Robert Jeffress - The Temptation Equation Revisited
Mention the phrase «spiritual warfare» in a group setting, and people are likely to roll their eyes and consider you one of those nutty Christians. Yet the fact is, spiritual warfare is real, and it truly explains most of the struggles you and I face every day. A respected British pastor, Martin Lloyd-Jones, wrote decades ago in his book The Invisible War about the reality of spiritual warfare. He said, «Anyone who is not aware of a fight and a conflict in a spiritual sense is in a drugged and hazardous condition.» The Apostle Peter was even more pointed when he said in 1 Peter 5:8, «Be on the alert. Be of sober spirit. For your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.»
Whether you realize it or not is immaterial; you do have an adversary, and he has an objective in your life. What he would love to do is rob you of eternal life, keeping you from trusting in Christ as your Savior, so that you spend eternity with Satan in hell. That is his number one objective. But if he can’t succeed there, he would like to rob you of all the benefits of being a child of God in this life. Jesus describes Satan in John 10:10 as a thief who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. Never forget that Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life.
Not only does he have an ultimate objective, but he also has a plan to achieve it—to either rob you of eternal life or rob you of the joys of following God in this life. In Ephesians 6:11, Paul wrote, «Put on the full armor of God that you may be able to withstand the schemes of the devil.» The word «schemes,» methodia in Greek, refers to a plan for catching prey. It reflects what a predator does to catch its prey. The Bible says Satan has a scheme. He has, if you will, a blueprint for your destruction, aimed at destroying everything important to you. Last time, we began looking at what I call Satan’s blueprint for your destruction. It involves a threefold strategy that Satan uses to destroy everything of value and meaning in your life.
Remember strategy number one: he would love to discourage you from worshiping God. He would love to send so many trials and times of testing in your life that you give up. That’s exactly what he did with Job. Remember, Satan made God a wager. He said, «Let me have a hand in Job’s life; let me destroy everything important to him, and he will curse you.» So God gave Satan limited authority over Job’s life. In a period that some believe lasted a single day, Job received word that all his possessions, his livestock, had been burned up.
Job didn’t have the Dallas Police Department and Fire Department working on his behalf, yet everything was gone in a single day. Not only that, he learned that a freak windstorm had caused the roof of a house to collapse and kill his ten children. If that were not enough, he felt the brokenness of his own health; he was covered with painful boils all over his body. Remember, his wife voiced what Satan’s goal truly was. She said, «Job, why don’t you just curse God and die?» Satan was trying to discourage Job. I thought about that this past Monday. On Monday morning, Fox News sent me down to Central Texas in Kerrville to see the devastation of the flood and to offer some words of condolence to the people there and those watching on television.
I thought of Job as I witnessed that destruction. You can see it on TV, but you can’t truly grasp it until you’re there in person and see those watermarks 30 to 35 feet high, realizing what those families endured, losing children and loved ones. Many of them, you know, you might ask, «Who was responsible for that flood?» Was Satan responsible for it? Well, God gave Satan limited authority in Job’s time to produce a windstorm that took his children away. But it doesn’t really matter whether it was Satan who caused the disaster or if it was natural forces at work; Satan was certainly using that catastrophe. He is using it now to make people question God, asking, «What good is a God who would allow something like this to happen?» His goal is very clear: to discourage people from worshiping God.
His second strategy is to distract you from serving God. If Satan can’t rob you of eternal life, he would love to create as much distance between you and God in this life as he can. He does that by distracting you. Distracting you with what? Well, Jesus talked about that in Luke 8:14. He said our spiritual life gets choked out by three factors: worry, riches, and pleasure. Focusing on having too much money or too little money— it doesn’t matter which—just focusing on finances separates you from God. Pleasure itself is not wrong, but becoming a lover of pleasure can be. These three things are what Satan uses to distract you from serving God: discouragement and distraction.
Today, we’re going to look at the third strategy, which is deceiving you into disobeying God. This is really his favorite strategy because of the impact our disobedience has, first of all, on our own lives. Nothing creates more distance between you and God than unconfessed sin. When we sin, it’s like we erect a barrier between ourselves and God. In fact, in Isaiah 59:2, the prophet says, «Your sins have become a barrier between you and your God.» Now, listen: if you’re a Christian, it’s not that you lose your salvation when you sin. It’s not that God turns away from you, but when you sin, you’re turning away from God. When you’re engaged in active disobedience to God, you have no desire to fellowship with Him. You’re like a thief who never wants to encounter a policeman. You’re not looking for him; you’re running from him.
