Conquering Temptation

Here’s the question I want you to think about today: what are the most common temptations that you face in your life? So what are the marshmallows, to use an illustration, that your eyes and fingers are most drawn toward? What are the most common lures to sin that you are prone to be enticed by? Let’s take 30 seconds to bring to mind and/or to write down the most common temptations that you face. So take a moment to reflect on that question before God.

God, help us see in our lives how we’re most lured toward sin. 

I obviously don’t know all that’s come into your mind. Maybe you’re often tempted to anger. Maybe you’re often tempted by envy or jealousy. By who others are or what others have. Maybe you’re tempted by lust, maybe by pornography. The list of ways we might be tempted by sexual immorality is long and varied. Do you struggle with temptations to gossip or slander? Do you struggle with temptation to lie or cheat? Do you struggle with addiction to anything from alcohol to social media? 

For many people, our most common temptations are evident in the way we use our phones. Are you tempted to base your identity on what others think about you? Are you tempted by materialism? Are you tempted to get more instead of giving more? Are you tempted to spend too much or to eat too much?

Keep in mind, temptations don’t just revolve around things we might be tempted to do but that we shouldn’t. Temptations can also be things we’re tempted not to do that we should. So are you tempted by prayerlessness, tempted to go throughout your busy day apart from concentrated and continual time in prayer? Are you tempted to ignore God’s Word or just to give passing attention to it? Are you tempted to keep God’s Word to yourself instead of sharing it with others? Are you tempted to lack trust in God with this or that part of your life? To lose trust in God when you walk through trials in your life? Are you tempted by worry or anxiety about various things in your life? Are you tempted to ignore injustice or oppression, to ignore people who are in need? 

I could keep going, but I trust we realize we are surrounded by all kinds of temptations all day long. We live every moment with all kinds of enticements before us all the time. I’m going to put this up on the screen and we’re going to go through it quickly. But before we even look at Proverbs 7, I want to remind us of truths we see throughout the Bible that form the foundation for this chapter. 

First and foremost, we live in a spiritual world and often forget this. We’re so immersed in a rationalistic, naturalistic Western mindset that explains everything by science and technology. Seriously, how can you believe God controls thunder and lightning when meteorologists can use satellites and computers to predict storms a week before they even happen? How can you say a personal tempter engages our wills in a battle of good and evil when we know it’s the configurations of our DNA or our family history that leads us down certain paths? We do things because we’re naturally made that way. This naturalistic worldview has deadened us to the reality of the spiritual world around us to the point that we see spiritual explanations of anything  like religious lunacy. 

In the book Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis depicts an older demon named Screwtape giving advice to a young demon named Wormwood. Screwtape says at one point to his younger protégé, “I do not think you’ll have much difficulty in keeping the patient in the dark,” talking about the person they’re tempting “The fact that devils are predominantly comic figures in the modern imagination will help you. If any faint suspicion of your existence begins to arise in his mind, suggest to him a picture of something in red tights, then persuade him that since he can’t believe in that, he therefore cannot believe in you.”

So we often think about spiritual explanations or spiritual temptations as fantasy or fiction, so as a result we don’t realize we’re involved in a spiritual war. I want to make sure to distinguish here, particularly in Metro DC at this time of year, that we’re not talking about a political war, a culture war or a fight for our nation. We’re talking about something much deeper than all these things. We’re talking about what Ephesian 6 calls a battle, not against flesh and blood, but with spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We’re talking about the battle for your heart and mind that is happening every time you’re scrolling through your phone. We’re talking about the spiritual battle that’s playing out in the thoughts you have, the desires you possess, the words you use, the attitudes you have, the decisions you make, the relationships you’re in. 

This is not just our own lives. There’s a spiritual war at work in your family members’ lives, in your friends’ lives, your coworkers’ lives. There are spiritual battles taking place in every single person you see around you right now and over eight billion people in the world. The stakes in this spiritual war are high. Casualties in this war don’t merely lose a limb, nor even an earthly life. Eternity—heaven and hell—are at stake in this spiritual war, in addition to so much in our lives right now.

Just think about it. Any one of us could do one thing this week that could have a devastating effect on our lives and others’ lives around us. More likely than just one big thing, maybe a number of small things could occur. 

