Testing and Temptation
of the Faithful . . .
List of contents:
- Introduction
- Testing the faithful
- Testing Abraham
- Testing Job
- Testing the Apostle Paul
- Temptation of the faithful
- The temptation of our first parents
- The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness
- The temptations of Joseph and David
- Human response
Inspirationals from the Holy Bible:
"... Pray that you may not enter into temptation" (Luke 22: 40); "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1: 12); "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4: 15).
I. Introduction
It is important to distinguish between testing the believer’s faith and commitment to Christ, and temptation enticing the faithful into evil. What are the differences between testing and temptation? What are their originating sources? What is their purpose? The faithful do not seek testing and temptation, nor should they fear them. This article explores these questions and provides biblical examples for clarification.
The afflictions of testing are to be endured (James 5: 11). But temptation must be resisted (James 4: 7). Testing comes from without. Temptation can come from without or from within.
II. Testing the faithful
Testing of the believer’s faith may originate from the Lord God or from the evil one. The purpose of it is to affirm the faith and commitment of the believer, develop his character, advance him to a higher spiritual level, and mature him in the faith (1 Peter 1: 6-7). Usually testing involves suffering and psychological and/or physical pain and afflictions. "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48: 10). "... I Will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested ..." (Zechariah 13: 9). A righteous person would commit his/her life to serve the Lord. Still, the test of true loyalty and true faith is the test of pain in trials and adversities. The Lord has never promised the righteous believer an easy road lined with roses in this dispensation. On the contrary, He has reminded him/her of the tribulations and hard times that await him/her on this earth. “… In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16: 33); “And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10: 38).
God is proud of His righteous servants when they pass the test of suffering. In fact, He boasts of them and their spiritual success in adversity (Job 2: 3). Undoubtedly, the heavenly host rejoices at their success.
If a believer fails a test of faith, the Lord would restore him upon his sincere repentance, as we learn from Peter’s three denials and subsequent repentance and restoration (Matthew 26: 69-75; John 21: 15-17). The following are biblical examples on testing the believer’s faith.
A. Testing Abraham
God tested Abraham’s sincerity, loyalty and faith (Genesis 22: 1-14). " ... God tested Abraham, and said to him, ‘Abraham!’ And he said, ‘Here I am.’ Then He said, ‘Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you’” (Genesis 22: 1-2). This was a severe test of faith. Abraham and his wife Sarah were in their advanced old age. They could not have any more children. Nevertheless, Abraham obeyed God’s command, and traveled for three days to the designated mountain to offer his beloved son as a burnt offering. The angel of the Lord prevented him from slaying his son, saying: “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me” (Genesis 22: 12). Abraham passed successfully this severe test of his faith. As a result, the Lord has blessed him exceedingly, saying: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son—blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice” (Genesis 22: 16-18).
B. Testing Job
The testing of Job was initiated by Satan. God permitted it, but limited its scope. Satan had claimed in the heavenly court of God that Job was nothing but a mere mercenary. He did lack true love and commitment to God. All Job’s apparent piety was because he desired the vast material rewards of herds of cattle, family, and good health that God poured upon him so generously. His piety was for pay (Job 1: 9-11; 2: 4-5). Satan’s challenge was extremely powerful. God responded to it by allowing Satan to strike Job’s possessions and his health (Job 1: 12, 2: 6) in order to test and prove the extent of his commitment to, and faith in, the living God. Was it a true and strong commitment, or a weak and superficial one (Job 1: 10-11; 2: 3-5; 23: 10)? However, the whole process was under the control of God. Satan was restricted in what he could do (Job 1: 12; 2: 6). His actions did not preclude the principle that God is in charge.
God wanted to bring Job to the end of himself—to the end of his own self-righteousness, self-vindication and self-wisdom, so that he may find his all in God (Job 40: 1-5). God wanted to bring Job to the point where he surrenders all to God, trusts in Him despite all seeming contradictions, and rests in God Himself, apart from any explanations of his afflictions.
Job passed the test of faith successfully. He remained loyal to God and did not rebel against Him due to his afflictions (Job 1: 21; 2: 10; 42: 7). Job became humble, learned to yield unreservedly to God’s will without questioning (Job 40: 2), and repented of his self-righteousness (Job 42: 6). Job learned to trust the Lord in adversity: “Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him” (Job 13: 15). The calamities that had befallen Job opened his eyes and made him learn more about himself and about God. This resulted in the transformation of his character, for he came forth as “Gold“ (Job 23: 10).
God commended Job’s piety and evinced a special regard for him by calling him “my servant” (Job 1: 8; 2: 3). God was proud of Job. Twice He fought with Job against the serious challenge of Satan, twice He won, and twice He was glorified (Job 2: 10).
C. Testing the Apostle Paul
Paul, the tireless servant of the Lord, was afflicted with a physical infirmity, the nature of which is not described in the Bible (2 Cor. 12: 7). However, there are indications that it might have been an eye disease (Gal. 6: 11; 4: 13-15). Irrespective of the nature of his affliction, it bothered him enough that he pleaded with the Lord three times that he might be healed! Paul, who was given the gift of healing the sick, could not cure himself, and the Lord did not grant him his request, saying: "... My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness ..." (2 Corinthians 12: 9)! Paul, the man of God, had suffered from his affliction for the rest of his life, until he was martyred.
Several important reasons are provided for the Divine permission of Paul’s affliction:
1. to make him humble and protect him from the sin of pride on account of the visions and revelations he had received (2 Cor. 12: 7), and
2. to glorify the Lord’s power in man’s weakness and exhibit the all-sufficiency of God’s grace (2 Cor. 12: 9), which is thus strengthened and magnified.
Paul’s faith did not weaken because of his affliction, and he did not rebel against the Lord. He accepted God’s will for him, thereby giving us a good example that we should follow.
