HOW TO RESIST TEMPTATIONS
by
Becky Rene
Introduction
1. Satan does not want you to have eternal life and go to heaven, no. Satan wants you to die spiritually and physically and stay that way forever, yes.
"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8 NASB)
2. Now what is it that leads to death? Read these Scriptures and you will see that it is sin that leads to death:
"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned--" (Romans 5:12 NASB)
"Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die" (Ezekiel 18:4 NASB)
"Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death" (James 1:15 NASB)
3. So all you have to do is make sure you do not sin and you will not die. Well, if you have had bad thoughts, told lies, or stolen money from mom’s purse or anything like that, then you have sinned. So you can see that living your whole life without sinning is almost impossible isn’t it? Every person who has ever lived has sinned (except Jesus – Hebrews 4.15); every person living now has or will sin; and every person in the future will sin. How do I know that? Because the Bible says that everyone has sinned:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23 NASB)
4. Now it only takes one sin to keep you out of heaven - Cp. James 2.10-11 - and so Satan will keep on tempting you to sin to make sure you do not go to heaven. Now if you are a Christian, then you can repent and ask God to forgive you of your sins – Acts 3.19; 1 John 1.8-10. But Satan will keep on and on and on tempting you to sin.
5. I have made this lesson to show you what you can do to resist temptation.
I. A Spiritual Life
A. You have to make sure you are living a spiritual life and that you are continuing to grow spiritually; you can never be too spiritual. Now, I cannot go into lots of details so make sure you read my lesson about growing spiritually here www.beckysplace.info/growingspiritually.htm There are some basic things you need to make sure your are always doing so that you grow spiritually and deepen your relationship with God:
1. Pray. It is through prayer that we talk to God and deepen our relationship.
2. Study. It is through the Bible that God speaks to us.
a. It is through studying God’s word that we learn all about Jesus – John 5.39; Luke 24.44 - so we can become more like Him – Romans 8.29; 1 John 4.17.
b. It is through studying that we learn all about what is right and wrong – Psalms 119.11; 1 Thessalonians 5.21-22; Hebrews 5.14.
c. It is through studying that we equip ourselves for every good work – 2 Timothy 3.16-17.
d. It is through studying that we stop ourselves being deceived by false teaching – Ephesians 4.11-14; Acts 17.11.
e. It is through studying that we grow – 1 Peter 2.1-2.
B. Here are some ways you can fill your life with spiritual activities:
1. Start every day by putting on the whole armour of God. It is not easy to be tempted to sin if you are wearing the armour of God.
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:10-18 NASBR)
a. Girding your loins with truth means we must know what the Bible says about things and believe it. If you do not know the truth and you do not believe it, then it will be very easy for someone to put doubts in your mind and deceive you – Psalms 19.8; 43.3; 119.105.
b. Putting on the breastplate of righteousness means you must be 100% committed to always doing what is right. Now if you are not committed to doing always doing what is right, then it will be easy for one of your friends to tempt you to do bad things.
c. Having your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace means that you should keep the promises of the gospel in your heart because those promises will keep your mind at peace whatever hardships you face - Romans 15.13; Philippians 4.7. If you do not let the peace of God reign in your heart, then you will become discouraged and it is easy to tempt someone to sin when they are discouraged, isn’t it?
d. Taking up the shield of faith means to put our complete trust in God; no matter what situation we find ourselves in, we must always believe that God is in control and works all things together for our good - Romans 8.28. So we cannot be tempted to sin if we trust in God to deliver us. If you do not trust in God, then it will be easy for someone to tempt you into committing a sin.
e. Taking the helmet of salvation means to always remember that we are saved. So whatever situation we are in, even if it means we might get killed or something like that, then we will still be more than conquerors - Romans 8.31-39. If you keep wondering whether you are saved or not, then you are making yourself vulnerable and it is easy to tempt vulnerable people to sin.
f. Taking the sword of the Spirit means we must know what the Bible says about right and wrong and then remember what it says when you are tempted to sin, like Jesus did - Luke 4.1-13. So if you do not even know what is right and wrong, then it would be very easy to tempt you to do something wrong, wouldn’t it?
g. With all prayer means that you must always pray for God’s help to resist temptations, even though you are wearing all that armour - Matthew 6.13; 26.41; Luke 22.40.
2. Make time for daily devotions. It is not easy to be tempted to sin if you are frequently worshipping God.
a. The Bible says, “Pray without ceasing” – 1 Thessalonians 5.17. So try to say private prayers – Matthew 6.6 - as often as you can. You could say prayers in the morning, at lunchtime, and before you go to bed – Daniel 6.10; Psalms 55.17.
b. The Bible teaches that fathers are to lead their families in devotions – Genesis 18.19; Exodus 12.1-28; 13.1-16; Psalms 78.1-6; Ephesians 6.4.
