A song I learned in Sunday school many years ago was "Yield not to temptation." Another song was "Oh be careful little eyes what you see ... be careful little ears what you hear..." My Sunday school teachers were obviously concerned that we learn, from early years onward, about the dangers that existed in the world around us. There were things outside of us but also inside of us that would bring us to the realm of spiritual harm and injury.

In the Bible we meet temptation already in Genesis 3. The devil placed before the woman the possibility that God was not hon­est nor good because He had kept back from our human parents vital information about what eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would bring to them. The woman looked at the fruit, began to rationalize about its beneficial effects, took from it, and then she ate. Later to God she came up with the excuse that the serpent "deceived" (or, beguiled) her. Therefore, we recognize that deception can be an important ele­ment in temptation.

James 1:2-4 and 1:12-15 are two important passages to reflect upon in regard to the whole manner of testing and temptation. In the Greek language the word used is the same for both English words, but we can detect that the context has a bearing on the difference between the two sides. At the heart of it is the idea of testing or proving. The most common word used in the Old Testament for testing has the meaning of putting people or things through a set of circumstances, ones that might be difficult, severe or hard. The reason is either to see what one is made of, or perhaps to strengthen or improve the person or thing. God tested Abraham's faith (Gen. 22:1). He gave him a most difficult command, namely, to sacrifice his own beloved son. On the other hand, the Lord tested Israel (Exodus 16:4) by raining down on them bread from heaven to see whether they would keep His instructions. Just as a muscle strengthens through often strenu­ous exercise, so too faith strengthens through circumstances where the exercise of faith is absolutely necessary. In that sense, the Christian can rejoice in trials, not because they bring us plea­sure but because God is building perseverance in our character.

Yet in any set of circumstances, the devil may also be active, try­ing to lead us away from God and His Word. The devil is one of the members of the "triple alliance" of sworn enemies, the other two being the world (sinful human society) and our old nature of sin. The Christian is under attack from without, but he also has critical weaknesses within, weaknesses that play right into the devil's hands. Yet is it not necessary at all for the devil or any demon to be acting within for sin to occur. James 1:13-15 describes the "birth process" of sin in our lives. Every human being has "his own evil desire" that has the potential to drag us away. We contemplate the evil, then yield to the evil, then act upon the evil. Desire is conceived within us, it then grows within us, gives birth to sin, but that sin at maturity gives birth to death, not life.

Usually in every temptation there may be very legitimate needs and human desires. We need to eat, but gluttony is a sin that vio­lates God's norms for food. Sexuality is a powerful gift of God ­and a good gift at that — but adultery and fornication are sins that break God's laws for sexuality. In every situation there is the opportunity for our internal sinful tendencies and/or our exter­nal spiritual enemies to wreak havoc upon us. As noted above, deception is usually present as well. We find ourselves attracted to something in a way not allowed by God, but the end is death. The animal is lured by tasty bait, and the fish is attracted to the worm, but the trap and the hook may very well lead to the death of the creature captured. So it is with sin: we are powerfully drawn to the sin, we can excuse its practice, but the result is the same, namely, misery and death. Don't be deceived; God is not mocked. A man reaps what he sows (Gal. 6:7).

Temptation should not be viewed, however, as this overwhelm­ing power that the devil wields at his own whim. In the case of Job we know that the testing of his faith and righteousness was ultimately in God's hand. The Lord in His infinite wisdom allowed the devil to bring incredible suffering with the goal of having Job deny the faith. But even the devil can do nothing without God's permission. Similarly, Paul's "thorn in the flesh" is at once a "messenger of Satan" but also something for which Paul prayed to God to take away. Even with the thorn God's grace remains sufficient for us in every weakness (2 Cor. 12:7-9; cf. 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Peter 2:9a). With God there is a way of escape provided.

The greatest comfort for the Christian who battles temptation is the great and faithful High Priest. He was made like His broth­ers and sisters in every way. In His human nature He truly received temptations, but He never yielded to the temptation in any way (Heb. 2:14-18; 4:14-16). In our spiritual struggles we must remember that our High Priest sympathizes with us. Jesus Christ understands because He too has been there. But He resisted all of the devil's temptations and deceptions. He tri­umphed in the face of the wilderness temptations to become our second Adam and the true Israel. So we can sing, "In the hour of trial, Jesus plead for me." And so he does (1 John 2:1).