Think about the men we read about in the Bible, from Adam and Abraham to Peter and Judas, and even our Lord Jesus. They were all men who battled temptation. You battle temptation too. We all do.
And the question is, what should we do? How do we win? From 2 Samuel 11, Genesis 39 and , here are four steps: see the danger, calculate the cost, get back to the basics, and run.
Does every Christian face temptation?
I don’t care how long we’ve been Christians or how seasoned in life we might be. We all face moments when the devil puts something enticing before us. We get weak. We get vulnerable. We’re tempted to water down the seriousness of sin.
See the danger before it sinks you
On April 14, 1912, the Titanic struck an iceberg, and about 1,500 people died. It did not have to happen. The crew received warnings that day that icebergs were on their route. They ignored them.
That same thing happens to us. We rationalize and see how close we can get to the spiritual cliff without falling over.
King David tried that. In 2 Samuel 11, when kings go out to battle, David stayed at Jerusalem. And notice, it all began with a nap. He got up from his bed, walked on the roof of his palace and saw Bathsheba bathing.
Instead of going back inside and praying to God, he caves. He breaks. He even set her husband up to be killed in battle to cover his tracks. After that moment, David’s life was never the same.
We are in danger when our marriage is struggling and we get too close to a coworker, when our hearts start fluttering at a friend request from an ex, or when friends pressure us to get high.
How do you count the cost of temptation?
In , Jesus talks about counting the cost of discipleship: “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it.” That is exactly what we need to do in moments of temptation. We have to ask ourselves, is this really worth it? Am I willing to pay the price?
Joseph does this in Genesis 39. His own brothers sold him into slavery. In Egypt, Potiphar’s wife wanted an affair with him. He refused: “How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?”
When we let the devil win, we hurt God. We break his heart. We damage our prayer lives and step onto a path that ends in denial on judgment day.
There is an earthly cost too. In Proverbs 7, Solomon shows that sexual sin is the way of death right now. It can destroy our family and somebody else’s family.
We need to trust in God's promises and in his way because his way is always the best way.
The Bible and prayer are your basic tools
I am a huge sports fan. In basketball, a sport my son plays, a player has to learn and lean on the fundamentals, and knowing how to do them will always be useful. For the Christian, knowing the Bible and praying to God are the basic and fundamental tools of our faith.
says, “No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind, and God is faithful.” With the temptation, he will provide a way of escape. That reminds me I am not the only Christian facing this moment. God sees me, and he will help me.
says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” I can do that. promises, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever abandon you.”
Then I need to pray. When the Persian king asked Nehemiah what he wanted, says, “So I prayed to the God of heaven.” He probably did a quick prayer in his mind. We can all do that. God, please give me strength.
Run like Joseph did
Finally, we need to just plain run. The Bible word for that is flee (; ). When Potiphar’s wife caught Joseph by his garment, “he left his garment in her hand and fled and went outside.” That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?
He doesn’t say nobody’s going to know. He counts the cost and he runs. That is how he wins, and that is how we win today.
- Get away from the people pressuring you to drink or use drugs.
- Block the ex trying to reconnect on social media.
- Walk away to cool off and pray instead of saying whatever pops into your mind.
- Cut off opportunities to look at things you shouldn’t, even if it requires installing accountability software.
Trust God, even when the world mocks you
When the devil tempted Jesus in Matthew 4, Jesus trusted the Scriptures. says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. And do not lean on your own understanding.”
The world will not compliment us for resisting. We will probably get mocked. But God’s way is the only path that leads to real life.
Brothers and sisters, we can win these battles. If you are tired of caving and want us to pray with you, we will be more than happy to do that. You can watch the whole sermon, or plan your first visit to worship with us.