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by Leith Samuei
'Q Leith Samuel
 The Answer to Temptation
T E M P TAT I O N H I T S U S A L L

The rst person in human history to be

tempted was awoman. Acharming per¬
sonality with abrilliant mind suggested to her
that her Creator God had been unfair in keeping
from her what was obviously for her highest
good. Doubts about God's wisdom and
goodness were slipped into her mind
alongside the suggestion that He couldn't
really mean to carry out His threat of
punishment for disobedience. The woman
wavered in her loyalty. She failed to consult
her husband. She fell.

The second person whose temptation is

recorded was aman, the woman's husband.
He too fell. And his fall was more serious
because he wasn't fooled as his wife had
been. He went wrong with his eyes wide
open. And his disobedience has had
devastating consequences. For the
thousands of years of human history since, all
men have been born with arebellious twist to
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their human nature. The marks of that fall can

be seen in us all.

Mind you, there has been one exception.

Only One! The only Person in history Who
wasn't born 'fallen' and warped by human sin
lived in asmall enemy-occupied land
between Egypt and Syria nineteen centuries
ago. Certain things mark Him off from the rest
of us. His conception was miraculous. His
birth was unique. His life was spotless. His
death was bloody, violent and awful, but it
was an atoning death. He died that men who
are at enmity with God might become at one
with God. And His resurrection from the dead
was triumphant. One day He will come again
to judge the living and the dead.
Jesus Christ was different. So different
from us. But even He was tempted. He
was tempted, but He did not fall.
You see, temptation is not sin.Toying
with some particular temptation and
wondering if you can get away with it is sin. If
you would do whatever it is you are tempted
to do but for the fear of punishment or other
consequences if you were found out, you've
fallen for that temptation already in your
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heart. The inward stain of it is on you. but if

you ght the thing because it is wrong, no
matter how ercely the temptation has
stabbed you, no stain is left on your
conscience.

VA R I E T I E S OF T E M P TAT I O N
All men are tempted, but not all are
tempted in the same waY
By the time you are twenty-one you should
know what your particular temptations are,
the usual trail that leads up to your coming a
cropper. This means you should also know
what you should avoid if you are not to fall,
what you need to be specially alert to.
DOUBT
Doubting God's love. Some people lose
what faith they have in agood God when
something goes wrong in the life of someone
dear to them. Perhaps they pray for the
speedy healing of aloved one and God
doesn't seem to answer. "Perhaps He's not
there after all? Perhaps He doesn't care
enough about us? Perhaps He can't cope?"
How many youngsters harden off into
"atheism" because of what they call
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"unanswered prayer". They don't seem to

realize that "No" is an answer, even if it is not
the answer they want. "Yes, but not yet" is
another answer. And "Yes, but not your way"
is yet another answer. Happy is the person
who comes to aGod Who is to be relied on to
give the very best to those who ask, aGod
Who is biggerthan aresourceful but easy-to-
be-persuaded Giver of what we think is best!
Doubting God's existence. "You tell me
who made God, before you open your mouth
to go any further", said an angry Welsh lady
during atrain journey. "All that fairy story
stuff about feeding ve thousand out of a
picnic basket. Utter nonsense! Only afool
would believe it", she shouted. "If He does
exist, why doesn't He do something about
Northern Ireland?" she went on. There are
plenty of things in the world around us to
make people wonder if there is such aperson
as agood God, or if He is "there" and is good,
whether He has the power to do anything
about it. "Evolution has debunked your
Creator God" was her parting shot. The
terrible things happening every day have
opposite consequences. Some people are
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driven to despair. Others, in search of

"something", are driven to read the Bible.
Self-centredness. Everyone notices and
dislikes self-centredness in other people. But
most of us are not aware of how self-centred
w e o u r s e l v e s c a n b e ! Ye t w h e n w e a r e
thoughtless about the needs, wishes and
interest of others, and make decisions which
involve them in unnecessary inconvenience
we show how self-centred we are. So often
we fail to do to others what we would like
them to do to us, and do to them what we
would hate anyone to do to us. Time and
again we give in to the subtle temptation to be
self-centred. "What is there in this for me?"
"How can Iget my own way in this?"
Qu e s ti o n s l i k e th e s e m o ti v a te u s fa r m o r e
often than most of us realize.

