Tempting

Satan was right when he said:

And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Matthew 4:6 KJV)

He was quoting scripture:

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. (Psalms 91:12 KJV)

He was also right in knowing that Jesus could turn stone to bread and would eventually rule all the kingdoms of the world. But he was so very wrong in tempting.

Perhaps James was thinking of this when he wrote:

My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; (James 1:2 KJV)

Wait a minute! Aren’t we supposed to pray not to be led into temptation (Matthew 6:13 and Luke 11:4)? God knows we’ll see enough if it in our lifetime, so He gave some awesome examples of how to keep from falling into it. Bearing temptations brings wonderful reward.

Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. (James 1:12 KJV)

From Eve forward, through Christ Himself, to us – mankind lives with temptations. Day in and day out they are laid out before us. In the parable of the sower (Luke 8:5-18) Christ gives an example of ones who yield to temptation.

They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. (Luke 8:13 KJV)

The temptation is anything that takes a person away from God. Oh, it will look lovely! It will sound so good. Surely it is something that cannot be survived if we don’t have it. Why, it is a very part of our being – God would not have made us this way if we weren’t supposed to have it.

The reasons and excuses for giving in to temptation are virtually legion. Yet, we also know, as surely as it is written in God’s word:

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 KJV)

God is the reason for NOT giving in to temptation. That is sufficient, for He is.

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; (2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV)

Christ Resisting Temptation (Matthew 4:11) , Bourgiers (Wiki Commons)