The Discipline of Rejecting Temptation
By Eric Mattie
In Killing Sin, Karl writes:
While being tempted by Satan, Jesus modeled the power of speaking God’s Word to knock evil back on its heels. Jesus spoke Scripture back to Satan and his deceptive twisting of truth. It’s not a magic trick; it’s an assertive discipline that deals a blow to evil.
Note the power of speaking the Bible truth aloud!
Declaring aloud the truth of being tempted and exposing verbally the temptation through speaking God’s truth about it changes the battlefield from the mind and heart to the battle of truth.
The battlefield of the mind and heart is fertile ground for deception. Our hearts can be led astray, and our minds can justify wrongdoing. The devil traps us in our emotions because we treat all our thoughts and feelings the same. Feelings may be real, but they are not always true.
The assertive discipline Karl mentions here is very important because many times we get stuck in sin, believing the lies that we can’t escape, and that the temptation is too strong. In fact, we believe it to the point where we conclude “Why resist?” and then give in at the smallest pressure.
Learn to reject, learn to run, learn to fight.
God says in His Word,
“Therefore, let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. God will show you away out.” (1 Cor. 10:12,13)
If you are in the quicksand cycle of sin and confess, sin and confess, it’s time to break it. Get some victories under your belt. Don’t just weaken this sin, but destroy it. So much has been sermonized and written on how to resist temptation, but sometimes it can get muddled up.
Jesus modeled it correctly by declaring the truth of God’s word.
Karl assures us:
I can assure you that just as confession breaks the power of sin, there is one thing that can put sin to death—the spoken Word of God
We must speak truth to our sins from a heart of humble submission to God.
While it is important to have theological underpinnings of a believer’s relationship with sin being conquered and washed away through Christ and his Blood, it is just as important to have a knee-jerk, trained response to tempting thoughts or situations in every sin you struggle with. The discipline of rejecting temptation includes rejecting the initial thought of sinning, verbally, out loud.
Here’s a quick strategy that you can implement at a moment’s notice: R.U.N.
R - Reject the temptation violently. Use the breath prayer of “Deliver me from this evil temptation” works well. Or just a firm “No,” remembering that no weapon formed against you can prosper.
U – U-turn your attention to the promise of Christ. A quick verse to use in that moment’s notice could include the one mentioned above, “God will show you a way out.” Or Romans 6:28- “I’m no longer a slave to sin, but a slave to righteousness.” Or a simple declaration, “ I choose my desire and joy to be found in Christ, not this sin that is tempting me.”
N – Never look back. Do not allow the plotting to sin and thoughts of temptation to linger. Move away mentally in a DELIBERATE manner.
Gain some practical victory TODAY. Establish this habit prayerfully, fueled by the Word of God.
Eric preaches, teaches, and serves as a lay elder in his local church and writes regularly at For1Glory.com. He and his wife, Melanie, live in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and have three adult children.