“My house shall rise before the Sun and praise You. My kin shall rest when the Sun is high and offer thanksgiving. My family shall gather together at the setting of the Sun to worship You” – Quotes & Things, Proverbs 30.1.
www.quotes-and-things.info/proverbs.htm
3. Share your faith with someone every day. If your mind is focused on saving someone, then it is not easy to be tempted to sin.
a. Andrew shared his faith with his brother, Simon – John 1.40-41
b. Christians should share their faith wherever they go – Acts 8.4
4. Make sure you attend all the meetings your congregation has arranged because they are a source of edification, growth, encouragement, and strengthening of your faith – 1 Corinthians 14.26; Hebrews 10.23-25. I think we all realize that, don’t we? It is difficult for Satan to tempt us while we have our minds sincerely focused on God.
5. You need to make sure you are doing good works because that is why we were created in Christ Jesus – Ephesians 2.10; Colossians 1.10; 1 Timothy 6.18; Titus 2.14. While you are busy doing good works you will not be doing bad things, will you?
II. Standing On The Promises Of God
A. Now, we will still be tempted and we still give in to those temptations and sin, yes. Now it is very important that we take responsibility…
1. Do not try to blame God because God does not tempt people to sin – James 1.13-15.
2. Do not say, “Oh, I couldn’t help it,” because we sin willfully when we give in to temptation – 1 John 2.1; 1 Peter 2.24. We might think we cannot help it but "You have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin" (Hebrews 12:4 NASB). Look what Albert Barnes says about that…
“Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin - The general sense of this passage is, ‘you have not yet been called in your Christian struggles to the highest kind of sufferings and sacrifices. Great as your trials may seem to have been, yet your faith has not yet been put to the severest test. And since this is so, you ought not to yield in the conflict with evil, but manfully resist it.’”
3. Do not try to blame someone else and say, “Oh, it was her fault,” because Adam tried to blame Eve but that did not work – Genesis 3.12, 17-19.
4. Do not say, “Oh, the Devil made me do it,” because that is what Eve tried to say but God still held her responsible, didn’t he? – Genesis 3.13, 16.
B. So now you know not to have excuses, we can look at some encouraging things that God has promised us when we are tempted and when we sin. When we think about these promises it makes us want to resist temptation and we know we can resist if we trust God.
1. Let us start by reading 1 Corinthians 10.13. There are four things to think about here:
"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it" (1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB)
a. "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.” The kind of temptations we have are not unique, so we cannot say, “Oh, no one else is tempted like I am.” We are all human beings and we all face the same kind of temptations. It is true, though, that we will be tempted in different things. So if you said to me, “Oh, let’s eat all of this delicious chocolate cake right now,” then I would be tempted to do that, yes. But if you said, “Oh, let’s break into that shoe store and rob the place of all those shoes,” then I would not be tempted to do that at all, no. So we might be tempted in different ways but no one can say, “Oh, no one has ever been tempted to do this.”
b. “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” Now this is very encouraging because God is promising us that we cannot be tempted by more than we can bear. So you know that you do not have to sin if you don’t want to. Maybe you have some bad friends and they keep on and on and on at you to try some marijuana or something like that. Well, you just have to say, “NO” like that. Listen to me carefully, if you have friends who tempt you to take drugs or drink beer or do any bad things, then you do not need those friends, you really don’t. So just dump those friends and find some new ones.
c. “But with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.” Now here is where God shows that He loves you and cares about you because He does not just promise to make sure you cannot be tempted more than you can bear, He says He will show you a way of escaping that temptation. Now you might say, “Oh what is the way of escape?” Well, most of the time it is to flee from it or run away from it. Do you remember when Joseph was being tempted to commit adultery? What did he do when he was tempted? He ran out the place! – Genesis 39.7-12. Now that woman lied about Joseph and he got thrown into jail; so he suffered for doing what was right, didn’t he? Now you might suffer a lot if you do not want to do those bad things that your friends keep on about: they will exclude you from their group, make fun of you and bully you, and other bad things. But it is better to suffer for doing right than doing wrong – 1 Peter 3.17, and, just as God blessed Joseph, He will bless you. So…
"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body" (1 Corinthians 6:18 NASB)
"Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:14 NASB)
"But flee from these things, you man of God, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness" (1 Timothy 6:11 NASB)
"Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Timothy 2:22 NASB)
d. “So that you will be able to endure it." So because God will not let you be tempted more than you can bear and because He will show you a way of escape, you will be able to put up with all kinds of temptations. So you do not have any excuse when you sin, do you? No!
