Temptation

1 Thessalonians 3:5 “For this cause, when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.”

1. Trials

God does not tempt with evil (James 1:13), meaning that he does not entice people to sin. God does, however, tempt man with good, testing them to do what is right. God’s testing of us should be viewed as a blessing, because by so doing, he considers us worth examining (Job 7:17-18; see Deuteronomy 4:34; 7:19). There are several ways God can test us:

God Tries Us WITH HIS EYES: watching our motives and works, “his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men” (Psalm 11:4-5). The “eyes of the Lord” is an anthropomorphism which is metaphorical for God’s omniscience. Not only do his eyes “run to and fro through the whole earth” (Zechariah 4:10), but also, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good” (Proverbs 15:3). By his constant and unlimited supervision, God is testing our every move and thought (see Psalms 17:2-3; 26:2).

Proverbs 5:21 “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth   all his goings.”

God Tries Us WITH HIS FIRE: afflicting us, “for thou, O God, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried” (Psalm 66:10). Every evil circumstance and bad thing that overtakes us––from persecution (Revelation 2:10) to physical affliction––can be intended by God to be a “fiery trial” (1 Peter 4:12) which is “the trial of your faith” (1 Peter 1:7). Paul called his thorn in the flesh “my temptation” (Galatians 4:14), likely because it urged him to be unfruitful and take an extended vacation from the service of God (see also Luke 8:13). Many a time God chooses the fires of unfortunate ills in life to refine us “as silver is refined,” and to try us “as gold is tried” (Zechariah 13:9; see also Isaiah 48:10).

Jeremiah 9:7 “Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?”

God Tries Us WITH HIS WORD: quizzing or testing our knowledge or obedience, “… the word of the LORD tried him” (Psalm 105:19). When God wanted to test the obedience of Abraham, he commanded him to sacrifice his only son Isaac (Genesis 22:1-2), to see whether he would keep his word or not (Genesis 22:12). God’s word, obeyed or disobeyed, is a witness against us or for us (Deuteronomy 31:26). When Jeremiah prophesied the word of the Lord, he said of God, “I have set thee for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou mayest know and try their way” (Jeremiah 6:27).

Notably, the number 40 in the scripture often stands for the number of trial/testing:

• The global world flood commenced with forty days and forty nights of rain (Genesis 7:4, 12, 17).
• Criminals would frequently be whipped with no more than forty stripes (Deuteronomy 25:3; see 2 Corinthians 11:24).
• Moses was in Mount Sinai for forty days and forty nights, twice (Exodus 24:18; Deuteronomy 9:9-11; 10:10).
• The Israelite spies searched the land of Canaan for forty days to test the land (Numbers 13:25).
• The children of Israel wandered for forty years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33-34), as a punishment and test of their obedience (Deuteronomy 8:1-4; Psalm 95:10; see also Deuteronomy 2:7; Acts 13:18; Amos 5:25). In the time of the Judges, to try the character of Israel, there were times of rest of forty years (Judges 3:11; 5:31; 8:28) and times of affliction of forty years (Judges 13:1).
• Goliath challenged Israel, “and presented himself forty days” (1 Samuel 17:16).
• Jonah warned the Ninevites that they had a trial period of “yet forty days, and Ninevah shall be overthrown” (Jonah 3:4).
• Jesus taught for forty days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3), and was led into the wilderness for forty days to be tempted (Matthew 4:2/Mark 1:13/Luke 4:2).

1. Temptations

The Elements Of Temptation

The Bible describes three elements which make up temptation and give it force (1 John 2:15-17): (a) the lust of the flesh (physical temptation––hedonism), (b) the lust of the eyes (visual/auditory temptation––materialism), and (c) the pride of the life (mental temptation––egotism).

