in? Please be detailed, I love constructive criticism!
Thanks guys for attending! I hope y'all liked the lesson, and I hope I will be able to write some other lessons soon! See y'all later!
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