Summary of Dealing with Temptation
Every temptation to sin comes in the form of lust of the eye, lust of the flesh or pride of life (1
John 2:15-16). Devil used these in the old and new testament and he still use it today. Before
eve fell, she saw that the fruit the devil asked her to eat was pleasant to the eye(lust of the
eye),good for food(lust of the flesh, and desirous to make one wise(pride of life)(Genesis 3:1-
6).She ate and got none of all the devil promised her, instead she died. Jesus had similar
temptation to turn stone to bread(lust of the flesh),bow down to the devil and gain the
world(lust of the eye),fall from the pinnacle of the temple and be caught by angels so as to
make news headline(pride of life)(Matthew 4:4-10).Unlike Eve, Jesus never argued or dialogued
with the devil. He stood on the truth of Scriptures and overcame. You don’t win the devil by
argument but by truth.
Knowing that temptation come by this tripod, the devil and his cohorts flood the airwaves with
nudity, obscenity and vulgar language so as to catch unsuspecting believers who are not
intentional about what they watch, listen to and what they generally expose themselves to.
This is because our hearts are affected by what we see and hear (Lamentation 3:51,2 Peter 2:7-
8). What you see or hear either edifies or defiles you.
We overcome temptation by being intentional over what we expose ourselves to and also
putting a guard over our heart using the word of God (Colossians 3:16). You can never be
tempted by what you do not know or lust after. This is why the Scriptures says that concerning
evil, we should be ignorant(Romans 16:19).It is also vital to fill the heart with the word because
when the heart is filled with the word, the Spirit of God will raise a standard with that word
against defilement when one is tempted .
If we fall, God does not want us to continue to wallow in sin because the consequence of sin is
death. He wants us to embrace His restoration grace and walk out of the devil. We can do this
only when we know that he does not condemn us if we fall but rather helps us to stand. John
3:17). If we confess our sins, He freely forgives us and clean up the record (1 John 1:9, Isaiah
43:25). God does not have the record of any sin He forgave so stop wallowing in the guilt of the
past. He rather convicts us to do better. Condemnation comes from the devil when he points
our attention to our wrong and lays the burden of innocence on us thus rendering us hopeless
but conviction points us to Jesus and lays the burden of innocence on Him and give us hope.
Even though God forgives us when we fall, there is greater reward for saying No to sin. After
Jesus overcame the devil in the wilderness, Angels came and ministered to him (Matthew 4:11).
There is grace, enablement and trust that comes with overcoming. Joseph overcame Potiphar’s
wife before he was entrusted with such wisdom that could manage global famine.
The next time temptation comes knocking on your door, see it as opportunity for your
promotion but be wise not to involve yourself in anything that will give the devil undue
advantage by choosing the right stuff to fill your eyes, ears and mind with. You don’t prepare
against temptation when it does come, you prepare ahead of time as you meditate on God’s
word day and night. Light and darkness can never coexist. The entrance of the word is the
entrance of light. When the word purifies the heart, the purified man will see everything from a
pure perspective because to the pure all things are pure.