Escape temptation or resist temptation?

[anon12438761]

1 Cor. 10:12,13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

First - if there is a more accurate translation than the one above, please provide it!

I suppose that ideally, we would ‘simply’ say NO! to temptation, right? We would recognize a contemplated action as wrong in some fashion, and turn from it gladly to preserve our integrity and prove our loyalty to the Messiah.

And perhaps in another universe, far far away, that is how it works all the time. Here in the sublunary Silent Planet however, temptation takes a heap of tricks and machinations and failures and gettings-up-again to be overcome. I speak of course autobiographically.

Paul in that opening verse above, comes right out and says that God will NOT ALLOW us to be tempted beyond our ability to overcome the temptation.
That, my friends, is an encouraging statement, but more than that, staggeringly in-your-face: if we yield, it is not because we were ‘overcome’ but because we wanted to do that thing, and took evasive action in our thinking or feelings to give us a bit of leeway to go ahead and do it.

What I find interesting is Paul’s use of ‘escape’ and ‘endure’. Using a means of escape, when the word NO! just will not form in our heart or on our lips, is a valid way of not sinning. It may not be ‘ideal’ but it is acceptable to God, according to the Saint. And the use of ‘endure’ assures us that it will probably not be a one-off experience. All in all, very good Pastoral Advice.

Am I off track here? What do you think the ‘escaping’ would be - any examples from your life or others?

[Agnostic_Gabe]

I really wish more people would address sin and temptation like you have. Too many Christians (my opinion) do not take sin seriously. They pretty much assume we will sin and so that it is futile to strive against it. This post is a breath of fresh air and one that I love to talk about. As a person who wants to desperately overcome sin in my life, this topic is of the utmost importance. I’ll add some food for thought.

1. Do we really have a dual nature? I am not sure so sure of this. We typically only do what we ‘want’ to do. Why do we sin? Because we either love the pleasure, or are looking to escape the pain. Either way, it is a form of pleasure seeking. Don’t feel good? Eat some ice cream or a donut. Want to feel better about yourself? Gossip about someone who is ‘far worse’ than you. Don’t have a sexually fulfilling life? Go lust after your favorite fantasy. I can’t think of any sin that doesn’t meet one of these two criteria - A) To gain pleasure or B) To escape pain.

2. Jesus said that evil comes from within. So, technically external objects don’t cause sin at all. For example, there are two results an external object can have on us. One example would be ice-cream. Person “A” can see it as an unhealthy thing to eat and thus says “no, I don’t want that”. Person “B” sees an opportunity for pleasure or to escape feeling bad about something (maybe even their weight! How ironic!) Does ANYONE eat ice cream for health reasons? Let’s not be silly. We eat it because it is good. It doesn’t provide nourishment. It is quite literally, a way to obtain pleasure, not sustenance. Now, if one can gain pleasure from food while providing sustenance, then surely that is not wrong.

3. How does one change their heart and the way they view the world? Surely being passive and saying “I’ll stop doing X when God changes my heart” seems like folly. I actually said that to myself 10 years ago. The result? Getting deeper into sin. Waiting on God while sitting and doing nothing (in my opinion) is absolutely destructive. That said, there must be some truth to saying “God, I need your help, please change my desires, until you do, I will continue to strive to obey the law of the spirit and be obedient” - In my life right now, that is my prayer.

4. Galatians lists the works of the flesh. They are quite extensive and if the list wasn’t enough, Paul says “And things such as these”… The list wasn’t even full and I can already identify from that list things I struggle with and as I observe my fellow men and women at church, things they clearly struggle with. Yikes. Is there a righteous person among us? I dare say there isn’t, but I have not found one. I aspire to be such a one, but am far from it. Aspiring alone though, does not make one righteous. Hence, it is of little value when people say “Well, you want to be righteous!” as if it means I am because I want it. If I wanted it, I’d be it. But because I am not in, I don’t want it, or rather, want it enough. I observe we humans only do what we want. Can someone convince me otherwise? Bring your ideas to the table. Bring new insight. I love this topic, because it is of utmost importance to my life and I suspect will be for the rest of my days.

[anon12438761]

Lots to think about in your post, Gabe. It will take me a couple of days to digest it. Good stuff, though!

[Paidion]

1 Cor. 10:12,13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

First - if there is a more accurate translation than the one above, please provide it!

I think the translation is fine. I don’t think it implies that the “way of escape” is a way to escape the temptation, but a way in which it is possible to say “no” to the temptation, or resist it as you have suggested. I think Paul had in mind a common notion, that when one is tempted, the temptation is so strong that it is impossible to resist. However, those who are under the authority of God will be given by God a way in which they can “endure” the temptation without giving in to it. When a person faces that tempation, he or she should look to God to discover that “way of escape” which He provides.