• In the Garden of Eden, the devil tempted Eve by drawing her attention to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6) which was (a) “good for food” (b) “pleasant to the eyes,” and (c) “a tree to be desired to make one wise” (Genesis 3:6).
• In the wilderness, the devil tempted Jesus by (a) offering him the stones to turn them into bread (Matthew 4:3), (b) showing him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory (Matthew 4:8-9), and (c) telling him to cast himself down from the temple (Matthew 4:5-6).

The Phases Of Temptation

There are four phases of temptation: (1) tempted with sin (tempting), (2) conceiving sin (sinning in the heart), (3) bringing forth sin (sinning in the world) (4) bringing forth death (experiencing the consequences of sin).

James 1:14-15 “¹⁴ But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. ¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is         finished, bringeth forth death.”

• Eve (Genesis 3:1-7): (1) was brought to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, then (2) desired the tree, then (3) took of the tree, and finally (4) spiritually died, and later physically died.
• Achan (Joshua 7:20-21, 24-26): (1) saw among the spoils of Jericho a garment from Babylon, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold, then he (2) coveted them, and (3) took of them, and at the last (4) he was stoned to death. The same happened with Gehazi (2 Kings 5:21-27).
• David (2 Samuel 11:1-5; 12:18): (1) saw Bathsheba washing herself, (2) lusted after Bathsheba and inquired after her, (3) committed adultery with Bathsheba, and (4) lost the child that was born to Bathsheba.

The Agents Of Temptation

Three enemies of the Christian are classically identified in God’s word: the flesh, the world, and the devil. In Ephesians 2, the first three verses describe the opponents of the soul. There, we read that when a person is unsaved, they are enslaved to (I) “the course of this world” (the world), (II) “the desires of the flesh” (the flesh), and (III) “the prince of the power of the air” (the devil). In Jesus’ parable of the sower, once again we see this unholy trio at work to prevent spiritual fruitfulness (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23). The three unproductive grounds were rendered fruitless (or, lifeless, with the wayside) due to (I) the thorns (the world), where the seed was planted on thorny ground (Matthew 13:7, 22), (II) the rootless plant (the flesh), who was planted on the stony ground (Matthew 13:5-6, 20-21), and (III) the birds, or, the wicked one (the devil), who took the seed from the way side (Matthew 13:4, 19). Additionally, although Satan was ultimately responsible for all the temptations of Christ in the wilderness, the area of each individual temptation appears to line up with one of the three enemies we face as well––(I) the temptation to cast himself off the pinnacle of the temple (the world: Matthew 4:5-6), (II) the temptation to turn the stones into bread to eat (the flesh: Matthew 4:3), (III) the temptation to worship Satan for the kingdoms of the world (the devil: Matthew 4:8-9).

(I) THE WORLD is the entirety of physical existence, or, the universe. The material, sonic, and virtual aspects of the world make it a social form of temptation. In scripture, three categories of the “world” can be differentiated: the physical world, or the creation (Psalm 24:1), the personal world, referring to the people that populate the earth (“world” is thus a metonym for all people: e.g., John 3:16; 6:51), and the moral world, denoting the ungodly elements of the world which are indifferent or hostile to God. It is the moral world which is “crooked and perverse”
(Philippians 2:15; see Titus 2:11-12), and which the Bible condemns as a things which spots people (James 1:27).

1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

The world, too, has many outlets and channels where it can spread the “pollutions of the world” (2 Peter 2:20) and the “corruption that is in the world” (2 Peter 1:4): the media which can be social, broadcast, or print, entertainment in television or movies, music, and institutions like secular/false religious schools and colleges. The world is governed by “the rudiments of the world” (Colossians 2:8, 20; Galatians 4:3, 9; see also 1 John 4:5-6), which are carnalities or merely sensible, but not spiritual, teachings. Because of the fact that the world does not understand the truth (John 1:10; 14:17; 1 John 3:1), hates the truth (see John 7:7; 17:14), and loves lies (see John 16:20; 2 Thessalonians 2:12), all worldlings will live false and evil lives, and be at enmity with God (James 4:4).