2. Now when you are tempted to sin and you start to resist by saying “no!” and fleeing from it, then the Devil will flee from you and leave you alone – James 4.7. But do not make the mistake of thinking, “Oh, I resisted that temptation and the Devil has gone away and so I will not be tempted like that again.”
a. The Devil is always prowling around looking for someone to devour and so he is always watching you – 1 Peter 5.8.
b. The Devil tempted Jesus but He resisted and the Devil left Him. But look what it says, "When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time" (Luke 4:13 NASB). So now you understand why you are always tempted to do the same things over and over; it is because the Devil leaves you when you resist him but he comes and tempts you again when there is another opportunity. So you always need to be ready to resist the Devil and do not let him catch you off-guard.
3. When you are tempted to sin, make sure you go to God in prayer because Jesus will help you:
"Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted" (Hebrews 2:17-18 NASB)
"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:14-16 NASB)
a. When we are tempted to sin, we need strength to resist those temptations, we need comfort and encouragement to endure those temptations, and we need to escape from those temptations somehow.
b. Well, Jesus gives us strength through His word, comfort by His Spirit, and an escape route by His providence.
4. Now even though we have these promises I am still a bad girl sometimes, yes. But guess what? So are you, yes. No matter how hard we try not to sin, we still sin, don’t we? Now you might be upset about that because it means you are stained with sin again and you feel guilty and ashamed because you are so weak. Now the Devil could make you feel real bad about that but God has promised that we can be forgiven all over again…
"This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us" (1 John 1:5-10 NASB)
a. If we try to hide our sin and say, “Oh, I have not even sinned,” then you are just deceiving yourself and it shows you are not an honest person.
b. But if you go to God and say, “I HAVE sinned,” then He will forgive you. Isn’t that wonderful? God is so gracious and kind, He really is. So make sure you confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you and then you can try your best to resist the Devil when he tempts you again.
III. Temptations Can Be Good! Huh?
A. Now that sounds very strange doesn’t it? But we must remember…
1. That God makes all things work together for our good – Romans 8.28. This is what Albert Barnes says about that…
“All things - All our afflictions and trials; all the persecutions and calamities to which we are exposed. Though they are numerous and long-continued yet they are among the means that are appointed for our welfare. Work together for good - They shall cooperate; they shall mutually contribute to our good. They take off our affections from this world; they teach us the truth about our frail, transitory, and lying condition; they lead us to look to God for support, and to heaven for a final home; and they produce a subdued spirit. a humble temper, a patient, tender, and kind disposition. This has been the experience of all saints; and at the end of life they have been able to say it was good for them to be afflicted; Psa_119:67, Psa_119:71; Jer_31:18-19; Heb_12:11. For good - For our real welfare; for the promotion of true piety, peace, and happiness in our hearts” (Albert Barnes).
2. We have to remember that God is in control of everything and so if the Devil means to do us harm through temptations or people mean to do us harm, then God can use it to bring about a good result – Read Genesis 50.20.
B. So now we will look at what the Bible says about what we are to think when we are tempted:
1. Humility. We keep on sinning don’t we? Well this just shows how weak we are – Mark 14.38 - and how much we lack self-control – James 1.14-15. So when we get to heaven, can anyone boast and say, “Oh, I am in heaven because I am so good”? No, all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory we are supposed to bring to God, and so God justified us by His grace – Romans 3.23-24. So our weakness will keep us humble, and if we want to boast then we should boast in the Lord – 1 Corinthians 1.31.
2. Character. It is said that “practice makes perfect” and there is a principle here that we can apply to temptations. We will always be tempted as long as we live but with each temptation comes an opportunity to get better at resisting.
a. When I was 10 years old, my mom made a very delicious chocolate cake and there it was sitting on the kitchen table fresh from the oven. Now I knew I was not allowed to have any of the cake but I was very tempted. I really, really struggled to leave that cake alone but then I could not stand it anymore and so I had a slice. Mom went ballistic at me when she saw that I had a slice, she really did. Anyway, when she made another chocolate cake about three weeks later, I was tempted again to have a slice. I thought I could get away with it this time because I had friends round and she would not know who to blame. But guess what? Well, I was really, really tempted like before but this time I just said, “NO,” like that! And then I walked out of the kitchen. Then about four weeks later mom made another chocolate cake and I was tempted to take a slice just like before. But this time that temptation did not last very long and it was easy for me to resist. So when you keep on resisting the same temptation, it gets easier and easier to resist. Practice makes perfect.
