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Author Topic: Temptation  (Read 4546 times)

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galatians22067

  • Guest
Temptation
« on: September 29, 2008, 09:04:48 PM »

Hi Everyone,

After coming into the knowledge of the truth about the origins of evil and free will and Gods soveirgnity over it Im having trouble with a verse.


Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.

Mat 6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

Now these verses say the spirit led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted & God will lead you into tempatation but :

Jas 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:
Jas 1:14  But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.


Now if Im following this right God will lead you into temptation to be tested but Satan and a mans own lust is doing the tempting.

Now 1 Cor 10:13 throws me off,

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

I dont understand how it all fits together if you give in to temptation?  It says God is faithful and wont let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. Now if he leads me to be tempted and I give in to my own lust what does that say about the truth of this verse.  If I fail didnt he lead me into a temptation above what I was able, seeing I failed the test? This verse says he provided a way out of the temptation he lead me into but I failed which leads me to still believe I do have some sort of "freeness" in will.

Any help would be great

Matt
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Kat

  • Guest
Re: Temptation
« Reply #1 on: September 29, 2008, 09:44:56 PM »



Hi Matt,

I think the Concordant has a better translation of that verse in Matt. 4.

Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the spirit to be tried by the Adversary.

Here is a email that I think will help you with this.

http://bible-truths.com/email11.htm#temptation -----

Why would Jesus tell us to pray that God should NOT lead us into temptation [Gk: trial] when, in reality, we DO go through trials?

After all, Jesus was led of the spirit into the wilderness for the express purpose of being "tried."

Then James comes along and says

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, NEITHER TEMPTS HE ANY MANY." (James 1:13).

And if that is bad enough, James first tells us in James 1:2 to

"...COUNT IT ALL JOY WHEN YE FALL INTO DIVERS TEMPTATIONS"!

What is going on here?

Although this might sound like a triple contradiction, it is not.

First let's be abundantly clear that God, HIMSELF, does not ever do the actual "trying or tempting."

"And the SERPENT said unto Eve... And when the woman SAW that the tree was good for food,  and that it was PLEASANT TO THE EYES ['...the lust of the eyes ... is NOT OF the Father...' John 2:16], and a tree to be DESIRED to make one wise, she TOOK of the fruit thereof, and DID EAT... And the woman said, THE SERPENT BEGUILED [deceived] ME..." (Gen. 3:6 & 13).

"And lead us not into temptation but DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE [Satan]" (Matt. 6:13).

"...when YOU  FALL into divers [various] temptations [trials]..." (James 1:2).

"But every man is tempted, when he is DRAWN AWAY OF HIS OWN LUST, and enticed. THEN when lust has conceived, it brings forth SIN: and sin, when it is finished [full grown], brings DEATH" (James 1:14-15).

From all of these examples it is abundantly clear that it is not the OBJECT that is the TEMPTATION, but rather the temptation COMES FROM WITHIN, not from without. It was not the "tree" that MADE Eve lust. It is not the "pretty woman" that MAKES a man lust. The LUST IS IN THE MIND, IN THE HEART, and therefore, the trial IS IN THE HEART AND MIND, not in the literal flesh.

And so we pray that God should not lead us into temptation, but rather DELIVER US FROM THE EVIL ONE [Satan] WHO DOES LEAD US INTO TEMPTATION.

But notice again, we pray that we should be "DELIVERED." We cannot be 'delivered' from something UNLESS WE ARE ALREADY IN IT! God intends that we get "IN IT"--trials and temptations, which are GOOD FOR US, AFTER we have gone through them.

The longer we live the Christian walk, the better we should get at this. Hence Paul tells us,

"For if we would JUDGE OURSELVES, we should not be judged" (I Cor. 11:31).

The MORE we 'judge ourselves' the LESS we are "lead into temptation." We learn to cut it off at the pass, as they say. It is by God's divine counsel that we are led into temptation (even if God never DIRECTLY tries or tempts us), and it is by God's divine counsel that He delivers us from the "evil one."

Hope that helps a little.

