"The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"
The Second Epistle of Peter Chapter 2, Verse 9.
Before, how to defeat temptation was taken from the Word. Now, how to prevent temptation, which is important to staying away from sin.
In the Book of Proverbs, by Solomon, its written of the ways of temptation. It is very important to understand this. It tells about how temptation works ~ how its able to entice you, begging you to fall from the innocence God gave you by the forgiveness of sins by Christ, and so this is important to understand, so that you, the new man (again, man as in human not male), don't fall from the grace that the Son has given you.
Turn with me to the Book of Proverbs Chapter 7.
We start with verse 1.
Verse 1, "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee."
This is what God has always wanted us to do. If this is not done, then therein lies sin! Pay close attention to these following words.
Verse 2, "Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye."
Life is with God, the Father of lights. Death is otherwise, which is only darkness. God, in this world, exhalts His Word above all else. This means that what is written in the law and the commandments, and the proverbs that God instituted through Solomon, of the line of David through which Christ came, take precedence above all else. If you follow what God has given, you will not fail in this world. Salvation as your success, and the infallible Word as your guide, no man can take away what grace Christ has given you. This is why it is important to refrain from sin, which is a thief to steal grace away.
How do the Commandments Help to Prevent Temptation?
Verse 3, "Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart."
Verse 4, "Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:"
Verse 5, "That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words."
What is said here through Solomon is so important: because Jesus Christ, our Saviour, is the wisdom of God. He alone is the Word from God's mouth, to bring man to hear the Lord rather than the sin within them, so that we're like-minded through Christ. When Solomon talks of wisdom and understanding, Solomon foreshadows Christ, who is the Word, which is wisdom.
Verse 6, "For at the window of my house I looked through my casement,"
Verse 7, "And beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding,"
Verse 8, "Passing through the street near her corner; and he went the way to her house,"
Verse 9, "In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night:"
Verse 10, "And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart."
Ask the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, to cause you to understand what you are reading. The truth, the meaning behind this, can only be revealed to the one reading by the Spirit of Truth, by Christ.
Verse 11, "(She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:"
In Job, satan told the Father that he'd been roaming the earth, when he tried to come to present himself before the Lord with God's angels.
Verse 12, "Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)"
Temptation abounds in the world, but the kingdom of God is within you.
Verse 13, "So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him,"
Verse 14, "I have peace offerings with me; this day have I payed my vows."
She comes dressed like a harlot, which we today would call a prostitute. She tells him that she's just married. The peace offerings would be household gifts from the marriage between her and her husband. She seeks to commit the sin of adultery.
Verse 15, "Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee."
Verse 16, "I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt."
Verse 17, "I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon."
When Jesus Christ defeated satan by the sword of the Spirit, one of the things satan tempted and tried Christ with was with all of the riches and treasures of the kingdoms of earth (which goes to show you how effective satan's temptation is over man without Christ). She comes decorated, and speaks of the pleasantries awaiting him if he'd just give in.
Verse 18, "Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves."
Verse 19, "For the goodman is not at home, he is gone a long journey:"
Christ went to sit on the right hand of the Father, as the Son. The Church is the bride of Christ (Church being all men and women saved by the blood of Christ and that will inherit the kingdom of heaven after this world, and not a building of wood, sticks, and brick). While Christ is with the Father, Christ is with us through the Holy Spirit, and not in flesh, as with which He came into the world.
This is the journey, that satan deceives you into not seeing Christ when you're tempted. The sword of the Spirit defeats this - you know that God is a shield to those that know the truth (Book of Proverbs Chapter 30, Verse 5), and that God is with you. But God is faithful and wont leave you alone to be tempted. He's with you, and this is one of the ways the sword of the Spirit helps.
Verse 20, "He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed."
Christ shall return in glory - at a day that the Father chooses.
There's a money bag spoken of in the Gospel - the money that Judas Iscariot, the disciple that betrayed Christ, carried. The money bag is what allowed Judas Iscariot to be tempted - why he surcombed to being possessed by satan. Be careful of the money bag.
Christ said, "Woe to those that are with child in the day that I return, "(this is not an exact quote). If we lye down and commit adultery with the woman, and Christ returns, it wont go unpunished!
Where Does the Temptation Come Into Play?
Verse 21, "With her much fair speech she caused him to yield, with the flattering of her lips she forced him."
