Tag Archives: temptation

Sinning in the Will of God

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Acts 1:20 [speaking of Judas and how he betrayed the Lord]
“For it is written in the book of Psalms,  ‘Let his homestead be made desolate, and let no one dwell in it’; and, ‘let another man take his office.’
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Someone asked, “If Adam’s sin was all part of God’s plan then his disobedience was actually fulfilling God’s will and therefore, not really sin.”  Can it be sinful to do the will of God?  In the same way here, it was prophesied that Judas would deny the Lord.  This was part of God’s plan of salvation for mankind and yet Judas is condemned for carrying out God’s plan.  Doesn’t that seem unjust?

The answer isn’t really that difficult to understand.

It should be obvious it is never God’s will that man sin.  God doesn’t even tempt us to sin (James 1:13).  But God understands our hearts.  He knows and remembers what we are made of – dust.  Through His foreknowledge of future events and His complete understanding of our hearts, it is not difficult for Him to foretell our actions.  Just as a parent can often predict which child will obey and which will disobey,  God, who knows the hearts of all men, was able to predict how Adam would respond and Judas’ behavior.  The idea of God knowing the hearts of me is even referred to later in this same event when deciding who would take Judas’ place.   “And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, … Acts 1:24.

They were praying, Lord, just as you knew the heart of Judas and were able to predict his failure, you know the heart of these candidates to take his place.  In your foreknowledge, guide this selection process and help us choose one who will not fail.

Finally, does God’s foreknowledge mean he is responsible for the actions that He predicts.? Not anymore than the weatherman is responsible for the rain when he predicts it.  Knowing what will happen, even if it is a certainty, is not causal.  I know for certain the sun will rise tomorrow but certainly I cannot claim to have made it come up because I know that it will happen.  No, man is still left to follow the nature of his own heart and reap the reward or consequences of following it.
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Job 40:8
“Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

Romans 9:19-21
One of you will say to me: “Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?” But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?'”  Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?

 

God WILL Give Us More Than We Can Handle

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1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
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Based on this passage I’ve heard people say “God won’t give us more than we can handle”. I’ve heard it applied to struggles in relationships, finances, health, most any area of life that can be overwhelming. Not only does this verse NOT promise that “God won’t give us more than we can handle”, it actually says the opposite.

Paul, the apostle who wrote this, was given more than he could handle. In 2 Corinthians 1:8 he says that while ministering in Asia “We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure …” so God will allow more to come into our lives than we can handle. Why? Paul explains that in the next passage.
“This happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.”. God will regularly “give us more than we can handle” so we can learn to trust Him and not our own strength.

But this passage does not even say God will limit the power of temptation in our lives to something we can handle. It does say that when an overwhelming temptation comes He will provide a way of escape. The way we “bear” up under the temptation is by taking the way of escape.

The conclusion: Though God may not send the overwhelming trials nor the temptations into our lives (James 1:13) He WILL definitely allow us to experience more than we can handle so we learn to flee temptation and learn to trust Him in times of stress.
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Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Get outta there!

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1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.
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There is a time to flee and a time to stand. If you confuse the two you are bound to fail. Scripture speaks of standing up against Satan (James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:9). He will try to put thoughts into our head, to instill fear, distrust and evil ideas. We must resist those thoughts by replacing them with those that pass the filter of Philippians 4:8.

But when dealing with sins of our flesh, those things that are not from an outside influece but just part of our fallen nature, we are told to flee. For example, “flee from sexual immorality” 1 Corinthians 6:18, “flee idolatry” 1 Corinthians 10:14-15,”flee the love of money” 1 Timothy 6:11, “flee the evil desires of youth” 2 Timothy 2:22.

I have seen believers who will try to stand up under temptations of the flesh thinking God will not allow them to be tempted beyond what they are able to stand, a misunderstanding of 1 Corinthians 10:13.

And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

This passage clearly says the way you will be able to “bear” the temptation is by taking the way out God provides. In other words, “flee!” (For more on this click here)

When we try to “stand up” under temptations of the flesh we often end up negotiating, compromising, deciding “it won’t be so bad”, “just this once” or other reasoning that make sense before the fall but seems so silly afterwards.

Ever notice how Satan minimizes the impact of our sin before we sin and maximizes it afterward?

So, like the example of Joseph when tempted by Potiphar’s wife, flee! Get out of there! Take the way of escape God provides.
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Genesis 39:12 (NLT)
She came and grabbed him by his cloak, demanding, “Come on, sleep with me!” Joseph tore himself away, but he left his cloak in her hand as he ran from the house.