The same goes for God when we sin; it causes us to flee from Him. But disobedience doesn’t only affect us internally; it causes disillusionment among other Christians. When people see Christians fall into sin, it disillusions both Christians and non-Christians alike. For example, I bet every one of us today could immediately think of a Christian we know who deserted his or her spouse in search of someone more appealing, or who let a preoccupation with money entrap them into dishonest business dealings. How many of you know Christians who have left their spouses for another? How many have become ensnared in pornography or another addiction? We all do. Sometimes it seems the falls in these people’s lives are sudden, and we think, «I can’t believe that happened!» But most falls do not happen overnight; they are the result of gradual activity in our lives.
Think of a glacier in Alaska that remains in place for decades without moving. Suddenly, one day, that glacier becomes an avalanche, destroying everything in its path. What happened? It wasn’t sudden; over time, there have been slight, imperceptible changes in the glacier’s temperature and shifts in its weight, which eventually cause the avalanche. It’s similar with Christians who fall into sin; it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s due to subtle changes in our spiritual temperature, becoming cooler and colder to the things of God, as we shift our priorities. All these things work behind the scenes until our adversary, the devil, pushes us over the edge with just the right temptation. He wants to deceive you into disobeying God.
One popular Christian writer recounts a phone call he received one day informing him that another prominent Christian had fallen into sin. The writer asked, «Do you think this man, a follower of Christ, in his heart of hearts, really wanted to fall?» What man begins his journey wishing, «I think one day after 20 years of ministry, I’ll destroy everything with an affair»? No, he was picked off. The whole thing was plotted; he was set up for a fall. Unless you are aware that’s what it is, you’ll be taken out too.
Since we do have an active adversary trying to take us down, we need to be aware of his methods. As we discuss Satan’s plan to deceive you into disobeying God, turn to a familiar passage in James chapter 1. We’re going to examine what I call the temptation equation. Now, I know what some of you are thinking: «Pastor, have you lost your mind in your old age? Don’t you remember? You just preached about the temptation equation from James 1 a few months ago!» Yes, I remember it vividly. But when we looked at it last time, we were in a verse-by-verse study of James, focusing on how to know if you’re really saved. Here, we’re revisiting this equation in terms of spiritual warfare. Frankly, it’s something we cannot hear often enough.
I encourage you to read these verses, memorize them, and recite them every day because they expose Satan’s plan to take you out. If you really believe the Bible, you must believe he has a plan to destroy everything valuable to you. Look at verse 13 of James 1: «Let no one say, 'When he is tempted, I am being tempted by God.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.» Now, before we examine each component of the temptation equation, let me clarify what the term «tempt» means. The English word «tempt» means to entice to evil with the promise of gain. That’s what Satan does. He finds the right piece of bait to dangle in front of you with the promise of gain: «Just indulge in satisfying this desire, and it will quench your deepest cravings.»
What the tempter doesn’t tell us is this: sin never satisfies our deepest cravings; it only increases them. Let me reiterate: sin never satisfies our cravings; it only increases them. I remember years ago reading about how Eskimos catch and kill predatory wolves terrorizing their villages. They take a large knife with a huge blade and coat it in animal blood, adding a second coating and a third until the entire blade is hidden. They then stick that knife upright in the ground. At night, wolves are attracted by the scent of that blood and start licking the knife, unaware of its danger.
The more blood they consume, the thirstier they become, causing them to lick faster, eventually leading them to lick their own blood without realizing it. They keep licking until the dawn finds the wolf dead in the snow. What a perfect picture of Satan’s deception! «Just do this, and it will satisfy you.» Sin never satisfies our lust; it only increases it. That’s what James says in verses 15 and 16: «Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.» Sin always leads to death; it may be the death of a friendship, the death of your career, or the death of your marriage. But sin always destroys.
Now let’s look at the temptation equation and explain each of the elements. I want you to jot this down: the temptation equation is corrupt desires plus the right bait plus the wrong choice equals sin, and sin equals death. Let’s break those down individually. First, corrupt desires. Verse 14 states, «Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.» Sin begins with corrupt desires. The term «carried away,» elcomi in Greek, means to be drawn by an inward desire. Not all our inward desires are wrong. In fact, Jesus used the same word, alchemi, when He said, «If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto myself.» But we head toward sin because of corrupt desires. Those desires themselves are not wrong.
