Being tempted and sinning are not synonymous.
Temptation is when the devil comes and instills in us desires and bad thoughts in order to make us do what is wrong. Sin is when we give in to temptation and do what is wrong.
Temptation is part of our daily life as human beings: all people are tempted. We can never get rid of all temptations, until we die we will have them; on the other hand, we can learn to resist them and thus not give in to the works of the flesh.
To find out how to get there, here are some answers.
5 Ways to resist and overcome temptation
It is true that Temptation is part of our daily life as human beings but you can resist and overcome it in the following ways;
1. To have a life of communion and prayer
Mark 14:38
Watch and pray so that you do not give in to temptation. The mind of man is full of goodwill, but human nature is very weak.
Our human nature is carnal and therefore sinful. There is no point in trying to resist sin with our own will “I am determined to make it happen!” “ Or by our thoughts ” No, no, no !! I’m not going to give in yet! “. Humanly speaking, we are unable to resist temptation. The flesh loves sin and seeks it. To use our will or our thoughts to fight temptation is to use the flesh to fight… the flesh! It is a losing battle.
Luke 22: 39-40
Jesus goes out and He goes to the Mount of Olives, as usual. His disciples follow him. When he arrived there, he said to them, “Pray that you will be able to resist when the spirit of evil tempt you.” “
It is in the spiritual world that we must wage war against our spiritual enemy, the spirit of evil, also known as satan, the devil, the tempter, or the evil one as well as his servants the demons. It is by the power of the Spirit that we will be able to resist and overcome temptations. And in order to strengthen our spirit, we must:
- Spend time in the presence of God, that is, have fellowship with Him. The more time we spend with a person, the more we start to look like them: talk like them, behave like them, think like them, adopt their opinions, etc.
Thus, the more we are in contact with the Holy Spirit, the more He “rubs off” on us. We gain wisdom, intelligence, discernment, spiritual strength, and power. - Pray and intercede: pray in tongues, declare words of faith about our life, lose the works of the evil one by the power of our words, call on the Lord’s help in the face of temptation (even before temptation arrives), etc.
Matthew 6:13
Keep us from giving in to temptation, and above all, deliver us from the devil.
In the famous “Our Father” prayer, Jesus teaches us the kinds of things we should pray to God. It is not a question of the little prayers of thanks that we make in the morning upon waking up or at bedtime, nor of the prayers of complaints and complaints “Lord bless me, Oh I am suffering Lord, etc.” “ Instead of spending our time to call for blessings, we should ask the Lord to help us when temptation knocks at our door, to support us so that we did not give, to deliver us from the devil and his demons. This is the kind of prayer that strengthens our faith and helps us to resist and overcome in the face of evil!
2. Be filled with the Word and declare it
Luke 4: 1-4
Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil for forty days. He ate nothing during those days, and after they were up He was hungry. The devil said to Him: If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread. Jesus answered him, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone.
After being filled with power through prayer and fasting, when Jesus finds himself facing temptation, he declares the Word of God each time and this until the devil lets go and leaves him alone.
There is power in the Word of God. It saves us, cleanses us from sin, heals us, and breaks the chains of temptation in our lives. When the tempter arrives with all kinds of illegal desires “Watch this porn, it will do you good”, “insult her and hurt her any way that’s all she deserves”, “stop d ‘go to church, God is everywhere anyway, stay at home! »,« You can’t tell the truth it will get you in trouble. Lie this time, just this time ” we have to learn to answer him by the word of God “ The Bible says… It is written… ”
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3. Stay away from anything that brings temptation.
James 1:14
When we are tempted, it is the bad desires that we carry within us that attract us and seduce us.
Who tempts us? The devil. How does he tempt us? By using our weaknesses.
He knows the weaknesses of each of us. He does not tempt us all in the same way. If you are sensitive to lying, it will always put you in situations where you want to lie; if your sin is sexual, it will tempt you with pornography, masturbation, evil imaginations, and thoughts, etc.; if you like quarrels, he will always put you in touch with people as quarrelsome as you and push you to quarrel at every opportunity.
Mark 9:47
And if it is because of your eye that you fall into sin, pluck it out; it is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with one eye than to keep both eyes and be cast into hell.
This step is crucial in order to successfully resist and overcome temptation: it is ABSOLUTELY necessary to get away from everything that awakens and nourishes it! You can pray for hours, know and recite the Bible by heart but if you are constantly in contact with things and people who feed the evil in you, the devil will continue to tempt you time after time and you will continue to give in time after time.
During famines, people die for lack of food. When the body is no longer fed, it weakens to death. This is exactly what must be done with sin: starve it in order to weaken it until it kills!
If you’re still tempted to watch bad stuff on TV, don’t watch it! Sell it! No TV, No temptation to watch the wrong programs!
Do you struggle with pornography? No computer at home or put a parental filter! Buy a 1990 generation cell phone without internet or camera!
Do you have a big mouth and love to gossip? Stop hanging out with people who have the same sin like you.
On the contrary, surround yourself with people who hate gossip and will put you in your place every time you try to tell it!
4. Be accountable.
James 5:16
Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you will be healed. When a righteous person prays, his prayer is very effective.
The Bible encourages us to confess our sins to one another. Among Christians, it is important that we can trust each other enough to be able to talk to each other sincerely and expose our vulnerability. It is quite obvious that it is not with everyone that we will be able to do this: all those who claim to be Christians are not necessarily Christians or are not yet mature enough to keep our secrets without judging us or telling them to others. ‘other. Ask the Holy Ghost to put a brother or sister in your path that you can trustfully. You can confess your sins to him, the areas in which you are tempted so that he supports you in your spiritual warfare!
Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10
Two associated men are happier than lonely man. Together they get a good profit from their work. If one of them falls, the other picks it up. On the other hand, he who is alone is much to be pitied, because if he falls he has no one to pick him up.
As the Word says, together we are stronger! Even though we have God helping us, fight alone – humanly speaking – is much more difficult. You will feel stronger if you are surrounded, encouraged, supported even by one person! You will not only have a prayer companion but also someone who will help you up if you fall.
It is also important to have someone who is aware of our struggles in order to be accountable. This person is going to ask us questions regularly to make sure that we are not deviating “What did you watch on TV this week?” Have you had a fight with your husband again? Have you watched any weird movies on the internet in the past few days? Do you pray and spend time with God every day? etc. “ And sometimes, just because we did not want to have to tell that person that we have sinned, we will endeavor to make efforts! When we are watched, we always behave better …
5. Resist and continue to resist.
Luke 4:13
After he had finished tempting Jesus in every way, the devil withdrew from him until another occasion.
After Jesus has resisted and conquered the temptations of the evil one, the latter finally leaves him alone… for only a while! The Bible states “the devil withdrew from him until another occasion. “ Satan will never cease to tempt us. If the Lord removes sin from us, it will come with other temptations in other areas. As long as we are alive, the devil will always find weaknesses to tempt us.
Final Words:
Happy is the man who stands firm in the face of temptation, for after having proved himself, he will receive the crown of the conqueror: the life that God has promised to those who love him. (James 1:12)
1 Corinthians 10:13
All the temptations you encountered were normal for both men and women. God is faithful, and he will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength. When you are tempted, God will give you the strength to endure it and the way out.
But do not be discouraged! We may be tempted until the end, but the more we learn to resist temptation, the better we will be able to resist temptation.
The Lord gives us not only the strength to resist her but also a means to overcome her! Perhaps today you are struggling in a particular area and you give in almost every time, but if you faithfully continue to try to resist, one day you will not try again: you will resist and then you will win!
We are more than conquerors says the Bible: at the end of all our struggles, God promises us victory.
