When Temptation Strikes: Standing Firm Through Faith

Temptation Did Not End in the Wilderness

It is easy for us to assume that once Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil in the wilderness, He was never tempted again. If you read carefully, though, you will see that is not the case. Luke 4:13 says,

"Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time."

Did you notice what the end of the verse says? The devil left Him until an "opportune time." We have not been specifically told about any more temptations that came to Jesus but the devil, even after his defeat in the wilderness, did not give up. If he continued to look for opportune times to tempt Jesus, how much more so with you and I? We must surrender to Christ so the devil will find us standing firm through faith.

The Devil Watches for Our Weak Moments

The devil is a sharp observer of human nature. He has had this opportunity for thousands of years. He knows when we are weak and vulnerable and that is when he strikes, like the cunning snake he is, to tempt us. There is no sin in temptation, only when we believe his lies and give in to it does it become sin.

We know that in the wilderness Jesus was in a vulnerable state. He was hungry, and undoubtedly very tired, and so the devil took his opportunity. What the devil failed to realize though is that it was the Holy Spirit of God who led Jesus into the desert in the first place. By going there, He was fulfilling the will of God. Jesus defeated the devil by quoting Scripture. Interestingly, though the devil turned around and quoted scripture, Psalm 91:11-12, to Jesus. Satan is a master at twisting God's word.

When Scripture Is Twisted to Excuse Sin

If you have ever noticed, people can often use Scripture to their advantage to justify sin. When verses are used out of context, they can be used to excuse sin. Some people mistakenly believe that since everyone sins, as Romans 3:23 explains, it doesn't really matter. They may believe that all we need to do is acknowledge our sin and everything will be fine without having any true repentance (1 John 1:7-9). Be careful how you read God's Word.

And then there is the good Christian who thinks they are above temptation. Oh, they would never say so, but as they survey their life they believe they are exactly where Jesus wants them to be. They are complacent in their relationship with Christ. They boast that nothing could make them forsake Jesus. Remember what happened to Peter when he said that! He denied Christ three times. But what does scripture famously say? "Pride goes before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18).

Recognizing the Moments We Are Most Vulnerable

What puts you in a vulnerable state? Is it the need for love and acceptance? Is it the desire for people to acknowledge your accomplishments? Do we long for what we see that we don't have? When we are sad, lonely, depressed, or anxious about life, that is when we are the most vulnerable. That is when the doubts start creeping in. Does God really love me? Why can't I have what other people have? In the midst of our doubt, we are tempted to get what we want in any way we can.

The person who is unhappy in their marriage runs into someone who seems to understand their every need and seems to truly care for them. Or the allure of drugs or alcohol becomes so strong because we just want to stop thinking about all the ways we believe we have failed. Perhaps we're jealous of others who seem to get all the acknowledgment for their accomplishments that we want, but never seem to gain.

Standing Firm Through Faith

Hopelessness is often the source of our greatest defeats by Satan. Life knocks us down over and over and we get up, but only in our own strength, only to be knocked down again. "Where are You God?" we may think to ourselves angrily.

But we are not willing to admit that we need someone greater than ourselves to help us. We want God to be our Santa Claus and not the Lord of our life. But as Jesus summarized the law, He will only accept first place in our lives (Matthew 22:36-40).

Like it or not, because God is sovereign, God is the Lord of your life already. He is Lord of all (Ephesians 4:6). What God desires is submission to Him. We submit to Him daily through the power of His indwelling Holy Spirit by our obedience. As we grow in our faith our obedience and submission to Him should also grow. We all fail sometimes, but Jesus offers us reconciliation (1 John 1:9).

If hopelessness often causes our defeat, what does Jesus offer us instead—hope. He is the God of hope. Our hope is living and is not wishful thinking or based on emotions. Our hope rests on our faith. This makes standing firm in faith possible.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead," 1 Peter 1:3

Faith Is Our Shield and Hope Our Anchor

Ephesians 6:16 tells us to "take up the shield of faith." And what is that faith protecting us from? Our shield of faith protects us from the fiery darts of the devil Paul explains. These are the spiritual attacks of the devil tempting us to give into sin. Faith is given to us by the Holy Spirit as a gift (Ephesians 2:8-9). And faith itself comes from hearing the word of God (Romans 10:17). The more immersed in God's word we are, the stronger our faith will become. Faith and scripture work hand in hand.

Hearing and Doing: Faith in Action

But James adds one more important step to this: he declares that we should not just be hearers but doers of the word (James 1:22-24). We can study the word all we want to but that does not prove we have faith. If Satan can quote scripture that should be clear. Our actions are proof of our faith.

Scripture tells us, as if we should ever doubt it, that the Holy Spirit living in us is greater than the spirit of evil in the world (1 John 4:4). We don't have to live our lives being buffeted about by Satan's attacks. It's not as if we are just out there in the world with no defense against evil. No, we have the greatest defense of all, the Holy Spirit of God. But do we listen to Him? Or are we trying to shush Him by saying that we have it all figured out? Are we in effect saying we don't really need Him?

If that is the case, then Satan's temptations will succeed, because of all the things Satan would like us to believe, that God is unnecessary, is the greatest. If I can be my own god, rule my own life, and make all my own decisions without Him, then what need have I of faith? Satan's own personal goal is to be god (Isaiah 14:13-14). We are aligning perfectly with the devil's will if we put ourselves in God's place.

Victory Through the Holy Spirit’s Power

Hebrews 11 is a list of the great faith heroes of the Bible. These were men and women who accomplished astounding things for God, and they were only able to because of their deep faith and trust in who God was, is, and is to come. At some point in each of their lives they chose sin over God, always with tragic results. But their stories did not end in failure because they were spiritually renewed by the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 4:16). Titus 3:5 tells us we were regenerated and saved by the renewal of the Holy Spirit. We are made new in Christ.

Now we find that when that attractive, understanding co-worker starts to cross a boundary the Holy Spirit helps us to maintain limits. The Holy Spirit reminds us of the danger and misery that going down that road can bring. After a long work day, instead of reaching for too many of our favorite beers, the Spirit reminds me, I can call a friend or open His word to find comfort. When someone has disrespected me and belittled me, the Holy Spirit helps me truly forgive, something I simply couldn't do on my own. In these acts of obedience we find the peace and freedom we had been seeking in all the wrong places.

We are not the hopeless creatures we once were, enslaved to sin with the devil as our master. We have the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the living hope within us, that gives us the ability to defeat the enemy, Satan, by the cross of Christ. We are born again by the Holy Spirit. We will still be tempted, but the Holy Spirit will remind us of what is really true and gives us the courage to be obedient, one step at a time. Our new identity in Christ gives us strength.

Through His victory, we have been given victory. We don't exist to serve evil any longer. Now we submit to Christ and hope in Him and in Him we, as weak as we are, are made strong.