Lesson 7: Facing Temptation (part 2)
Read James 1:13-18 - www.bible.com/bible/59/jas.1.esv

 Remember, there are four things in the process of temptation:
It’s dropped in front of us with bait that attracts us but hides the consequences
We all have real needs in our lives that make us vulnerable to temptation
Our needs become desires that, if not controlled, lead us into disobedience
Disobedience is sin, and every sin ends in death

Now let’s look at 4 things about God’s Goodness
God gives only good gifts (good and perfect gifts)
The way God gives is good (from above).
He gives constantly (comes down)
God does not change (no shadow of turning)

Genesis 39:8-9 – the goodness of God through the hands of his employer restrained Joseph in the hour of his temptation. God’s gifts are always better than Satan’s bargains. Satan never gives gifts- you pay a huge price (Proverbs 10:22).

So how do we defeat temptation?
-Look ahead and see sin’s consequences
-Look around and see how good God is
-Look within and see that you have been born from above and possess the divine nature (James 1:18).
-Victory comes through living the truth. Every Christian has been brought to Christ through the Word of truth, Scripture (Romans 10:17).
-We have to continue to rely on God’s word to overcome temptation. Psalm 119:9 - How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. Psalm 119:11- I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.


How many of us pray for deliverance for some temptation, only to turn around and expose ourselves to it again. It’s like sticking our fingers into the fire and praying we don’t get burnt. We cannot achieve victory over temptation by knowledge alone; we have to sow God’s word into our daily living by obedience. Then temptation will lose its foothold in our lives.

We have a new nature but will fail if we feed the old nature and not the new one. A child explained it this way, “I have 2 men living in me; the old Adam and Jesus. When temptation knocks at the door somebody has to answer. If Adam answers, I lose; if I let Jesus answer I win.”

*According to Matthew 4:4, what does our new nature need to be strong for the battle? _____