God be with you,

Ray

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musicman

  • Guest
Re: Temptation
« Reply #2 on: September 29, 2008, 09:49:22 PM »

Well, nothing really implies freewill because freewill is impossible.  I suppose that no matter how much we are tempted, there is always a way out, even though God knows full well what we will do.  Here, we are told that God always gives us a way out of our temptations.  The way out may not seem very attractive at the time, but it is still there if it is our will to obey God.  If a man sees an attractive lady, he can avoid lust by not allowing his mind to play out a scenario in which he goes against the commands of God.  But the temptation is always more attractive at the moment.  Had the man cancelled out such thoughts, he could have escaped without committing sin.  But the cause for sin was there.  So was the cause for not wanting to sin (obeying God).  Therefore, there is no basis for freewill.  

So, I guess God is not doing the tempting, even though it is part of His purpose for the moment.  As you said, It's a combination of our carnal mind (created by God) and Satan (also created by God).
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galatians22067

  • Guest
Re: Temptation
« Reply #3 on: September 29, 2008, 11:10:50 PM »

Thanks for the Post it certainly is helping. Im still a bit confused on this part:


1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.


Im think I need another explanation just on this verse. Im confused on what Im not seeing here.  The temptation is not above what I can handle and there is a way of escape from it. Thats Gods will in the situation that I take the way of escape. Now if I fail that trial didnt I just do something free from his will ? If I didnt than this verse is not true seeing he did suffer me to be tempted higher than I was able.

Need a little help because I do not feel I have free will Im just real confused on this verse.
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musicman

  • Guest
Re: Temptation
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2008, 12:52:48 AM »

God's will is perfection.  It will happen eventually.  But His purpose for the moment is not the same as His will.

Rom. 9:19-24
You will be protesting to me, then, Why, then, is He still blaming?  For who has withstood His intention? (everyone has withstood His will, but nobody has withstood His intention)  . . . . Why do you make me thus?  Or has not the potter the right over the clay, out of the same kneading to make one vessel, indeed, for honor, yet one for dishonor?  . . . . . . the vessels of indignation, adapted for destruction, it is that He should also be making known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, . . .  (Concordant Literal Translation)

Again, just because you failed in following God's command does not mean that you were'nt given a way out, or that the temptation was too much for you to handle.  We make choices to do one thing or the other.  One of the choices will always be more attractive than any of the others.  If that choice goes against God's laws, then you sinned.  But, you could have chosen differently.  You were not tempted behond what you could handle. 

Let's think of what Christ went through on the day that He was crusified.  Probably, none of us in our weakened states, could have handled what He went through.  He could have gotten out of it all just by saying, I lied.  I'm not the Son of God.  But He, unlike us, could withstand the torture that he was put through.  I believe that it was God's purpose for Christ to suffer as He did, but not His will.

There is also the possibility that this applies only to the elect. 
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Kat

  • Guest
Re: Temptation
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2008, 01:04:44 AM »


Hi Matt,

Here is another excerpt that may help some with this.
 
http://bible-truths.com/lake3.html -----------------------

FOR WHAT DID PAUL VOLUNTEER?

All who will have a part with Christ when He comes to rule this earth in His kingdom must volunteer for judgment now! Remember how Paul volunteered: "What will You have me to do?"
v
Paul was not being "punished," he was being "JUDGED," and there is a world of difference. Paul was being made STRONG. Paul was being molded into a SPIRITUAL GIANT! And being trained, educated, purged, perfected into a spiritual giant is NOT a walk in the park!

Was it just Paul that God singled out to endure such hardships and trials? No, we too must partake of the same:

"Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that WE [Christians, followers of Christ] MUST through MUCH TRIBULATION [Greek: thlipsis--affliction, troubles, burdens, persecution, anguish] enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22).
v
let me interject that although we are to go through extreme hardship, persecution, and tribulations, God nonetheless strengthens us so that we can endure these things. It is not God’s purpose to discourage us. We have this promise from God:

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape [Gk: ‘sequel’] that you may be able to bear it" (I Cor. 10:13).
v
We are "judged" by God, and the vehicle that God uses to do this judging is "chastening." In other words, we are "judged" by God by being "trained up" like a child, by being "educated," by "discipline" involving "punishment," "instructed," by which we "learn," and all these "teach" us WHAT WE SHOULD BE.

There is no doubt that some of this chastening can be harsh, sorrowful, and painful. Much of it is not very pleasant and God admits as much to us. And it is not possible for one single son of God to avoid this chastisement!
------------------------------------------------------

mercy, peace and love
Kat

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