Dishonesty and Untruthfulness. In our

Permissive Society it is terribly easy to collect
our "perks" without thinking for amoment
we are being dishonest. Collective
ownership (nationalised industries) made it
easier to feel "It's mine to start with anyway,
why shouldn't Itake some home?" or "Why
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should Ipay if the chap isn't around?" Shop¬

lifting has reached alarming proportions.
Factories are losing no end of material
designed for export. Our national economic
outlook could be remarkably different if
everybody, including those in management,
had given an honest day's work for agood
day's wage in the past ve years and lled in
time-sheets honestly. There are many people
who wouldn't dream of being dishonest with
property who cannot be counted on to tell the
truth. Aquick lie to boost our image, or to
cover up adif culty, comes so easily. Mind
you, not every inaccurate statement is to be
branded adownright lie. Some people's
memories fail so readily. The essence of alie
is the intention to deceive.

Covetousness a n d J e a l o u s y.
Covetousness has more to do with things
than people. "If Isell one washing-machine in
that road Iguarantee Iwill sell one to every
house", said asalesman in Berkshire. What
about the latest Hi- ? or some other status-
symbol? Covetousness has become one of
our great national sins. It is all too easy for us
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to be caught up in materialism and feel "we

must get one too!"
Jealousy has more to do with people than
things. How many friendships and even
family relationships have been ruined by
jealousy. Is the real reason why we have a
down on someone simply that we are secretly
jealous of them? Jealousy is one of the most
insidious and destructive of human
temptations. Small wonder it has been called
"the green-eyed monster"!

Indiscipline. Any old excuse for putting off

what we ought to be getting on with! !s it
tiredness that keejas us from Church on
Sunday mornings? Or is it simply that we
haven't organized our time properly during
the week, or not disciplined ourselves
enough to go to bed at the right time? One of
my friends often speaks of the last hour of the
evening as "the devil's hour", when so many
dither instead of making adetermined effort
to get to bed at areasonable time. Urgent
things can so easily crowd out the really
important ones. Self-discipline should be
admired and not scorned.
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Pride and Snobbishness. Some who

have had better opportunities for education
than their parents are tempted to despise
them for their ignoranceor lack of culture. Do
we look down our nose at the rest of the
family? Orthink because someone belongs to
an older generation, he doesn't know athing?
Maybe we are good with our hands and are
tempted to despise those who lack our skill or
opportunities. Maybe we are particularly
bright and are tempted to despise the less
intelligent.

Bad Temper.This shows itself in more than

oneway. Some are more tempted than others
to "lose their cool". They are up at the
slightest thing that upsets them. And they
can give avery uncomfortable half-hour to
someone who is not able to hit back with the
same vigour or venom. Better to live in asmall
at in peace than alarge house with a
brawling man or woman, says the wise man
in the Book of Proverbs. Some people who
wouldn't dream of "blowing their top"
withdraw into themselves and sulk. They can
stay irritable and resentful for such along
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time! You never know quite when they are

safe to approach again. At least the man who
can't keep his cool usually gets it over fairly
quickly and is back to normal again as if
nothing had ever happened.

Fear. Are you worried as you think about the

future? Very few people are never afraid. Fear
is aform of self-love. Fear of what people
w o u l d t h i n k o f h i m o r d o t 6 h i m m a d e P e t e r,
one of the very rst disciples of Jesus Christ,
deny that he even knew Him. Fear has kept
many from handing their lives over
completely to Jesus Christ, as if He would
lead those He loves into alife of misery!
Worry is chronic fear. Fear continually given
i n t o b e c o m e s a s t a t e o f a n x i e t y. F e a r
cripples. Fear stunts. Fear distorts. "For a
short time Iwas crippled with fear about
something happening to my husband while
my children were young" confessed a
middle-aged mother. That kind of fear
denotes lack of trust in the goodness and
power of God. Fear can be so absorbing that
you can't concentrate on what you should be
doing. Is giving in to fear, the fear of disease.
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or bereavement, or the unknown future, your

constant temptation? If so. Psalm 34 could
be agreat help to you.

