Learning Great Lessons From Jesus To Overcome Temptations

By James Quansah, Pastor

WHEN WE learn from Jesus, we will not always fall when we are tempted. The Bible says Christ “in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4: 15). Jesus Christ never sinned when the devil tempted Him prior to the commencement of His public ministry (Matthew 4: 1- 11).

And He never sinned when men including the teachers of the law, Pharisees, Sadducees and others tempted Him with insults, lies, and mockery.

The Bible does not tell us if Christ was tempted with sexual immorality as was done to Samson, David and Solomon who fell. But the truth we know is that Christ was in all points tempted as we are, yet He never sinned.

Our Lord escaped the traps set for Him by the devil and evil people just like how Joseph escaped the temptation of sexual immorality with Potiphar’s wife.

The late Bishop Justice Kojo Bentil taught that “Christians are saved from sin, but not from the presence of sin.” The world is a fallen world full of works of sin. And so we Christians, particularly pastors, are faced with daily temptations engineered by demons to destroy us.

 And Jesus said temptations to sin are sure to come as long as we live in this world (Luke 17: 1).

But James, the apostle, wrote: “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings death” (James 1: 13- 15).

So, now, how can we overcome temptations? We must diligently learn the strategies Jesus Christ adopted to overcome them.

Firslty, when Christ Jesus was tempted by the devil, He quoted Scriptures to expose, neutralise and silence him. Here, either Christ Jesus recited Scriptures audibly with His mouth or silently in His heart to deactivate the trickery of the enemy designed to trap Him to sin against His Father.

This teaches us to be full of the Word of God. This can come about through careful and regular study of the Bible, practice and meditation with prayers. Truth must be said that Christian believers cannot receive the Word of God to dwell in them when they use the Bible as their pillows.

Secondly, when Christ was tempted by men with insults, He adopted a strategy to avoid falling into the gutter with them. He simply often kept quiet. He never retaliated. The apostle Peter testified that, “He did not retaliate when he was insulted, nor threaten revenge when he suffered.

He left his case in the hands of God, the Father, who always judges fairly” (1 Peter 2: 23). And the prophet Isaiah prophesying concerning the suffering of Christ Jesus said, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth…” (Isaiah 53: 7).

So many people think that keeping quiet after being insulted or verbally attacked portrays you as a weak person. But that is not true; rather it is a sign of strength and wisdom.

Finally, Joseph’s strategy to flee from adultery is apt and worth emulating. It is in line with God’s Word that urges us flee sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Now, there must be secrets to Christ Jesus’ ability to prevail against those temptations, and remain sinless in the world of sin. He was full of the Word and the Spirit with great grace. He had earnest determination to please His Father and do His will (Hebrews 10:7).

He lived a life of daily prayer in solitude places (Luke 5:16). It can also be argued that His miraculous conception by the Spirit of God which freed Him from inheriting the sinful Adamic nature played a role in His sinless life.

However, Jesus Christ does not call people and leave them to live in the world without giving them knowledge and wisdom. In Matthew 26: 41, Jesus taught that watching and praying defeat temptations.

In John 8:31-32, Jesus again taught that abiding or holding to His Word frees us from the bondage of sin. And in Galatians 5: 16, Paul revealed that walking by the Spirit makes it difficult to gratify the desires of the flesh.

These mean that the Word, the Spirit and prayer empower us to resist the devil and triumph over temptations.