The dictionary defines temptation “as the desire to do something, especially something wrong or unwise“. The desire to do something wrong and to sin is in the nature of every human being. The bible says that when we are tempted by our own evil desire and give in we fall into sin. James 1:14-15 says “but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” Before any man commits any kind of sin he has to give in to the temptation to commit that sin first.

As Christians, once we accept Jesus Christ as our savior, we should be able to leave our sinful ways behind us and start walking in righteousness each and every day, correct? Wrong! this couldn’t be further from the truth. The temptation to sin is there for every Christian, in fact, it is even harder for Christians because we are constantly in a battle between our flesh and our spirit. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” When we have the holy spirit within us, the bible says that God provides a way out of temptation so that we do not fall prey to it.

Jesus himself was tempted by the devil for 40 days in the desert as is described in detail in the bible in Luke 4:1-13. We know that the devil failed miserably in his attempt to tempt Jesus. When the Devil asked him to turn stone into bread, Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone“. When the devil offered Jesus power over all the kingdoms of the world, Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only”. When the devil asked Jesus to test if God would save him by throwing himself from the highest point of the Temple, Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” We see that Jesus did not use his power as the son of God to shield him from the devil’s temptation. Every time He was tempted by the devil, Jesus quoted verses from the bible instead. 

Jesus also taught us in the Lord’s prayer that we must pray to avoid falling into temptation. Luke 11:4 He said “Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation. but deliver us from evil” Jesus gave us the blueprint on how to deal with temptation in this world. If we are to fight off all the temptations we are going to face in this world then we can only do that through prayer and studying the bible. God has given us the tools we need to fight temptation in this world. We have heard it said many times, “Read your bible and Pray every day”, this is the blueprint for the life of a Christian and also the best way to deal with the temptation in your life.