Why is the temptation to sin even tempting in the first place?

JadedByEntropy · 2020-10-10T03:38:05+00:00

At the first sin, in the garden, sin entered the world and we are all fallen and are born with a sin nature. When we are saved by grace through faith, God gives us a renewed heart/clean soul and we cease to be driven by sin- we are still tempted though. We still fail temptation and sin against God. All types: pride, anger, lying, doing things we know we ought not and refusing to do good we know we ought to do! We are not in heaven yet-so close to God that sin is unthinkable, but it's good you are considering why it is thinkable even here and now. It shouldn't be. If you are abusing grace assuming Gods forgiveness to sin, even worse. You're a child sitting in his lap to slap him, as frank turek says.

Turn from all kinds of sin. Sin no more. Pray for God to remove the desire for sin. Learn how to find alternate healthy choices.

God does not sin, and we are made in his image. Yes. But using his image given to us to comit sin/wrongs/bad things against God is deserving of hell-seperation from God. And that will not be pleasant.

Jesus was tempted and did not sin. God does not give us no opportunity to avoid sin, and will always offer escape routes to avoid it. Eventually, like Israel, God will give you over to your desires and you will suffer your choices. Be sure you desire good so your reward will be good.

No man enters heaven by works alone. You must recieve a new heart, one submitted to God.

reformedpolak · 2020-10-10T03:43:55+00:00

It's not that porn (or sin generally) is 100% pure evil. You arent tempted presumably to rape and kill kittens. You are tempted to do things that have allure, some benefit or perceived benefit.

Porn is seductive, it's enticing. It takes a good gift of sex, and human bodies and perverts it. An orgasm is a good gift of God, designed to give us pleasure, connection, assist in wanting to fulfill the cultural mandate. But it's a gift given to be used in the context of marriage.

And with porn its so accepted by our culture, even tacitly by the church in many ways. Its assumed we will stumble, so I think that plays into our self justifying nature.

Yeah people on an island would be tempted to sin, you can read journals of monks and their thoughts, thats the depravity on mankind. There's different temptations of course and perhaps in some ways it's easier, but then that's not what we are made for.

Deep_Strength · 2020-10-10T07:12:07+00:00

Why is the temptation to sin even tempting in the first place?

Temptation overall is almost always based on gratification of selfish desire. This desire could be pride, lust, sloth, gluttony, greed, wrath, envy, and others. Porn specifically satisfies the selfish desire of lust,

So it makes no logical sense why I'm tempted by it in the first place.

On the contrary, it's logical that temptation to sin and thus sinning leaves you feeling empty. It's a violation of God's original intent of creation.

"The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak."

I often wonder, would people isolated on an island have temptations to sin? Is modern society to blame or is there something in all of us that wants to sin?

Yes, and sort of. All humans still have a sin nature even when isolated form each other. Society definitely introduces certain temptations in different manners, but they are all from the same base desire.

(I've always thought that we are made in God's image and people are generally good at heart, so I've never liked/understood that explanation)

Paul explains in Romans 5 how creation was corrupted by Adam's sin.

DeChef2 · 2020-10-10T14:46:37+00:00

Is modern society to blame or is there something in all of us that wants to sin?

I'll use the passage Romans 7:14-25 here.

Yes, there is something in us that wants to sin. First off, apart from Christ, we are slaves to sin (v. 14, 25). From one man, Adam, sin entered into the whole world (Ro. 5:12) so while in our earthly bodies, we will continue to sin.

Modern society isn't to blame for our sin; after Adam sinned, all of humanity became sinful.

However, your previous question:

would people isolated on an island have temptations to sin?

is actually different from your first. Actually sinning and having temptations are two different things. As u/Deep_Strength pointed out, having free will means that we have the choice between sinning or doing God's will and are therefore tempted. Adam and Eve, while still in the perfect Garden of Eden, were tempted to sin (take from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil).

I've always thought that we are made in God's image and people are generally good at heart

Alright, this is bad doctrine coming from cultural christianity (lowercase on purpose). They don't like thinking that we are evil, but "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure" (Jer. 17:9).

It's a fine line, but you must separate the truth from the lie in this statement

Truth: We are made in God's image
Lie: People are generally good at heart.

That hasn't been the case since sin entered our hearts and the world through Adam.

The lie leads to us thinking that we can win our own salvation by being good enough people, but we know that "When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6) before God.

As for the temptation to watch porn you are struggling against, there was recently an amazing post written up about that. IIRC the original post was more highly rewarded, but something happened to his account.

The best advice to get out of this, and even any other temptation, is to focus on putting on the new. It's easy to let your focus become: I can't sin, I need to stop this sin, I won't do it today. The problem is that you are thinking about what you struggle with. That can make it worse.

Instead, go do something else. Better yet, do something else Godly (put on the new). Go memorize a Scripture or two regarding temptation. 1 Cor. 10:13 is a great one, and so is 2 Cor. 12:9. Busy yourself and you'll forget about the original completely.

brainmeatjuice · 2020-10-11T03:08:49+00:00

The previous responses were all correct regarding Original Sin and the corruption of human nature. But your question was actually more about the strange observation of your own illogical behavior:

if I say screw it and jerk off anyway, I will feel shame, anger, lethargic, etc. It's literally guaranteed. So it makes no logical sense why I'm tempted by it in the first place

Aristotle said something about this. He said that sometimes a man can have knowledge and choose not to use it. That's what you do when you say "screw it." You choose not to use the knowledge you have. Your knowledge of the consequences does not help you, because you have chosen not to use it.