b. So I think that is what the Bible means when it says that temptations build character…
"And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Romans 5:3-5 NASB)
3. Empathy. Jesus was made a man and He went through all the same temptations that we go through but, of course, He did not sin, no. But it means that He can really sympathize with us when we are being tempted – Hebrews 4.14-16. Now, in the same way, it means that we are able to sympathize (or empathize) with other people who are tempted in the same way we are. So that means we can offer them some comfort and try to encourage them as much as we can. So then we are bearing one another’s burdens – Galatians 6.2.
IV. Do Not Give The Devil An Opportunity
"BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity" (Ephesians 4:26-27 NASB)
A. Just plain silly!
1. Do not behave foolishly. Now imagine you are really trying to lose weight but you are very easily tempted by cakes and donuts and pastries. Well, it would be very silly of you to go to a pastry store wouldn’t it? Do you think it is a good idea for a recovering alcoholic to go to a bar every night? That would be really silly wouldn’t it?
2. Do not think foolishly. Now before we get to the next point, I know what some of you will say when I mention certain things; you will say, “Oh, I am strong enough to handle that, you don’t have to worry.” Now that is what children say but you are not a child, you are a young adult; so you need to stop saying silly childish things - 1 Corinthians 13.11. So supposing a recovering gambling addict said he was going to the racing track and he says, “Oh, I am strong enough to resist the temptation to gamble, you don’t have to worry about me gambling again.” Well, he is silly to go along in the first place but he is deluding himself to think he is strong enough to resist temptation. Yes, he can resist temptation with the Lord’s help but he is putting the Lord to the test by going to the racing track. It is like when the Devil told Jesus to jump off the pinnacle of the temple saying, “It is written in the Scriptures that God will send angels to save you.” Did Jesus fall for that? NO –Matthew 4.5-7.
B. So what we are going to talk about now is not giving the Devil an opportunity, and that means not doing silly things where you know you will be tempted.
1. Choose your friends wisely. Now if you are trying to please God – 2 Corinthians 5.9, then it makes sense to hang out with others who are trying to please God as well, doesn’t it? But it makes no sense at all to hang out with bad kids because it they will always be tempting you to do bad things. So make sure you choose good friends – 2 Corinthians 6.14; Psalms 26.5; Proverbs 24.1. Maybe you can read my lesson Choosing Your Friends Wisely www.beckysplace.info/choosingyourfriendswisely.htm Remember not to say something silly like, “Oh, they are bad kids but I am strong enough not to be corrupted by them.” The Bible says, "Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals" (1 Corinthians 15:33 NASB).
2. Do not go to bad places. Teenagers like to have fun and so they look at what everyone is doing and then they want to do those things as well. So teenagers like going to the mall, movies, bowling, baseball games, school dances and proms, camping trips, parties, and tons of other places. Now I am not saying they are all bad places but I am saying you need to have rules. Now I am not going to list every single rule I can think of, just some so that you understand what I am on about.
a. Supposing your friend says, “Oh, I am having my 18th birthday party on Saturday and so I am inviting you to come along.” So you ask her if that party is going to be supervised by adults and she says no. You ask her if there will be alcohol and she says yes. You ask her if there are going to be boys there and she says yes. Now you do not have to be a straight A student to know what kind of a party that will be, do you? Even if you think you are sensible enough to behave yourself, it does not make sense to put yourself in a situation where there are those sorts of temptations. So make sure you do not go to parties like that. But you can go to parties and have fun where there is proper adult supervision. Do not give the Devil an opportunity to tempt you.
b. What if you have a boyfriend and he says, “Oh, will you come to the movies with me on Friday night?” Now, you are either very young or very naïve if you do not know what goes on in the back row of the movies! And if you decide to be a good girl, how do you know that boy is going to be good? But even if you both decide to be good, then you still do not realize how powerful lust can be in a situation like that, no. It does not make sense to put yourself in that kind of a situation where passions can get out of control. So whenever you go out on a date, make sure somebody responsible accompanies you. Do not give the Devil an opportunity to tempt you.