Despair. Most people nd there are times

when they feel they want to pack in ajob that
is thoroughly boring, quit their course of
studies, or even clear off from their troubled
home.
It is just possible that you are under such
pressure that recently the thought has been
going through your mind, "Shall Iend it all?"
At some stage or other asurprising number
of people are tempted to commit suicide. In
Japan alone, 60,000 died this way in one
year, nearly half of them students who had
failed their examinations. They felt they must
atone for their failure, because to them
success is the ultimate good, and failure is
unforgiveable.
Lust. Sexual desire is natural. It only
becomes sinful when misdirected or given
scope at the wrong time. The Creator's plan is
that sexual experience belongs to marriage!
There should be no sex without
r e s p o n s i b i l i t y. M a n y a r e k e p t f r o m
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promiscuity who have no respect for the

Creator or His plans. Thefearof VDorof Aids
keeps them from gratifying their lusts in the
loveless embrace of aprostitute. Others are
kept in the hour of temptation by their high
views of marriage. They want to bring apure
body to alife-partner whose self-discipline
has matched their own.
But many people nd that what they see
and hear all round them in our permissive
society makes it hard for them to stop at just
appreciating face and form. There is strong
temptation to go further. Isn't everybody
doing it? They think contraception has solved
all their problems. They don't realize how
much insecurity and bitterness,
disillusionment and guilt follow the breaking
of God's laws. The vast majority of us are
attracted to the opposite sex. Some have
inclinations going the other way —homo¬
sexual tendencies. Afew are so academic
that they can think of others without the
slightest emotion. Still fewer are so other¬
worldly that the sight of face or form doesn't
interestthematall. Most of us have battles to
ght in this area, battles with thoughts we're
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ashamed of, battles that are ercer when

we're young and before we are married, but
don't end for most till we die.

SOURCES OF T E M P TAT I O N
1. The tempter. Jesus Christ identi ed a
supernatural personality who approached
Him during His forty days of fasting in the
Judean wilderness on the eve of His three-
year public ministry. He called him "the
tempter" as well as "the devil" or"false
accuser." As He was without human
companions or observers when He was
tempted, we know that the Gospel writers are
giving us His own version of the experience.
If you read Matthew chapter 4, verses 1-1 1
you will nd that Christ was tempted to
become distrustful of His Father's care and to
indulge in aspeedy grati cation of His
natural appetite. He was tempted to presume
on His Father's mercy and give a
sensational proof of divine protection —
as well as being tempted to agree with the
devil's mishandling of an Old Testament
quotation! Perhaps this may warn us against
seeking some sensational experience as
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evidence of agenuine relationship with God.

He was tempted to secret religious
compromise, to give to the devil in private
what belonged to God alone. He resisted each
temptation with aproper use of Scripture,
thus defending Himself with the Sword of the
Spirit, which is the Word of God.
The same tempter who had been
successful in trapping the rst human being,
Adam, was decisively defeated by our Lord
Jesus Christ. Because He never gave way for
amoment to the tempter's ercest pressure.
He quali ed to lift us all up by His death and
resurrection into atotally new life in which
victory overtemptation becomes possiblefor
us. "Because He Himself suffered when He
was tempted He is able to help or succour
(run to the help of) those who are being
tempted". Hebrews 2.18. See also Genesis
3.
The devil is one of the main sources of
temptation, and we must recognize the
reality of this supernatural personality, and
also the reality of his satellite hosts. The New
Testament describes these as "principalities
and powers and wicked spirits in heavenly
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places —the world rulers of this darkness".

