12/11/25
A.M. asked a question about how to resist temptations.
He added some specifics like smoking, drinking alcohol, substance abuse and mentioned some practical things like budgeting as one way to practice discipline by addressing spending habits.
Another category of sins he gave include wastefulness or gluttony
P.I. asked me to share the discipleship process and steps of discipline – I had shared about the strengthening of the spirit man vs the carnal man including balance regarding physical matters like gym and workout too
The discussion offered both practical action intended to address immediate temptations as well as a big picture view offered in considering longer term approach addressing the underlying spiritual reality.
So I offer here 2 facets to this
- individual temptations
- bigger picture of spiritual health
- In regard to individual temptations, a person who desires to please God, clearly will continually aim to know what to do and how to resist temptation. This approach may work, and certainly has relevance in regard to resisting individual temptations in various practical ways.
- The real issue which matters most is spiritual health. And what really has to be addressed first in this topic is the issue of the new birth. So each one reading this, every person who has this discussion, whenever we have a discussion like this with others, we should remember not to overlook that first question because that determines the foundation where a person is coming from. Temptations are common to all people. Specifics vary, but all experience temptations. Whether a person is born again or not, some experience greater temptations than others, and some have various degrees of grace, of natural inclinations, fortitude and self discipline etc
- So under the 2nd facet of the topic regarding spiritual health, and specifically for a person who is truly born again, the big picture perspective to keep in mind for each person is the matter of the strength of our spirit and the strength of our fleshly nature. Other terms for these two facets of every person are flesh and spirit, carnal man and spiritual man. The WORD also talks about our inner man, and that term is useful to consider the immaterial part of every person. The term inner man is useful to talk about things like resisting temptation because the term inner man is not a synonym for goodness. Just like in our natural self, in our physical body we experience things that can physically engage us with temptations, so too and even more it is in our inner man where the more difficult and more intense reality takes place of most temptation.
In the physical body, our physical location and action are certainly significant in determining how much we are impacted by or presented with temptations. Yet it is in a person’s inner being where the ultimate battle takes place, where the temptations are determined and where decisions are made.
All this said gives a foundation for one big part given as a response to how to resist temptation.
That big answer is to strengthen the spiritual man and to weaken the carnal man. Understand clearly, that the term carnal man does not mean the body. The carnal man is a term which helps understand the part of our being which chooses against the LORD and the good things of God. It is important to have a right understanding of these things including these terms and categories, not for knowledge sake but for right application of the wisdom and truth of God’s WORD in regard to the reality and the nature of things.
This is why, first we must be born again, because first in our natural man we are dead spiritually because of sin. But once we are born again, we still live in the body and have real natural needs and longings and desires. But once we are born again, our spirit man has now come to life for the first time in our lives and the spirit man begins to grow and become full and mature and requires good nutrition and care and proper exercise in order to become strong and healthy. And we ought to take good care to ensure that our spirit man is healthy but our carnal man is dead. Again, our carnal man is not our body. We also care well for our body. We ought to care well for others also and for ourselves, for the whole person, whether for ourselves and also for others, for full and complete health including body, soul and spirit. But in regard to the inner man, that is the immaterial part of each person, the soul & spirit, we must be diligent to mortify, that is kill the deeds of the flesh, that is extinguish the lusts of the flesh and build up the spirit. Get our spirit man strong and healthy and balanced and well nourished and fit and toned and even ripped. While our carnal man must die.
Now physical fitness is another category, and it is important to be physically healthy, and that too is part of our whole person health and fitness, but many basic temptations are also closely linked to our physical body, so we must be fully aware of that too, and the best way is to shift our focus from natural ways of thinking about things and continually have our hearts & minds, spirit & soul shifted, shaped, transformed to thinking correctly about true health and complete health and strength by understanding the big picture wisdom which has come from God as we read in His WORD giving us eyes to see with our hearts regarding what God values. When we begin and continue to value what God values, that is what will truly shift us in every facet of who we are to be truly alive and healthy in our whole being because we are healthy in our walk with God. And as children of God who are healthy and spiritually fit, we demolish those things which present themselves to our inner man as temptations. We shut those down by God’s great grace as valiant warriors and walk through the blazing fire as terminators by God’s grace and strength, not our own.
Ameen.
Wisdom in the WORD 