Temptation is Common to All
No temptation has seized you except what
is common to man. 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 Corinthians 10:13
Why does God permit temptation?
That is one of the great imponderables along with 'why does God allow
suffering?", but in this instance we do have a bit of data to work with.
When you look at the Book of Job, God allows Job to be tested to give
Job an opportunity to go out and score a goal, a winning goal.
Who hasn't imagined themselves scoring the winning goal in the Stanley
Cup, or driving in the winning run in a world series.
Or receiving a standing ovation for a fabulous aria.
We all have our imaginary moments.
The reality is that your and my moments may not be imaginary.
God allows temptation to provide us
the opportunity of giving Heaven something to cheer about.
Jesus says of Satan that he continually stands before God accusing us.
Of what?
Of specific sins?
There is no need. God knows and doesn't need Satan to bring news of
what we've done lately.
Satan stands before God sneering at God saying something to the effect
of .... "I told you so. A total waste of air. I can bring them down
anytime I choose. And you sent Jesus to die for that? What a
chump!" ... or words to that effect.
God says, "No, you have it all wrong. My servant is never worthless to
me, and you will be proven wrong."
or words to that effect.
In fact we read that Jesus continually stands before God making
intercession for us.
Jesus says, "No way! I laid down my life for that person. Just wait,
you will see."
And so God gives us the opportunity of showing that Jesus death is not
a waste of time.
About now you might be feeling a bit despairing, thinking, "Oh I know,
and I fail God on such a regular basis!"
The reason God brings you back to the same temptation time after time
is to give you a chance to succeed.
This time you will make the right choice, and next time will be clearer.
Testing is a way we can win some victories.
God seems to allow temptation because
the building of our character requires it.
This goes beyond what we can see in this life.
I am about half way through the latest Harry Potter novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
For those of you not familiar with the series, its about a young
boy, now a teenager and his friends who must defeat an evil sorcerer
bent on gaining domination of the entire world for his evil schemes.
The three friends are on a quest to find certain enchanted objects with
which they can slay the evil tyrant.
Their friend, teacher and mentor, Dumbeldore, who was killed by this
evil man's henchmen has left them clues as they make their way through
one dangerous adventure after another. At one point they muse why
Dumbeldore had not just told them straight out how to do what they need
to do.
Why in effect is it so hard?
They conclude that for some reason they do not entirely understand, for
them to succeed, they must figure it out themselves.
God has given us much instruction and much help, but it is up to us to
resist temptation.
For some reason, the resisting and the struggle with temptation is a
necessary part of the journey.
Who hasn't asked why God put that stupid tree in the garden after all.
You know, who needs it?
Apparently we do.
Paul writes that there is no temptation that is not common stuff of
humanity, and that God has given us the means to resist.
Sometimes I wonder, as you do.
That bridge failure in Minnesota will of course become the focus of
intense inquiry around testing and inspection procedures in civil
engineering.
You can't just build a bridge or an airplane for that matter and not
subject all its parts to rigorous testing to ensure they will not fail
at the worst possible time.
Temptation does the same with us: it tests us to see what kind of
mettle we are made from.
It also gives us an accurate read-out of where we need to buttress our
lives.
Failure in the laboratory is not a disaster because the manufacturer
knows if a part will be reliable or not.
Failure in our life is not the end of the road. It is however a warning
of where we need to do some work in our life and personality.
Temptation also brings us to grace.
Paul also writes in Romans that the law brings us to the
knowledge of sin and failure.
Sin and failure brings us to the necessity of trusting Jesus.
Jesus is at the home of a pharisee, a man who prided himself on not
being a common sinner.
A woman enters and begins to anoint Jesus feet with her tears and dry
them with her hair.
The man is scandalized, knowing she has the reputation of bad character.
Maybe she is the woman caught in adultery who the mob wanted to stone.
Maybe this is later that evening.
Whatever the circumstances, she comes to Jesus filled with nothing but
overwhelming thankfulness, and humility.
Without temptation to show us our limits, we would all become filled
with ourselves, just like the man in the story.
But God does not allow that.
Temptation tests us. It gives us the chance to win one in critical
situations.
It shows us where we need to do work in our lives
And it frames our lives in a way that we know our ultimate hope is in
God's love and mercy for us.
Temptation, who needs it?
Seems that we do.
We need it in order to succeed.
We need it for correction
We need it for humility and receptivity to God's grace.
But it is never to be taken lightly.
When we face it, God is there with us and will give us the means to
overcome.
Preached August 12, 2007
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian
Church
Victoria, British Columbia
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