Ephesians 6.12. The devil is called by Christ,
"the prince of this world", and by Paul, "the
god of this age". John 14.30; 2Corinthians
4.4. And we are all urged to resist Him, with
his wiles and claims. 1Peter 5.8,9.
2. Our own fallen human nature. This
is something the Lord Jesus never had. But
there is enough rebelliousness and
unpleasantness in the heart of the best of us
to be able to account for all the evil we do,
without any need to refer to satanic
interference or demonic in uence. Don't let
us atter ourselves that all our troubles are
due to the direct personal intervention of the
devill This self-centred human nature of ours
is the root cause of all the troubles in society.
Society is only man blown up big.
3. The world around us
Certain shows, plays and lms, magazines,
paperbacks, newspapers, advertisements, and
pin-ups and sensuous music all play their part in
assailing our minds with temptation of various
kinds. One of the sad facts of life is that there are
those who set about systematic brain-washing
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of Others, generally younger than themselves,

to destroy their faith, or to lower their moral
standards ("Think of the help and relief you may
give somebody by adultery!"), to get people into
the social drinking habit, and generally lower
their resistance to temptation. We must be
careful about the company wg keep as well as
the things we look at. We are all in uenced by
others whether we realize it or not.

T H E A N S W E R T O T E M P TAT I O N

1. Aright relationship with God. We

cannot know anything about alife in which we
are overcoming temptation, until we have come
into aright relationship with God through
Christ. See Romans, chapters 3, 5and 6. To
believe in Christ is more than to believe about
Him. It involves trusting in Him implicitly, being
willing to obey Him daily. Only when the Spirit
of God has taken the Word of God and brought
to life our dead spirit so that we become
children of God can we know alife which is
resistant to temptation.
2. Daily Bible Reading and Prayer. If
we start each day reading God's Word and
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praying to Him, we shall nd we are strongerto

resist temptation. But if we neglect our
relationship with God and unconsciously rely
on our own strength to do what is right, we will
fail, perhaps badly. Even if we have been
Christians along time our eyes must be ever on
the Lord, "looking away unto Jesus, the Author
and Perfector of faith...." David said, "I have
hidden Your word in my heart, so that Imight
not sin against You." (Hebrews 12.1,2; Psalm
119.11).
The words which God has inspired and
which the Holy Spirit lights up and applies to us
as we read them daily in humbledependenceon
the God Who gave them, have an insulating as
well as an illuminating effect on our minds. The
Bible will keep us from sin when God is using it
to instruct us and protect us. And the Holy Spirit
will bring to our mind the relevant word in the
hour of temptation just as He did in our Lord's
temptations (Matthew 4.4, 7, 10; Ephesians
6.16, 17). The tempter's voice doesn't get
through so well when we are listening daily and
eagerly to our Lord's voice in the Bible, knowing
that if we don't listen we will be much more
vulnerable to temptation.
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As we pray honestly and believingly to God

each day we may be sure of getting His help in
every time of need, and nding mercy in every
time of failure, as He promised. (Hebrews 4.1 5,
16).
3. Afrank assessment of our own
weaknesses. We are not perfect! And none
of us is beyond the reach of temptation. One
person is left completely cold by temptations
that nearly tear another to shreds. We all have
different temperaments and backgrounds. And
w e need to discover our particular areas of
weakness, which may well vary at particular
stages of our life, e.g. self-suf ciency in youth,
self-righteousness in middle years, and self-
pity in advancing years. Knowing ourselves
helps us to pin-point these weaknesses and to
have acampaign against the temptations that
take advantage of these dangerous anks. If
you think you have gone out of reach of acertain
temptation, whatever it is, watch out! Those
who think they are standing rm, need to be
very careful that they don't fall. 1Corinthians
10.12.
Keeping up-to-date accounts with God is so
important. Aback-log of failure can be so
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depressing. "What's the use of starting to

confess? Idon't know where to begin". Keep it
on adaily basis. It will not then get so dif cult.
Sometimes this confession must be to others
as well if we have wronged them in some matter
that has come between us. Matthew 5.23, 24.
We may feel it is mostly the other person's fault.
But we have an obligation to live at peace with
all men as far as we possibly can. We have to
work hard at maintaining good relationships.
Confessing to God, and man when
necessary, brings us the relief of forgiveness
and cleansing from stains, and strengthens us
to withstand the next temptation. Cleansing
brings strength. God's cleansing isn't cheap. It
cost God the death of His Son on the Cross to
make it possible for Him to forgive our sins,
without lowering His standards, and make it
possible for us to withstand temptation in His
strength. "If we claim to be without sin we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If
we confess our sins God is faithful and just and
He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from
all unrighteousness." 1John 1.8, 9.
4. Fellowship with Christians. No
Christians can really live successfully on their
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own as Christians, even if there are times when

