Dealing with Trials and temptations

A lesson about how to respond to trials and temptations.

As you read this lesson, be sure to hover over the the Bible verses to read them or look them up in your own copy of the Bible. When the Bible passage is longer, you need to click on “more” in the bottom right corner of the pop-up window.

Introduction

Welcome! The Bible has much to say about this interesting topic. You may find it helpful to invite a mature Christian from your church to study this topic with you. You may have a lot of questions that are not answered here. Maybe there are ideas here that seem hard to understand. Do not get overwhelmed! You can contact us with any questions that you may have. The elders of your local church can help you as well.

Remember that learning the content about this topic is helpful, but knowing the information will not truly change you. For you to benefit fully from this topic, you must…

• Become born-again by securing a personal relationship with God the Father and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, through faith by grace. This information cannot change you until the Holy Spirit of God gives you a new heart that is able to apply it to your life. To begin a personal relationship with God, it is imperative to understand and believe the following:

  • God is separated from you, because He is good, pure, and holy. 1 John 1:5-6

  • You are sinful, impure, and unholy because you do not measure up to God’s holiness. Romans 3:10-12 You are a descendent of Adam and Eve who rebelled against God. Romans 5:19

  • Your sinfulness provokes God’s anger and separates you from Him because He is holy. Romans 5:12 As a result, you deserve to be thrown into the Lake of Fire forever. Revelation 20:14-15

  • God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. Jesus is God in the flesh. He lived a sinless life. He was nailed to the cross, shed His blood, and died in your place for your sins. He was buried, rose again, and went to Heaven to prepare a place for all who believe. He will return one day for those who believe. 1 Corinthians 15:1-4

  • Only the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is enough for you to be accepted forever by God the Father the moment you believe. John 3:16 God does not accept you on the basis that you try to be a good person and do good works. Romans 4:5 He accepts you fully and forever the moment you abandon your sins and call on Jesus to save you. John 3:36

• As you understand, meditate on, and believe the information presented here about this topic, you must also do what the Bible says. James 1:21-22 Only by trusting and obeying God’s Word regarding this topic will you experience the full benefits of this information. James 1:23-24 Trusting and obeying God’s Word will change you as you learn this. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 You will be happy as a result of your obedience. James 1:25

• Seek and heed the advice of your church leaders regarding this topic. Hebrews 13:17

• Depend upon the Holy Spirit to change you. Galatians 3:1-3 You cannot change without Him enabling you. John 15:5 He will change you in His time and way; but not apart from your faith and obedience to God’s Word. Trust Him to do His work in your heart. Philippians 2:12-13

• Allow the joy that you experience from obeying God’s Word to transform how you interact with others. James 2:12-20

Temptation

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Temptations are tests of your character, either as a catalyst for good John 6:5-6 or a lure for evil 1 Corinthians 7:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:5. Temptations are tests that can lead you to sin James 1:13-15 or it may: strengthen your ability to remain under pressure James 1:2-3, make you more like Christ, and/or give you an opportunity to love God instead of yourself James 1:12. Satan can use a temptation to get us to sin, curse God and die Job 2:4-5, and/or accuse us before God Revelation 12:10.

TrialS

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Trials are tests of your character for the purpose of approval James 1:2-3; James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Proverbs 27:21. God uses trials as tests to grow us and as His evaluation of the quality of our faith. He also uses them so that we can examine ourselves.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TEMPTATIONs AND TRIALs

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Temptation/Trial/Test are words used to translate the same Greek word. They are translated differently depending on the context Job 23:8-17; Hebrews 11:17; James 1:12-13. A test shows itself in the form of a temptation or a trial like two sides of the same coin.

The difference between temptations and sin

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Sin is not the same as temptations. Sin is missing the mark of the righteousness of God. Temptations are tests. Sin can be the choice that is made as a result of a test James 1:13-15. It is not sinful to be tempted Hebrews 4:15.

The difference between temptations and desire

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A desire is a longing, craving, lusting, or yearning of something or someone James 1:14-15. The Greek word for desire (ἐπιθυμία) is translated differently depending on the context. There are good desires Proverbs 10:24; Luke 22:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:17; 1 Timothy 3:1; Hebrews 6:11 and evil desires 1 Corinthians 10:6. Pleasures (ἡδονῶν) are our desires gone wrong after evil indulgence James 4:1; James 4:3; Luke 8:14; Titus 3:3; 2 Peter 2:13. Pleasures in this context are always selfish. Temptations/tests use our desires to draw us to the point of committing sin. Temptations are the tests that lure our desires. Our desires are not the test in and of itself. A good desire becomes bad when: you sin to get what you want James 4:1, you sin if you don’t get what you want James 4:2, and/or you sin when you get what you want James 4:3. The good desire becomes sinful when it controls you instead of your controlling it Genesis 4:7; 1 Corinthians 6:12-13.

