Temptation

In Pilgrim's Progress, John Bunyan writes of a time when Christian and Hopeful spent several days walking beside a "pleasant" river. Here they walked with "great delight," for the path was smooth and the way was free of difficulties. For the pilgrims it was a time of refreshment and comfort in their journey to the Celestial City.

However, eventually the path turned away from the river and instead of being smooth, it became very rough. The path was so difficult that the pilgrims began to long for an easier way.

As they continued their journey, they noticed a meadow along the left side of the road. In that meadow was a path that appeared easy to walk upon and at the same time paralleled the path they were on. The two paths were separated by a stone wall. Spying a "stile" (steps), Christian persuaded Hopeful to climb over the wall and to travel down the seemingly easier path.

For those of you who do not know the story, the easier path ended up being a treacherous one, for it led the pilgrims into many troubles and eventually they were captured by Giant Despair and thrown into a dungeon in Doubting Castle.

Even though this story illustrates the pilgrimage of God's children, it contains an important lesson for all of us.

The Lord in His mercy has given us a home, school, and church where His truth is taught. The Lord has placed us on the road to eternity. He has commanded us, "This is the way, walk ye therein." Because there are many dangerous paths leading away from this road, He has given us His Word as a map to guide and instruct us. One of the instructions found in this Word is "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" (Proverbs 1:10).

Let us pause for a few moments and consider this proverb and its application to us. In doing so let us examine 1) the difficulty, 2) the necessity, and 3) the possibility of obeying this proverb.

When we examine the story we have just mentioned from Pilgrim's Progress, we see four difficulties that led the pilgrims astray. First, they were discontented, which is indicative of depraved man, who is not willing to be submissive to God. Second, they saw another seemingly easier path in a meadow, which is a picture of the world. Third, the pilgrims spied a stile, which is representative of the deceptive devices of Satan. Fourth, we saw Christian persuade Hopeful to turn from the narrow way, which points to the influences of our friends.

Let us look at each of these difficulties as it relates to obeying this proverb, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

Where did the first enticement or temptation take place on earth and who was the first tempter? We all know that the first temptation took place in the Garden of Eden, when Satan enticed Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. Satan was the first tempter and has remained the Tempter ever since. For thousands of years he has studied man and has identified his every weakness. As a result, he has a store of temptations waiting to be used as each circumstance dictates.

Yes, he has even observed you for the past fourteen to twenty years. He knows your own personal weaknesses. He knows the areas where you are most vulnerable. He also knows what millions fail to realize and that is that man's "heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and he uses this knowledge to his advantage and to our downfall.

My friends, Satan is one of your greatest enemies. In a war an enemy that is nearby, yet unseen, presents the greatest danger. Well, Satan is such an enemy. You cannot see him but he is near. You cannot escape his presence. Go to worldly places and he is there to entice you to indulge in its activities. Even go to church and he is there to distract you. Go where you will, you cannot avoid his attention. He is an enemy that never sleeps. He is an adversary that is never tired. He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Every man, woman, young person, and child is his prey, and he works to destroy their souls and to draw them into hell.

You might not think about him, but he thinks about you. You might not value your eternal soul but he treasures its destruction more than gold. You might not think about death and eternity but he does. He knows that he has a short time, less than one hundred years to deceive and entice you to eternal destruction.

My friends, you are the next generation. You are the future of the church. Humanly speaking, with you the church will continue or backslide. Satan knows this and therefore you are the prize. It has been said, "He that has the youth has the future." Satan believes this and as a result he works day and night to win you over to his side.

How does he tempt you? He first comes with suggestions that the world and his service offer pleasure, achievements, and gratification. He paints a picture which presents the world with all its attractions to be enjoyed to the fullest and on the other hand he shows God and His service as a bondage, something to be resisted and despised.

How else does he entice you? By opposing what God in His Word teaches. When God tells us to "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth," Satan tells us to remember God in our old age. God calls to us, "Today if ye will hear His voice, harden not your heart," but Satan tells us to put off religion until tomorrow.

Today is God's day. Tomorrow is Satan's. Felix trembled (today) under a sermon of Paul but Satan enticed him to say, "Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season (tomorrow), I will call for thee" (Acts 24:25b).

Tomorrow never came for Felix; it might not come for you either.