they despair of nearly all the Christians they
know! We need one another. We owe it to
Christ and to each other to help one another.
"You can tell aman by the company he keeps" is
an old proverb and atrue one. David, who wrote
so many of the Psalms in the Bible, said "I am a
companion of all those who fear You, and of
those who keep Your precepts". We must spur
one another on in the ght against temptation,
and encourage one another in alife of love and
good deeds. Warm Christian fellowship is a
great strengthening agent against temptation,
and should make us feel "I must not let the Lord
down. Imust not let my brothers and sisters
down. They are praying for me. Imust not
yield to temptation."

Sharing frankly our personal needs with a

close Christian friend can be agreat help to
withstanding temptation. Amarried couple or
close friends are ready-made units for sharing.
But let us be careful to keep intimate needs to
members of our own sex, to avoid emotional
involvement and possible embarrassment.
"Two are better than one...the one will support
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his companion orfellow-pilgrim." (Ecclesiastes

4.9-12.)
5. Resisting the devil. Some people
make too much of the devil. They blame him for
everything that goes wrong in their daily lives.
They shrug off human responsibility far too
easily. They see demons in every illness. Others
go to the opposite extreme. They fail to
recognize the devil at all in human affairs.
The Bible describes the devil as our enemy,
Satan, the false accuser, and pictures him
coming to us in two very different guises,
sometimes as "a roaring lion", sometimes as
"an angel of light". We need to watch outfor his
subtle approaches. He is always seeking to lead
men and women away from God's will for their
lives. He tries to blind us to our own sinfulness
and deep need of Christ. He tries to stop u s

humbling ourselves to come to Christ for

forgiveness. He seeks to divert us from serving
Christ with our lives, or else he tries to goad u s
into being super-spiritual and neglecting
ourselves or our home and family. He is always
seeking to divide true Christians from o n e

another by exaggerating the importance of

secondary things, or by making us feel
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(stupidly!) "they did that deliberately to hurt

u s .

We are commanded to recognize his reality

and resist him, standing rm in our faith every
day. (1 Peter 5.8, 9; Revelations 12.9, 10).
Christians often have to pray, "Lord Jesus,
please come between Satan and me right now."
6. Steering clear of known sources of
temptation. Anything that we know has
weakened our resistance to sin in the past calls
for radical treatment. If it's apicture, take it
down now! Put something beautiful in its place.
If it's aplay that lowers resistance to sin or
makes evil seem attractive, turn off the knob, or
refuse to go and see it, as the case may be. Don't
delay if you want victory. It is no use piously
praying each day "lead us not into temptation"
if we are careless about contact with what we
know will weaken us. God calls us to ll our
minds with lovely, admirable, praiseworthy
things. (Philippians 4.8.)
Sometimes the only answer to aparticular
temptation is to get out of asituation. Astrong
emotional involvement may even call for a
radical change of job. Some men have had to
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change their jobs or at least their department

because of an infatuation or the fear of their
own weakening. Far better honourable and
timely departure than eventual capitulation to
persistent pressure. This is not anew problem.
In Pharaoh's Egypt long ago, Joseph's
youthfulness, good looks and upright bearing
were just too attractive for the often-absent
Potiphar's scheming wife. The more she saw of
him, the more infatuated she became with her
husband's young assistant, with his delightful
foreign accent. Day after day she tried to break
down his resistance to her female charm and
desire to have him in her embrace. For his
master's sake, for his honour's sake, for her
sake, and for God's sake, he said "No" again and
again. But like many of her modern
counterparts, she wouldn't take "No" for an
a n s w e r .

She saw her chance one day when no one

else was in the house. She grabbed his robe and
said, "Come on. Lie with me". He could see only
one way of safety. Flight! Fast! He left his robe
in her hand and got out. She screamed. She spat
out terrible lies about him. And Joseph was not
the last to prove that someone's unsatis ed lust
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and thwarted plans can quickly turn to hate. But

God will take care of those who seek to do what
is right in His sight. "Those that honour Me Iwill
honour" says the Lord. You can read the full
story in Genesis 39-41.

