Whenever you’re trying to accomplish a new task or learn a new skill, it’s important to know when you have achieved your final goal. Without knowing whether or not you have achieved your goal, it is impossible to know when to move on to other things. It’s also important to recognize when you need addition help in certain areas. When it comes to learning intolerance for temptations, the same concept applies. Knowing where you are in your spiritual battles can help keep you from spending time on things that aren’t as big of struggles as other things. Also, when you learn how to identify your spiritual awareness, you can discover which temptations are the most difficult for you and focus more prayer towards those.

So, how is it that a person knows when he or she has become intolerant of a particular temptation? Is it possible for a person to be taught intolerance of a particular sin? Can a person convince themselves that they are intolerant of a type of temptation? When will you know that you have developed intolerance for temptation? The passage that we’ll look at comes shortly after the one in Hebrews that we used in our last lesson. Hebrews 5:14 tells us, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Becoming intolerant of temptations is something that happens over a period of time. It is not something that is taught; however you can be taught what temptation is and how to avoid it. You must understand that knowledge doesn’t prove anything unless acted upon. This is the key to understanding where you are spiritually. It is the action of avoiding the temptation altogether.

There are different ways to go about handling temptation. First, you can obviously give in to it by jumping right in without a second thought. Secondly, you can flirt with it for awhile convincing yourself that it is not going to hurt you and then give in. Thirdly, you can do the same as before except come to your senses and not give in to it in the end. Fourthly, you can recognize the path that took you down the road to temptation and avoid it altogether. Coming to the door of temptation and knocking to see if it will answer and then running away is not intolerance of temptation. That is called a last second bail out. The writer of Hebrews attributes the skill of distinguishing good from evil to those who are mature Christians. Maturity is a process that allows a person to grow, experience, and learn things that set them apart from the less experienced. When it comes to temptation, a mature Christian has been down those roads before and has probably failed many times. However, with the help of God and their desire to become more like Christ guiding them every step of the way, they have learned to identify the traps and snares of Satan, which has then enabled them to avoid the destructive paths of temptation.

Being aware of where your spiritual development is going (or isn’t going) is a vital tool in developing into a mature Christian. You must always be pushing yourself toward more deeper and more challenging truths. Without knowing what your spiritual strengths and weaknesses are, it will be increasingly difficult for you to make any progress toward becoming a mature Christian. The process itself is difficult; however, the results are infinitely worth it.

PRINTABLE VERSION: LESSON 4