God is the author of urgent, immediate action but Satan preaches procrastination and good intentions. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Intentions never accomplished anything; we must have action, a God-given action.

My friends, do not underestimate Satan's power and ability to entice you. Read the Bible and observe what he did in tempting Adam, Eve, David, and Peter. Who are you and I compared to them?

The second difficulty that we are confronted with is the world. In the West Indies there is a tree which bears a fruit which is very attractive to the sight and smells very appealing. But one bite of this fruit will result in instant death. Years ago the natives of that land poisoned their arrows with the juice of this fruit.

The fruit of this tree is symbolic of the world with its enticements. The world also appears to be very attractive. It offers us many opportunities to fill our heart's lust, offering them as a means to happiness and true contentment. Daily we are bombarded with the world's standard of self-fulfillment and satisfaction. We are led to believe that without parties, television, movies, alcohol, drugs, and a host of other worldly pleasures, we have missed real living.

The world takes innocent and legitimate pursuits and turns them into gods. Success is measured by our achievements and material possessions. Careers are pursued at the expense of our families and spiritual good.

We live in a time when a spirit of humanism prevails. A spirit which teaches man that he is his own master and that he controls his own destiny. This religion of humanism is propagated by the mass media through radio, television, newspapers, magazines, advertising, and by the educational system. It is a religion that has permeated our entire society and whether we want to accept it or not, we are all influenced by its teachings.

The world presents itself as a treasure to be sought after, a fruit to make one wise. But as the poisonous fruit, the end of all worldly pursuits is death.

The third difficulty comes from our friends. Studies in psychology have shown that one of the basic needs you and I have as a person, is the need for acceptance. We all must be accepted by others. We all want to be identified with certain individuals or organizations.

As a result of these feel ings and needs, we dread the idea of going against our peer group, whether it be in action, talk, or dress. Many times we do things we ought not do or do not do things we should do, because we are afraid of what our friends might say. There are worldly parties and movies which are attended, sabbath days which are desecrated, and a host of other sinful activities which are indulged in because of what our friends might think. Yes, there are Bibles which are not read, church services or other church or school activities which are not attended, and prayers that are not made because of our fear of man. We read in Proverbs, "The fear of man brings a snare," and you and I live out that reality every day. We are more concerned about hurting our own feelings than obeying this proverb, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

Just as a weapon which, left in the barracks and not cleaned or fired on a regular basis, is of no use in time of battle, so is a Bible that is not used daily.

What fools we are! Can man save our never dying souls? Can man give us a hope in overcoming the last enemy? Will man be our judge in the last day?

My friends, hear the Word of God, for in Isaiah 51:12,13 we read, "Who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy Maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth." We also read in Matthew 10:28, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy .both soul and body in hell."

May the Lord grant you and me by grace, to declare with a writer of old, "I fear God, therefore I have none else to fear."

The fourth and greatest difficulty in obeying this proverb lies within each of us. We are our own greatest enemy. We have wilfully chosen to serve Satan and the world and to listen to our friends rather than God. Therefore our heart, our very being, is in opposition to heeding this command. We desire to be enticed and we want to fill our lives with the pleasures and attractions of the world. We are not willing to bow under the authority of God but rather we want to serve and worship our own sinful desires.

Most of us at one time or another have run down a steep hill. What happened when we did so? The further we went down the hill, the faster we ran, didn't we? At times we ran too fast and we stumbled and fell. Other times we tried to stop at a certian spot but our momentum carried us beyond the desired point.

Well, temptations are a lot like running down a hill. Once we take the first step, the chances are good that we are either going to stumble and fall into sin or if we try to stop at one sin, our momentum (our desire) will carry us into a deeper, more serious one. Be on your guard against this; what begins as a seemingly innocent activity can easily result step by step into our falling into sin and self-destruction.

We cannot blame Satan, the world, or our friends for leading us astray. They are hindrances and difficulties to resisting temptations but they cannot force us to sin. No, the fault lies within us. We have sinned. We have therefore destroyed ourselves. We have rejected God's advice and have chosen to say yes to temptation and no to God.

We have seen that the world, Satan, our friends, and ourselves war within and outside of us making it difficult to obey this proverb. In the second place, we will examine the necessity of obeying God's command, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

We have seen that the world, Satan, our friends, and ourselves war within and outside of us making it difficult to obey this proverb. In the second place, we will examine the necessity of obeying God's command, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

Why is it necessary to resist temptations? Why can't we give in to enticements and enjoy life?