7. Fixing our eyes upon Christ and His

promises. It is possible for mature Christians
as well as for beginners and even in the holiest
of environments to nd unholy thoughts or
pictures ashing through their minds. If this
happens, we must switch our mind deliberately
to thinking of Christ hanging on the cross for us
and our sins. This can be awonderful antidote
to many other forms of temptation.
"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful Face,
And the things of earth will grow
strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace."
Helen Lemmel.
Another antidote is to take hold of speci c
promises in the Bible. One that helped me as a
student is "My eyes are ever on the Lord, for
only He will release my feet from the snare" of
temptation. Psalm 25.14, 15. This is "the
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secret of the Lord" which Ilearned the rst time

Iwent to the Keswick Convention as astudent.
Think of other promises like "Jesus...shall save
His people from their sins". "If the Son shall
make you free you shall be free indeed."
Matthew 1.21; John 8.36.
Often we may nd apromise in our daily
Bible-reading that we can turn into prayer. Hang
on to God's promises. Whoever else may fail us,
God will stand by His word. No temptation will
ever come our way that no one else has ever
faced before. And God is faithful. He will not
allow us to be tempted beyond what we can
bear. But when we are tempted He will provide
away out. (1 Corinthians 10.1 3). We can count
on Him to keep His word at all costs. Why not
tell Him at the start of the day, "Lord, Idon't
know all the temptations that are going to hit
m e t o d a y, b u t I ' m l o o k i n g t o Yo u f o r
deliverance". Then when temptation strikes,
we can shoot up a"rocket" prayer, "Lord, help
me now," and trust Him to do so!
8. Being alert for Christ's Return. We
don't want Him to nd us in aghastly mess or
ashamed of aparticular situation or relationship
at His appearing. We don't know precisely
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when He will return, but it could be soon. So let

us continually put aside anything we are
ashamed of and cultivate what we know
protects our spiritual life. God's Word tells us to
behave decently, not to get involved in orgies
and drunkenness, in sexual immorality and
debauchery, nor in dissension and jealousy.
Instead we are to clothe ourselves, as it were,
with the Lord Jesus Christ, and not to spend
time planning how to gratify the desires of our
sinful nature. (Romans 13.10-14.)
9. Submitting ourselves to God's will
for our lives. God loves us so much He wants
us to have the very best. And the Bible
continually assures us of His love for His
children, and His concern fortheirdaily lives. He
knows what the future holds for each one of us,
joys and sorrows, temptation and testings, and
we can trust Him to sustain us and see us safely
Home. We can call upon Him in the day of
trouble and know that He will deliver us at the
best moment. (Psalm 50.15). We can pray
something like this:
"Lord Jesus, Iam not my own. Iam bought
with Your blood. Help me to say 'No' to my
sel sh desires, and 'Yes' to all Your will today."
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This is following the Lord's prescription to take

up our cross and deny ourselves daily. (Luke
9.23.)
Submitting ourselves to God's will does not
reduce us to pliable plasticine, easily shaped,
without resistance. There is abattle to be
fought. Christians are called to be good soldiers
of Jesus Christ, ghting against temptation.
The man whogives himself completely toChrist
each day maybe tempted more ercely at times
than compromising easy-going Christians,
because he goes on resisting the temptation
right through to the point of victory. Our Master
never calls us to tread apathway He has not
trodden Himself. (Matthew 26.39.)

T E M P TAT I O N AND TESTING

Does it seem rather confusing that
temptation is mentioned in the Bible with two
quite different meanings? It can mean a
temptation to do wrong. Or it can mean a
testing, which may have no connection with
evil, but which has to do with the strengthening
of faith and the developing of character. There is
alink between the two, but they are different.
In the New Testament James summarizes
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the distinction likethis; "When tempted, noone

should say, 'God is tempting me'. For God
cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt
anyone (i.e. attractively suggest to them that
they should do what they know to be wrong);
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 1.13, 14).

