Blog

Free Climbing, LESSON 2: Victory Over Sin – Anatomy of Temptation

Helping our children understand the nature of temptation is an important step toward demystifying it and overcoming it using Biblical principles empowered by God’s Spirit. When preparing to face an opponent, whether in athletic endeavors, war, or any other arena, we should study their tactics. From which direction will they come? A close study of scripture reveals to us the sources of temptation.

It begins with a carnal thought pattern.

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed” (James 1:13-14).

It is stoked by a world-system that is in opposition to the will of God. “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world” (1 John 2:15).

Finally, it is grasped by Satan, the great tempter, to bring it to fruition by questioning God’s truthfulness, making the sin appear attractive and filling the heart with desire. “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)
.
“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it” (Genesis 3:6).

“All the great temptations appear first in the region of the mind and can be fought and conquered there. We have been given the power to close the door of the mind. We can lose this power through disuse or increase it by use, by the daily discipline of the inner man in things which seem small and by reliance upon the word of the Spirit of truth.” – Amy Carmichael

BIG IDEA: Jesus was tempted in every way but never did the wrong thing.

MEDITATING ON THE WORD:
James 1:13-14
1 John 2:15
Genesis 3
1 Peter 5

SECTION VERSE:
You are tempted in the same way all other human beings are. God is faithful. He will not let you be tempted any more than you can take. But when you are tempted, God will give you a way out so that you can stand up under it. – 1 Corinthians 10:13

LESSON VERSE:
We have a high priest who can feel it when we are weak and hurting. We have a high priest who has been tempted in every way, just as we are. But he did not sin. – Hebrews 4:15

PRAYER:
Thank God that He will give us a way of escape from temptation. Ask Him to hold you up when you are tempted and help you see the way of escape. Praise Jesus because He understands our struggles.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

• How can the world around us be tempting? Is feeling tempted wrong?
• Where does temptation come from?
• How does being tempted make you feel?
• Matthew 4:1-11. Why do you think Jesus was tempted this way?

LIVE IT OUT!

• Set aside a time this week to worship together as a family in prayer and song.
• Write out your memory verse a couple of words each on index cards and practice putting them in order.

– – –

ABOUT FAMILY QUEST: At Reston Bible Church, we firmly believe that parents are a child’s first and most important spiritual leader.  In order to support you that mission, we have created a parent devotional and some discussion starters to go along with each lesson your grade school age children are learning at Quest on Sundays. Our hope and prayer is that this material will help you to engage with your children around the topics they are learning on Sunday mornings, answer their questions, go deeper with them, and find real, day-to-day applications. We are honored to be able to partner with you in the critical task of sharing Christ with the next generation.