Temptation and the Way of Escape
“God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore, my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” [1 Corinthians 10:12-14]
We are faced daily with temptations that challenge us. Some are lusts of the body, others related to ambition or pride. No-one is exempt from the devil’s desire to rob, kill and destroy, so we should never be casual, inattentive believers, forgetful of God’s Word. It is not His will that we sin, so when we are tempted, God always provides a way out, an escape route from the temptation. The victory that Christians have, who are born again of the Spirit of God, is the power to resist and rule over sin in our own bodies and lives.
Our mother Eve was the first woman in history to know God. She and Adam talked and walked with Him every day in the garden. She had the best environment in which to live and commune with her Maker. Eden was a beautiful haven in which to thrive and flourish without persecution, distractions or work. Indeed, Eve’s life was idyllic, and she had a wonderful husband who needed and loved her and they were perfectly matched. Of her Adam said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” [Genesis 3:23]. Imagine the laughter, the fun and the pure joy of being together as they played and loved each other, innocently naked and unencumbered by worry or fear. Their relationship was unspoiled ad they were one.
Nothing was missing in Eve’s life; yet Satan deceived her and at that moment she somehow turned her eyes away from the Truth. It was the devil’s lies masquerading as truth that drew her away. How this tragedy could occur in the safest place on earth is bewildering. How the father of lies could sabotage Eden and openly seduce God’s own child is inconceivable. And yet, it happened so quickly. God had provided a way out for her – it was Himself! His Truth was all she knew, and He was always nearby. She just had to obey Him. But Eve was bedazzled and fooled by the promises of a forbidden fruit. She could have fled from the idolatry of this pleasure, but in an instant, without thought, without discussion, without even asking her Father’s advice, she decided to follow another voice.
Eve did not rule over sin, it ruled over her and quickly spread to Adam too. Sin and death were the immediate consequence, and only the intervention of the Father in sacrificing His Son Jesus, has saved us. We can and must do better than Eve, for if we are born again, we have God’s presence living within us; God is not only walking beside us every day, He lives in us through His Holy Spirit. “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. “[Romans 5: 5] Let’s walk each moment in a way that causes the devil to flee – resisting and overcoming temptation by the Grace of God and praising His Name.
“Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.” [1John 3:9]