The only way is by Christ. And by Christ alone. I tried to resist temptation alone. But in the end, or what seemed to be the end, I alone was too weak. Because the flesh is weak. This is how to defeat temptation.
What is Temptation?
The word means solicitation to that which is evil. Satan is called 'the tempter.' Temptation is often thought to be internal. But in the end, temptations in this world are a result of this being. This is what must be realized: that temptation doesn't come from you, who you are in spirit, but from a force in you. It's a force that man is doomed to inherit, but which Christ defeated. This tendency doesn't exist within the spirit, but within the flesh, which is a part of this world. Satan uses this nature called sin within the flesh and tempts us. Now, I know that everyone that reads over this will most likely know what sin is. But I wanted to restate so that its made apparently clear.
Sin is unrighteousness. Whoever sins transgresses the laws, commandments, and statutes that the Lord has put forth. It's important to know that if one goes against God's commandments, one is trying to go against God, and that's not what God likes. So, the wage of sin is death. The ways of sin are death, and lead to death.
It's important to remember: it's not a sin to be tempted. The sin is made manifest when a man (man being human, not male) gives into temptation. You can see why this is an important topic, because Christ was manifested in this world to defeat sin, so that no man with Christ within them dies (death isn't natural, and by the Spirit of God, man was to live forever). But if our own hearts, as the mind of the flesh, condemns us, remember that God is greater than our heart (the First Epistle of John Chapter 3, Verse 20).
How Do I Defeat Temptation?
To defeat temptation is to defeat satan. Jesus Christ sits on the right hand of God in glory! He is arrayed in power and beauty! The throne of Christ, in our heart, is a throne of power. And if Christ defeated satan, defeating death, and created a way for man to live in the Spirit, then quite surely Jesus Christ can give you the power to not only resist temptation, but to defeat it! And every man that has ever been tempted and defeated satan, as Christ did, and in Christ's name, will be raised in glory with Christ, rest assured of that (The Epistle of James Chapter 1, Verse 12). He will resist a crown of life, living water to never thirst again, and a place in the kingdom of heaven. Be assured that you don't do alone.
Satan is like a roaring lion, roaming the earth, seeking those he can devour (The First Epistle of Peter Chapter 5, Verse 8 ). But be assured, this liar, deceiver, and tempter also tries the faith of all of your siblings in Christ. No temptation is upon you that the tempter hasn't tempted all of us, and our ancestors, with. But there's a difference: you have Christ! He is the way, the truth, the life, and the only way to defeat temptation, having defeated it and the tempter's ways already.
It's hard, and the writer of this message to you knows this just as well as you do. But, in Christ, the temptation and trying of your faith will will strengthen and make perfect what you are: in spirit. Like the forging of a samurai sword: the sword is heated, pounded and layered with metal over a dozen hundred times to make thousands of layers of a nearly unbreakable sword; its heated and tested by the hammer over and over in the fire until its nearly perfect. It doesn't happen over night. One sword may take months to make. But in the end, a finely sculptured and crafted work of art is made.
Or again, think of how God created man out of the dust of the earth: after the potter sculpts the pot out of clay, it has to go into the kiln to be heated and tested by the fire before it can be useful.
So count it as joy to suffer in Christ's name. Account it to joy when you fall into diverse temptations (the Epistle of James Chapter 1, Verse 4). It will only add to your character, and strengthen who you are in spirit. You will have eyes and senses exercised to see good and evil. This next thing I'm about to say may not seem plausible to those that are still a babe in Christ and are still being fed with milk (the Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 5, Verse 14), but you will also be able to discern (the First Epistle of John Chapter 4, Verse 1) the spirits: to see whether they are of God or not.
Yes, But How Do I Defeat Temptation?!
With the sword! Temptation can be avoided by prayer (the Gospel According to Luke Chapter 22, Verse 46). But if a man of Christ (man as in human, not only male) is tempted by the deceiver, one must take up the sword of the Spirit to defeat him.
The only way to defeat the deceiver is to resist the deceiver. Submit yourself to God, and resist the devil, and he will flee from you (The Epistle of James Chapter 4, Verse 7). It is truth. And this truth is evident in Christ.
What is the Sword of the Spirit?
The sword of the Spirit is a vital part of the armour of God. Christ used the sword of the Spirit to defeat satan when He was being tempted by him in the wilderness (). That's right, ladies and gentlemen. As a son of God, you carry the sword of the Spirit with you wherever you go: past airport security, in schools, to work, and even at home in front of the television. No man can take it from you, and wherever signs of temptation are, you can surely unsheath it and be prepared to do battle, knowing that you wear the armour of God at all times. Pretty interesting? Interesting is severly understated: the armour of God is of the spirit. Just as flesh can't enter into God's kingdom, fleshly eyes can't perceive what lies in the spirit, but if you walk in the Spirit (Epistle to the Galatians Chapter 5) you will know that you have it on.
You have salvation over your head, as a son of God. This is the helmet of salvation.
But the sword of the Spirit comes from knowing the Word of God. From knowing Christ through love, by knowing what He taught you, and by carrying His words with you. By knowing Christ, you can also discern spirits (The First Epistle to John Chapter 4, Verse 1), and know who's of God. By knowing what Christ says, which is truth, you will know what someone else says is true or not and know whether they're by the tempter or by Christ.