(II) THE FLESH is the unregenerate human nature that we live in (see Philippians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 10:3). Diametrically opposed to the things of the Spirit (Romans 8:5-8), the flesh is a natural source of temptation. The flesh has its manifold lusts (1 Peter 2:11; 4:2; 2 Peter 2:18) and its works (Galatians 5:19-21) which arm it to produce sin in one’s life (see Colossians 2:11).

Having many parts, the flesh is indeed a very formidable opponent against the child of God: the mind with which we think (Romans 8:7; Colossians 2:18; Ephesians 2:3), the heart which is the seat of decisions (Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 44:20), the eyes whereby we see (Matthew 5:28-29; see Proverbs 4:25; Job 31:1), the ears with which we hear (see Isaiah 33:15; Psalm 78:1), the tongue which we speak with (see James 3:2-12; Psalm 141:3; Proverbs 13:3), the hands which we take/strike/work with (Matthew 5:30), and the feet which we travel with (Romans 3:15; cf. Isaiah 59:7; Proverbs 1:16; 6:18).

Romans 7:23 “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”

(III) THE DEVIL is the prince and chief of the demons (see Matthew 12:24; Luke 11:15). Satan is actually called “the tempter” (Matthew 4:3; 1 Thessalonians 3:5) as he is characteristically one that busies himself in the dark art of temptation, working so as to be a spiritual form of temptation. Without being too thorough in detailing the devil, he is all in all a deceiver (see Revelation 12:9; 20:3, 8).

By contrast, there is a triad of helps available to the believer to overcome temptation: our three allies are the new spirit, the word of God, and the Holy Spirit. Our regenerated new spirit is perfect and incorruptibly created in true holiness (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10). Jesus indicates the word of God as being the thing which will make one different from the world (John 17:6, 14-17). One is “transformed by the renewing” of their mind and not conformed to the world when they learn the Bible (Romans 12:1-2). The Holy Spirit is the comforter there for everyone born of him to be borne by him through temptation (see 2 Timothy 1:14), “greater than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4).

Moreover, the three enemies of the soul are in some sense already defeated. The believer has already overcome the world through faith in Christ (1 John 5:4-5). To anyone who is in the Spirit and in Christ their flesh is presently “crucified” (Galatians 5:24; Romans 6:6), and Satan “is judged” (John 16:11) and shall be “cast out” (John 12:31).

The Seasons Of Temptation

After ending all his temptation of Christ in the wilderness, the Bible says that the devil “departed from him for a season” (Luke 4:13). From this we learn that one is never finished with the struggle against sin in this world, because Satan departed only for a season. Further, it can be observed that there are certain times when our enemies will seek to tempt us, a “time of temptation” as Jesus called it (Luke 8:13). Jesus would later encounter the tempter in the persons of the Pharisees (John 8:40), and in his disciple Peter (Mark 8:33), but at last at Gethsemane (Luke 22:53).

The devil seeks “whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8), and there are many ample times of hurling his “fiery darts” at us (Ephesians 6:16). We can be tempted when we are physically weak, as Jesus who had been fasting for forty days and nights when Satan approached him (Matthew 4:2). The Israelites were moved to complain by their hunger and thirst in the wilderness (Exodus 17:1-3), and Esau was swindled out of his birthright when he was “faint” (Genesis 25:29-30). Job also was physically weakened to drive him to curse God (see Job 2:1-8). Temptation can also arrive at our doorstep when we are spiritually weak (contrast: 1 John 2:14). The enemy enjoys taking advantage of our intemperance, and can “tempt you for your incontinency” (1 Corinthians 7:5; see also Galatians 6:1). The Gibeonites were able to make a treaty with Joshua when he was not prayerful (Joshua 9:14). Satan entered Judas when he found “how he might conveniently betray him” (Mark 14:11). Temptation also slithers up on the mentally weak, like Eve, who was more gullible than Adam (2 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Timothy 2:14). The socially weak are a favored prey as well, as when Jesus was alone for forty days in the wilderness and not been in company with others. Job’s family and friends were almost entirely robbed from him by death or divisiveness.

