One important thing to remember in discussing Jesus Christ is that he was fully God, yet he was also fully man. Read Philippians 2 for more details. However, even though he was fully God, that did not mean he wasn’t capable of sin. If our Lord had never had the opportunity or ability to sin, his perfection wouldn’t have meant a thing. He would have simply been an infallible being sent to the earth to observe, teach and die. Since he was indeed tempted, which we find specifically in Matthew’s account in chapter 4 of his gospel, the case stands that Jesus was capable of sin, yet he never gave into his desires, not even once. The result of his perfectly lived life was the perfect sacrifice—necessary for the remission of sins of the entire human race—which he freely offered on the cross.

The question still stands, “How did Jesus not sin if he was tempted in every way?” If he was just as much of a man as you and me, why is it impossible for me to live perfectly, but possible for him? As we read in Romans 3:23, “…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…” I guess a better question to ask would be, “Why is it so hard for me to do what is right and not give in to temptation when Jesus lived his whole life and never gave in to one single temptation?” Just in case you haven’t read the passage that states that Jesus was tempted in every way and was without sin, here it is: Hebrews 4:14-16. While you’re at it, read Matthew 4.

What you need to realize is the difference between Jesus and you. Not the fact that Jesus was divine and you’re not, but the human differences between him and you. These might end up shedding some light on why it’s so difficult for you to do what is right. First you should understand what temptation is and how it leads to sin. Read James 1:14-15. You see that temptation comes from desire. You cannot be tempted by something you don’t care about or are not interested in at all. Smoking was one of those things for me. I always thought it was disgusting so when someone offered me a cigarette, it was a non issue. Realize now that Jesus did have desires just like you and me. In the account of Jesus being tempted by Satan, we see three things that tempted Jesus. One was food. The next was his trust in his father. Finally, he was tempted with power, which was also a way out of his father’s plan. These three things were temptations to Jesus because of his current situation, his relationship to his father, and his divine purpose. In other words, he was hungry; he was the son of God; he was to die for the sins of the world. These were custom tailored temptations just for Jesus. I don’t expect to be tempted with an offer to worship Satan in exchange for dominion over the world, but I am tempted by Satan’s offer of popularity and recognition.

Take another step and see how Jesus responded to these three temptations. That’s right. Every time Jesus responded with a scripture. He was a student of his father’s word. Knowing the Bible was a way out of the temptation for Jesus. Because he had confidence in the words of his father, he knew he would be better off relying on him instead of Satan.

Let’s look deeper into that idea with a verse from 1 Corinthians 10:13. “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear, but when you are tempted, he will provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” If Satan is the one tempting, not God (James 1:13), but God has the power to control the strength of the temptation and offer an alternative to it, who is the one with the real power here, God or Satan? It’s obvious that God has the final word when it comes to the temptations in our lives. Remember, that it is not God who tempts us, but he is always watching out for us and provides an alternative to (way out of) the potential sin that could take place.

For Jesus, when he was being tempted in the desert, knowing God’s word was his way out of the temptation. What is your way out? When you get into that temptation situation, do you see the way out that God has provided for you? Jesus recognized that God had the real power, not Satan. So when it came to the temptations, even though Jesus may have had a desire to give into them, he knew he would be better off by following God’s plan instead of Satan’s. Maybe you’re not quite to the point where you see God working in your daily life. Noticing the paths out of temptation could take some time and definitely requires a certain level of maturity. If you’re not quite to that point yet, what options do you have? Looking back at the verse from 1 Corinthians, we read that God not only provides a way out of the temptation, “…he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear…”! What this means is that it doesn’t matter if you can see God working in your life, and it doesn’t matter if you can readily identify the working of the Spirit in your specific situation. What matters is that you always have the option to NOT give into the temptation. What this means is that no matter how impossible the temptation seems, you don’t have to sin! To put it another way, God is not putting you into a boxing match knowing you’re going to lose. You always have a shot. There’s always hope.

As you move through your life and begin to recognize the doors that God has opened to let you out of temptation situations, you’ll begin to realize that he is in ultimate control of what is going on in the spiritual war around you. However, if you don’t choose to side with the winning team, you’re never going to get out of the sin that is weighing you down. If you’re in a place right now where Satan seems to have you tied down on all sides, stop and pray for God to open your eyes to see the path that Jesus would take if he were in your shoes. Because “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)

It has been done. Perfection has been achieved. All we have to do is figure out how he did it! (Answer: He relied on God) Neither you nor I will ever achieve perfection, but we can begin to master the sin in our lives by relying on God’s ultimate power, knowing he is helping us through our temptations, and then looking for the way out he has provided.

PRINTABLE VERSION: LESSON 8