The Struggle Against Temptation

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock,

among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,

to shepherd  the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.

I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, 

not sparing the flock;

and from among your own selves men will arise,

speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them."
Acts 20:28-30

In our evening service at First, I have been lecturing on the topic of spiritual warfare.  We have moved through discussions concerning the believer's struggle against the world, the flesh, and the Devil.  Yesterday, we dealt with the subject of the demonization.  There is much more than I could say, but I was attempting to deal with the struggle against the personal evil found in the demonic.

This week I will be concluding what has been a four month odyssey on spiritual warfare.  I have been attempting to organize my thoughts so I can put a book together to help train my church and the Church.  To get back into the topic, I will address how temptation works through believers and the church.

Today I was thinking about the nature of temptation for both an individual and groups.  I was thinking of all the church splits I have seen, all of the churches marked by non-biblical teaching, and the "Christian leaders" I have seen fall from grace.  Why does this happen?  Why does God allow this to happen?  I thought He was holy and just.  How can He let His church and His people be marked by such sin?

In the opening passage, Paul is addressing one of his church plants in Ephesus.  I believe it was one of his favorite churches!  In our passage, he is addressing the Elders from this church.  He warns them that from your "own number" will arise false teachers who will bring division.  In other words, from Christian leaders will come those who lead other astray.

I have dealt with this passage in detail in a previous post entitled, "The Myth of the Pure Church" on September 8, 2011 so I will not go into more detail about it.  Instead I will take the question of the day in a different direction.  How did these men go astray?  How does one turn to a "savage wolf" who scatters the flock?

I believe one of the primary reasons we see this so often is a lack of understanding of the nature of temptation and spiritual warfare.  As humans in this world, we are fallen creatures who will struggle until death with our sin nature.  We must be constantly on guard.  We have a traitor within who can turn away from righteousness and holiness in a moment's notice.  Thus, we must watch our lives and doctrine closely (1 Timothy 4: 16).

Why?  Because temptation will come at our weakest point, at our weakest moment.

As I have presented before, our greatest weakness is often close to our greatest strength.  In fact, it is often misuse of our greatest strength!  We must be diligent to remain under the influence of the gospel.  This means living a life of constant repentance and faith.  It means drawing near to God so He will draw near to us.  It means recognizing our weakness and need so we can cling to Jesus all the more!

When we move away from this place of dependence and faith we are prepared for the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.

What I find interesting is that the full force of temptation never comes when we are strong and ready.  It always comes when we are weakest.  You would think we have an enemy that watches and waits for the perfect opportunity?

In a group, like a church, I find the same principle at work.  The strongest members of a group are rarely attacked directly.  What I see happen is that the stronger members of a church are often distracted with assorted busyness and issues.  Then the weaker members are attacked with direct assaults on their faith, their thought (doctrine), or their behavior.  The result is a "sudden" fall from grace that was really well orchestrated and coordinated.

Please note that the strongest people are often not those in leadership!  Often those in leadership can get by on their personalities, their training, or their past performance so they appear as strong.  Yet, they might not be walking in repentant, dependent faith!  Thus, the truly strong get distracted and the evil one sets a scheme against the Church and her leaders.

What is the cure?  The gospel of Jesus Christ believed and lived!  Be on your guard!  Watch your life and doctrine closely.  Do not take anything for granted.  Be thankful that Jesus has won the victory and tie yourself into that victory by faith!