The Escaping of Temptation

Pleasing God

At every moment and in every action and thought of his, Jesus Christ was God-pleasing, “for I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). God the Father spoke explicitly of how he was pleased with Jesus his Son in three places: “in whom my soul is well pleased” (Matthew 12:18), “in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; see also 2 Peter 1:17). We should not seek to please ourselves (Romans 15:1-3), nor to be men-pleasers (Galatians 1:10), but pleasers of God who “choose the things that please me” (Isaiah 56:4; see also 2 Timothy 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:1). There are many Biblical principles which, if understood, will impel us to make our ways please the Lord (see Proverbs 16:7):

• God demands us not to sin––God issues many commandments against sin in his word (see 1 John 3:4).
• God desires us not to sin––God’s will is that we do not sin (1 Thessalonians 4:3).
• God deserves us not to sin––God is worthy of being glorified and honored by a godly life (see Revelation 4:11; 5:12).
• God helps us not to sin––God blesses us with strength and endows us with mercy (1 Corinthians 7:25) to “deliver the godly out of temptations” (2 Peter 2:9). From the time of their salvation, every believer has the power to do what is right within them (Philemon 6; Philippians 2:12).
• God shows us not to sin––God says to be holy “for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:16), and Jesus left us an example which we can look to (Hebrews 12:2; see also 1 John 2:6), having escaped all temptation himself.

Hebrews 2:18 “For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour   them that are tempted.”

Avoiding Sin

Being tempted is not in and of itself wrong, for even the impeccable Jesus himself was tempted. Temptation should be viewed as a compliment paid by the world, the flesh, or the devil, to consider us worthy of an attempt to be deceived. There are many ways to withstand temptation. In order to avoid sin and its deceits, we must know that all temptation is common to man, live like all temptation is bearable, and react as if all temptation is escapable:

1 Corinthians 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.”

1. PRAY to God to not lead you into temptation and, when tempted, to lead you out of temptation (Luke 22:40, 46; Matthew 6:13). Had the disciples taken heed to Jesus’ words to “watch and pray” (Matthew 26:41), they may have been bold when Jesus was taken, and not fearfully abandon him as they did.
2. MEMORIZE relevant scriptures of the Bible regarding the given sin you wrestle with, and quote those verses to yourself when tempted (Psalm 119:9-11; see also Matthew 4:1-11).
3. WORK in life and for God, and do not allow yourself to be idle (see 1 Timothy 5:13-15; Ezekiel 16:49; see the idleness of David: 2 Samuel 11:1-2). Jesus told us to “occupy till I come” (Luke 19:13), and that we should be found “so doing” when he returns, not slacking around (see Luke 12:43).
4. KEEP yourself from occasions to sin. The Bible says of our new nature that “he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not” (1 John 5:18). Sin takes place when occasion meets desire. If there is no desire, there will be no sin even though there are a thousand occasions at hand. However, if there is desire, and no possible occasion, there will also be no sin, no matter how strong the desire.

Romans 13:14 “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.”

5. GROW in Christ (1 Peter 2:2; 2 Peter 3:18). First we must learn Christ (Ephesians 4:20-23), as knowing his word and example is the sole means of being conformed to him (see Colossians 2:6-8). Next, we have to live Christ (2 Corinthians 5:15; Philippians 1:21), appropriating the speech, behavior, and mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16) to ourselves. Supremely, however, we must love Christ. When the love of the world is in one’s heart, like the love of money, the Bible says that such people “fall into temptation and a snare” (1 Timothy 6:9). The love of Christ is the only thing that will be able to genuinely constrain us (2 Corinthians 5:14). When our hearts are directed into the love of God (2 Thessalonians 3:5), and we “keep” ourselves “in the love of God” (Jude 21), we have a sure and eternal motivation to yield not to temptation. This is why James connects loving the Lord with enduring temptation:

