Overcoming Temptations

Deep Dive into Cornerstone by Jeremy Prayer - Overcoming Temptations Based on the sources and our conversation, a distinction is made between trials, temptations, and tests.Trials and temptations both come from the same Greek word, peirasmos. Trials are a broad, general term for any pressure-filled situation in life. These can be external hardships or internal struggles, cause grief, but are seen as necessary and purposeful, originating from God and used as a crucible to reveal genuine faith.Temptations, while sharing the same Greek root, specifically refer to a pressure-filled situation that is enticing you to sin. This sense of the word is considered negative and is something that should be overcome. Temptations are unique to each person and stem from internal desires or "lusts" originating from the heart – strong longings for things you believe you cannot do without. When these desires are misplaced on things that cannot satisfy, temptations abound and lure you towards self-pleasing rather than pleasing God.Tests, from a different Greek word, Dokimion, which means "that by which something is tried and proved," are always brought by God for good reasons. Their purpose is to refine your faith and make you more Christlike, like a sculptor chipping away everything that doesn't look like Christ. Tests are viewed as a positive opportunity to prove and purify faith.The primary method discussed for overcoming temptation is the concept of "the expulsive power of a new affection." Instead of just resisting temptation through willpower or fear, the goal is to cultivate a new and greater affection for Christ. Just as filling a beaker with liquid displaces air, cultivating a deep desire for knowing and fellowshipping with Christ displaces the misplaced desires that make things tempting. When Christ is seen as the ultimate treasure, the allure of lesser desires diminishes, and temptations are dismissed as not worth pursuing compared to the surpassing value of knowing Him. This requires actively recalling Christ's preeminence and praying for God to reveal His glory and desirability.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianPatreon: patreon.com/edi_reformed