“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 forth death.”
James 1:13-15

In the final line of the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). Scholar Craig Keener notes that the language of the prayer is that the testing we experience would not lead us to falling. The enemy prowls like a lion ready to destroy, so our prayer for wisdom is to protect us from sin so we will not become ensnared.

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We Need Strength to Live In Victory Over Sin Today

• James points out that the enemy appeals to the things our hearts naturally crave.
• This means that the person most responsible for sin and resistance to it is you. It is your responsibility to put yourself in a position to be sanctified.
• We need to allow the Spirit of God to change our desires and get honest about the fact that we are a person prone to temptations.
• A low view of the consequences of sin stems from a low view of the cross, and this low view of sin leads to an underdeveloped prayer life that’s casual about sin.
• Although we may think our sin does not have large consequences, the wages of sin is always death.
• Our culture often glorifies the temptation and struggle, but this creates a dynamic where we act as though we have no victory.
• Every temptation you have faced since being saved was one you could defeat, but the fact that we chose into temptation means that we wanted the sin more.
• It is not by our own strength that we escape temptation, but it is by God’s grace.
• Each day that we live, we are called to live in holiness and communion with God. We were not saved to live the same way we did before God saved us.
• It is not wise to toe the line on how close we can get to sin without crossing the line. This not only takes God’s grace for granted but also an act of self-deception, believing that we can get close to the edge without setting ourselves up for failure.
• Sin is contrary to what you’ve been saved for. God saved us so that we can live the life He paid for and step into true freedom.

We Need Discernment for Testing and Tempting 

• God allows tests in your life because he wants to grow you, but he will never tempt you.
• Testing is given with the intent for you to pass, whereas temptation is intended for you to fail. Tests are meant to produce maturity and fruit in your life.
• You can’t produce more fruit in your life without testing. Rarely does endurance happen because everything is convenient.
• In Matthew 4, the enemy tempts Jesus with a legitimate need, to eat and have bread, but through an illegitimate way.
• For example, we need love and affirmation, but how do we obtain this emotional need? The enemy will try to tempt you to meet your desire in an illegitimate way.

We Need Help To Run the Race Unto Completion 

• Baptism is a public declaration of following Jesus the rest of your life. We were not saved for a season but for eternity.
• If we are not on guard against temptation and sin, we will shipwreck our faith. We are not immune to the sin that ensnares.
• If we are not careful, we will curate a faith that can run short distances or in quick bursts but has no longevity to it.
• Temptation matters because we need to be aware of what may push us away from Jesus and keep us from running to completion.
• May we grow old in the house of God, becoming a church that has endurance and creates a legacy in New York City.

Additional Scriptures

• 1 Peter 5:8-9
• 1 Corinthians 10:13
• Hebrews 12:1

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