Temptations Men Face - A Christian Perspective

I have put together this piece for delivery to my cell group which meets on Friday 21st May 2010.

Tonight’s lesson is based on a book written by Tom L. Eisenman.

“Temptations Men Face”

A Straightforward Talk on Power, Money, Affairs, Perfectionism, Insensitivity
(Available in paperback)

By Tom L. Eisenman

Contents
Preface
1. Set Free
2. The Temptation to be Macho
3. The Temptation of Sexual Lust
4. The Temptation to Have an Affair
5. The Temptation to Wield Power
6. The Temptation to Love Money
7. The Temptation to Be Perfect
8. Deliverance
9. How Can I Help My Man? A Chapter for Women.

In his book, Eisenman offers general strategies for all of us on how to oppose temptations and find freedom from the evil that binds us. He even has a chapter for women entitled “How can I help my man?” presumably to do just that. A good book to read, try it.

Before I dwell on the text given in our study let’s take a hard look at “Temptations” in general and if we could take some time to try to genuinely understand them; what they are, where they come from, who are affected and are there practical ways to overcome them? Let’s see.

What they are:
In his book, Eisenman listed at least 6 major temptations that men generally face. What are these? (See above). But of course there are in reality much more temptations in this world than one would care to list.

Where they come from:
There are three primary sources of temptation:
The world, the flesh and the devil.

First of all, temptation is precipitated by the world. What I mean here is that the world albeit in all its splendor is a major cause of our temptation. The love of Mammon and the love of the World as a whole versus the love of God, now who do you think wins? What does the Bible say?

Second, temptation is rooted in the nature of man. Consider the temptation of David /Bathsheba, Samson /Delilah, Judas who betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver (?), Ananias and Sapphira (?) The weakness of man is evident in everyone. When tested, we often succumb to this weakness. Without the help of God we really cannot overcome temptations, can we?

Paul’s advice to Timothy is highly relevant even today and it is this: “But you, O man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” (I Tim. 6:11).

The third source is the devil (Satan himself), dubbed the Greatest Tempter. Consider the 2 most outstanding temptations the world had ever known, the temptation of Eve (in the Garden of Eden) and the temptation of Christ (in the desert). We all know what happened in each of these cases, don’t we?

A common question is “Why doesn’t God just kill the devil and remove the attraction for sin?”

But if that were to happen, then you and I would lose the ability to be over-comers in Jesus. Without opposition, there is no victory! God has not called us to a life of ease, but to one of victory, a victory that we cannot enjoy until we have faced evil and overcome it.

Notice that when temptation came to Christ, he met every temptation head-on by quoting from the Scriptures. After that the devil fled. Truly then the word of God is a very powerful weapon against the devil. The advice is to use it often.

Who exactly is affected?
THE SUBJECT OF TEMPTATION,
All humans are subject to temptation.

Man is made in the image of the triune God. Man is a triune being, he possesses body, soul and spirit. When you are tempted, it will always be in one of these three areas.

Body is the “flesh” the physical being, temptations of the flesh (laziness, lust, over-indulgence, sexual sin, etc.);

Soul speaks of your mind, your will and your emotions (The world always appeals to the ego, or pride. A worldly person is one who is given over to the pleasures of the world, sin of selfishness, greed, etc and a host of temptations associated with that);

Spirit: If the soul is our self-consciousness, then the spirit is our God-consciousness. Our spirit is what sets us apart from the animals. Man alone can know God! It is in the spirit that we can know God. The spirit is the realm of worship, and it is our spirit that worships and communicates with God. (John 4:24 says: “God is spirit, and his worshippers must worship in spirit and in truth”)

Temptation can strike any person, at any place and at any time.

Sometimes temptation comes just after graduation or after some other notable achievement, while man is enjoying his new triumph. At other times it comes when man has just faced failure or disappointment and capitalizes upon man’s weakness and discouragement. Satan comes at moments of indecision, influencing the decision his way.

How to overcome?
OVERCOMING TEMPTATION

On the night of his betrayal, Jesus prayed in the garden of Gethsemane. After he had poured out his heart in prayer to God, he returned to his disciples and said, “Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matt. 26:41).

2 Peter 2:9 says, “The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation.”(KJV)

“…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 stand up under it” (1 Cor. 10:13)(NIV).

DELIVERANCE
There are three words to remember when facing temptation: (1) Flight, (2) Faith, and (3) Fight.

To Overcome The Flesh We Need Flight - The key to defeating fleshly temptations is to flee from them. (see 1 Cor. 6:18 - “flee fornication” i.e. flee from sexual immorality; 1 Cor. 10:14 - “flee idolatry”; 2 Tim. 2:22 - “flee youthful lusts” or flee from evil desires of youth).

To Overcome The World We Need Faith - Faith that Jesus will take care of us when we willingly give up the attachment to worldly things. If we are “loving the world”, we are not loving God (1 John 2:15; James 4:4). Worldly pursuits and godly ones generally don’t mix.

If you really want victory over the world, then love Jesus more, “let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). It is our faith in him that offers us the victory (1 John 5:4) (“for everyone born of God overcomes the world”).

To Overcome The Devil We Must Fight - If we stand up to him and fight, he will flee - James 4:7 (“Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you”). You cannot run away from him, but you can drive him away from you. You must face him in the power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t fear you, but he trembles before the blood of the Lamb! Fight Satan and he will flee! (Eph. 4:27 “and do not give the devil a foothold”; 1 Pet. 5:8 “resist the devil, stand firm in the faith”).

NOW let’s get back to our Study Text, specifically the one on “Temptations that Fathers Face” and take a look in the area on “Deliverance” as suggested by Eisenman; a method Eisenman endorsed using the acronym “HEALED” which application I am told was quite successful with Alcoholics Anonymous.

First, what are the 6 Top Temptations that fathers will face which this Study has revealed? Go read Tom Eisenman's book "Temptations Men Face". See contents in brief on top.

In this respect what are the FEARS, EXPECTATIONS and REALITIES of the fathers’ and of Society at large?

Are they legitimate? What goals are we seeking? Are we realistic? Question: Can one size fit all?

Is this achievable: a family life that’s united, responsible and balanced? Can we free ourselves, i.e. our body, soul and spirit from all worldly and evil addictions? What must we do?

The Apostle Paul tells us that with God’s help we can be OVERCOMERS, Amen?

Discuss H.E.A.L.E.D. What it is and how can it help us? Refer to Pages 39-41 of the Bible Study.

Be encouraged by what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 8:31, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

As Christians we are repeatedly told to live as Children of Light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth), be imitators of God and live a life of love, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. Chapter 5). Let’s keep on doing that, Amen?

In conclusion I urge you to:
“Watch and pray, so that you will not fall into temptation.” (Matt. 26:41); And put on the Armor of God as described in Ephesians Chapter 6:10-18.

God bless.