Page 36 - Biblical Counseling I Textbook

explication of His character. It tells us what He is like. God has given us His law, in part, to reveal the true
standard which is His holiness, His character. Therefore, Paul can say in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and
continue to fall short of the glory of God.” Notice that the standard is the glory of God. Therefore, Jesus says in
Matthew 5:48, “You must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” or why Peter says in 1 Peter 1:16, “You
shall be holy, for I am holy.” This is the standard—God’s perfection, God’s holiness. The law is given to help us
understand what this holiness looks like.

Obviously, breaking a specific law is sin. To steal something is sinful. But if sin is falling short of the glory of God,
if sin is failing to rise to the holiness of God in our thinking, our emotions, our motives, our behaviors, etc.; then
we are continually sinning. That is, as Paul says, we are continuing to fall short of the glory of God. This
understanding ought to bring us to our knees in humility. It is this understanding that will drive us to the cross of
Christ, not just for our initial salvation or for the “occasional” sin, but for moment by moment hope and for the
experience of the true joy of our salvation.

This broader view of sin is necessary for understanding the Christian life and the need for ongoing repentance,
but it should not eclipse the necessity of addressing people’s specific practices of sin. Sin is breaking God’s law,
and we can identify when this is done and call people to repent of these specific violations. In fact, the problems
that people face are generally borne out of specific thinking, emotions, motives, behaviors that are sinful.
Counseling is fundamentally a corrective to these ways of thinking, feeling, intending, doing. Our temptations
are oriented toward these specific manifestations of our sinfulness.

What is temptation?
First, Temptation is NOT sin (Matt. 4:1). Temptation is “common to all” (1 Cor. 10:13).
1. All are vulnerable to it (Gal. 5:17; 1 John 1:8, 10 and 2:1).
The example of David in 2 Samuel 11:1-5 is a warning to all not to be prideful
in believing ourselves to be invulnerable (1 Cor. 10:12).
2. Though circumstances may differ (e.g. cultural influences, family influences, etc.), the root issues are
the same.

The desires of the human heart are not culturally bound. All humans desire the same things at the core, and all
of these desires have some fundamental connection to the blessings offered us in the gospel. For example, all
peoples struggle with the fear of man, desiring to be respected, accepted, etc. All want to be loved, to be
considered significant, etc. These desires may get expressed differently from one cultural context to another,
but at the heart they are the same.

Temptation is enticement to specific sins (Jam. 1:13-15) that comes from…
• The world (Rom. 12:2; 1 John 2:15-16).

• Satan (Matt. 4:3; 1 Cor. 7:5).
• Our flesh (Gal. 5:17; 1 John 2:16).

What is the pattern of temptation found in James 1:13-15?
• We are “enticed”.
• Our flesh craves sin (lust).
• The act of sin is “conceived” in our heart.

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