Understanding and Overcoming Temptation (Final)
We can easily convince ourselves that we are doing a service
to God by having eyes that only focus on what we hope to accomplish; however,
the only thing we need to be concerned with is keeping ourselves in the love of
God by keeping His word. All the sacrifices in the world do not make up for a
heart of disobedience. 1 Corinthians 13:3 says it perfectly:
And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
The word ‘charity’ is the Greek word ‘agape’ which means the love of God. Even if I give every possession I have to the poor and offer my own body up as a sacrifice, if it is contrary to obedience by faith out of love for God, it has no value for only that which is born out of the love God has poured out in our hearts[1] has any eternal value. Knowing this we should be able to see that ministry without obedience out of love has no eternal significance. Let’s visit the words of Jesus in John 15 again:
4 Abide in me, and I in
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no
more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
…
10 If ye keep my
commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's
commandments, and abide in his love.
There is no other way to abide in the love of God other than keeping the word of God. To attempt to accomplish the work of God by compromising His word is a worthless effort for God does not measure man based on how much we accomplish, but based on our faithfulness to His word. Our faithfulness to His word is born out of a love for God that is established through the word that is established in us. This same passage from John 15 also tells us that Christ must abide in us and we must abide in His word[2]. Both must be true in order to fulfill the will of God.
If your desire is to serve God or participate in ministry,
that good work must be first founded upon a life that is founded upon the word.
There are many movements in the church today that turn from the word in order
to ‘reach people’. The focus is now to widen the gate of salvation to include
everyone, but Jesus warned that we must seek the narrow gate for the wide gate
leads to destruction. To reach the masses without leading individuals to
surrender to Christ is not the work of God and profits nothing. Many of the
movements I have seen instruct us to avoid doctrine at all cost. Considering
that doctrine simply means the instructions of scripture that teach us how to
walk with the Lord, what they are essentially saying is that we care about
building our kingdoms through numerical growth but care nothing about obeying
the great commission of Jesus Christ. So are we serving Christ or ourselves?
The warning of Colossians 2:8 applies to the temptation that permeates the
church today:
8 Beware lest any man spoil
you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the
rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
To ‘spoil’ is a word picture of someone being conquered and
having their goods taken away. It can also be translated as ‘cheat’. This
passage is warning us not to fall to the temptation of being led into
philosophies, empty ideas, and traditions that are based on worldly influences
and man centered traditions. The goods referred to in this passage is the
rewards promised by God to those who overcome. No one can rob you of your rewards
without your willing participation. You will be tempted to go along with
worldly philosophies as they continue to invade the church. Consider this
passage from 1 Timothy 4:1
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart
from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
God has forewarned us to watch for the departing from the faith. The word ‘depart’ is the Greek word from which we get the word ‘apostasy’. The meaning of the word is: to depart from, defect or revolt against. This is a warning given to the church for the unbeliever has never had faith in Christ. There will be many who give heed to deceiving spirits and teachers who will lure them to defect from the truth to follow what the Bible calls doctrines of demons. Almost every book in the New Testament warns the church to be on guard against false teaching and deception. The scriptures warn that many of these deceivers will arise from within the church to draw away disciples. You will be tempted and must prepare yourself beforehand so that you are not blindsided.
One of the tactics used to overthrow resistance to the false teaching is to create an atmosphere of intimidation. A few years back I was in a church where the leadership went to a conference and came back with ideas to radically change the focus and direction of the church. The new vision was also a radical departure from scripture and in order to make this change they had to persuade the congregation to depart from biblical Christianity. A leader can’t just waltz in and say, “We are turning from the scriptures”, so they must persuade the members that this move is of God and either misrepresent scripture, convince church members that the Bible is no longer relevant, or a combination of the two.
Many
claim to be a part of a new move of God. As Christians we are commanded by
scripture not to believe every spirit but to test them to see if they are of God[3].
Even in the days of the apostles, false teachers claimed to be of God and led many
astray. You as the individual believer are warned not to succumb to the
temptation to follow these teachers who appeal to the flesh but you must follow
the Lord. You must know the word for those who deceive will attempt to persuade
you into believing that their doctrine agrees with scripture. Others will
attempt to persuade you that the Bible was good for what God was doing 2000
years ago but is not relevant to the move God is doing today. One pet verse
often used to justify departing from biblical Christianity is Isaiah 43:18-19
18 Remember ye not the former
things, neither consider the things of old.
19 Behold, I will do a new thing;
now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the
wilderness, and rivers in the desert.
