Transcript 09-Temptation-and-the-Trinity-of-Evil

Unpacking
Prayer
Part 9: Temptation and the
Trinity of Evil
Matthew 6:13
“And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.“
May we not be led into temptation – a
of evil
our one!
weakness.
But rather You deliverconfession
us from the
– an
expression of our dependence.
Temptation - peirasmos (πειρασμός),
a test, an experiment, trial, proving,
a testing of one’s integrity through
difficulty.
Temptation can lead us through
a series of steps where we may
eventually give into our fallen
existence and do that which is
against God’s design for us.
Temptation can lead to sin, but
temptation in itself is not sin.
James 1:12-14
Blessed is the man who endures
temptation; for when he has been approved, he
will receive the crown of life which the Lord has
promised to those who love Him. Let no one say
when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for
God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He
Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted
when he is drawn away by his own desires and
enticed.
Who or what then would
lead us into temptation?
The Trinity of Evil
The devil and his demons
The architect of sin
The sin nature in us
The predisposition to sin
The flesh and its desires
The motivation for sin
The devil and his demons
● The father of sin (John 8:44)
John 8:44
You are of your father the devil, and the
desires of your father you want to do. He was a
murderer from the beginning, and does not
stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his
own resources, for he is a liar and the father of
it.
The devil and his demons
● The father of sin (John 8:44)
● The architect of sin
● The aficionado of sin
The sin nature in us
● Our predisposition to sin, before Christ
● The “law” in our members (Rom. 7:21-23)
Romans 7:21-23
I find then a law, that evil is present with
me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight in
the law of God according to the inward man. But I
see another law in my members, warring against
the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin which is in my members.
The sin nature in us
● Our predisposition to sin, before Christ
● The “law” in our members (Rom. 7:21-23)
● The counterpart to the indwelling Holy Spirit
(Gal. 5:16-25)
Galatians 5:16-18, and 25
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall
not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh;
and these are contrary to one another, so that you
do not do the things that you wish. But if you are
led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Spirit.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the
The sin nature in us
● Our predisposition to sin, before Christ
● The “law” in our members (Rom. 7:21-23)
● The counterpart to the indwelling Holy Spirit
(Gal. 5:16-25)
● The battle ground for control
is in the mind.
The flesh and its desires
● Appetites that are selfishly fulfilled
(Rom. 13:13-14).
Romans 13:13-14
Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in
revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and
lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh,
to fulfill its lusts.
The flesh and its desires
● Appetites that are selfishly fulfilled
(Rom. 13:13-14).
● Defense mechanisms that hide ungodly
fear.
● Living for the lie that our
comfort is the priority
(James 4:1-3).
James 4:1-3
Where do wars and fights come from
among you? Do they not come from your desires
for pleasure that war in your members? You lust
and do not have. You murder and covet and
cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not
have because you do not ask. You ask and do
not receive, because you ask amiss, that you
may spend it on your pleasures.
The flesh and its desires
● Appetites that are selfishly fulfilled
(Rom. 13:13-14).
● Defense mechanisms that hide ungodly
fear.
● Living for the lie that our
comfort is the priority
(James 4:1-3).
How does the trinity of evil
influence human beings?
The devil and his demons attack us with
sinful opportunities and sinful thoughts.
In the Holy Spirit,
we have a new
nature that wants
to please God.
It is our nature to
sin against God.
The flesh
wants to be
satisfied.
Christian
Non-Christian
The devil and his demons
attack us with sinful
opportunities and sinful
thoughts.
By the renewing of the mind we
are able to reject the ungodly
opportunities and thoughts.
Now the members of
our body are used
for righteousness
(Rom. 6:12-14).
Our new nature in the Holy Spirit makes us more and
more like Christ as we embrace the love of the Father.
Romans 6:12-14
Therefore do not let sin reign in your
mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.
And do not present your members as instruments
of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves
to God as being alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness to God.
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you
are not under law but under grace.
But can we
still operate
from our old
nature as
Christians?
1 Peter 2:11-12
1 Peter 2:11-12
Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war
against the soul, having your conduct honorable
among the Gentiles, that when they speak against
you as evildoers, they may, by your good works
which they observe, glorify God in the day of
visitation.
How do I combat this trinity
of evil?
1. The solution for the devil and his tactics:
- Bind in authority
- Know your enemy
2. The solution for the sin nature:
- Walk in the Spirit
- Know God’s Word
3. The solution for the flesh:
- Self-discipline
- Follow Christ’s example
When your prayers are hindered
due to temptation, identify the
source and take the steps to not
be led into sin. In Christ we
have the victory!