This is the temptation! Satan attempted to tempt Christ with sly words, but Christ defeated satan by the sword of the Spirit. The sword that Christ has given you is much more powerful than satan's sword. Christ defeated satan's sword to show you how.
In the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 4, 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." Satan fled from Christ after that, defeated.
Continuing in the Book of Proverbs Chapter 7,
Verse 22, "He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks;"
Here, the man, who lacked understanding, gave into the temptation. He didn't resist the devil, and if he did, by the sword of the Spirit, satan would have fled, defeated.
Verse 23, "Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life."
The wage of even one sin is death. This is evident through Adam's sin. All sin leads to and resolves to death. But we, as children of light, know that Christ paid that price for us in the flesh so that we may life through spirit.
By Knowing What God Wants Me to Know?
Verse 24, "Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth."
We follow Christ, the wisdom of God that proceeded out of His mouth from heaven, so that we don't pay for the result of these sins later on.
Verse 25, "Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths."
Verse 26, "For she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong ment have been slain by her."
Verse 27, "Her house is the way to hell, goind down to the chambers of death."
Those last verses tell a lot: there is no man alive that hasn't sinned. Christ never sinned, so the way out of sin is Christ, who is the way, the truth, and the life. And this is why defeating or preventing temptation is impossible with Him, who makes it possible. Strong men have surcombed to the temptation spoken of in this chapter. So this is why we can't do it alone - because the very nature of the flesh is sin, being taken from the fallen earth.
The next time you're tempted and you unsheath your sword, have eyes to see, and see that the house that you're being lead to, with all of its arrangements and decoration, is a chamber of death, whose path leads to hell. To see and understand in terms of the eternity, rather than what your fleshly eyes are being deceived to perceive.
Lets turn again, to Chapter 6, Verse 20.
Verse 20, "My son, keep thy father's commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:"
Verse 21, "Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck."
Verse 22, "When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee."
Christ is the living Word! The Holy Spirit is with us and unites us as the body of Christ. All laws are fulfilled through Christ, because we're saved by grace, Christ bringing all laws under Him in one glorious sacrifice. We keep God's commandments because we love Him, having His grace.
Christ and the Commandments?
Verse 23, "For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life:"
Verse 24, "To keep thee form the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman."
Jesus Christ is the commandment, and He is the law. This is very important. The manner in which Christ sacrificed sin brought the law under Christ so that by following Him, we fulfill the law. You'll also hear being said that Christ is the living 'Torah,' which are the laws, statutes, and commandments of God. When Christ did that, salvation was made through Him. Christ has always been with the Father, from even the foundation of the earth in the first earth age. He has always been who He is - the light. This is evident in Proverbs, when Jesus Christ is mentioned and where parts of Christ's gospel and life are foreshadowed again and again. As well as every other book.
Verse 25, "Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids."
Verse 26, "For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life."
The adulteress, satan, takes life by the seeds of death - your sins.
Now we get to another important part:
Verse 27, "Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?"
Verse 28, "Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?"
Verse 29, "So he that goeth in to his neighbour's wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent."
If you so much as look upon a member of the opposite sex and commit the touching of that person in your heart out of lust, you too have committed a sin - and all unrighteousness is sin.
It says in these 3 verses that all men have sinned, and all men are subjected to sin, so don't think that its possible to resist the devil alone - you will fall, and succomb, as every other man. As I have done. But its possible with Christ, who said, "With what's impossible with man is made possible with the Father." This is in the Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 19, Verse 26.
Here we go into the eyes. Satan tempted Christ with treasures, and he will tempt you, too, with the same, as someone who has the Saviour within them.
But Christ said this:
The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 6,
Verse 19, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:"
Verse 20, "But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break nor steal:"
If you are going to enter into the kingdom of heaven, you need not worry or concern yourself with the treasures of this world. This world's lustful offerings aren't anything compared with the glory that you'll be arrayed with in the kingdom of heaven, or the things that God has waiting for you there. He knows the extent of your mind's imaginations. He has created some of the things of this world to be pleasureful for a reason. Though satan may exploit this, we as the children of light, having eyes to see by Christ, can see past these exploits, having everything in the kingdom of heaven and an inheritance with Christ in salvation.
Treasures Waiting for me in Heaven?
No man can take away or prevent you from having what God wants you to have. No being, not even satan.
Verse 21, "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Verse 22, "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."
Verse 23, "But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!"