III. Temptation of the faithful
Temptation is an incitement of natural desires to go beyond the bounds that God has intended. It appeals to the base instincts of man. The desires are natural given by God, and are not in themselves sinful when gratified as God has intended. The scope of temptation is delineated by the apostle John in 1 John 2: 16: "For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world." The lust of the flesh is the cravings of sinful man. It leads to indulgences in exploitative egocentric selfish materialistic pursuits. The lust of the eyes leads to seeking material things and pleasures at any cost lawfully or unlawfully. The pride of life is the unrestrained domineering ostentatious pride that boasts about his real or imagined achievements and possessions.
Temptation originates in the base instincts of man and from demonic forces. God permits it, but does not originate it. "Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1: 13-15). Succumbing to temptation leads to sin. "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it" (1 Corinthians 10: 13).
The following are biblical examples of temptations in believers’ lives.
A. The temptation of our first parents
Eve was tempted by Satan disguised in the form of a serpent. He urged her to disobey God. Eve saw that the forbidden tree was good for food (the lust of the flesh), and was pleasant to the eyes (the lust of the eyes), and a tree desirable to make one wise (the pride of life). She yielded to the desire to enjoy the forbidden fruit, and to the desire of achievement and growth on her own apart from God. She took of its fruit and ate, and gave her husband with her, and he ate (Genesis 3: 6). They both fell into sin, and were expelled from the garden of Eden (Genesis 3: 23). The first temptation originated from satanic deception and the base human instincts.
B. The temptation of Jesus in the wilderness
Jesus went to meet his temptations under the guidance of the Spirit of God (Matthew 4: 1-11; Luke 4: 1-13). Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness after his baptism. Satan asked Jesus to command the stones to become bread to satisfy his hunger. This was an appeal to satisfy the needs of the flesh by using his supernatural power to help himself. Doing this is inconsistent with his God-ordained mission. It would amount to abusing his divine power. Jesus refused to subordinate himself to the passions of the flesh. The hunger of his flesh did not control him, rather, he controlled his flesh. By rejecting this temptation, Jesus rejects a kingdom based on materialism and earthly well-being.
Again, Satan asked Jesus to prove God’s care and protection by jumping from the highest point of the Jerusalem temple complex. The appropriate attitude toward God is trust and obedience, not putting his promises to the test. In addition, this is inconsistent with God’s kingdom which is not one of earthly spectacle and fame.
Finally, the devil attempted to seduce Jesus by offering him the earthly power and wealth of the kingdoms of the world for worshipping the devil, the enemy of God. Jesus rebuked the devil, and chose the kingdom of God, and faithfulness to God’s exclusive worship.
C. The temptations of Joseph and David
At the zenith of his power after conquering all the nations around him, David fell into sin. He could not control his base instinct of sexual lust. He committed adultery with Bathsheba, his neighbor’s wife, and had her husband Uriah killed to cover up his transgression (2 Samuel 11: 1-27). David succumbed to his sexual lust for Bathsheba. He could not resist this temptation which originated from his base sexual instinct. This is an example of the truths expressed in St. James 1: 14-15: "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1: 14-15). Subsequently, David repented in tears and ashes heeding the warning of the prophet Nathan whom God had sent to rebuke him (2 Samuel 12: 1-25). David’s repentance is expressed in Psalm 50.
David failed, but Joseph had succeeded in resisting the sexual temptation of his master’s wife in Egypt. He fled from the temptation leaving his cloak that she grabbed in her hand (Genesis 39: 11-12). Joseph refused to betray his master who fully trusted him, saying: "There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" (Genesis 39: 9). She accused him falsely of attempting a sexual encounter with her. Joseph was incarcerated because of her false accusation. He suffered for doing what was right, but the Lord turned the evil done to him into a great blessing. Pharaoh recognized that the Spirit of God was in him (Genesis 41: 38), and appointed him second-in-command for the whole land of Egypt (Genesis 41: 41-44). God used him to save his father Jacob’s family as well as the peoples of Egypt and Canaan from perishing in the seven famine years.
IV. Human response
In the midst of the prolonged suffering of the test of faith, it is important to remember these three essential concepts that keep us close to Christ our Lord and savior: Trust his infinite unconditional love that took him to the cross of pain and shame for our sake; Trust his infinite wisdom; And trust his infinite power.
There is always a benevolent Divine high purpose running through the sufferings of the godly. Although the explanation for the causes of suffering may be withheld from the suffering righteous, an explanation does exist! The believer’s faithfulness to God in adversity and trials not brought upon him by his own transgressions will be rewarded. It is important not to lose sight of the fact that beyond the suffering of the righteous, who stays the course and does not rebel against the Lord, is an “afterwards” of glorious enrichment (Isaiah 3:10-11; Psalm 92:12-14; 119: 71). When the appointed time comes, and if the believer passes the trials of the testing and remains faithful to the LORD, God will put an end to the trials and elevate the believer in ways that may defy the far reaches of his limited human imagination! The words of Romans 8:28 illustrate that concept very clearly, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
God is proud of His righteous servants when they pass the test of suffering and prove their faithfulness to God in adversity. They emerge mature believers. In fact, He boasts of them and their spiritual success in adversity (Job 2:3). Undoubtedly, the heavenly host rejoices at their success.
On the other hand, pertaining to temptations, the righteous resist and overcome it by the word of God and watchful prayers (Luke 22: 40). "Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit ..." (Ephesians 6: 13-18). "Therefore, submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (James 4: 7).
Joseph overcame temptation by fleeing from it. He neither negotiated nor attempted to reason with it (Genesis 39: 12). The righteous would flee from temptation mentally and physically if possible. "... Escape for your life! Do not look behind you ..." (Genesis 19: 17).