James 1:12 “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”

The Powers of Temptation

Hebrews 3:12-13 “¹² Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”               

Every sin is caused by deception, which means that sin, like the devil, is a liar (John 8:44). Eve was “deceived” by the devil (1 Timothy 2:14); false doctrine is taught by “them that seduce you” (1 John 2:26); people are “deceived” by wine when they drink alcohol (Proverbs 20:1), an idol is “a lie” which turns people aside by a “deceived heart” (Isaiah 44:20; see also Deuteronomy 11:16); a whorish woman can “deceive” (Job 31:9); a ruler’s food that he feeds someone at his table with is called “deceitful meat” (Proverbs 23:3).

2 Thessalonians 2:10 “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”

The Bible warns us repeatedly not to be deceived (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9; 15:33; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; see also Matthew 24:4). This is because sin, all too often, deceives us (Romans 7:8-11), being numbered among the “deceitful lusts” (Ephesians 4:20-24), and “fleshly lusts,” which war against the soul (1 Peter 2:11).

DECEPTION #1: Sin Is Not Sinful

Sin deceives by presenting itself to the sinner as being right. This deception of sin is to cause someone to think that the sin that they are committing is actually righteous.

The heart of man is “deceitful above all things,” (Jeremiah 17:9; see also Proverbs 28:26), so the proud heart often deceives people (Obadiah 1:3), causing them to think that what they are doing is not wrong at all. It is very possible to deceive oneself (1 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 6:3; Jeremiah 37:9). James gives the example of pious people who think that they are righteous by merely hearing the word of God (James 1:22), or that God honors them because they are outwardly religious (James 1:26).

The worst form of this deception is when people call evil good, and good evil (Isaiah 5:20-23), and think “Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them” (Malachi 2:17). Most individuals do “whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 17:6; 21:25; Proverbs 12:15), and “whatsoever thing goeth forth out of our own mouth” (Jeremiah 44:17).

Proverbs 16:2 “All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the LORD weigheth the spirits.”

Proverbs 21:2 “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

Proverbs 30:12 “There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet is not washed from their filthiness.”

DECEPTION #2: Sin Is Not Harmful

Sin deceives by making the sinner believe that it will not have consequences. This deception of sin is to cause someone to think that they will not be judged for their sin.

“Nothing will happen to you for doing this sin”

The idea that there is no punishment for sin is what the devil seduced Eve with by saying “ye shall not surely die” (Genesis 3:4). This deception plays upon the person’s lack of understanding of the Bible: either by taking advantage of their (a) forgetting of scripture, (b) doubting of scripture, or (c) twisting of scripture.

1. Forgetting The Scripture

Because sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:5), only the law––which is written in stone or with ink, or written in the heart (Romans 2:14-15)––can show us our sin (Romans 7:7-13). When we have not heard the Bible, or forget the Bible which we have heard (Deuteronomy 4:9, 23; 2 Kings 17:38), sin deceives us.

Numbers 15:38-40 “³⁸ Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: ³⁹ And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and    do them ; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: ⁴⁰ That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God.”

Jesus’ many “have ye never read” statements illustrate the need of knowing the Bible not to commit practical or doctrinal sin:

• Matthew 21:16: “Yea; have ye never read…?”
• Matthew 19:4: “Have ye not read…?”
• Matthew 21:42: “Did ye never read in the scriptures, …?”
• Mark 12:26: “Have ye not read in the book of Moses, …?”
• Matthew 12:3-4: “Have ye not read what David did…? Or have ye not read in the law…?”

1. Doubting The Scripture

Secrecy Of Sin

The Bible is clear about the result of sin: “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a; see also Romans 5:12). Sin’s lie is that it is a secret which no one knows. But not only does God know everything we do, he also sees it all (Jeremiah 16:17; Proverbs 5:21; 15:3), and “seeth in secret” (Matthew 6:4, 6, 18).