Did you know that the desire for recognition, emotional intimacy, sex, and food are not evil? God has just set boundaries on how we fulfill them. That’s where Satan, the deceiver, comes in. He wants to tempt us into believing what Adam and Eve believed: that God is trying to withhold something good from our lives. The reason God said not to eat from that particular tree is that He knew it would make you like Himself, and He’s paranoid and doesn’t want any competitors. That’s what Satan told them, and they fell for it. He does the same for us, suggesting that God’s restriction of sex only within marriage is a way of robbing us of great sexual fulfillment.
When God commands us to generously support His work, He’s trying to rob us of financial security. God’s instructions regarding humility and service to others will take away our deserved recognition. That’s the lie he sells us—that if we follow God’s guidelines, we will be robbed of something meaningful in our lives. A corrupt desire is a desire we attempt to meet in the wrong way. We’ve got our great-great-great-great-grandparents, Adam and Eve, to thank for that. Their corruption brought us into this world with a virus called sin, a defective operating system. For the computer geeks among you, it’s a flawed operating system called sin. That means every time God tells us to do something, our natural response is to say no. When God tells us not to do something, our intuition is to do it. So, sin starts with corrupt desires.
Secondly, it takes the right bait. When Satan succeeds in deceiving us into thinking that God is trying to withhold something good, he knows exactly when to dangle the bait before us. That is represented by the word «enticed.» James 1:14 states, «Each person is carried away and enticed.» The term «enticed» is a fishing term that means to hook with bait. It reflects what a fisherman does when trying to catch a fish. I’ve shared before about my failed fishing attempt with a crusty old deacon named Bob. I was determined to build a relationship with him despite previous pastors failing to connect with him.
Bob was a fisherman, and he invited me to go out on a Saturday morning at 6 a.m. to fish on Lake Wichita. Anyone who knows me knows that there is nothing I want to do at 6 a.m. on a Saturday morning. In fact, I’m afraid if the rapture happens at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, I’ll miss it. But I got up and joined Bob in his little boat. No sooner had he cast his line than there was a jiggle, and he pulled in a whopper of a fish. He left that fish in the boat and cast back out, catching another one and another one. I sat on the other end of the boat with my line in the water, and not a tug on it—nothing at all. I asked, «Bob, why are you catching so many fish while I’m not catching any?» He replied, «Well, preacher, there are two secrets to catching fish. First, if you want to catch a fish, you have to smell like one.» He added, «That’s why before I go fishing, I don’t shower, shave, or put on deodorant.»
I didn’t need to be told that. Being close enough to him, I picked up on it. But to catch a fish, you must smell like one. Secondly, you must use the right bait. Not all fish are attracted to the same bait; you need to know your bait. Ladies and gentlemen, Satan is a master fisherman. He knows precisely what bait to use to catch you, to hook you. During a rocky period in your marriage, you might crave sexual fulfillment, and suddenly, a willing partner appears out of nowhere. That’s Satan dangling someone in front of you. Or, if a missed promotion at work leaves you craving another job opportunity outside God’s will, he’s dangled just the right temptation in front of you.
If an unforeseen emergency depletes your finances, Satan tempts you with the possibility of illegal or dishonest business schemes. Satan knows exactly the right bait to dangle before you at just the right time. You aren’t hungry all the time; there are moments when you’re especially vulnerable to temptations. I want you to note this down: there are four times when you are most vulnerable to Satan’s temptation. First, after you experience great success. Did you know that after a high point in your life, you’re vulnerable to temptation? Why is that? Every mountain climber knows the most dangerous part of an expedition is not the ascent to the summit but the descent afterward. Why? Because mountain climbers tend to be less cautious after reaching their goal. They become tired and may not pay attention to what lies ahead, making them likely to stumble. The Apostle Paul noted this in our spiritual lives as well; in 1 Corinthians 10:12, he says, «Let him who thinks he stands take heed, lest he fall.»
Secondly, you’re most vulnerable when you’re tired. Vince Lombardi, the famous football coach, said, «Fatigue makes cowards of us all.» Not only does it make cowards of us, but it also makes victims of some of us. Remember the story of Elijah? He had battled 850 false prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel, and after that, he was emotionally exhausted and spiritually fatigued. It only took one disgruntled female named Queen Jezebel to send him running. He fled for 90 miles and then crawled under a juniper tree, saying, «God, take my life.» What was wrong with Elijah? He was emotionally and spiritually fatigued. Remember, Satan loves to come and tempt you when you’re tired.
Thirdly, we’re vulnerable when we are alone. Loneliness can stem from an unwanted divorce, the loss of a loved one, or even being physically alone while out of town. In those moments, Satan whispers in our ears that we are alone: «Nobody will know if you do this.»