Going back to the Screwtape Letters, at one point Screwtape talks about the value of tempting subjects to small sins. He tells Wormwood this:

You will say that these are very small sins and doubtless, like all tempters, you are anxious to be able to report spectacular wickedness. But it does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one, the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without mileposts, without signposts. 

That leads to this last biblical truth I’ll put on the screen before I come back and give you one more at the end: in the spiritual war that is raging in you and around you, there is an adversary in this world who wants to destroy us. The Bible calls him the devil. His name means the slanderer. In other places he’s called the tempter, the liar, the accuser and the destroyer. The Bible does not describe the devil—spiritual forces of evil—as a wimpy cartoon character trying to entice you, but as a lion looking to devour you. There is an adversary at work in your life right now who wants to destroy you. He wants to destroy your family, your marriage, your children, your parents. He wants to destroy your friendships. He wants to destroy your future, not just here in this world. His aim is your eternal destruction. There are spiritual forces of evil working every single day, all throughout the day, toward that end in your life. 

We’re not talking about a sweet treat on a plate; we’re talking about real temptations with real consequences every single day of our lives. So with that biblical framework, let’s read Proverbs 7, which is essentially a story about temptation to adultery, yet it’s deeper than just adultery. The whole book of Proverbs is essentially a father discipling his son, telling him how to live wisely. 

From the very first chapter of Proverbs, wisdom is personified as a woman calling out for him to follow her. In Proverbs 8, you see wisdom personified as this woman beckoning a son to follow her. But in chapter 7, we see another woman whom he follows instead. So what we’re about to read is, yes, about adultery, but it’s also about all kinds of temptations to sin and foolishness. So let’s read Proverbs 7:

1 My son, keep my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you;
2 keep my commandments and live;
    keep my teaching as the apple of your eye;
3 bind them on your fingers;
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
    and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from the forbidden woman,
    from the adulteress with her smooth words.

6 For at the window of my house
    I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among the simple,
    I have perceived among the youths,
    a young man lacking sense,
8 passing along the street near her corner,
    taking the road to her house
9 in the twilight, in the evening,
    at the time of night and darkness.

10 And behold, the woman meets him,
    dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.
11 She is loud and wayward;
    her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
    and at every corner she lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
    and with bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to offer sacrifices,
    and today I have paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
    to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with coverings,
    colored linens from Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh,
    aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
    let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
    he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
    at full moon he will come home.”

21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
    with her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
    as an ox goes to the slaughter,
  or as a stag is caught fast
23     till an arrow pierces its liver;
as a bird rushes into a snare;
    he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24 And now, O sons, listen to me,
    and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
    do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
    and all her slain are a mighty throng.
27 Her house is the way to Sheol,
    going down to the chambers of death.

Did you see it? This whole chapter starts as a father’s instruction to his son. He’s telling him to view wisdom as his sister, as his intimate friend, to keep away from foolishness, specifically called the forbidden woman here. Then he goes on to tell this story of a young man lacking sense, who goes from simply taking a stroll in the beginning to finding himself in the chambers of death—in a matter of just minutes. How does that happen? How does temptation work? 

Let me show you the cycle of temptation in this chapter. It’s not necessarily always this way. I don’t mean to imply it’s a step-by-step process, but temptation usually involves a combination of these things.

First, temptation waits. As this simple young man goes out for a stroll, “At every corner she lies in wait.” What a picture of temptation. It’s always there, waiting for you in all kinds of ways, all day long. You may think you’re just going along in your day, but temptation is not staying home. It’s lurking all around you. 

Then, at just the right moment, temptation appears. Verse 13 says, “She seizes him and kisses him.” She makes herself known to him. Now, keep in mind, temptation is not always this forward, this aggressive. Temptation is often more subtle or passive. Think about Genesis 3. The serpent makes himself known with the simple, seemingly innocent question, “Did God actually say not to eat from any tree in the garden? And does God really want your good?”

This leads to the next step: temptation appeals. “I have come out to meet you,” verse 15 says, “to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.” Temptation says, “I want you. I want your good.” It appeals to our desires. In the words of John Piper, “The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier. No one sins out of a sense of duty.” Temptation flatters you. You want this. You deserve this. You are justified in this.

Then temptation invites. Verse 18 says, “Come, let us take our fill of love till morning.” In Genesis 3, it’s, “Come, take this piece of fruit.” In our lives, it’s, “Dwell on this thought. Indulge this desire. Say these words. React this way. Take these steps.” 

