Overcoming Bad Habits and Addictions — Part 23
In general, Christians have a wrong concept about what temptation is.
The traditional view of temptation is that it happens when something desirable is presented to a believer, who then struggles to resist the cravings that he has for it, especially if it is something in which he shouldn’t indulge. But that is not what temptation is. In fact, that kind of temptation is not even possible for believers to experience if they fully believe God’s truth and are free from demonic influence.
Temptation is not something that awakens unconquered cravings and lusts that reside within us. That may be true for unbelievers, but it is not true for those who have been made new creatures in Christ Jesus.
It cannot be true for believers because all of those lusts and cravings for wrong and harmful things were crucified with Jesus on His cross. They were buried with our old selves when we were baptized. They are gone. Forever.
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to his cross. They don’t want these things anymore.”—Galatians 5:24 (NIRV)
The Biblical concept of temptation happens when lies come into our thoughts and we are faced with the choice of receiving and believing them, or rejecting them and choosing to believe truth instead.
It wasn’t an overwhelming desire to eat fruit that took Eve down. It was believing a lie that caused her to fall.
“The woman was deceived, and sin was the result.”—1 Timothy 2:14 (NLT)
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”—Genesis 3:4-5 (NKJV)
If someone has made a conscious decision to engage in behavior that led to bad habits or addictions, it is because they first believed a lie, rather than God’s truth.
“Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their own hearts to [sexual] impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin], because [by choice] they exchanged the truth of God for a lie”—Romans 1:24-25 (AMP)
Questioning Who You Really Are
The commonly held concept about temptation doesn’t make any sense for the believer. How can a believer struggle against lusts and cravings that were put to death with the old self long ago? Those old cravings and desires for wrong things were buried when the believer was baptized.
Now, the believer is just like God Who *cannot *be tempted by those old desires to do sinful things.
“God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.”—James 1:13 (NKJV)
“as he is, so are we in this world.”—1 John 4:17 (KJV)
That is our reality if we believe it. God cannot be tempted by evil desires. It is impossible for Him to be tempted to do wrong things. It is the same for us. We have His nature as new creatures in Christ. Old things are passed away. All things have become new. Because we are like Him, it is impossible for us to be tempted to do wrong things because we no longer have any lusts or cravings for those things.
In order to cause us to fall, the enemy must convince us that we are *not *new creatures in Christ; that we are *not *free from all sins, bad habits, addictions, and their lusts and cravings.
When temptation comes to us now as believers, it comes to us in the same way that it came to Jesus in Matthew 4 and Luke 4. The main goal of temptation is *not *to stir up desires. For the believer, there are no wrong desires to stir up! The enemy first tries to put thoughts in our heads to cause us to doubt who we really are in Christ.
“If you are the son of God … “—Matthew 4:3
The enemy’s goal is for us to believe the lie that we are *not *a new creation in Christ who is free from all bad habits, addictions, and their cravings.
Temptation happens when lies come into our thoughts. We give in to temptation when we receive and believe any part of those lies.
We overcome temptation just as Jesus did, by immediately recognizing those thoughts as lies, rejecting them, and believing God’s truth instead.
Questioning God’s Provision
God has provided everything that we need in order to live victorious lives over all bad habits and addictions. It is not something for which we have to struggle or beg. It is already fully available to us.
“We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.”—2 Peter 1:3-4 (CEV)
Lies may try to cause us to doubt that God’s promises are always true for us. Lies may try to cause us to doubt that God has already given us everything that we need. That was an approach that the devil used with Jesus when Jesus was hungry after fasting for forty days.
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, ‘If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.’”—Matthew 4:3 (NKJV)
After Satan left Jesus, angels came and ministered personally to the needs of Jesus (Matthew 4:11). So, God’s provision was already there. It was available, but Jesus didn’t experience it until after He overcame Satan’s temptations.
If we have asked God for something that we need, and we still do not have it, even though we are living in obedience to God, then it may be because something else is better for us at this time. When we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, as we are commanded in Matthew 6:33, God always provides for all of our needs, but timing is important. Jesus definitely needed food, but God waited to provide that for Him until the temptations were finished because that was best for Jesus.
Questioning God’s Ways
Another strategy that devils often use is to tempt us to question God’s ways.
Victory over bad habits and addictions is ours if we do things God’s way. Lies may come into our thoughts to try to make us believe that God’s ways are not sufficient; or that God’s ways don’t work; or that another way is better than God’s way.
Satan tempted Jesus to try to convince Him that he had a better way for Jesus to get what He wanted. Satan lied to Jesus, presenting an easier “short cut” that would save Jesus a lot of time, effort, and suffering. Satan even used Scripture to try to make this ungodly scheme seem legitimate.
“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written:
‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and,
‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
“Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”—Matthew 4:5-7 (NKJV)
Jesus wisely rejected this ungodly scheme. Choosing instead to only do what He saw His Father doing (John 5:19).
“Good” plans may come with hidden negative consequences if they are not God’s plans.
Questioning the Goodness of God
One of the most common strategies that devils use against us is to tempt us to question God’s character. You see these strategies in action whenever someone asks, “If God is really good, then why does He allow so much suffering in the world?”
This temptation is a key tool for our spiritual enemy because if this temptation is successful, and we believe the lie that God is not completely good, then we can easily believe that He does not have our best interests in mind, and that God should not be trusted.
It is ironic, but very common, that the devil, who is the Father of Lies (John 8:44), tries to tempt us into believing that we cannot trust the God who is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). Devils, who only come to steal and to kill and to destroy, try to tempt us into doubting the goodness of the One Who sacrificed His own Son so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. It is ridiculous, but people are deceived by this temptation very, very often.
This was part of the strategy of the serpent in the Garden of Eden. The serpent planted thoughts into Eve’s mind to cause her to doubt God’s goodness. The serpent was successful in planting the lie into her thoughts that God’s commandments were not protecting her from destruction, but instead were keeping her from enjoying good things in life.
“Then the serpent said to the woman, ‘You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’”—Genesis 3:4-5 (NKJV)
Eve made the disastrous mistake of allowing the serpent’s lie to replace God’s truth in her thoughts.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”—Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)
Of course, believing this lie did *not *result in Eve living a life of enjoyment and fulfillment. Believing this lie destroyed her future.
Eve learned too late that God is always good. God always has our best interests in mind in everything He does.
God’s word is always true. More than that, God’s word is the Truth.