Frequently through the Gospel the Saviour might say, "he that hath ears to hear, let him hear," or, "he that hath eyes to see, let him see," to call His elect to attention. The eye is important to preventing sin.
Christ said earlier in chapter 5 and verse 28, "But I say unto you, That whosever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
Technology of the Angels?!
While on the road on day-to-day activities, we see a lot of cars. We might spot one we like. We favor it and it becomes appealing to the eye. If I were to lust after this car in my heart and want it for myself - even this would be sin! But the joy comes from resisting that temptation - that you might be whole in Christ, wanting nothing, and having everything in the kingdom of heaven. If you read the Word, you will see that its evident in books such as Ezekiel that the angels possess a technology far superior to anything man can perceive. The glory of the kingdom of heaven is so great, it outdates any technology on the market at any date! What God has made to be greater than this world will be more than sufficient for you. Trust in God, that He will raise up for you all that you will ever want in heaven in that day of rest.
In the very same chapter 5, it reads in verse 29,
"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Any man would think that by doing this, they would be taken away a part of themselves, but this is said so that you know that by not sinning, you would be keeping the innocence that Christ gives you that makes you whole. And that fills the void that you'd feel without Christ.
Now lets go back to chapter 6. In verse 23, Christ talked about the light of the body being the eye. Christ healed many and opened the eyes of the blind. Without the truth, we are in darkness, but Christ brings us to the light, opening the eyes of every one quickened by His holy Spirit. By looking at these things - the cars, the clothes, the jewelry, and all of the things that we know that are wants and are lusts to the heart, we fill ourselves with wants! We pollute the light that Christ has given us. But by knowing that our wants are fulfilled through salvation, and that the light of men will glorify us and array us in beauty and elegance and will give us more than what we desire, we know that lusting after the things of this world in our own hearts is futile, and will only hurt is with darkness.
The Lord gives us gifts and fulfills what we need, but we have no lust after these things in our hearts. This is what Job had to learn the difficult way in the Book of Job. We have supper with the Master, but we love the Master more than the Master's table, and the bread that He gives us to eat.
So Keeping the Way Prevents Temptation?
This is how we can prevent temptation, and how to not give satan the opportunity to use the desires within us. He will show you treasures, and he will ask you to come and lie with him on the bed decked with decorations, but the result of those ways are death. By Christ, we have turned from them, and by Christ we will keep His way.
Verse 24 completes this:
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."
Mammon is a word that means money. People personify the riches of the world. They worship their new car or they might violate the Sabbath and work to get more money. They idolize cars or strange women or authorities such as being famous in their hearts.
But what foolishness that is - we know that there is no higher authority than God, and that the only way to God is the Son of God. We know that there is but one God. And one Son of God. And even so, we know that God possess even greater technology than what might sit in your wealthy neighbor's front yard, and that God provides for His children and those that are His. We know that clothes are nothing and that God knows we have need of these things and will give them to us (Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 6). We have no need to worry about extra money - like manna falling from heaven to the people God lead out of Egypt in the Book of Exodus to the desert, God will give us the abundance that we need without having to violate His commandments, and without having to sin. We know that we can find another way, because we have the Way in our hearts. So we don't allow trials or tribulations to concern us. We don't worry in our hearts over food or clothes or money, serving God.
So when you see something that you might lust after, remember the Word of God, and know that you have no need for it, having salvation. All the things of this world will perish and pass away, at the coming of the kingdom of heaven.
It's very important to know that the Way spoken of is Jesus Christ. We follow the commandments because Christ followed the commandments. Salvation isn't through laws, and it isn't through remaining sinless. But through following Christ, whom the Father sent for man. Your perfection isn't through the law, but through grace. This is how to prevent temptation - by trusting in God, that Christ is the way, and that you wont fall from that way.
So Why Do I Always Fail Resisting Temptation Alone?
The Gospel According to Matthew Chapter 26, Verse 41, "Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
The Saviour said this to His disciples after they tried to stay awake with Christ before He would be delivered into the hands of the betrayers to be crucified. They fell asleep, though they were willing. The flesh is weak and able to be tempted. This is why its so important that we not resist temptation alone - but by Christ. And so the Saviour tells them to turn to God.
And this is how to prevent temptation - by keeping the Way of God in your heart. So that your entire body is filled with light, being a child of light. Walk in the Spirit, so that all of your steps might be made to glorify the Lord, being righteous and true.
May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Marana tha,
Isaac
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