Then notice how the invitation comes with a promise. Temptation promises at least two things here in Proverbs 7. It promises satisfaction, “You will be delighted with love.” And it promises secrecy. “No one will know. My husband is gone.” Temptation promises to be good for you and devastating to no one. 

After all of that, it still seems there’s some pause in this young man. The very next verse tells us, “With much seductive speech she persuades him.” Temptation allures. It continues to draw and persuade; eventually it compels him. That word captures the relentless allurement of temptation that we’re all familiar with. 

Have you ever resisted temptation for a time? Like, you didn’t blow up in anger at first, but they just kept nagging at you, until you lost it. You chose not to scroll over those images at first, but later you were tired. You were more vulnerable, then you gave in. You heard a sermon on giving and you decided, “I’m going to give more generously.” But after a couple weeks, you’ve completely forgotten, and you’re back to spending as before. You resolved to pray, to read the Bible, but life got busy and other things became more important. 

One writer put it this way. “Temptation is rarely a single arrow to be avoided, but far more often a wide and prolonged wave of warfare meant to wear us down until we surrender.” Temptation allures relentlessly. You resist it at one corner, but it waits to meet you around the next corner, where it starts all over again, maybe from a totally different angle. Until he, in the words of verse 22, “follows her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a stag caught fast till an arrow pierces its liver; as a bird rushes into a snare.” He goes and “he does not know that it will cost him his life.” Don’t miss this. The aim, the end of all of this, is to lure us to sin, leading to our destruction. 

Whenever I read this chapter, I cannot help but think about a once really close friend of mine who was allured by someone who was not his wife. I remember him packing his things, jumping into his car and driving away to go be with her, while we were pleading with him, “Don’t do it.” He went anyway, leaving his wife, leaving his daughter who loved him so deeply, and leading to the loss of so much in his life.

We are obviously applying this text to temptation in general today, but for anyone who is any way flirting with temptation to adultery or sexual immorality in any way, hear God graciously bringing you to this place in this moment to hear him say, “You’re like an ox going to the slaughter. Don’t do it.” Hear his Word speaking to you, “Temptation is aiming for your destruction. Open your eyes. See what’s happening. It’s waiting. It’s appearing, alluring, appealing to you, inviting you, promising you so much, alluring you all to destroy you.”

So how do you fight this most important of all wars that’s playing out in all kinds of ways in all of our lives? Hear the Word of God. Hear these three exhortations from a father to a son and from God to us all in Proverbs 7. 

Fill your mind with truth.

Verse 24 says, “Sons, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.” Remember, the whole chapter started with, “My son, keep my words and treasure up my commandments with you; keep them…as the apple of your eye; bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” That language is literally, “Put the truth of God at the very center of your sight. Live with wisdom like it’s your intimate friend whom you love, who will keep you from the forbidden woman. 

Temptation thrives on you not being close to God and wisdom through his Word. Temptation thrives on lies and deception in this world. Therefore, the way to fight temptation is to fill your mind with truth. It’s how Jesus fought temptation in Matthew 4. He was tempted three times and every time he quoted God’s Word in response. He knew what God’s Word said, he knew it was true, he knew it was good.

So meditate on his Word. Memorize it. Write it on the tablet of your heart. Love it. Read this Word, not just to check off a box on your to-do list. Read it because it’s critical to your life. “Heed my commandments and live” (Proverbs 10:17) Life and death depend on having this Word hidden in your heart. So fill your mind with it.

Then before we move on, let’s not overlook the fact that this father in Proverbs 7 is doing all he can to pass God’s Word on to his son, to the next generation. So let’s not just fill our minds with truth, let’s fill others’ minds with truth. Parents, are you teaching your children the Word of God? Are you helping them meditate on it, memorize it and love it? Are you showing them what that looks like in practice in your life, in such a way that you’re passing that on to them so they’re ready for spiritual war in this world? We can run them around from this practice to that activity in pursuit of success according to this world, but we are only setting them up for failure if we don’t give them God’s Word. Prepare your children to fight temptation that will be coming at them from all sides, with truth and wisdom as you’ve poured it into them. This is not just parents, but for us as a church, to prioritize passing on truth to the next generation, so that they can live. Fill your mind and fill their minds with truth.

Guard your heart with vigilance.

