CHRISTIANITY 101: DEALING WITH TEMPTATION*

I have never experienced a church that explicitly taught believers how to deal with temptation, particularly as new Christians.  It involves spiritual “warfare” in a “battle” for the mind.
Six main points
1) Our “battle” is with spiritual forces of evil.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. (Eph. 6:12)

(Too often spiritual dimensions in life are ignored or overblown.  A healthy starting point is this analogy: As an infection is to a cut, so is spiritual evil to our normal pathologies.  There is a real dimension that is adversarial to God.)

2) Our “battlefield” is the mind.  (The key point is in bold.)

For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, ⁴ for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments ⁵ and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ. (2 Cor. 10:3)

3) Temptation is not sin.  Jesus was tempted.  (The main noun and verb for “temptation” carries the idea that it tests a person and exposes their character in the Light of their response.)

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. (Matt. 4:1)

4) Temptation must be stopped in the mind before it leads to sin.  Our thoughts do not define us; our responses us.

But each one is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desires. ¹⁵ Then when desire conceives, it gives birth to sin, and when sin is full grown, it gives birth to death. (James 1:14)

5) Our temptations are not unique and are not beyond dealing with.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Cor. 10:13)

6) Jesus has experienced our temptations and can help us through them.

For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. (Hebrews 2:18)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.  (Hebrews 4:15-16)

Summary and Application
Temptuous thoughts are normal, but they should be rejected as foreign to who we are as people of God.  Some people let such thoughts define them: “Since I feel X, I must be X.”  Others let temptations linger until they give birth to sin.  Temptations must be instantly identified as foreign to the Presence of God and one should call on God's help to reject them.
Although I often fail with various spiritual temptations, still I will be personal about a habit I seek to develop.  When I see a woman and begin to have a lustful thought, I attempt to stop it by saying a blessing for that woman and asking Jesus in His mercy to lead me to “escape” it and to cleanse my mind.  More personally (too personally?) I vividly recall an experience, on another issue, when one image after another was coming into my mind.  At first, it frightened me.  Then, I inwardly said, "Satan (= adversary), you can put any image in my mind you want, but I do not have to accept them.  Come Holy Spirit!"  My body literally shook and the images were gone.
Lord Jesus, you know how frail I am.  However, I want my mind, my thought-life, to be pleasing to you.  Lead me through every temptation and cleanse the thoughts of my heart.  Amen.
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*I posted on this topic more fully on July 10, 2024, "Temptation, the Mind, and Spiritual Warfare," but in a recent conversation I was encouraged to post on it again.  Shorter is sometimes better.

 

FAVORITE JESUS STORY: A WOMAN OUT-ARGUES JESUS

 When you are asked about your favorite Jesus story, what is it?  I have an answer that most people do not expect.  It is the only time a person tops Jesus in an encounter: the story of the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7:24 – 30.

Background:
First, this story seems deliberately juxtaposed to the proceeding story of 7:1 – 23 and invites a comparison.  The two stories share: the motif of that which is “inside” a person, a comprehension (or lack) of understanding Jesus rabbinic style of teaching through analogies, a disposition of reception (or lack) of Jesus person and authority, and the apposition of male, Jewish, Israelite teachers and disciples versus an unclean, non-Jewish, woman from outside Israel whose daughter is possessed.  Note that in the first story not even Jesus’ disciples understand his point about that which is within a people makes them “unclean.”
Second, I see Jesus’ encounters with people as often demonstrating what what would be God “testing” his people in the OT.  Such a test is not for a grade or condemnation.  Rather, it brings the heart of the person out in the open, as in the story about the rich young man (Mark 10:17 – 22).  In the first story, the hearts of the pharisees, the crowd, and his disciples are “without understanding” (18).

Our text:
When this woman, who is the antithesis of Jesus’ audience in the first story asks for help, Jesus responds with an analogy,

“Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and to throw it to the house dogs” (27).

Whew!  Jesus not only rejected her plea, he also called the woman a dog!  However, she does not walk away in anger and shame.  The text says she “answered” Jesus.  She accepts the slur with humility and comes back with a rabbinic-type argument that not only works with Jesus’ analogy and counters his argument, but also recognizes Jesus’ identity,

“Lord (kurios), even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs.” (28)
[Note: In Mark, "Lord"/kurios is used of God/Yahweh and of Jesus.*]

Wow.  I can think of no other encounter that Jesus has in the Gospels in which a person defeats his argument.  And Jesus loves it, “Because of this reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.”^  I am pretty sure that Jesus said that with a big grin.  Jesus’ sharp reply tested her.  It brought to the surface what I believe Jesus knew was there: humility and faith in him.

Application:
A couple of points strike home to me.  The first is the rather dreadful recognition that Jesus absolutely knows my heart.  I cannot project, deflect, dissemble, or any way escape his penetrating gaze.  I think the woman recognized that gaze, such that she humbled herself and accepted being called a dog.  The second point is also troubling, but good.  I should welcome the “tests” that reveal my heart.  They are not there for Jesus’ sake.  He already knows.  They are there for my sake, so that I might more fully embrace him as Lord.
May it be so, Lord, Amen.

*There are two apparent exceptions to this point.  “Lord” can be used of a master like a landowner.  Jesus uses the term twice this way in two parables (12:9 and 13:35) but makes it clear in the contexts that the master is used as an analogy to God (12:10 – 11 and 13:32 – 37).

^NET commentary notes: “This is the only miracle mentioned in Mark that Jesus performed at a distance without ever having seen the afflicted person, or issuing some sort of audible command.”