GOD WILL NOT ALLOW MORE TO BE PUT ON US THAN WE CAN BEAR

PROCLAMATION

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to the believers in the church at Corinth.  Paul began this chapter by recounting the history of their ancestors from the Red Sea to the wilderness. (1 Corinthians 10:1-6)  He said that those things were recorded and recounted to them as examples of what not to do. (1 Corinthians 10:6)  Then he told them that they would be tempted, but they would not be tempted beyond that which they could bear. (1 Corinthians 10:13)  He spent the remainder of the chapter discussing their freedom to eat meat from animals which had been sacrificed to idols.  He ended by telling them that whatever they eat, drink, or do should be done to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

 

APPLICATION

We have all gone through trials and temptations.  We may be going through some of them right now, but if we are not, then we will definitely go through some trials in the future.  However, The Holy Spirit of The Lord God was, and is, and always will be with us.  He said that He would never leave us or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5)  Being tempted is not a sin.  Jesus was tempted. (Matthew 4:1-11)  We sin when we yield and give in to the temptation.  But we do not have to yield, He will not allow us to be temped beyond that which we can handle.  Sometimes we need to remove ourselves from the places or the people that provide us with the temptation to sin.  Reading and studying The Word of God can help us when we are tempted.  God always provides us with a way out. (1 Corinthians 10:13)  We just have to ask Him for His help.

 

EVEN JESUS THE CHRIST WAS TEMPTED

PROCLAMATION

“Then Jesus was led by The Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.  After fasting forty days and forty nights, He was hungry.  The tempter came to Him and said, ‘If You are The Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.’  Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”  Matthew 4:1-4 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These words are from the gospel, the good news regarding Jesus, The Christ, as recorded by the Apostle Matthew.  After He was baptized by John the baptizer, Jesus, The Christ, was led into the wilderness by The Spirit.  There He fasted for forty days and nights.  Then the devil came and tempted Him, not just once but three times. (Matthew 4:3, 4:6, and 4:8-9)  Jesus did not yield or give in to the temptations.  He refused the devil on all three times. (Matthew 4:4, 4:7, and 4:10)  After this the devil left Him, and angels came and ministered to Him supplying all of His needs. (Matthew 4:11)  From that time on Jesus, The Christ, began to preach saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

APPLICATION

Since the devil tempted Jesus, The Christ, why are we so surprised that he tempts us?  The devil knows each of our weaknesses, and he knows exactly what to tempt us with.  The weaknesses that we have for certain sins, he probably helped us to cultivate them.  It’s not temptation if it is something that is easy for us to refuse.  The test comes when the temptation is something that we like or want but shouldn’t have.  Temptation is not a sin, yielding to temptation is a sin.  If we are not strong enough to resist the temptation, then we should avoid the situations where the temptations occur.  The Bible says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  But the first part of that Bible verse says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God.” (James 4:7)  Only with God’s help can believers resist the temptation to sin.

YIELD NOT TO TEMPTATION

Proclamation:

"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him.  When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me."  For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.  Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." James 1:12-15 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words were written by James, the half-brother of Jesus, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  James offers statements on wise living and on practical examples of Godly behavior.  Christians are blessed when they exercise Godly behavior when they are confronted with temptation.  They are blessed when they persevere under trials and withstand the tests.  James makes it clear that God is not testing them by tempting them.  Temptation comes from their own sinful nature and desires when in their mind they want to do that which is sinful or which leads to sin.

Application:

We need to understand that the temptation is not a sin, the yielding to the temptation is the sin.  The temptation to sin is a trial, a test that we endure.  God is not tempting us, but through His permissive will, He is allowing the temptation to occur.  The devil does not make us sin, although he is frequently blamed for it.  Our sinful nature causes us to desire to commit sin.  Once we think a sinful thought, we try to rationalize it or justify it before we give in to it.  However, we have a choice and we can choose not to act on our sinful thoughts.  We are blessed when we do not give in to the temptation to sin.  We need to pray regularly and frequently for God's help to withstand temptation and for us not to yield to the temptation to sin.  I truly believe that the more time that we spend reading God’s Holy Word the less time we will spend contemplating and committing sinful behavior.

Resist Temptation And Stand With God

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)

In his letter to the believers in Corinth, the Apostle Paul told them that temptation is common to all men and that all of them would be tempted.  Then he told them that God would not let them be tempted beyond that which they could bear.  When they were tempted, God would always provide them with a way out to avoid sin and to do that which was right.

Today, all of us are tempted to sin.  The devil tempted Christ repeatedly, and he will tempt us. (Matthew 4:1-11)  Being tempted is not a sin, it is yielding and giving in to the temptation that is a sin.  The devil tempts us with a host of sins. (Romans 1:20-32 and Romans 2:1-8)  Most of us do not like to think about our sins or the number of times that we give in to temptation.  We sin when we break on of the ten commandments.  We sin when we misuse and abuse our body, which is the temple of The Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 6:19)  We sin, not only by what we do and say, but we also sin by what we think. (Proverbs 23:7 and Matthew 5:28)  In fact the Bible teaches us that all unrighteousness is sin. (1 John 5:17)  All of us are sinners, we just choose to sin differently. (Romans 3:10 and Romans 3:23)  We choose to sin, and we can choose not to sin.  When we are tempted, God always provides us with a way to avoid sin.  Submit to The Lord and we can resist temptation, and the devil will flee from us. ( James 4:7)  Reading the Bible when we are tempted to sin will help us stand up to the temptation.  Praying to God and focusing all of our attention on Him when we are tempted will also help us to stand up to temptation.  We all need to ask God to forgive us of our sins, and we need to ask for His help to keep us from yielding to temptation and sin.  Let's yield to sin less, and glorify God more.