Face To Face With The Tempter
Mark 1:9-13
Sermon
by King Duncan

This morning we want to deal with a theme that applies to all of us. Temptation. None of us is too old or too young, too sophisticated or too naive, to escape the tempter. Temptation can lead us into all kinds of problems.

For example, the newspapers recently carried a story about an Alabama man who planned to profit from a simple burglary. He entered a house and began clearing out the valuables. He came across a .44 Magnum and accidentally shot himself in the calf with it. However, despite the fact that a .44 Magnum makes a very painful and dangerous wound, he obviously could not take his problem to the hospital.

About this time, the woman who lives at the house returned home. So the burglar felt he had no choice but to tie her up. That added seriously to his original burglary offense.

Now wounded, the man needed a car. He stole the woman's. Grand theftauto. However, pain and loss of blood from his leg wound were causing him to drive rather erratically. That attracted the attention of a police officer. The burglar pulled off the road in his car and the policeman pulled up behind him. The fleeing criminal, now desperate, shot through the windshield of the patrol car and wounded the officer. However, the patrol car was still moving forward and managed to run over the shooter.

Although the car didn't do much damage because the burglar was in a ditch as the car passed over him, neither that nor the complication of the attempted murder of an police officer was improving his day.

Next, the Alabama man fled into the woods on foot. Somewhere back in the woods, he apparently came close to a moonshine still or a marijuana patch. At least that is the best explanation suggested for why someone put three .22 caliber slugs in his posterior.

Now, obviously in no shape to walk, he stole another vehicle. However, he actually had to crawl to this car.

When police finally captured the man, he had been shot four times and run over once. He faces charges for attempted murder, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of grand theft auto, and a host of lesser crimes. All this in an attempt to cover up a burglary! That's a true story. No exaggeration. (1)

Temptation is a very real fact in our lives and it brings all matters of complications. Thank God Jesus was victorious over the Tempter. I wish it was that way for all of us.

Russian novelist Feature Dostoyevsky made the Temptation scene a centerpiece in his master work THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV. Ivan Karamazov calls the Temptation the most stupendous miracle on earth: the miracle of restraint. If he had yielded to the Temptation, Jesus would have been a very popular figure, not just with Satan but with all Israel. He would have established himself beyond dispute. Imagine for a moment stones turned to bread to feed the hungry, a spectacular descent from the pinnacle of the Temple as the crowds gasped in amazement and awe, political appeasement as the foundation of the Kingdom program rather than righteousness and justice. According to Dostoyevsky's view, Satan offered three easy means of inciting beliefmiracle, mystery, and authority and Christ refused all three. (2) Again I say, I wish we could all be so fortunate.

LET'S BEGIN BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE REALITY OF TEMPTATION IN OUR LIVES. None of us is beyond temptation. It is a foolish Christian who treats temptation as no threat, believing he cannot fall. We are all susceptible at times, and if we are not vulnerable in one area, we usually are in some other.

During the early days of the Civil War, body armor became a bit of a fad, especially in the North. Some of this body armor did not work very well. In other words, it failed to stop bullets. Some of it actually saved some lives, however. The danger lay in believing it made one invincible.

When the 21st Alabama unit was skirmishing with Union soldiers in Mississippi, one Union soldier was boldly exposing himself to fire from the rebels. He was wearing body armor. Twice Confederate sharpshooters hit him but with no effect. Then a third sharpshooter aimed for the arrogant soldier's head. That ended the matter.

Only a fool deliberately exposes himself to gunfire or temptation! (3) Better persons than you or I have given in to the Sirens' song. The Jim Bakkers, the Ivan Boeskys, and the scores of other prominent persons who have fallen to lust or greed or any of our darker passions, are no different than you or I. Temptation is a reality for all of us.

GENERALLY TEMPTATION SLIPS UP ON US BEFORE WE RECOGNIZE THE SERIOUSNESS OF IT. In her autobiography, Lauren Bacall described how she became romantically involved with Humphrey Bogart. Bogart was married at the time, but his marriage was going badly and his wife was an alcoholic. Bacall and Bogart were thrown into constant close contact filming the movie, "To Have and Have Not." Bacall says, "From the start of the movie, as Bogie and I got to know each other betteras the joking got more soas we had more fun togetherso the scenes changed little by little, our relationship strengthened on screen and involved us without our even knowing it."

Bacall's last comment is interesting, "Our relationship strengthened on screen AND INVOLVED US WITHOUT OUR EVEN KNOWING IT." Such is the powerful but sometimes gradual pull of romantic attraction. It is precisely because our romantic and sexual feelings build so strongly and silently that the Bible commands us to flee certain situations. And if we choose not to flee in the beginning, we really cannot claim later that we don't know how we became involved in a situation that we shouldn't be in.

