When Temptation Strikes

Reflections on Repentance Part 5

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Previous Posts in this Series on Repentance

#1 Do You Want To Change?

#2 Why Do I Do What I Don’t Want to Do?

#3 What Did You Think Would Happen?

#4 I’m OK, You’re Not

In this series I am interacting with Dudley J. Delffs’ A Repentant Heart: The Joy of Restoring Intimacy With God

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If there’s one thing we all have in common, it is temptation. Sometimes we treat temptation lightly. We make jokes about it. We tease others about their temptations. We shrug our shoulders because … well … everyone is tempted by something and sometimes we give in. Oscar Wilde, in The Picture of Dorian Gray, wrote, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... I can resist everything but temptation.” Thankfully, Wilde is not our model for Christian living. I don’t think he is far, though, from our very common struggle with temptation. This relates to repentance because giving in to temptation is one of the major reasons we must continue to focus on repentance.

What does temptation say about us?

We can point to many sources of temptation in our lives. We may tend to point at things “out there”. Bad movies, bad music, bad people, bad situations, and bad choices. All of that bad stuff out there is what our trouble is. If we could just avoid the bad then the good within us could shine through. Right? Jesus disagrees.

“What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man.”—Mark 7:20-23

The bad is not out there. That’s the problem with trying to come up with a three point approach to avoid temptation. Most of it we are carrying around with us. Temptation says about us that we are still struggling with the sin from which Christ has saved us. There is a sense in which we will not be completely victorious over sin until Christ comes again.

Delffs writes, “the temptations we wrestle with have deeper roots, cutting into our very beings. Things like lust, fantasy, pornography, perversions. Relational struggles like jealousy, envy, gossip, withdrawal, and subtle hatred. In fact most of the things with which we struggle reflect our attempt to be taken out of difficult emotional landscapes, places of pain, hurt, anger, frustration, boredom, sadness, and grief. Either we seek to alleviate such pain and feel better through some self-made resource, or we seek to remove ourselves from feeling altogether, which serves the same purpose.”

He’s not making light of temptation and neither should we. The reality of temptation is telling us something about ourselves.

The serpent knew exactly which button to push to drive Eve away from the rule and will of the Creator. Yes, the forbidden fruit looked good for food, but the powerful twist of his temptation knife was, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Once the lie was in place, her own will took over and before you know it they are making fig leaf aprons to cover their nakedness.

Delffs observes that, “She trusts her own judgment more than God’s. Since God cannot be trusted in light of his rule about the tree (or fill in the blank with your own area of doubting God’s goodness: a painful marriage, the death of a child, a crippling disease, a sexual struggle), then we suddenly believe that our own understanding is all we have.”

Are we helpless in the face of strong temptation?

Is Oscar Wilde right after all when he writes, “The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it…”? I do not believe so, but I do believe the Christian life is a call to struggle against temptation. It might be easier to just give in to temptation, but the consequences of doing so are painful.

Delffs explores the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Jesus’ adept use of Scripture is a rebuke to Satan. For us, physical temptation, attacks on our identity, and the ease with which “anything or anybody can so easily become an idol for us” remind us that we are vulnerable. Vulnerability is not helplessness. Like so many other areas of life, we really just want this to be easy. But the power at work within the flesh is not going to give up so easily.

For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. —Romans 7:18

Is there such a thing as struggling without yielding?

If there are any practical steps to dealing with temptation, I agree with Delffs that it revolves around the willingness to struggle without yielding. That is our goal. Temptation is powerful, but it is not invincible. It is uncomfortable to face a temptation and NOT give in. It is a struggle. It takes great effort to see past the deception in our own heart to the reality that God has told us the truth and we should live towards it. “Suffering temptations might mean asking other people for help, for prayer, for insight.”

When temptation strikes, honestly try to be aware of exactly what it is that appeals to you. Often it is beneath the surface, not just a temptation at face value. Whatever is drawing us toward the temptation, we are faced with decisions. Are we going to bring this struggle to God or are we going to pursue selfish actions that displace God in our life? The story of Israel is filled with constant rebellion as idolatry.

Delffs: “The self-sufficient, rebellious inclination is perhaps the core button Satan tries to push with us. … We all want to find something that feels like life to us and that we can control: the affirmation of others; pleasure in the form of food, sex, shopping, or numerous other addictions; self-protection from the inherent painfulness of life and relationship with others.”

When temptation strikes, we have an opportunity to trust God more than our inner urges. Christ struggled in the desert, but he held to the Father in victory over sin. We must move away from trusting ourselves and back toward believing God. It is a decision to listen to the One who created us and knows us best. Temptation is inevitable. Our choices are not.

“The entire process of repentance involves our desire to turn toward God and away from self. While impossible through our own striving, we are aided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, the life-giver indwelling our hearts and guiding us toward the will of our unsurpassably loving Father.” —Delffs

When we have fallen into temptation, it is often the same temptation that has dogged us from the beginning of our spiritual journey. We brought it with us. Whatever inner struggle is the source of your temptation is often ignored while we focus on just doing the right thing and not doing the wrong thing. We have to look deeper. And for those times when we do fall, repentance is when we should bring more than just sorrow to the Father. We should bring the WHY … or ask Him to show us WHY.

For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. —Hebrews 4:15-16

Struggle without yielding - that is the goal. When you yield, get up, run to the Father, seek his strength and will. Don’t ever give up. Repentance is the power to stay connected to God while you struggle, whether you fail or find victory.

I would like to hear your thoughts about temptation and repentance.

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The next chapter in Delffs’ book is focused on addictions. A new post perhaps next week.