The sword of the Spirit is quick and powerful, cutting not only past bone and marrow and the ways of the flesh, but also to the dividing of soul and spirit (the Epistle to the Hebrews Chapter 4, Verse 12). It's how we can discern, as children of light. The Samurai sword, by definition the katana, is made of thousands of layers of metal and forged to be nearly unbreakable. Its heavy when picked up, and it can cut through tree trunks as if it were a hot knife through butter. But the Word tells you that the sword of the Spirit that Christ asks you to take up (the Gospel According to Luke Chapter 22, Verse 36) is sharper than any sword. This is the humble power of the children of light. Not fleshly, but in spirit, cutting past flesh. This surpasses any technology at any date. And it's what Christ gave and left to you, from the Father, as worldy inheritance (just as you inherited the flesh) to defeat the trials and tribulations that the world and the prince of this world tries to use to defeat you.
To wield the sword of the Spirit is to know and to understand the Word of God (the Epistle to the Ephesians Chapter 6, Verse 17). We know the words of Christ, and we know Christ through love, having been touched by Christ personally. Jesus Christ is the living, breathing Word, and this is who we know. Knowing the Word is our sword, and faith in God is our shield.
Knowing this, also know that with the sword of the Spirit, we do battle with satan and all of his ways.
How Do I Battle Satan and the Ways of Temptation?
By knowing what God wants you to know, you will have all that you need to defeat satan. God is faithful, and if He allows you to be tempted, He will also allow a way out of temptation so that you can bear it and escape it. This is why, if you battle satan and resist temptation, you will always come out stronger and exercised more against it in spirit. Believe this to be true because the Word said it and what God left for you is infallible. This means, it cannot fail and will not. It will work every time, because God will create a way out for you ever time. It's written in the First Epistle to the Corinthians Chapter 10, Verse 13.
God provided a way out for Job when He allowed satan to tempt him and take away all of the good things God gave him in the Book of Job Chapter 1, Verse 12. He wouldn't allow satan to take Job's life, and wanted him to see the end result of his temptations, and to answer the questions that he asked. If you read the Book of Job, that a lot of people talk away, you will see that the many chapters of arguments with his friends where he poses questions that man still asks today (where is my tempter, why do bad things happen to good people, and the like) are all answered in Christ. If you don't believe me, the writer of this message, believe its author, because God authored these words that I share with you today, seeing as how it's all truth. Christ is the key and if you seek to defeat satan and all of his ways, He is the only way.
Christ battled temptation in the wilderness after He was baptized: this is how to use the sword of the Spirit, in grace and in truth.
Lets step by step go through how Christ defeated the temptations of satan, the devil.
This begins in Matthew Chapter 4.
Verse 1, "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."
Temptation came to many named in the bible. Joseph, Daniel, David, and Solomon were all tempted.
Verse 2, "And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred."
This signifies the weakness of the flesh. There was no guile or sin in Christ, but all flesh is weak.
Verse 3, "And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."
Verse 4, "But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by ever word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
Ever since I was reborn of Christ, I have been fed daily by the Word. The flesh may live by bread, but life is given to the spirit by God's Word. This is how the sword of the Spirit is sharpened, in a sense: by knowing what God wants you to know.
Verse 5, "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,"
The body is the temple of God, where no man violates. The Church is the body of Christ: but the Church are everyone that is reborn in Christ, having the Holy Spirit within them and uniting them as brothers and sisters. The Church are the followers of Christ which house the Spirit and not a building of rocks and wood. This is why knowing the Word is so important: your salvation is through Christ, not some building with fancy windows. It's written that the things of this world will come to pass away. The Word dwells within, so don't put your faith in that going to a building once a week will save you from the hellfire satan will be in, because this is another way that satan has the world deceived. But that by going there, Christ is among the people.
Verse 6, "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."
Satan tries to tempt our Lord Jesus Christ to jump from an exceedingly high place. This is satan's way: he makes people proud, putting them in a high place, and sets them up for a fall. He deceives people and makes them think that they'll be okay if they fall, and tempts them to take the jump. God did gave His angels charge to take care of Christ in that way, but here satan is perverting God's holy scripture. He deceives.
Verse 7, "Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."
It is important to note that in every answer Christ gave, He uses what's written: He takes from His Father's work and uses it to do battle. This is the sword of the Spirit, and how Christ set as an example of how we can defeat satan, and how he will flee from even us.
Verse 8, "Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them:"
Satan is the prince of the world, and he's often underestimated. This is what makes it so hard for some to believe that temptation is from this being.
Verse 9, "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me."
Now, God created everything. This is something we'd know from Sunday school. It's fact. Jesus is God's Son, and God has everything. The things that satan will try to offer you: know that they're nothing. And compared to the glory that is in store and will be waiting for you when you defeat satan, that God has in store for you, will be far greater and eternal than anything satan can offer.
The things that satan offers Christ, satan will give to the anti-christ, who will pretend to be Christ at the beginning of the third age of earth, which you can read about in the Book of Revelations.
Verse 10, "Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve."
Christ once and for all defeats satan with the sword of the Spirit. Satan fears Christ more than anything. This is why the evil spirits cowar in fear when a Christian is near. In His name is how we cast out demons, which satan also uses.
Verse 11, "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
And if you know the Word and take up the sword of the Spirit, satan will flee from you, too!
Christ used His Father's words when He defeated satan. It's so important to know the Word: how can you do battle without knowing?
Here is some scripture that you can become familiar with that you can use to unsheath your sword:
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." The Epistle of James Chapter 4, Verse 7.
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." The Epistle of James Chapter 1, Verses 2 and 3.
Know, brethren, that Christ defeated temptation and the works of satan! If you know the Word, having Christ in you, you too can defeat satan every time.
This I do in service to those that are saved by the blood of the Lamb, God's Church.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Marana tha,
Isaac.
|
