1 Corinthians 10:13 - Dealing With Temptation

1 Cor 10:13 (KJV)  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common
to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above
that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape,
that ye may be able to bear it.

Temptation in itself is not sin. Jesus was tempted (Mt 4:1-11). Yielding to
the temptation is sin. [NIV SB]

Temptation is not sin. Jesus was holy and pure; yet He was tempted in all
points as we are...5T425-7

God in his faithfulness always arranges a way of escape from temptation
(lit., "a way out") and before that, gives strength to endure it. [New Bible
Companion]

PURPOSE OF TEMPTATION

The Greek word which we translate temptation means far more a test. It is
something designed, not to make us fall, but to test us, so that we emerge
from it stronger than ever. [Barclay Commentary]

God has not promised to remove the temptation, since we need such
experiences to grow in faith and patience (James 1:2-4, 12), but he
guarantees that it will never be too strong for us to resist. [Jamieson,
Fausset, And Brown Commentary]

If rightly met, in the strength God supplies, temptations may be the means
of accelerating the Christian's growth in grace. [SDA Commentary]

I have often heard my husband tell our teenagers, "Temptation is not only an
opportunity to do the wrong thing, but an opportunity to do the right!"
Although we usually consider temptation in negative terms, God allows us to
be tempted in order to provide us with a chance to be obedient.  If we are
to learn to say no, and we are certainly supposed to say no sometimes to
some things, then circumstances become life's workshop to that end.  Saying
no when you want to say yes strengthens you, produces endurance, and builds
character - Christian character.  [Jill Briscoe; Time with God devotional
SB]

Spiritual privileges never give us license to sin. Rather, they lay upon us
the greater responsibility to obey God and glorify Him. [Wiersbe Expository
Outlines]

JESUS IS THE WAY OF ESCAPE

We cannot fall by temptation, if we cleave fast to him. [Matthew Henry
Commentary]

The way out is not the way of surrender nor of retreat, but the way of
conquest in the power of the grace of God. [Barclay Commentary]

Trusting in Jehovah: this is the secret of victory. The first mark of the
true Christian is reliance on Jehovah-Jesus.  We rely on Him exclusively as
the vicarious Sinbearer through whom we have the salvation of our souls. We
are to rely on Him continually as our victorious Champion through whom we
have victory in our daily life ... So long as we rely on Him we have
victory.  Temper, fear, lust, pride, envy, grudging, moodiness, impatience,
despondency, worry ; over all such we gain victory as we really rely on
Jesus.  We are to rely on Him as our vigilant Provider, who "supplies all
our need" (Phi.4:19; Psa.34:22).  He does not always employ ravens to feed
His Elijahs, but by one means or another He sustains them if they really
rely on Him.  [J. Sydlow Baxter; Time with God devotional SB mod]

The only safeguard against evil is the indwelling of Christ in the heart
through faith in His righteousness. It is because selfishness exists in our
hearts that temptation has power over us. But when we behold the great love
of God, selfishness appears to us in its hideous and repulsive character,
and we desire to have it expelled from the soul. As the Holy Spirit
glorifies Christ, our hearts are softened and subdued, the temptation loses
its power, and the grace of Christ transforms the character. PP142

The surrender of all our powers to God greatly simplifies the problem of
life. It weakens and cuts short a thousand struggles with the passions of
the natural heart. MYP30

If you draw close to Jesus, and seek to adorn your profession by a
well-ordered life and godly conversation, your feet will be kept from
straying into forbidden paths. If you will only watch, continually watch
unto prayer, if you will do everything as if you were in the immediate
presence of God, you will be saved from yielding to temptation, and may hope
to be kept pure, spotless, and undefiled till the last. If you hold the
beginning of your confidence firm unto the end, your ways will be
established in God, and what grace has begun, glory will crown in the
kingdom of our God. GW127,8

Satan makes every effort to lead people away from God; and he is successful
in his purpose when the religious life is drowned in business cares, when he
can so absorb their minds in business that they will not take time to read
their Bibles, to pray in secret, and to keep the offering of praise and
thanksgiving burning on the altar of sacrifice morning and evening. . . .
When we voluntarily absent themselves from religious meetings, when God is
not thought of and reverenced, when He is not chosen as their counselor and
their strong tower of defense, how soon secular thoughts and wicked unbelief
come in, and vain confidence and philosophy take the place of humble,
trusting faith. . . . We cannot be safe a moment unless right principles are
cherished in the heart and carried into every business transaction.  5T425-7

ESCAPE VIA JESUS IN PRAYER

Prayer is heaven's ordained means of success in the conflict with sin and
the development of Christian character. AA564

There are times when we just say, "Lord, take me home, this is too much for
me."  But when we finish saying that, we must remember that His strength is
made perfect in our weakness and that He gives us no more than we are able,
with His Spirit, to bear. [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]

ESCAPE VIA JESUS IN THE BIBLE

When Satan comes in like a flood, we must meet his temptations with the
sword of the Spirit, and Jesus will be our helper and will lift up for us a
standard against him. 5T425-7

Jesus, the Christian's example of right living, found that "way out" in the
written Word of God (see Luke 4:4, 8, 12). So we, His followers, may find
the "way out" in Jesus, the living Word (see John 1:1-3, 14). He is ever
ready and willing to deliver those who call upon Him and to keep them from
falling into sin [SDA Commentary]