First of all because God instructs us to say no to temptations and to obey Him. He commands each of us, as it were, "My son, My daughter, give Me your heart. Give Me your life. Love Me. Serve Me. Honor and glorify Me. Deny yourself and take up My cross and follow Me."

We were created to worship God, not ourselves. Although we have fallen and have become depraved creatures, the requirement has not changed! God has not changed but we have. All that we do, every facet of our lives whether it be in school, home, work, or our spare moments must be dedicated to the honor and glory of God.

If we continue to be a god to ourselves, indulging in the pleasures of this world, then God gives us a second reason why it is necessary to obey this proverb. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment" (Ecclesiastes 11:9).

What are the judgments that the Lord warns us about? They are eternal death. Eternal separation from God. An eternal void that will be forever felt. Eternal condemnation by God and our conscience. In hell we will feel our guilt and it will eat upon us as a worm forever. Then our sins will haunt us continually. It will be as a fire that never goes out. We will not be able to escape from our just punishment. Advice, such as this proverb, will not be given. Help will not be offered. It will be too late, forever too late.

We have discussed that there are four difficulties in obeying this proverb and we have also seen the necessity of doing so. The last point we would like to present is that there is a possibility of saying no to temptations.

As we have already seen, it is impossible for man to resist enticements in his own strength, for there is great opposition within and without. Yet there is an urgent necessity to obey God's command, "If sinners entice thee, consent thou not."

How then can you and I resist temptations? Well, the answer to this question is found in Psalter 322:

How shall the young direct their way?
What light shall be their perfect guide?
Thy Word, O Lord, will safely lead,
If in its wisdom they confide.

The Word of God should be the only light upon our path through this life.

When Christ was tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He responded to the temptations by referring to God's Word. Christ used the Word as His chief weapon against temptation. His example must be our only guide.

Have you used this weapon, my friend? Do you know how to use it?

It is not enough to have the Bible, but we must actually read it and pray over it ourselves. It will do us no good lying on a shelf gathering dust. We must be familiar with it. We must have its texts stored in our memory, ready to be used under the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Just as a weapon which, left in the barracks and not cleaned or fired on a regular basis, is of no use in time of battle, so is a Bible that is not used daily.

The Word of God contains many texts to help us resist temptations and to obey this proverb. The following are a few examples:

"O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in Me is thine help" (Hosea 13:9).

"I have laid help upon One that is mighty" (Psalm 89:19).

"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matthew 26:41).

"And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shall glorify Me" (Psalm 50:15).

"For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor them that are tempted" (Hebrews 2:18).

We see that these texts point to a source of help outside of ourselves and to the necessity of prayer. That source of help lies in the Lord Jesus Christ. He suffered the ordeal of this proverb and because of His victory, He is able to help those that are tempted.

When Satan goes forth as a roaring lion, God is there to stop him with the sword of His Spirit. Satan is a mighty enemy but God is an almighty conqueror. He speaks and it is; He commands and it stands fast. "None," not even Satan, "can stay His hand" (Daniel 4:34). No one can say to Him, "What doestThou?" (Job 9:12b).

The Lord can take away the attractiveness of the world and cause us to realize that it is all vanity and vexation of spirit. He can make us desirous to obey His command to "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world" (1 John 2:15a).

The Lord can grant courage to resist the enticements of our friends and those around us. He can take away the fear of man and replace it with a godly fear. He truly is a "Friend that sticketh closer than a brother" (Proverbs 18:24).

God alone can take away our hard and rebellious hearts and give us one that is submissive to His ways. He can take away our desires after sin and grant us a longing for His love and service more than all the treasures of this life.

Pray unto Him, my friends. Flee to Him as your only source of help. Spread all your needs and concerns before Him. Ask Him to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.

May the Lord remember you in His mercy, granting you to truly realize, "For without me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

Fighting on Our Knees

"Lord, tench us how to pray!
With prayer to bind the foe,
With prayer to loosen captive souls
For whom Thy blood did flow.
Lord, teach us how to pray!
With prayer to stand our ground,
With prayer to weaken Satan's hold
Where'er his grasp is found."

R. Klaasen serves as deacon in the First Netherlands Reformed Congregation of Grand Rapids, Michigan.

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