THE SOURCE OF Temptations

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Temptations ultimately come from Satan using our fallen world and sinful natures 1 Thessalonians 3:5; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Peter 5:5-11; 1 Peter 2:11; Galatians 5:17; Romans 6:12. Temptations do not come directly from God James 1:13.

THE SOURCE OF trials

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Trials ultimately come from God through our fallen world Lamentations 3:31-33, 37-40; Lamentations 3:37-40; Hebrews 3:7-19. God uses trials to humble us Deuteronomy 8:2-3 in order to see if we will obey Him Exodus 16:4; Judges 2:20-23; Judges 3:1-2 and to teach us to fear Him so that we will not sin Exodus 20:20 so that He can do good to us in the end Deuteronomy 8:16 NASB.

THE control OVER OUR temptationS

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God is ultimately in control of how many temptations we endure and to what degree 1 Corinthians 10:8-14; Luke 22:31-34; 2 Peter 2:9. God does not tempt anyone James 1:13, but He may allow a situation where Satan will tempt us Matthew 4:1; Mark 1:12-13. Before this happens, we are to pray that God leads us away and delivers us from temptation Matthew 6:9-10; Matthew 6:13.

the purpose of trials

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God is ultimately in control of how many trials we endure and to what degree. He uses our trials to grow perseverance Romans 5:1-5; James 1:2-18 and Christ-like character in us Romans 8:26-39, to discipline us into obedience Hebrews 12:1-14, and to glorify Christ Philippians 1:27-30. He uses our godly conduct in the midst of our trials so that we will silence those who slander the Gospel and give glory to God 1 Peter 2:11-25. God uses trials to bless us 1 Peter 3:8-18. They give us an opportunity to glorify Him by partaking in Christ’s sufferings 1 Peter 4:12-19, and to help us know Him Philippians 3:8-14 and His Word more intimately Psalm 119:71.

THE COMMONALITY OF TEMPTATIONS AND TRIALS

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Every trial and temptation is common to humankind 1 Corinthians 10:13; 1 Peter 4:12; 1 Peter 5:9. All temptations seek to lure us by three common desires: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life 1 John 2:16. Compare how Satan tempted Eve Genesis 3:6 and how he tempted Jesus Matthew 4:1-11.

the SOURCE OF comfort in trialS

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Jesus can sympathize with our humanity and give us the help that we need Hebrews 2:9-18; Hebrews 4:14-16. He comforts us by using His Word to convict and change us Romans 15:4-5 while He leads us through the trial Psalm 23:1-6. God uses us to comfort others with the same comfort with which He comforted us 2 Corinthians 1:2-12. God is in control of how long the trial lasts 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Peter 2:9; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Job’s Trial

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Satan came to give an account to God Job 1:6. Satan was looking for someone to tempt Job 1:7; 1 Peter 5:8. God suggested that Job would be faithful even if Satan were to tempt him Job 1:8. Satan said Job was only obedient because he was blessed by God Job 1:9-11. God permitted Satan to remove Job’s blessings in order to prove that Job’s faith was in God, not his circumstances Job 1:12. Satan used evil people and “natural” disasters to take away Job’s children and wealth Job 1:13-19. Job mourned, worshiped, and recognized that all blessings that he received from God were by His sovereign grace Job 1:20-21. In all that happened to Job, he did not oppose the Lord or charge God with thoughtlessness Job 1:22.

Satan came again to give an account to God Job 2:1. Satan was looking to tempt someone Job 2:2. God suggested that Job would be a good candidate and He praised Job for his faithfulness even though Satan persuaded Him to destroy Job for no reason Job 2:3. Satan persuades God to allow him to harm Job’s body so that Job would curse Him Job 2:4-5. God permits Satan to harm Job’s body, but not to kill him Job 2:6. Satan gave Job boils Job 2:7-8. Even Job’s wife told him to curse God and die Job 2:9. Job rebuked her and said that both the good and the evil that happened to him came from God Job 2:10. Job did not sin in what he said Job 2:10.

