Overcoming Temptation

In our previous posts on temptation, we have noted the cause and consequences of temptation. Today’s post addresses the correction for temptation.

Perhaps the correction seems as easy as just saying “No” to temptation.  Isn’t that all there is to it?  Just stop, don’t look, don’t go there?  

Saying “No” certainly is necessary, but this action alone is incomplete.  We must not only say, “No” to something, we must also say “Yes” to something—or better, Someone.

When Christians give in to temptation they are allowing themselves to be drawn away by wrong or misplaced desires.  These desires are substitutes for the only thing that can completely satisfy our inner yearnings: a vibrant, sustaining relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ.  So, while saying “No” to wrong desires is necessary, it is equally necessary to say “Yes” to right desires.  We avoid the “badness” of sin by delighting in the goodness of God. 

Delight in God’s goodness

James writes, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”  

Directing our gaze upward, James describes God as the, “Father of lights,”  the one “with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

There is some helpful theology here.  The word “variation” James uses is an astronomical term.  Unlike the ever-changing lights that move across the earth as it rotates on its axis, creating “variation” of sun rays and moonbeams that result in “shifting shadows,” the Heavenly Father of lights, the God who created the lights, never changes.  

God is constantly the same, perfect in all of His ways.  He never changes, which means He always does what is right and always acts in good ways.  You can count on Him to be there always and to be faithful always. He is always doing good things and providing good things for His children.

Why do you think James places this truth at this point in the text?  Given the context, it would seem James is teaching that the correction for temptation is theological.  This verse reminds us of the character and nature of God.  He is consistently good.  He is not temptation’s cause, He is temptation’s cure.  He is the correction for temptation.  

So rather than settling for a bad gift, the gift that comes in the form of a baited hook, delight in the goodness of God.  Say “No” to sin—that’s half of it—and to the other half, say “Yes” to God.  Reject the broken cistern of murky water—your temptation to sin—and drink from the well that never shall run dry.  Turn to God.

Delighting in God’s goodness means enjoying the abundance of good things He gives to His children.  He gives good gifts like satisfaction, joy, peace, and love.  These good gifts are enjoyed precisely because God has given Christians the greatest gift of all: new life; regeneration and salvation through the power of the gospel.  

James explains, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.”  The greatest and most perfect gift that comes from above is the gift of new life.

Delight in the gospel 

Of God’s own will He “brought us forth by the word of truth.”  That is, He birthed us or “caused us to be born again by the word of truth,” by the gospel.

Christians have been “brought forth” or birthed again by means of the gospel.  And James adds that our being given new life does not end with us.  God gives us new life “that we might be a kind of first fruits of His creatures.”  

The term “first fruits” is an agrarian term, a reference to the farmer’s first gleanings, “first fruits” of the harvest.  The first gleanings were a sign of a greater harvest to come.  So we believers are “a kind of first fruits of His (God’s) creatures,” the first saved souls of more to come, the promise of more children with new natures to come, more persons who will be born again, more persons “brought forth by the word of truth,” by the gospel.

So Christians successfully tackle temptation by delighting in the gospel.  Of all the good and perfect gifts God has given, new life in Christ is unquestionably the best!  In fact, apart from the gift of salvation, Christians cannot enjoy any of the other gifts such as true peace, love, and joy. 

Delighting continuously in the goodness of God is the secret to tackling temptation.  Intentional reflection upon the joy of our salvation is the means by which we will walk in holiness.

Earlier we recalled King David’s sin with Bathsheba.  Most of us know the story quite well.  Sometime after David sinned, he was confronted by Nathan the prophet and repented.

We have Psalm 51 as one of David’s greatest psalms of confession and repentance.  It was written after David had been confronted by Nathan.  One of the most stirring lines in the psalm is where David writes, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation (verse 12).”  

Have you ever wondered precisely when David lost his joy?  Surely it did not happen all at once.  It is hard to imagine David’s suddenly losing all of his joy only moments before, or even moments after, his noticing Bathsheba.  Does it not stand to reason that David lost the joy of his salvation long before that infamous evening?  

In a practical devotional, writer Timothy Paul Jones considers this very question:

I would suggest that David’s loss of joy was not the result of his sin but part of the cause. David’s sinful actions were the fruit of his failure to recall that the lasting joy of God’s salvation far outstripped the passing pleasure of Bathsheba’s flesh. David had already lost sight of the joy of God’s salvation before he saw the young woman bathing on the roof and chose to call her into his chambers. It was, at least in part, due to David’s misplaced joy that he sacrificed his integrity for a false and fleeting joy that could never satisfy his soul. Now, the penitent king begged God to restore his lost joy.¹

Then, Jones pens these memorable words: 

“Purity flows from a heart that recognizes the joy of God’s salvation as a gift more satisfying than any competing pleasure the world can provide.”²

Christians must say “No” to that which is bad by saying “Yes” to that which is good.  If we are walking regularly with the Lord, daily finding our soul’s satisfaction in Christ, delighting in God’s goodness and God’s gospel, then we are more likely to prevail over temptation.  We will battle temptation from a position of strength rather than a position of weakness.

What About You?

• “You can’t keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.”  What are some of the “birds” that pester you?  How can you “keep them from building a nest in your hair?”
• Paul writes that when Christians are tempted, God has made “the way of escape” for them (1 Corinthians 10:13).  What exactly is “the way of escape,” and how does it work?
• Are you honestly experiencing “the joy of God’s salvation?”  If so, how can you sustain that joy?  If not, what can you do to get it—or get it back?

**Excerpt from You’re Either Walking The Walk Or Just Running Your Mouth (Preaching Truth: 2020), pages 34-38, available on Amazon.

1. 31 Days of Purity, ed., Tim Challies; www.challies.com/articles/31-days-of-purity-the-joy-of-salvation; accessed May 20, 2020
2. ibid.