21 Resisting Temptation

do it for a day? He can do it for a day. Can you do it for a week?

Did you follow the logic? As long as we walk by the Spirit, we need not sin because the Spirit cannot sin. The only time we sin is when we do not walk by the Spirit. Therefore, Paul encourages us to walk by the Spirit. We will not sin as long as we are obedient and submissive to Him. So, anytime we sin, it’s because we cease to allow the Spirit of God within our spirit to control us. We start making soul decisions that then manifest themselves outward.

The Carnal Two-Step

In James 1:5 it says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” In other words, we should ask for wisdom with the attitude that conveys we believe God is going to give it. He will give what He has promised. But we “must believe and not doubt” (verse 6).

Remember that Satan’s great tactic is to sow doubt in our minds that God is somehow not adequate or qualified enough to save us. This is what happens if we give into the doubt: “The one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.

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Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do” (James 1:6–8).

It’s an interesting thing that in the original Greek, the word for double-minded means “two-souled” or “double-souled.” Isn’t this fascinating? In other words, the verse is saying a double-minded person is a double-souled person. It’s a person who has a two-souled nature that leads to a two-fold focus and constant vacillation. The old, fallen nature is constantly trying to go after the things of the world, while the new soul that we have through the Spirit is trying to be obedient to the Spirit.

If we live a double-souled life we will never be able to receive anything from God. Why? Because we will constantly waver between the flesh and the Spirit. We will take one step forward in the Spirit and one step backward in the flesh, which means we’re not going anywhere. I call this the carnal two-step!

Anytime we allow the soul to act independently of the Spirit, it will always result in sin and disobedience. Our soul’s natural inclination is to go back to our previous way of life, think old thought patterns, and make independent decisions. This will always result in disobedience.

So, the only way that we can keep from sinning in this area is to keep the soul absolutely dependent upon the Spirit. The Spirit is supposed to call the shots. Self-control is Spirit control.

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Let’s look later in the first chapter of James regarding the subject of temptation. In verse 13, he states, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” Why is this true? God’s Spirit cannot be tempted with sin. He is above the temptation of sin. Never forget this fact.

Sometimes I hear people say, “Well, God is putting a temptation before me.” No! God never tempts us. Then where do temptations come from? Look at verse 14: “Each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

Now are desires wrong? No. Think this through very carefully, because what I’m about to share may sound controversial, but it’s not. I’ve often spoken with young people who are facing real struggles with lust toward the opposite sex (I’m not speaking of same-sex attraction here). I’ve heard them say that they wished the Lord would take these sexual desires away from them. Never pray this prayer. God will never answer it, so don’t ask Him to take away this natural drive or desire. He put it there.

Let’s look at this another way. There’s nothing wrong

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with the desire for food. Likewise, there’s nothing wrong with the desire for sex. There’s nothing wrong with any basic desire that we have. What the Bible is teaching is that the desire is not wrong. It is wrong when we allow the desire to move beyond the natural realm in which it was created to operate, such as sex outside of marriage. In other words, when the desire is no longer under our control, but the appetites of the desire have us under their control, then it leads to sin.

Okay, so we’re lured away and enticed by our own desires. “Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (verse 15). The choice of the word “conceived” is significant. It takes two people for conception to take place. Similarly, it takes two wills before the conception of sin can take place. Our will is conceiving with Satan’s will, and this always results in the wrong use of desires, which results in sin and then death.

I’m Hungry

Let’s look at the food analogy again. When Satan came to tempt Jesus as recorded in Matthew 4, he knew that Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. He knew that Jesus was hungry. He knew this was a natural desire given by God for food. As a result, Satan came in and tried to get Jesus to use that desire in a wrong way.

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Jesus responded that this was not the way. He would rather be hungry and in the will of God than be physically full and outside the will of God. This is what would have happened if Jesus gratified His desire for food in the wrong way.

Do you remember Eve in the Garden of Eden? Satan came to Eve and planted doubt. He said to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). He got her to look at the fruit on that tree. He appealed to her natural hunger, and then the enticement and conception took place, Eve’s will with Satan’s will.

Satan will try the same tactic with you. Every time we sin it’s because we have let Satan come in and entice our souls. This is where the real battle is. Rather than immediately bringing that thought or temptation under the subjection of the Spirit, we often suppress the Spirit. We no longer walk in obedience to the Spirit. Instead, we start walking in the soul, which results in sin and death.

Do you understand this principle? Your renewed spirit cannot sin any more than God’s Holy Spirit. Where sin comes in is when Satan tries to take one of the normal body or soul appetites, entices you to use it in the wrong way, and leads you to gratify these appetites or desires in a way outside of the control of God’s Spirit.

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Spirit versus Soul

Let’s pause here and revisit what we mean by the soul and the spirit. Most people tend to group these two together and say that the soul and the spirit are the same. Remember that humans are living souls. When God created Adam, He took dust from the earth and made a body. Then He breathed into the man the breath of life and the man became a living soul. A man or woman is a soul that has a body and a spirit.

When Adam sinned, he made a decision in his soul independent of God. God’s Spirit then left mankind, and the human spirit died. Since then, every man and woman has been born into a state of spiritual death.

It’s the moment of spiritual regeneration, or being born of the Spirit, when we invite Jesus Christ to come back into our lives. Then we are born again spiritually. We start living back in the Spirit, and then the soul and the body under the control of the human spirit, which is under the control of the Holy Spirit.

As long as we walk by the renewed spirit, then the soul and the body will be in alignment. It’s like the analogy of the dog and his tail. For most of us the tail (soul) ends up wagging the dog (spirit). Anytime the spirit is in control, the soul and the body will follow right along. Anytime the soul becomes disobedient to the spirit, the result is sin.

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You might be wondering, then, How do I keep my soul from being disobedient? Let’s first look at 1 Corinthians 3:16: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

Your body is the temple of God’s Holy Spirit. It is the residence of God’s Spirit within you. Therefore, anything that you do in your body that is unworthy is defiling the temple, which is the residence of the Holy Spirit.

Now, how do you keep your soul from being disobedient and leading your body into sin? Read 2 Corinthians 6:14–16: “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial [Satan]? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God.”

Paul is talking about two individuals. One is a believer, and the other is not a believer. They come together in the union of marriage. It is absurd to think that someone who has God’s temple in their body should enter into a sexual relationship and oneness with someone who is not a Christian. This would be like trying to bring Jesus and Buddha together in marriage!

What fellowship can light have with darkness? How

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can the temple of God in a believer be brought into union with one who is an unbeliever and whose body is the residence of Satan? This dramatically demonstrates the importance of the whole issue.

My son, Joseph, was bothered by this when he was only four. He asked his mother, “Mommy, who am I gonna marry?” She responded, “Son, you ought to at least wait a year or two before worrying about that!” Just kidding, but we continually talked to him and his siblings about it over the years. We told them we don’t know who they’re going to marry, but God does. What they shouldn’t do is marry anyone who doesn’t love Jesus like they do.

Our Weapon Is the Word

Do you remember the principle that the heart, or soul, is the seat of reflection rather than the seat of affection? David proclaimed this safeguard for his soul in Psalm 119:11: “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The Spirit will bring to mind the truths of God’s Word that have been put in our minds to keep us from disobedience.

It works like this: Satan brings us a temptation. God’s Holy Spirit working with my spirit is going to immediately go to my mind and take one of those promises of His Word. He’s going to use it to put up a roadblock for Satan.

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