Job rightly recognized God wasn’t bringing bad things into his life for no reason Job 1:22; Job 2:10. He also recognized that God wasn’t punishing him for some secret sin, even though he did not understand the reason for his suffering. It seemed to Job that God was distant Job 23:1-17, but he humbled himself under God’s mighty hand Job 42:1-6; 1 Peter 5:6-7. God was showing His patience and desire to bless Job even more than before Job 42:10-17; James 5:7-11. He also put Job’s faithfulness on display Job 1:8; Job 2:3; Job 23:10. God did all of this for our benefit 1 Corinthians 10:6; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Romans 15:4; James 5:10

FACING TEMPTATIONS AND Trials

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Tests don’t make us who we are. Rather, they reveal who we are Proverbs 4:23; Mark 7:18-23. They show what is in our hearts Psalm 139:23-24. If we want to succeed in glorifying God in the midst of temptations or trials, then we must train ourselves beforehand Mark 14:38 to: think godly thoughts Psalm 19:13-14, desire God more than anything else Psalm 73:25; Colossians 3:1-4, have godly attitudes Colossians 4:2, and train our bodies to be used by God for His purposes alone Romans 12:1-2. We must know that God is using the test to grow us 1 Peter 1:3-9; 1 Peter 1:13-16; and ask Him how He is doing it James 1:2-8. The more we do this, the more we will choose God instead of sin when a trial or temptation comes our way Galatians 5:16.

This is done by regularly reading 2 Timothy 3:14-17, studying 2 Timothy 2:15, meditating on Psalm 1:2-3, and memorizing Psalm 119:11; 2 Peter 1:12-15 God’s Word, praying Matthew 26:41, worshiping Him Job 1:20-22, and serving others as we are encouraged by the members of our local church Hebrews 3:12-15; Hebrews 10:23-25. When tests do come, we must: flee temptations 1 Timothy 6:11; 2 Timothy 2:22, control our thoughts by thinking godly thoughts 2 Corinthians 10:5; Philippians 4:8-9, resist the devil, and submit to God James 4:6-10.

If tests do catch us off guard, then we must: cry out humbly for God’s mercy Psalm 31:9-10, repent Psalm 32:1-11, and confess 1 John 1:9 and forsake our sin Proverbs 28:13; Isaiah 55:7. Next, we must strategize Romans 13:14 by focusing on putting off ungodly thoughts, desires, attitudes, and actions that motivated us to sin and putting on the godly thoughts, desires, attitudes, and actions God requires Ephesians 4:17-24. This is done by using God’s Word as we prayerfully combat that specific sin Psalm 119:9. When possible and necessary, we should avoid those who tempt us to sin Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 1:10-11; Proverbs 1:14-15; Proverbs 13:20; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; 1 Corinthians 15:33-34. We are to humble ourselves before God and cast our cares on Him 1 Peter 5:5-7. We must resolve to put on the full armor of God so that we won’t be tricked by the devil into sinning Ephesians 6:10-18; 1 Corinthians 10:12. We should not give up or give in Galatians 6:7-9.

REPRESENTING CHRIST in Our Response to Trials and Temptations

• Remember that we do not exist simply to live for ourselves. We were created to represent God.

• When we respond to trials and temptations; it is not about us primarily. It is about God being represented well in our response to trials and temptations. His reputation is on the line because we represent Him.

• God wants us to enjoy fellowship with Him. We must demonstrate the importance of us and others enjoying fellowship with God by our response to trials and temptations.

• If we do not intentionally make it a priority in our lives to respond to trials and temptations well, regularly, and in a biblical way, then we will not become more like Christ and we will be misrepresenting Christ.

• When we share the Gospel with people, it shines a light on our lives. If we are not responding to trials and temptations in a godly way, then we will be tempted to shrink back from sharing the Gospel with others.

• When we have done everything we can to respond to trials and temptations in a godly way, it gives us boldness in our faith. This boldness will enable us to be transparent with anyone. This in turn will enable us to freely let other believers into our lives and enable us to disciple them as well.

• We must let the reputation of God and His love for people motivate us to grow in our ability to respond to trials and temptations in a godly way.

• What about the love of Christ is not enough to motivate us to seriously make responding to trials and temptations in a godly way a priority in our lives?

• What would it take for us to give up on responding to trials and temptations in a godly way?

DEALING WITH THE PROCESS OF SIN

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Conclusion

Now that you have studied this topic, we encourage you to...

• Ask us or any of your church leaders about any questions or concerns you still have about this topic.

• Pray for yourself to grow in maturity regarding this topic.

• Do your best to practice what you have learned.

• Tell someone else about what you have studied.

• Ask one of your church leaders to help you overcome your weaknesses regarding this topic.

• Teach this subject to others.

• Consider reviewing this topic once each year.

• Commit to growing in this area together with other members of a local church.

• Trust the Holy Spirit to change you as He uses His Word, others, and circumstances to make you more like Christ.

Bible References

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