Luke 12:2 “For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” (See also Luke 8:17).

Those ancients of Israel who performed idolatry in secret did so because they said, “the Lord seeth us not; the Lord hath forsaken the earth” (Ezekiel 8:12; 9:9; see also Psalm 10:11; 94:7). Much sin is therefore done at night, under the cover of darkness (Ephesians 5:11; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8; see also Proverbs 7:9).

Numbers 32:23 “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

Arrogance Of Sin

Sin’s lie is also that God will not actually punish it. The motivating question of this form of deceit is, “Where is the God of Judgement?” (Malachi 2:17). However, not only does God promise to judge sin (Psalm 58:11; Ezekiel 18:30; see also Deuteronomy 28:15-68), he has historically judged multitudes of sinners (e.g., 1 Corinthians 10:5-11).

Galatians 6:7 “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that    shall he also reap.”

1. Twisting The Scripture

Many preachers will twist the scripture, causing people to commit sin. Some will preach peace to sinful people, that God is a God of love only, and not of judgement (Jeremiah 6:14; 8:11; see also Ezekiel 13). Others still will preach that in the New Testament, we are free to sin because we are “not under the law, but under grace” (see Jude 4, contrast with Titus 2:11-12).

“A little sin will not hurt you”

Not only can a little sin be a waste of time and energy which could have been used for the Lord, it can also be very destructive, and a little sin usually turns into a lot of sin. A little leaven will cause the whole lump of dough to rise (1 Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:9; see also effects of leaven: Matthew 13:33). The letting out of waters turns into a stream (Proverbs 17:24). A little honey was enough for Jonathan to break the oath of King Saul (1 Samuel 14:24-32, 43). A little sleep will cause the sluggard to be impoverished (Proverbs 6:10-11; 24:33-34); a little amount of flies will corrupt an ointment (Ecclesiastes 10:1), and little foxes spoil the vines (Song of Solomon 2:15). A little fire will burn a large forest, a little bit will control a whole horse, and a very small helm will turn about an entire ship (James 3:2-6; see also Proverbs 6:27-29).

“It is just a small sin”

A small sin is still a sin: “All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death” (1 John 5:17). A white lie, for example, is still a lie which God hates (Proverbs 6:16-17), and a little unrighteous hatred is still a work of the flesh (Galatians 5:20).

“All sin is equal”

All sins are not equal: in the Bible, there are (1) unequal descriptions of sins. Jesus said of Judas to Pilate, “he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11). If all sins were equal, then all matters in the law would be of the same weight, yet Jesus said that there is a “least commandment” (Matthew 5:19), and things like “judgment, mercy, and faith” are “the weightier matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23).

In God’s law and dealing with sin, there are (2) unequal punishments for sins. Jesus spoke of “The greater damnation” (Matthew 23:14) and even though hell is ready for every sinner (Isaiah 5:14), the damnation of the false prophet “slumbereth not” (2 Peter 2:3). In the law of God, there is a capital punishment (e.g., murder: Genesis 9:6; adultery: Leviticus 20:10), physical punishment (e.g., Proverbs 10:13), and monetary punishment (e.g., Exodus 22:3-6, 12), showing that not every sin is of the same severity in the mind of God.

In defining iniquity, the Bible describes (3) unequal kinds of sins. The Bible distinguishes between “a sin unto death” and “a sin not unto death” (1 John 5:16-17; see also Numbers 15:30-31; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; Hebrews 10:24-31). Unlike other sins, when a man commits fornication, he sins “against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Furthermore, the false prophet is a worse individual preached against more than the false person (e.g., Jude, 2 Peter 2).

The Biblical consequences of sinning yields (4) unequal effects of sins. Different sins have differing evil results, and are therefore not all the same. Spiritual adultery in the heart does not have the same effect as physical adultery in the body (Matthew 5:27-28), and physical murder with the hands has far worse effects than spiritual murder with the mouth or mind (Matthew 5:21-22).

