We have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Hebrews 4:15.

Temptation is a ‘testing’, a trial. In the Scriptures this idea is used in five ways:

First, humans may test other persons, as in a cross-examination. Jesus’ enemies constantly tried to trap him into making self-incriminating statements about his attitudes to the Roman authorities (eg. Mark 12:15).

Second, we are to test our own life and motives, so that we don’t become too cocksure about our spiritual state (2 Corinthians 13:5), lest we go astray (Galatians 6:4). Such self-examination ought to precede our coming to the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:28). Such disciplined self-scrutiny, if done regularly and honestly, can lead to a very healthy self-knowledge.

A third way in which the Scripture uses the idea of ‘temptation’ is in its occasional record of someone who dared to challenge God. Such defiant testing of God’s truth or his goodness is irreverent and blasphemous, and is expressly forbidden (Matthew 4:7).

May I be more inclined to examine myself than to examine others. Amen.

BEWARE, DEVILS AT WORK!

My child, if sinners entice you do not consent. Proverbs 1:10.

A fourth use of the idea of ‘testing’ in the Bible has to do with God testing his people for their good. These trials produce endurance and patience (James 1). They result in a more genuine faith (1 Peter 1:6,7). If weathered in the right spirit, they bring approval from God, and hope to ourselves, impossible as this may seem (Romans 5:3-5). Nothing worthwhile is ever learned except in the school of adversity.

Fifth, the worst kinds of testing are the attacks of Satan. The devil is always at work to destroy our faith and hope; he is the implacable foe of God and good (1 Peter 5:8). But

Satan can only work his evil purposes within limits set by God (Job 1:12). His attacks come to us through the allurements of the world outside us, or the perversion of physical desires (such as sexual lust, gluttony, laziness or greed), or by Satan himself sowing evil thoughts in our minds (1 John 2:15-17). The bait on the hook is very desirable; the steps to our fall were described by Eve in the Garden of Eden: ‘I saw, I coveted, I took.’ So we rationalize, ‘Everybody’s doing it. It can’t be too bad…’

Lord, help me to devote myself to prayer… so that Satan may not tempt me because of my lack of self-control. (1 Corinthians 7:5). Amen.

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