Lastly, we’re most vulnerable when we are waiting on God to answer a prayer request. This occurs during the period between when we pour out our hearts to God and ask Him to intervene in our lives, and when He has not yet responded. That’s when Satan comes and says, «You can’t depend on God. He’s abandoned you. Maybe He doesn’t even exist.» This happened to Abraham. Remember, God promised Abraham and Sarah a child who would inherit the covenant, but they waited 25 years. When no answer came, they took matters into their own hands; Abraham had relations with Hagar, their slave, producing a son named Ishmael. The ramifications of that choice resonate even today.
By the way, do you realize all four of these circumstances were present when Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by Satan? He had just experienced great success—His baptism, when clouds parted and God declared, «This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.» He was fatigued from fasting for 40 days in the wilderness, was alone, and was waiting for God to commence His ministry. It was during this time that the adversary slithered up to Him and said, «Why not do this? You can’t trust your heavenly Father; bow down before me.» I mentioned that I learned about these four vulnerability points from a friend of mine, another pastor. He was recently in the news for falling into temptation himself and giving up his ministry due to sexual immorality. He was aware of all this; he even wrote and preached about it, yet he fell victim to the evil one. Satan has a plan for your destruction, and we need to recognize his methods.
So, what is the strategy for disobedience? Corrupt desires plus the right bait equal the wrong choice. Now lets discuss the wrong choice explicitly. Let me be clear: being tempted in and of itself is not a sin. Don’t feel guilty for the wrong thing. If you’re being tempted right now, remember that temptation does not equate with sin. If temptation were sin, then Jesus would have been the greatest sinner of all time, as he faced temptations in ways that no one else has ever experienced.
Remember Hebrews 4, where it states, «For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who was tested in all things as we are and yet without sin.» It’s not the temptation that counts as sin, but the decision we make to sin. That’s why the third element in this temptation equation is the wrong choice. You and I lack control over our corrupt desires; we’re not accountable for that. Similarly, we aren’t responsible for the bait dangled before us. We may take measures to escape it, but we cannot control what Satan does. However, we can control our choices. Unfortunately, many Christians follow the misguided advice from Oscar Wilde, who suggested, «I found the greatest way to get rid of temptation is to give into it.»
Many Christians adopt this attitude, thinking, «I’m just a sinful human being; I have no choice, so I might as well give in.» But as a Christian, you are no longer a slave to sin. Paul says in Romans 6:6-7, «Know this, that our old self was crucified with Christ in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we are no longer slaves to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin.» Then he states in verse 4, «Knowing this, that we have been buried with Christ through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so too we might walk in newness of life.» Every time we baptize someone, we are illustrating a truth: through trusting Christ as our Savior, we die our old way of living and are freed from the power of sin. Sin has no power over your life unless you allow it to. Instead, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead has raised us to a new way of living, to a newness of life. The great promise to Christians today is this: you do not have to be another casualty on the spiritual battlefield. You do not have to become another notch on Satan’s belt. You have a choice. James 4:7 declares, «Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.»
You might wonder, «Pastor, that sounds good. But how do you resist the devil?» Well, in Ephesians 6, Paul describes what he calls weapons; they’re really strategies for resisting and thwarting Satan’s plan to destroy your life. In the weeks to come, we will closely examine each of these six strategies that serve as your divine defenses. As we bow in prayer, I trust that some of you, already Christians, have felt overtaken by sin in your life. The good news is you don’t have to continue down that path. God has given you the power to turn from that sin and follow Him. 1 John 1:9 says, «If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.» If you’re a Christian today, are you willing to say, «God, I will stop fighting You. You are right, and I’m wrong about this thing You’ve been addressing in my life. I want to follow You. Give me the strength to say yes to You and no to the evil one. Help me to live a life honoring to You.»
But I realize some of you here, or watching, are not yet Christians. God is not asking you to clean up your life to earn His salvation. He is inviting you to receive His gift of forgiveness. When you become a Christian, God not only grants you a pardon from sin, but He also provides new power over sin. He will forgive all you’ve done and offer you the Holy Spirit’s power to say no to the evil one. If you would like to receive God’s gift of salvation today, I encourage you to pray this prayer in your heart as I pray aloud, knowing God is listening to you. Would you pray this? «Dear God, thank You for loving me. I know I have failed You in many ways, and I am truly sorry for the sins in my life. But I believe what I’ve heard today: that You love me so much that You sent Your Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for me, taking the punishment I deserve for my sins. Right now, I trust what Jesus did for me—not my good works, but what He did for me—to save me from my sins. Thank You for forgiving me and help me to live the rest of my life for You. In Jesus' name, Amen.»