This is exact language from Proverbs 4:23: “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” It’s here again in Proverbs 7:25: “Let not your heart turn aside to her ways.” Interestingly, we read these exact words from Jesus in our Bible reading as a church family this last week in Mark 7:21-23: “For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Do you see how temptation starts in your mind and in heart? It makes sense, right? If you don’t want to commit adultery, then guard your heart against lust. If you don’t want to commit murder, then guard your heart against hate. If you don’t want to commit theft, then guard your heart against covetousness in your life. Guard your desires. Not everything you desire is good. Even that statement is controversial in our day. We’ve just bought into the lie that because we desire something, that makes it good. No, just because you have a desire for something does not mean you’re obligated to fulfill that desire because that’s the way you’re made. See how temptation is appealing to our desires, flattering us, promising us, alluring us. Guard your hearts. 

How did the first sin come into the world? Genesis 3:6 says, “When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” They didn’t fill their minds with truth and they didn’t guard their hearts with vigilance. Keep reading Genesis 3 and you’ll see immediately how they started blaming each other, then blaming God for what they had done. We do the same thing today. “She made me angry.” “He caused me to do that.” In marriage, it’s, “My spouse isn’t satisfying me, so I need to find someone else who is.” In singleness, it’s, “I’m willing to find somebody outside of marriage who will satisfy me.” Or with so much sexual immorality in our day, it’s, “God, you made me this way.” No, James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God.’” 

Watch your steps at all times.

Fill your mind with truths from God and guard your heart with vigilance before God. Then watch your steps at all times. Verse 25 says, “Let not your heart turn aside to her ways; do not stray into her paths.” Do you realize this whole chapter started with a stroll? It started with a young man wandering, instead of watching out. There’s a reason 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith.” Be watchful. He’s prowling, looking to devour you every day. 

Be alert. Resist him. This is not passive verbs. James 4:7-8 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” Not, “Ignore the devil and he will flee from you.” No, resist him. How do you do that? You draw near to God instead. 

This is where I want you to see the most important truth in Proverbs 7 and throughout the Bible that you must not miss. If you miss this truth, you will lose the battle against temptation in your life—guaranteed. If you walk away today committed to doing everything you can, to do more to fight temptation, you will fail. Think about it. Your adversary is a lion. You’re not. If you see a lion and say, “I’m going to do everything I can to fight him,” it’s not going to work out well for you. You need help. And I have good news for you. 

Remember how we set this whole picture up? We live in a spiritual world, in a spiritual war. The stakes are high: your life, your relationships, your family, your future forever. It’s all at stake in this spiritual war. There’s an adversary in this world who wants to destroy you. So I want you to hear this one final truth. Hear this good news.

There is an Ally over this world who wants to save and satisfy you.

In this battle in this world, he is the God who made you, the God you are tempted to turn from, the God whom you have turned from. We all have. We’ve all given into temptation to trust our ways instead of God’s Word. We’ve all been this foolish man or woman, having done the things we want. As the result of our sin, which has brought unimaginable destruction in the world, we’re all on a road that leads to eternal destruction beyond this world, the holy judgment due our sin before a just and holy God. 

But the good news of the Bible, the greatest news in all the world, is that God has not left us alone in this battle. God has not left us alone in our sin and eternal destruction. God has come to us in the person of Jesus who  came to this world and lived a life of no sin. Unlike anybody else in the history of the world, he did not give in to temptation even one time. Then, even though he had no sin for which to die, he chose to die on a cross to pay the price for your sin and my sin—for the sins of all who trust in him. Then three days later, Jesus rose from the grave. He defeated sin and death for us, so that anyone, anywhere—no matter what you’ve done, no matter how you’ve given in, no matter how this picture in Proverbs 7 has played out in your life—if you will simply turn from your sin and trust in Jesus to save you from your sin, he will forgive all of it and give you eternal life with him, starting now with his Spirit inside you.

So if you have never put your trust in God’s love for you, in Jesus to save you from your sin, give you eternal life, restore you to relationship with God, I invite you to do that today. Don’t believe the lies of this world, that your best life is according to your ways. Believe the God who made you; he knows you and knows what is best for you in your life, now and for all of eternity. Once you trust in Jesus, and for all who have, then do not fight against temptation in your flesh. Fight against temptation in the power of his Spirit living in you. Don’t try to fight this battle alone. Rise every morning and say, “Jesus, help.” Then listen to his Word and walk in fellowship with his Spirit all day long, looking to him to give you the power to overcome temptation all day, knowing that he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4;4). 

