Lust, Love and 7 Things You Need to Know About Temptation

"They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted." (Hebrews 11:37a)

Are you being tempted? Dictionary.com describes temptation as: "the act of tempting; enticement or allurement."

My Open Bible goes further, saying temptation is: "a testing designed to strengthen or corrupt."

And I guess the main thing I want you to think about before getting to the 7 things you need to know about temptation is that it comes from within, not without.

James says: "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust." (James 1:14) Do you see that there? Look at the verse again.

And so it's our own lust that is at work during temptation. It's our own lust that entices us. It's our own lust that carries us away.

Lust is not just about sex. Lust is: "a passionate or overmastering desire or craving [for]" power or position or prestige or a person, etc. Lust is the counterfeit of love.

Love chooses for the highest HELP (good) of the object of its affection. Lust chooses for the highest HURT.

Remember that the next time you're being tempted ~ along with the following...

7 Things You Need to Know About Temptation:

1. No one is immune. (Moses, David, Peter all were tempted.)
2. It can last a long time. (Potiphar's wife enticed Joseph for sex over and over and over again.)
3. Giving in can destroy everything. (Samson gave in to Delilah and lost his eyes.)
4. There is a way of escape. (1 Corinthians 10:13)
5. Jesus overcame so that we could, too. (Hebrews 2:18; 4:15)
6. God is sovereign over temptation. (Matthew 6:13a)
7. Talking to somebody can help break its power. (James 5:16; Proverbs 15:22)

You might also be interested in:

• A Prescription for Victory Against Temptation
• The "Big Three" (sins)