The Tempter in the Garden of Eden was a serpent. From the first pages of the Bible we are introduced to the way sin comes into our lives. It slips in and grabs a quiet foothold before we are aware of it. Temptation slips up on us before we recognize the seriousness of what's happening.

Someone has put it this way: "Who's there," I cried, "A little lonely sin." "Enter," I said, And all hell was in.

THE THIRD THING WE NEED TO SEE IS THE ADDICTIVE NATURE OF TEMPTATION. There is something about the very nature of temptation that not only makes it initially attractive, but keeps us coming back for more. Even when the initial thrill is gone we find ourselves mired in the muck of our own worst instincts. It's sort of like a recent incident on the Enterprise ride at the Minnesota State Fair.

Riders boarded their little cars on the Enterprise to be spun around at high speed for about four minutes. Being dizzy and scared is apparently something for which people will pay money.

The ride, however, ceased to operate properly and could not be stopped for about 20 minutes. When people were finally rescued from their thrill, all were sick and some were taken to the hospital.

There is something exciting about certain areas that the Bible tells us to avoid, but the excitement is an emotion one feels when he gets on the ride, not when he gets off. (5) Ask the person whose adultery has cost him his marriage and the respect of his family and friends. Ask the person whose carelessness with his company's funds has cost him his job. A little leads to a lot and the end is a tragedy for all concerned.

THIS IS ALL TO SAY THAT THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WAY FOR MOST OF US TO DEAL WITH TEMPTATION IS AVOID IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. You see, we are not Jesus. He could take on the Tempter and win. Every day there are many Christians who think they, too, are strong, but find themselves, too late, weaker than they ever imagined. I say this as your pastor and friend. Some of us are strong. With God's help we can be victorious over temptation. For many of us thoughperhaps the majority victory will be the avoidance of temptation from the very beginning.

An old Indian legend sums up our situation:

Many years ago, Indian braves would go away in solitude to prepare for manhood. One hiked into a beautiful valley, green with trees, bright with flowers. There, as he looked up at the surrounding mountains, he noticed one rugged peak, capped with dazzling snow.

I will test myself against that mountain, he thought. He put on his buffalo hide shirt, threw his blanket over his shoulders and set off to climb the pinnacle.

When he reached the top, he stood on the rim of the world. He could see forever, and his heart swelled with pride. Then he heard a rustle at his feet. Looking down, he saw a snake. Before he could move, the snake spoke.

"I am about to die," said the snake.

"It is too cold for me up here, and there is no food. Put me under your shirt and take me down to the valley"

"No," said the youth. "I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. If I pick you up, you will bite, and your bite will kill me."

"Not so," said the snake. "I will treat you differently. If you do this for me, I will not harm you." The youth resisted awhile, but this was a very persuasive snake. At last the youth tucked it under his shirt and carried it down to the valley. There he laid it down gently. Suddenly the snake coiled, rattled and leaped, biting him on the leg.

"But you promised," cried the youth.

"You knew what I was when you picked me up," said the snake as it slithered away. (6)

That is a powerful little parable. The snake could be drugs or alcohol or extramarital sex or greed or a host of other attractions forbidden by God and our good sense. The best protection we have is in avoidance.

Jesus resisted the Tempter. Perhaps some of us can put ourselves in the presence of the Tempter and resist as well. Don't bet on it, though. Too much is at stake. Temptation is a reality in our lives. Temptation slips up on us before we realize its seriousness. Temptation is addictive even when it ceases being enjoyable, we find ourselves in its snare. The surest path to victory lies in avoidance.

That poor Alabama burglar found himself in a heap of troubleshot four times, run over, arrested for grand theftauto, attempted murder, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and a host of lesser crimes.

All this in an attempt to cover up a burglary! That's the way it happens sometimes when we open the door only a crack to temptation.


1. Charlie Appleton. "Ardmore Suspect had Bad, Bad Day," NASHVILLE BANNER (Aug. 30, 1990), Section A, p.1.

2. Williams, Charles. HE CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1938, Pg 115.

3. Wayne Ansterman. "Armor for the Soldier," CIVIL WAR TIMES ILUS. (Jan., 1988), p. 36.

4. Lauren Bacall, LAUREN BACALL BY MYSELF (New York, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1978), p. 105.

5. "Stuck Amusement Ride Leaves Dizzy Fairgoers Unamused," THE KNOXVILLE NEWS SENTINEL (Aug. 27, 1990), Section A, p.5.

6. Published in GUIDEPOSTS (July, 1988). Requoted here in condensed form in "But You Promised" by Iron Eyes Cody, READER'S DIGEST (June, 1989), p. 131.

Dynamic Preaching, Collected Sermons, by King Duncan