c. School dances are very popular with kids of all ages because there is loud music, girls and boys, and dancing. Is dancing just harmless fun? (i) Dancing is popular because it is an opportunity for boys and girls to make physical contact and that stirs up sexy feelings. (ii) The way that you dance also stirs up sexy feelings. (iii) Boys and girls dress in a very immodest way that stirs up sexy feelings. Now the atmosphere and the loud music encourage you to “let your hair down” and “chill out” and “go wild,” doesn’t it? So once you are out of control a little bit, it does not take much for the intimacy between boys and girls to start to get out of control; and it does! True, school dances are supervised by adults, but they are usually not Christians and so they do not see anything wrong with organizing a dance where they know it stirs up sexy feelings. It is like taking a young child into the kitchen where there is a very delicious chocolate cake on the table, letting them drawl over it for a while, cutting a slice and giving it to them on a plate, and then telling them off when they try to take a bite. So you can see that it does not make sense to go to dance when you know that sexy feelings will be stirred up. So keep away from school dances. Do not give the Devil an opportunity to tempt you. You can read a good article about dancing here www.the-churchofchrist.com/morality/is_dancing_a_sin.htm
3. Do not listen to bad music or read things that encourage rebellion. I like listening to all kinds of music and I like it loud. Mom has to keep shouting at me, “BECKY, TURN THAT MUSIC DOWN!” There is nothing wrong with listening to music but you have to make sure it is not bad music. I also like reading magazines that are especially for girls but some of those magazines have very bad things in them, they really do. But a lot of parents do not even realize that! As teenagers, we are going through a lot of changes and we getting our own brains and so we start thinking for ourselves and challenging our parent’s decisions, school rules, and loads of other things. So it is very easy for us to become a bit rebellious in our thinking and in our behavior, isn’t it? But if you are a Christian, then you need to make sure you read your Bible and the Bible says we must be obedient to our parents and honor them – Ephesians 6.1-2, flee youthful lusts – 2 Timothy 2.22, and set an example of living godly – 1 Timothy 4.12. The Bible says that rebellion is as bad as witchcraft and stubbornness is as bad as idolatry – 1 Samuel 15.23.
a. Make sure the rhythm of the music is not encouraging you get out of control and that the lyrics do not have cussing or encourage sexy stuff, drug taking, drinking, and rebellion. It is not very wise to listen to music that encourages bad behavior and rebellion.
b. Make sure the magazines you read do not talk about sexy stuff, have cussing, or encourage any type of bad behavior or rebellion. It is not very wise to read things that encourage bad behavior and rebellion.
4. Flee from bad situations. There might be times when bad situations just come along and then you might wonder what you are supposed to do. Like, I went bowling one time with my friends, Becca and Hannah; we were all 15 and 16 years old. My minder, Rachel, came along as well and she was 22 at that time. So there we were having a lot of fun and then this group of boys came in and they were bowling in the isle next to us. I think they were about 17-19 years old or something like that. Those boys were drinking and cussing and then they started talking to us and asking us if we wanted a drink (beer) and one of them asked Alison something very personal (maybe you know what I am on about). So you can see that those boys were trying to tempt us to drink and go with them to do all that sexy stuff. So Rachel says, “Right, come on, we’re leaving,” like that, and so we just left. Well, even though we paid that money to play and had our evening spoilt, it was better than staying there and letting those boys keep tempting us. So, like Joseph, when you find yourself in a situation where bad people are trying to tempt you, just leave – Genesis 39.11-12. It is silly to remain in a situation where bad people are going to tempt you all the time.
Summary
1. Make sure you are living a spiritual life: put on the whole armor of God every morning, make time for daily devotions, and share your faith with someone everyday. Living a spiritual life makes less opportunity for the Devil to tempt you.
2. When you sin, do not try to blame something or someone else, just be honest and admit that you have sinned. God has promised (i) that He will not let us be tempted by more than we can bear and He will even show us a way of escaping it. (ii) God has promised that if we resist the Devil when he tempts us, then he will flee from us. (iii) Pray when you are tempted because the Lord is there to help us. (iv) If we do sin, God has promised to forgive us our sins and that is a great encouragement for us.
3. God is able to make all things work together for our good and that includes temptations! (i) No matter how hard we try, we still sin, and so we have to go to God and ask Him to forgive us. We are always so dependant upon God’s mercy and grace, and that should keep us humble. (ii) The Devil keeps on tempting us but we can use each temptation to strengthen our resistance. (iii) We have all been tempted in different things and we can use our experience to relate to others when they are tempted and we can try to encourage and strengthen them.
4. We can help ourselves by not putting ourselves in situations where temptations will come from. So we can (i) make sure we choose our friends wisely. (ii) Avoid going to bad places. (iii) Stop listening to bad music and stop reading bad magazines and watching bad programs on TV and playing bad video games. If we go somewhere and a bad situation comes up, then we should just leave.