There is no security in depending on self, but if the believer relies
entirely on the promises of our covenant-keeping God, he will be safe.
However, he should remember that God will not deliver him if he deliberately
places himself on the enemy's ground by going where he is likely to meet
temptation [SDA Commentary]

ESCAPE WITH JESUS IN SERVICE FOR HIM

One of the best ways to overcome temptation is to keep busy for the Lord.
Find something to do for Him.  Seek to serve Him. [Billy Graham]

ESCAPE WITH JESUS BY FLEEING

In affirming the faithfulness of God, Paul makes it clear that no one has to
sin when testing comes. But note that Paul says God will "provide a way
out." What is the "way out"? The next verse, 10:14, says it succinctly:
"Flee from idolatry." Don't stay in a situation where you experience
temptation to sin. This is an important principle for us to remember. God's
"way out" is often quite simple. We are to "get out!" [Victor Bible
Background Commentary mod]

God does make us a promise. We are able to successfully overcome every
temptation - if we take God's way out of it. Don't think that God's way out
is all that hard to find, either. Paul summed it up in the next verse when
he said, "Flee from idolatry." That word "flee" occurs several times in
Paul's writings. The Greek word, pheugo, is found here, in 6:18; 1 Timothy
6:11; and in 2 Timothy 2:22. We're not only told to flee idolatry, but to
flee fornication, flee love of money, and to flee youthful lusts. We may
have to stand and fight Satan (James 4:7), but when it comes to temptation,
Scripture's "way to escape" is just that: escape! [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]

It is wonderful that the Lord has clearly stated that temptations will come
to us and that others before and beside us have suffered with them, too.  We
are not alone in our struggle to live victoriously! It is also wonderful
that the Lord has provided a way to walk through the temptation without
committing sin. Our problem, then, is to be discerning and obedient:
discerning enough to see the way of escape; obedient enough to take it! Do
you look for a way to escape when tempted to sin?  Do you run to it when you
see it?  Fleeing may be the escape, but if it isn't, God will show you the
escape, as you run. Think about it.  [In His Time; Walk With Wisdom]

SUMMARY STATEMENTS

In a culture filled with moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures, Paul
gave strong encouragement to the Corinthians about temptation. He said: (1)
wrong desires and temptations happen to everyone, so don't feel you've been
singled out; (2) others have resisted temptation, and so can you; (3) any
temptation can be resisted because God will help you resist it. God helps
you resist temptation by helping you (1) recognize those people and
situations that give you trouble, (2) run from anything you know is wrong,
(3) choose to do only what is right, (4) pray for God's help, and (5) seek
friends who love God and can offer help when you are tempted. Running from a
tempting situation is your first step on the way to victory (see 2 Tim.
2:22).  [Life Application SB]

Paul's warning to "take heed lest [you] fall" (v. 12) is as necessary today
as it has ever been. For we, like all who have gone before us, are fallen,
temptable, and subject to thinking and doing what is wrong. Few teachings of
Scripture have more practical implications for day-to-day living.
Opportunities for temptation are almost endless. And since human nature is
not getting any better, nor is any of us immune to the corrupted appetites
of the flesh, we need to take Paul's warning seriously and watch out for
temptation, or we will surely fall. Yet Scripture offers several
alternatives for dealing with temptation as we find it:
(1) We should avoid temptation whenever possible. Proverbs 4:14-15 urges us,
"Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil.
Avoid it, do not travel on it." Often we know beforehand whether a certain
set of circumstances is likely to lead to sin. Therefore, the obvious way to
avoid sin is to avoid those circumstances. Paul described a "way of escape"
from temptation (l Cor. 10:13). Often the escape is to stay away from the
place or the people where temptation lurks.
As believers, we can help others in this regard. We can avoid setting up
situations that encourage people to do wrong. Teachers, for example, can
help students avoid cheating by making assignments, giving tests, and
communicating expectations in ways that reduce the need or incentive to
cheat. Likewise, business owners and managers can devise procedures that
don't needlessly place employees in a position where they might be tempted
to steal cash, inventory, or equipment. It's not that a teacher or employer
can't trust students or employees, but that no one can trust human nature to
be immune from temptation.
(2) We should flee from powerful temptations. Earlier in this letter, Paul
warned the Corinthians to flee sexual immorality (6:18). Here he warned them
to flee idolatry (v. 14). Elsewhere he warned Timothy to flee the lust for
material possessions and wealth (1 Tim. 6:9-11), as well as youthful lusts
(2 Tim. 2:22). The message is clear: don't toy with temptation. Flee from
it!
(3) Chronic temptation is something we need to confess and offer to Christ
and ask for His cleansing work. Some temptations are powerful inner
struggles, with thoughts and attitudes that graphically remind us of how
fallen we really are. What should we do with that kind of temptation? Rather
than deny it or try to repress it, we should bring it to Christ. He alone is
capable of cleaning up the insides of our minds.
(4) Finally, we must resist temptation until it leaves us. When Christ was
tempted by the devil, He resisted until the devil went away (Matt. 4:1-11).
James encouraged us to do the same James 4:7). Resistance begins by bathing
our minds with the Word of God and standing our ground. We have the promise,
after all, that the temptations we experience will never go beyond the
common experiences of others, or beyond our ability to deal with them ( 1
Cor. 10:13). That is great news! [Word In Life SB]

MISCELLANEOUS

Only a passionate love of purity can save him from impurity. [Barclay
Commentary]