         DECEPTION #3: Sin Gives You Success   

Sin deceives by making the sinner believe that it will bring them prosperity. This deception of sin is to cause someone to think that they will be successful by doing what is wrong.

Sin provides unsure success, not real success: The kind of success that doing wrong brings about is one which also comes with a great personal risk. A thief may be able to steal for his needs, but if found he will pay four (Exodus 22:1) to seven times more (Proverbs 6:30). A man may become rich by fraud, yet his riches will be worthless if he goes to prison. God says he will “smite his hand” at “dishonest gain” (Ezekiel 22:16)

• When king Ahaz was in distress, he sinned against God, thinking that it would make him successful, but was ruined by it (2 Chronicles 28:16-23).
• The sinners of Proverbs 1 who entice with financial gain live a dangerous life: “So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain; which taketh away the life of the owners thereof” (Proverbs 1:19; see also verses 10-19).
• The rebellious Jews began to commit idolatry because they thought that those false gods provided for them (Jeremiah 4:15-23), not knowing that it is God who really supplied everything, and began to judge them for their sin.

Proverbs 13:11 “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.”

Proverbs 22:16 “He that oppresseth the poor to increase his riches, and he that giveth to   the rich, shall surely come to want.”

 

Sin provides short-term success, not long-term success: The success that sinning supplies is short-lived. Even if that success lasted all of one’s life long, they would not take any of it with them to the next life (Ecclesiastes 5:15; 1 Timothy 6:7). However, just as a partridge which sits on eggs it does not hatch, so is a person who attains to success by sin (Jeremiah 17:11). King Hezekiah of Judah gave the expensive things of the temple to appease Sennacherib, but the peace which that offering brought about was temporary (2 Kings 18:13-17). The Psalmists (Psalm 37 and 73) were discouraged by seeing the success that the wicked experienced, but they nevertheless described it as temporary.

DECEPTION #4: Sin Gives Satisfaction, Happiness And Freedom

Sin deceives by making the sinner believe that it will give them satisfaction, joy, and freedom. This deception of sin is to cause someone to think that they will be satisfied, happy, or free by doing what is wrong.

“Sin will satisfy you”

Sin gives temporal satisfaction, not lasting satisfaction

Hebrews 11:25 “Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy            the pleasures of sin for a season”

In contrast to the eternal pleasures that a faithful person can experience (Psalm 16:11), the pleasures of sin are temporary. The virtuous woman whom one marries gives a promise to “satisfy thee at all times” (Proverbs 5:19), whereas the strange woman whom one fornicates with promises, “let us take our fill of love until the morning” (Proverbs 7:18).

Sin gives partial satisfaction, not complete satisfaction: The satisfaction which sin pledges is incomplete, and never fully pays out. “The eye is not satisfied with seeing,” (Ecclesiastes 1:8), so by lusting after another person one cannot be totally satisfied (Proverbs 27:20). Sin shows the shine of riches to entice covetousness (Matthew 13:22; Mark 4:19; 1 Timothy 6:9), and yet “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). One night of fornication is never the end of a whore’s or whoremonger’s lasciviousness and evil concupiscence (see Ezekiel 16:28-29).

“Sin will make you happy”

Sin gives circumstantial happiness, not spiritual happiness: The joy of the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10), the joy of salvation (Psalm 51:12), and the joy that Christ gives (John 16:22), are based on spiritual realities, not circumstances. Because sin can only bring about some pleasant circumstances in one’s life, it cannot provide true lasting joy and happiness.

Sin gives sorrow, not happiness: Far from making someone happy, sin will actually produce sorrow. If it does not work godly sorrow, then it will work the sorrow of the world as it did for Esau (Hebrews 12:16-17) and Judas (Matthew 27:3-8; see also Jeremiah 2:26). The most sinful people are the saddest people (e.g., Solomon, see book of Ecclesiastes, especially 2:17), but the happiest ones are the most righteous (Proverbs 3:13; 29:18; John 13:17; James 5:11).

