By Larry Arrowood

All Christians should understand the following six truths concerning temptations.

1. God does not tempt us. “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man” (James 1:13). He wants us to be saved, and He wants to bless us.

2. In every temptation, there will always be a way of escape. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13). Either we will be able to overcome the temptation or else God will prevent it from coming to us. God will not allow Satan to tempt us beyond our ability to overcome. Should we fail, the Lord will forgive us if we seek forgiveness. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9).

3. Blessings will always follow trials. God will turn the hardship into something beneficial for us. “And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, and to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). For example, if we are to teach others how to overcome, we must first overcome temptations ourselves. The Lord allowed Satan to tempt Job, but Job received twice the amount of blessings after his trial as he had before.

4. God sends trials to teach us to rely upon his power and to strengthen us in our Christian walk. The struggle required to overcome temptation is good for us. It is a necessary part of the normal process of maturing. Diamonds and graphite are composed of the same substance-carbon. The difference between the two is the molecular structure, which is determined by the amount of pressure applied to each. Diamonds have been exposed to a tremendous amount of pressure, but graphite has not. God may want us to be diamonds in His kingdom; if so, pressure must come.

5. Simply because we live in this world, trials and tribulations will inevitably come, whether we are Christians or not. We can either surrender to the devil and lose our souls or we can trust in the Lord for victory (1 Peter 5:8-10). Unquestionably, we should choose the latter alternative.

6. Temptation itself is not a sin. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Evil thoughts and sinful
desires may knock at our heart’s door but this is not sin in itself. These are temptations; these are normal life experiences. We do not
commit sin unless we yield to these evil thoughts, whether by entertaining and enjoying them in the mind or by enacting them physically.

We should pray as the Lord taught: “Deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:4). Overcoming is not always easy, but it is always possible. We can be
overcomers.

(The above information was published by WORLD AFLAME PRESS)

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