The things that tempt us are not logical -- fear, lust, wrath. Logic tells you the right thing to do, but it does not hold your hand and make you actually do it. Pray for strength, and seek out the company of other men working to live righteously.

In my present living situation, I have very little privacy, so porn is not a frequent temptation. Do not let the Devil get a foothold.

redarcher99 · 2020-10-10T05:24:11+00:00

From our own evil desires (we can't say "devil made me do it"). James 1:13-15 says:13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
We're lazy and look for shortcuts. Porn is tempting because it promises easy and quick sexual release rather than the long hard work of being a desirable person and investing time and effort into a marriage. God created us with sex drives and men are stimulated visually but rather than obey him and channel them into the a healthy, godly sexual release the temptation.
Porn is addictive. It's like crack to your brain. Watching it rewards your brain with dopamine and rewires your neural pathways. Good thing is that once you stop watching it you can break the cycle and rewire your neural pathways for good.
We underestimate how much of a poison it is and how unholy it is. We think we can just repent of it later and it won't hurt us. Wrong. It's like the person on drugs just saying they can stop whenever they want.

If you didn't have the things you view porn on (phone, computer etc..) would you still be tempted as much? Are you using something like Covenant Eyes with an accountability partner? I've found that to be one of the best things (along with investing my marriage and enjoying good sex there of course).

truguy · 2020-10-10T14:25:42+00:00

Because our will (desire) is not aligned with God. Once it is, we can say to the mountain to be cast into the ocean, and it will be done. If it be God’s will it will happen. Following Jesus isn’t about following Law, it’s about re-aligning your heart to desire what Jesus desires: truth, love, and liberty. This is about BEING.

amergent · 2020-10-10T16:28:16+00:00

Temptation has always existed and it exists on islands too.

ObjectionTrue · 2020-10-10T17:52:27+00:00

Research shows that during ejaculation, men release a cocktail of brain chemicals, including norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin, vasopressin, nitric oxide (NO), and the hormone prolactin. Masturbation is a physical chemical addiction of powerful drugs, as well as a moral issue. You need to understand and deal with that. You need group therapy, you can't beat it (no pun intended) alone. Check out "Conquer Series" program and go through it with other men.

Zeldafan1023 · 2020-10-11T00:25:34+00:00

Everything bad seems to be imitating the good, trying to replicate it. With sin, it's like filling yourself with something. Filling yourself with God and his righteousness is good, but you can sin, and fill yourself with evil, and get a rush, that imitates the rush of knowing God deeper. But since it's not real, it will never be enough, and it's like hell that is always hungry, starving, and never satisfied. It will always keep you chasing more, never understanding the urge and longing that you're actually trying to fill.

johngalt1234 · 2020-10-17T03:01:20+00:00

Satan promised fulfillment of good desires through unlawful means. For example wisdom and theosis(2 Peter 1:4) Given that sharing God's divine nature and asking him for wisdom is the right way to get what they desire. And what they desire is inherently good in the first place.

Satan twists God's word to make it look like God is keeping them from Wisdom and fulfilling their proper destiny. "You shall be as Gods knowing Good and Evil".

He whispers that "God is a tyrant keeping you in slavery, I will show you what true freedom is like". Hence in Psalm 2 in the end times Kings want to break off their bonds of "divine tyranny" because they believed Satan's lies about "Freedom to determine their own destiny"

2020-10-10T04:36:28+00:00

IMO, temptation to sin is a result of the conflict between our animal desires and our knowledge of God's will. We want, deeply, to do what feels good in the moment. Like all animals. And still we have a unique awareness, an ability to recognize a difference between what we want to do and what we should do.

Animals follow only their desire, but because they have no capability for choice (at least not in comparison to man), they have no capability for sin. God, conversely, has no desire in this sense - omniscient and omnipotent, he simply IS. And therefore, neither is he capable of sin.

Man alone has to walk that fine line. We are more than animals, and we should aspire to be. But we shouldn't aspire to not be animals. And while we are God-like, we shouldn't aspire to become God either.

The predicament of man is to balance his animal desires with his God-like awareness of ultimate truth.

Perhaps you find the temptation irresistible because you are attempting to be 'God' instead of 'Man.' Attempting to act as if you have no animal nature within yourself, as if you are completely 'intelligent,' until inevitably the animal side of you takes over, reestablishing equilibrium.

Then, the solution is not to turn away from your sexual desires, but to find a way to integrate that desire into your being in a way that is complementary with the will of God. How can you be both animal and God at the same time?

Maybe it's through finding a long-term partner, and working toward starting a family. Maybe it's through 'transmutation' of that sexual desire toward some noble purpose. Only you can settle the details for yourself, truly. But it seems clear that God has a higher purpose for you than watching pornography.

Worth noting too - this confinement to animal impulse is not purely a limitation on humanity. There is a great beauty that comes from nature, from animal impulse, from subjectivity and limited perspective. A beauty that cannot be achieved by God, except through mankind. It is nothing to be ashamed of, but rather something that should be cherished and celebrated.

Title	Why is the temptation to sin even tempting in the first place?
Author	Jnebbe2
Upvotes	25
Comments	16
Date	October 10, 2020 3:22 AM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/RPChristians
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/RPChristians/comments/j8daxs/why_is_the_temptation_to_sin_even_tempting_in_the/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/RPChristians/why-is-the-temptation-to-sin-even-tempting-in-the.309226 https://theredarchive.com/post/309226