Your Ally, who’s over all the world, the one who conquered sin and death, is living inside you to save you from sin, not just for eternity, but today, this week. He will satisfy you. If you look back at that cycle of temptation and realize how Jesus enables you to overcome temptation, know that he’s also waiting to satisfy you at every turn. He did not just appear 2,000 years ago, but he’s with you right now, always appealing to your good. He actually knows what will lead to your good. He invites you every day to experience what is truly good in your life. He promises you true satisfaction and will always keep his promises. He allures you with new mercy, waiting for you every single morning and following after you all the day long. So how do you fight the alluring temptations of this world? With the alluring love of Jesus for you and the almighty power of Jesus in you. 

Ladies and gentlemen, fight temptation with the knowledge that someone better has come. Jesus, God in the flesh, has come and made full life, free from the destructive power of sin, available to you and me, now and forever. So fill your mind with his truth. Guard your heart with his vigilance. Watch your steps at all times by the power of his Spirit inside of you, and live. 

I want to give you a moment alone with God, specifically as a time of confession. If you’ve never trusted in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life, I invite you in this quiet moment to confess you’re a sinner before God and ask him to save you from your sin. Put your trust in what Jesus has done on the cross for you. 

For all who have done that, who are trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord, I want to give you a couple moments to confess before God how you have given in to temptation, how you are struggling with sin, to be honest with him about what he already knows. Ask God for his forgiveness and for his help in fighting those specific temptations. 

Observation: What does the passage say?

1) Read Proverbs 7 aloud as a group. Let group members share observations. Try not to move into interpretation of the passage or application of what you read quite yet. Simply share what you observe.

2) What counsel does Solomon give to his son in Proverbs 7:1–4?

• What does he say is the benefit of keeping God’s word and wisdom close? Proverbs 7:5

3) How does Solomon describe the way that temptation works? Proverbs 7:6–23

• What pictures of temptation do you observe in Proverbs 7:12–21?

4) What is the end of all temptation? Proverbs 7:22–23, 26–27

5) How does Solomon exhort his son to guard against temptation? Proverbs 7:1–4; 24–25

6) How would you summarize Proverbs 7 in your own words?

Interpretation: What does the passage mean?

1. What are some sources of temptation? Genesis 3:6; Mark 7:21–23, Luke 4:13, Ephesians 6:11–12; James 1:13–15
2. Why does temptation have such tremendous power to destroy? Genesis 3:1–6; 2 Samuel 11:2–17; Proverbs 7:12, 2 Corinthians 11:14
3. How did Jesus model for us to fight against temptation? Matthew 4:1–11; Luke 4:1–13 
4. In the battle against temptation, what truths do we need to hold fast to? John 8:44; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 6:12; 1 Peter 5:8–10; Revelation 20:10

Application: How can we apply this passage to our lives?

1) What kinds of temptation to sin are luring, or enticing, you away from God and His word? 

• What struggles are you battling or facing right now?
• What has God called for you to do that you are avoiding or ignoring? 
• What sin(s) do you need to confess to the Lord?
• How can your Church Group pray for you?

2) How are you fighting the alluring temptations of this world?

3) How are you filling your mind with God’s truth in the battle against temptation?

• What changes do you need to make to prioritize hiding God’s word in your heart?
• How are you prioritizing passing on God’s word to the next generation to help them fight against temptation?
• How can your church group encourage you to faithfully hide God’s truth in your heart? 

4) What safeguards do you have to guard your heart with vigilance?

• How are you guarding your time? What do you view? Your desires? 
• How can your Church Group serve as an accountability partner for you? 

5) In what ways are you tempted to fight temptation in your own strength, instead of by God’s power living in you? 

• How are you being watchful and drawing near to God?
• How can you orient your efforts to fighting temptation in the power of His Spirit living in you?
• How can your Church Group/Huddle members pray for you in the battle against temptation?

Scripture Reading

Sermon Recap

What are the most common temptations that you face?

• We live in a spiritual world.
• We are involved in a spiritual war.
• The stakes in this spiritual war are high.
• There is an adversary in this world who wants to destroy you.
• There is an Ally over this world who wants to save and satisfy you.

How do you fight the war of temptation?

• Fill your mind with His truth.
• Guard your heart with His vigilance.
• Watch your steps at all times by the power of His Spirit inside you.