The enemy is Satan. Revelation 12:17: And the dragon was enraged with the woman,
and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the
commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The Savior is Jesus. John
3:16: For God so loved the world that He
gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life.
Satan was so bold as to try to tempt Jesus, that means that no
one is exempt from Satan’s attacks/temptations.
Temptation is not the same as sin, Jesus was tempted, but did
not sin.
A proven method of responding to temptation is knowing and
using Scripture.
We need to be aware of Satan’s tactics, he seeks to tempt us
in all things.
We need to avoid tempting situations whenever possible, choose
to flee!
When temptation sneaks up on us or can’t be avoided, we need
to stop, step away and remember … it’s possible to overcome this
temptation because others have done it.
We need to trust God:
He won’t allow anyone or anything to tempt us beyond our ability to
resist. That’s a fact, not a feeling!
We need to look, in every temptation, for a way
out. God will provide a way out, but we
must look for it.
What happens when we fail the ‘temptation’ test? God, in His all-knowing state, made provision
for that too: I John 1:9 … If we
confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
Does that mean that we can deliberately fail the ‘temptation’
test with the intention of asking God’s forgiveness afterwards? Here’s what Hebrews 10:26 says about it: For if we go on sinning deliberately after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for
sins.
I John 1:7 is reassuring:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have
fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from
all sin.
Will we be perfect?
Will we deflect and come out a victor over every temptation Satan tempts
us with? I think we all know that the
answer to both is ‘no!’ However, when we
have a heart that wants to be pleasing to God and we act on that according to
His word (not always our feelings), we can rest assured that while we may lose
a few battles along the way, the battle for our souls will be won, in the end,
by God.
Hang on fellow Christians, if you’re reading this the battle
for your soul is not over and the best news is that God is ever ready to step
in and help us. We don’t have to fight alone;
all we have to do is invite Him to the fight!
Let’s wrap this study up with one last thought, one that takes
us back to where we started …
When we know the enemy, we realize how much we need to know
the Savior. We know the Savior through
the study of His Word!
Part 1 can be found HERE!
Part 2 can be found HERE!
Part 3 can be found HERE!
Part 4 can be found HERE!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This series of lessons was researched, written and taught by Patsy Norwood in a ladies' Bible class in 2022.
It is my prayer that it is beneficial to you in your walk with God.
May God be gloried in all that we do,
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