I have seen this verse proclaimed to support the idea that
the modern so-called prophets are proclaiming that new thing and that the
doctrines of scripture no longer apply to the new move of God. In this same
dissertation by the prophet Isaiah, a seemingly contradictory passage is
instructed three chapters later. I say seemingly because it can be confusing
unless you read the whole book of Isaiah to see what topics are being
discussed. Look at Isaiah 46:9-10
9 Remember the former
things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God,
and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the
beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
So in one verse God is declaring to not remember the former
things and then three chapters later God declares to remember the former
things. To understand what is being said, we have to identify what things are
being discussed in each of these passages. In Isaiah 43 God is proclaiming what
will happen after judgment has ended and God is restoring His people. The
‘things’ discussed in this passage are the judgments sent to punish His people
for disobedience. This is written for the future generation who will see God
make a way in the wilderness to restore His people. Now that judgment has
passed,
The ‘things’ that are the focus of Isaiah 46 are the ways of
God that
16 Thus saith the LORD,
Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the
good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they
said, We will not walk therein.
The modern church is falling into the same error that caused God’s people of old to be led astray. The old paths are the ways of scripture which God began to declare in Genesis and finished in Revelation. Do not mistake the old paths as church traditions for the Bible also warns against teaching the traditions of men as though they were doctrines of God[4]. In fact, the Bible addresses two types of traditions. One is the tradition of scripture which refers to the teachings handed down through Jesus and the apostles which are of the Spirit. The other refers to the traditions of men which can adopt an heir of spirituality but has no basis in scripture and no spiritual significance. Styles of music, order of service, and other traditional practices become the source of measurement of faithfulness when indeed these have no power to build us up in the faith. In fact they often become a hindrance to true spirituality. The old paths are not referring to that old style of traditional church methods but the paths of righteousness presented to us through the scriptures. Traditions themselves are neither good nor bad. They can become a hindrance when they become the object of our faith or a hindrance to biblical Christianity.
Many
who are false teachers may not realize that they are deceivers. Consider 2 Timothy 3:12-17
12 Yea, and all that will live
godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
13 But evil men and seducers shall
wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
14 But continue thou in the things
which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast
learned them;
15 And that from a child thou hast
known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation
through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
16 All scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for
correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17 That the man of God may be
perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.
I have quoted this a few times in this study but it is beneficial to look at it
in context here. It is interesting that the scriptures warn us of persecution
before warning us of deceivers. Many of the deceivers that arise in the last
days are also under deception; however, they are still contrary to the word and
leading followers astray. We continue in the truth by holding to the scriptures
knowing that they are the way we learn what is true and how we test every
spirit that claims to be of God. If someone claims that God has revealed
something to them, fine, but they are still subject to the scriptures and their
claims are to be measured by the scriptures for God will not contradict His
word. Consider 1 Corinthians 14:32-33
32 And the spirits of the
prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of
confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Those
who claim to be speaking as a prophet or someone whom God has revealed a new
truth are subject to the old truth. The spirits of the prophets are subject to
the prophets. In other words, what is being revealed through someone claiming
to speak on God’s behalf is subject to those who we know God has spoken through
– for God is not the author of confusion. As the passage in Timothy above
states, continue in the things you have learned and been assured of knowing
from whom you have learned them. The burden of proof is on the prophet to show
that he is consistent with the word of God that has already been revealed.
Jesus made this clear in Matthew 24:
35 Heaven and earth shall pass
away, but my words shall not pass away.
God
will not turn from His word for it will never pass away. Not only will it never
pass, but it will be the measurement by which we are judged. Look now at John 12:
48 He that rejecteth me, and
receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken,
the same shall judge him in the last day.
Since the word of God will be the judge in the last day when
we stand before Him, it should be clear that we should measure all by His word
in this life. There are many arguments against those who follow the word. One
of the most influential preachers in
Mocking is a powerful tool in deception. One of the greatest desires of the human heart is the need to have a sense of belonging and to feel accepted. False teachers strategically attack this need in order to institute change. As I mentioned earlier, I was in a church where this change was planned. When I saw the storm on the horizon, it was not hard to accurately predict the coming tactics and I attempted to warn others. The senior pastor stood in the pulpit and described what I call a mock straw man. This was a traditional Christian who was afraid to leave tradition behind. They equated biblical tradition to manmade tradition in order to make it appear foolish. The mock Christian was described in the silliest terms and then mocked from the pulpit and made the butt of jokes. No one wanted to be this fool and everyone was made to laugh at him.
