A Tempting Study: Part 5

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Title: A Tempting Study: Part 5 ------------------- Date: 7/5/2001
Keywords: "faith" "temptation"
Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

Passage: Hebrews 11:1-2, 6, 37-40*

1. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

2. For by it the men of old gained approval.

6. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

37. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated

38. (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.

39. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,

40. because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.

15. "And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Questions

1. According to this passage what is it that pleases God? (look at v. 6)

 

2. How did those who suffered so much in the past (see vv. 37-38) resist temptation to sin?

 

Practical help

"Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Faith is a verb -- an action word. It is more than intellectual assent. It is trusting reliance. It is a conviction that grips us with such strength that we live in accordance with what is PROMISED, not in accorance with what we SEE.

Men and women in the Old Testament successfully endured all kinds of problems, stresses and challenges, and successfully resisted TEMPTATIONS to sin because they trusted God. They trusted that the joy and glory that awaited them later made whatever hardships they had to experience here and now more than worth it. They even turned aside tempting opportunities to sin now because of their robust trust in God.

Your faith is likewise a tremendous gift in the moment of temptation. When you are drawn like a magnet to search for and view smut on the Internet, remember the promises of God!

Trust that everything God says about the riches that await you NOW as you walk with Him are true.

Trust that everything God says about the future that awaits you in Heaven -- joy beyond compare -- is true.

Trust that Jesus’ words about laying up treasures in Heaven through faithfulness in this life are true.

Armed with FAITH, you, like believers through the centuries will be able to stand firm against the sexual temptations that come your way.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."