T H E VA L U E O F T E M P TAT I O N
Does temptation serve any useful purpose?
Has it any positive value? Yes indeed! Just as
physical muscles are made stronger through
meeting resistance, so our spiritual bre is
made stronger through resisting temptation.
There is much wisdom in the old hymn;
"Yield not to temptation, for yielding
is sin;
Each victory will help you some other
to win;
Fight manfully onward, dark passions
subdue.
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you
through.
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Shun evil companions, bad language

disdain,
God's Name hold in reverence, nor
take it in vain;
Be thoughtful and earnest, kind-
hearted and true.
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you
through.
To him who o'ercomes now, God will give a
c r o w n .

Through faith we shall conquer,

though often cast down;
He, who is our Saviour, our strength
will renew;
Look ever to Jesus, He will carry you
through.
Ask the Saviour to help you, comfort,
strengthen and keep you;
He is willing to save you. He will carry
you through".
H . R . P a l m e r.

Each time we overcome temptation we

become stronger in the battle against sin. And
the sight of strong Christians not weakening
 2 9

encourages younger ones to stand rm against

sin and for the Faith.
Another great value of temptation is that
experiencing it creates sympathy for others
who feel its pull. The person who has never
been tempted in acertain way can neither
sympathize with, nor encourage those who face
asimilar temptation.
Those who have faced and overcome the
temptation to use the Lord's Day for their own
pleasure in organized games or academic work
or music, are best equipped to help those facing
this temptation. Christians who have learned to
be scrupulously honest in business are those
who can help most the young people facing all
the temptations of the business world.
Those who have learned to live without
unnecessary luxuries can by theirexample help
others to ght the unending battle against
covetousness and materialism.
Most Christians recoil from the whole idea of
homosexual practices. Those who have felt and
fought with inborn tendencies (which are not in
themselves sinful) are best equipped to help to
put iron into the will of those tempted to a
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homosexual relationship, sinful in God's eyes.

(Romans 1.26, 27.)

Only those tempted to lose patience with

dif cult in-laws can bring the utmost sympathy
to those facing similar problems. Only those
physically handicapped, tempted to feel they
were given aslightly raw "deal" compared with
some of their vigorously active friends, can
bring the deepest sympathy and understanding
to those similarly tempted.

One reason why our Saviour Christ took our

humanity was so that in all points He might be
tempted as we are. With His perfect genuinely
Human nature at God's right hand He feels for
us in our in rmities, weaknesses, and
temptations. With His equally genuine Divine
nature, as truly God as He is Man, sharing the
throne of Godhead with His Father, He is able to
rescue us in the hour of temptation. (Hebrews
2.18; 4.14-16; 7.25-27.)

So we may sum up by saying that Christ

Himself, delivering us, is the answer to
temptation.
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The Saviour rose in victory o'er the

hosts of the evil one.
The Saviour lives to share with me all
the triumphs He has won;
Then no more need Ifearful be or
Christian con ict shun.
For the Lord most High gives even me
the victory of His Son.
£H. G. Sargent.
By His sacri cial death He has made
atonement for all our sinfulness, sins of
omission, things we have left undone which we
ought to have done, and sins of commission,
things we have done which we ought not to
have done. (Hebrews 10.12.)
And by His endless life, full of tender
concern for us and power to rescue us. He is
able to deliver us when we are tempted.
(Hebrews 2.18; 7.25.) As we keep close to
Christ, we keep on top of temptation. But
sinfulness and the capacity and tendency to fall
remain in us as long as we are on this earth.
Mercifully, God as Judge looks on His children
as covered with the perfections and beauty and
sinlessness of Christ. But God as our loving
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heavenly Father is perfectly aware of our

weakness and does not want us to wear

blinkers about our weaknesses. For only when

we are aware of our weakness do we cling
tightly to Christ and His promises.

The risen, conquering Christ is the answer to

your temptations and mine. Once He has got
hold of us He will not let go of us, in spite of our
weakness and failures, until he has brought us
safely Home, either at our death or at His
second coming.

Christ's words to Paul are His words to us,

"My grace is suf cient for you. My power is
made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians
12.9).
"When Ifear my faith will fail
Christ will hold me fast.
When the Tempter would prevail
Christ will hold me fast...
For my Saviour loves me so
He will hold me fast."

Ada Habershon
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