Soon the mockery gave way to insults and eventually made into someone to be feared. This traditionalist (sometimes called a fundamentalist) was a threat to the church for he was holding the church back. True fundamentalism means to be grounded on the fundamental teachings of scripture, but in the atmosphere of intimidation this person is equated with those who are legalistic, hard to get along with, and held to petty traditions such as those who argue over the color of the carpet and other meaningless issues. To create an atmosphere of intimidation, they find absurd examples of selfish people and hold them up as examples of fundamentalists. Unfortunately there is no shortage of people who do shameful things in the name of God; however, it is not possible to do these things while holding to the whole counsel of God. This deceptive tactic lumps the vile examples of human nature in with the doctrines they oppose in order to make people ashamed to be associated with that group that is said to be a threat to the new move of God.
Once someone is perceived to be part of the threat, they are stripped of belonging and acceptance in the church. Often rejected and mocked church members serve as an example to others. The next step in this tactical manipulation is to get other members to turn against those who once had belonging. When a church transitions into one of these new movements those who don’t conform are met with hostility and often asked to leave or in some cases forced to leave. The masses are led into a shift from scripture and those who do not move from the word are looked upon as divisive and troublemakers. This is why the scripture warns that all who desire to live godly will suffer persecution. Unfortunately, in the last days that persecution often comes from within the church organizations. Those who truly hold to scripture will find that they are divided from those who will not. I will discuss this in more detail when we look at unity in the church. For the purpose of this discussion we must realize that one of the greatest temptations we will face is the lure to compromise the truth and even pressured to turn from the word.
I was in such a church and was caught off guard by how quickly and easily the people were manipulated. When I was taking a business class one of the books described an interesting study done by a psychology professor. He prepped the class to participate in the study and a handful of students were unaware of the experiment. The class was given a card with three lines on it and all they had to do was identify the longest line. What the test students did not know was that the rest of the class was instructed to identify the same line as longest even though it was clearly not the longest line. Since everyone in the class agreed, the test students were under pressure by their peers to point out the shorter line as the longest in order to agree with the common consensus. The test was repeated several times and in each case, the majority of test students agreed with the popular consensus even though they knew it was wrong. Group Think is a powerful tool to institute conformity. This is especially true when it comes through a respected leader and is necessary to maintain a relationship with those we consider important in our lives. When I found myself in this situation, I found that I was the only person willing to question the shift. The majority followed without question and a few quietly disagreed. Getting mocked before the church was a powerful tool to keep the silent majority silent.
The temptation to turn from doctrine takes several shapes. For those who are willing, there are religious groups claiming to be Christians that wholly reject the scripture as an outdated book. Some groups label the scriptures as an allegory designed to teach moral stories. Some teach that the Bible can only be understood through leaders or an organization. Some teach that the Bible is literal but filter everything through denominational experts. There are different variations for the tactic of the enemy is to make you miss the target. If we miss Christ, all the studying in the world means nothing. If we allow someone to lead us off course so that we miss our reward we suffer great loss. The Bible warns that there will be people who are ever learning yet never able to come to the knowledge of the truth[5]. There are people who can argue doctrine and consider themselves great defenders of the truth, but do not understand what it means to walk in an abiding fellowship with their God. Knowledge alone puffs up, but the Lord reveals truth to the humble who are looking expectantly to Him for understanding and surrendering their life to Him by submitting to His word.
Ultimately the deliverance from falling for the temptation
to turn from the truth is found in 1 John 2:26-28
26 These things have
I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have
received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as
the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and
even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide
in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming.
The
word ‘seduce’ is the Greek word ‘planao’ (pronounced
plan-ah'-o) which means to lead someone astray from the right way. The solution
given to us is to study the word knowing that we are not dependent on a teacher
but have the anointing of the Holy Spirit who will teach us from the word. This
is how we abide in Him and have the confidence in our faith with the assurance
that we will not be ashamed when we stand before Him. The word is how we know
the Lord and how we recognize when a religion is following a false Jesus
recreated to conform to the will of man. This instruction from 1 John is how we
overcome temptation, avoid deception, and learn how to walk humbly in
fellowship with our God. Mankind cannot have true fulfillment without abiding
in fellowship with Christ. It is not possible to abide in Christ without
abiding in the word and it is not possible to be led into temptation without
compromising the word of God. Do not be led into temptation, but be established
on the word so that God can use you to lead others out of error and into
righteousness. Then hope expectantly in the promise given in Daniel 12:
3 And they that be wise shall shine
as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as
the stars for ever and ever.
This promise is given to those who are in the midst of great persecution and trials described in Daniel 11. The enemy will rage, but the Lord will accomplish His word even in the midst of impossible circumstances. Those who stand upon the word will see the power of the Lord and those who give into the temptation to compromise their fellowship will miss the promise. We have the promise that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond our ability to endure[6] but that endurance only comes through the word we are founded upon[7]. Through His word, God has given each believer the power to overcome and stand strong in His might.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
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