Proverbs 10:22 “The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with            it.”

“Sin will make you free”

Sin promises a form of liberty, offering the ability to do whatever one wants and to not follow any rules. According to the Bible everyone is either a servant of righteousness or of sin (Romans 6:12-22). True freedom is freedom to do what is right (John 8:31-32), not freedom to sin, which is actually slavery (John 8:34; 2 Peter 2:19).

DECEPTION #5: The Majority Are Sinning

Sin deceives by appealing to the majority. This deception of sin is to cause someone to think that everyone is doing this sin, so it is permissible for them to do it.

The majority does not determine the truth: The mere fact that most people believe or act in a certain way has no bearing upon whether it is right or not. Job described that he was righteous because he judged according to truth and not according to the majority opinion (Job 31:34).

Exodus 23:2 “Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a    cause to decline after many to wrest judgment”

The majority is usually wrong

Presently…

• The majority of the world is wicked (1 John 5:19)
• The majority is on the way to hell (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24)
• The majority of preachers are false preachers (1 John 4:1; Matthew 7:15; 22; see Elijah: 1 Kings 18:20-22; 19:10; Micaiah: 1 Kings 22:1-28)
• The majority of Bibles are corrupt Bibles (see 2 Corinthians 2:17)

Historically…

• The majority of the world was only evil continually in the days of Noah (Genesis 6:1-8; see 7:1; 1 Peter 3:20)
• The majority of Sodom and Gomorrah were wicked (Genesis 18:23-33; see 2 Peter 2:6-8)
• The majority of Israel often turned away from the Lord (in the wilderness: see book of Numbers; with the spies: Numbers 13:26-14:10; the Judges: see book of Judges; the kings of Israel: see books of 1 and 2 Kings; the kings of Judah: see book of Jeremiah).
• The majority rejected Jesus in his ministry (John 1:11-12) and at his death (John 19:4-16).

The majority is not the entirety: everyone is not doing every sin: Throughout history, there has always existed a righteous remnant of God’s people. Although most churches are false, Jesus promised that his church will not be prevailed against by the gates of hell (Matthew 16:18). And even inside of good churches with many problems, like the church at Sardis, there are almost always still going to be a few righteous church members (Revelation 3:1-5).

Revelation 3:4 “Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.”

In the beginning of the world, there was Noah the “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5), and his family was still faithful to the Lord. God said of Noah, “Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1).

In the midst of the Biblical times, God has always left himself a small remnant (Isaiah 1:9; 10:20-22). Joshua was prepared to maintain his own faithfulness even if all others turned away (Joshua 24:14-24), and upon seeing the multitude leave Jesus, Peter said “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John 6:68; see also John 17). When Elijah thought he was all alone, the answer of God to Elijah was that “I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal” (Romans 11:4; cf. 1 Kings 19:18).

In the last days God will be using the few who are faithful to church (Malachi 3:16-18), the commandments of God (Revelation 12:17), and the work of God, to “do exploits” (Daniel 11:32-33). In the Apocalypse, God will still be able to find 144,000 men which are undefiled (see Revelation 7:4-8; 14:1-5).

DECEPTION #6: Sin Is Natural And Necessary

Sin deceives by appealing to one’s natural desires and needs. This deception of sin is to cause someone to believe that their sin is justified because they could not do otherwise.

Many people excuse their sin by saying that God made them with a need to sin, but God does not give bad gifts or create imperfect things (1 John 1:5; e.g., Genesis 1 “God saw that it was good”). Everything God created was made with a righteous purpose (Ecclesiastes 7:29), and all to be fulfilled in a righteous way (e.g., hunger: Genesis 2:16-17). Sin is committed out of a personal desire (Genesis 4:7), not a physical necessity.

James 1:12-13, 16-17 “¹² Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. 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: … ¹⁶ Do not err, my beloved brethren.     Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father   of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”