In an honest person, temptation only exists because of lack of knowledge. All knowledge comes through faith. While it is true that those who have faith to obey will find sufficient reasons to believe, one thing that doesn’t seem to be clearly expressed is that the nature of the knowledge that comes is hardly ever how we expect it to be. What is gained is not typically the awareness of something better than the sin as much as some terrible truth about the sin itself.
God provides that, in every decision we face, and tailored to our level of individual understanding, we always have the ability to find out what is right. He does not promise—and rarely provides—an accurate grasp of the magnitude by which something is right or wrong. That tends to come only with experience. Often, the most hidden magnitude of consequences for each option in a decision point is not in the positive, but the negative. The negative consequences of decisions are often the most hidden. Knowing the full scope of the negative in a potential decision makes the positive decision better.
We are designed to be amazingly effective at having an idea of potential outcomes far beyond our experience. Even though the fullness of what God offers at every increment lies beyond what anyone understands who hasn’t yet received it, we somehow always know, deep inside, what it would be like to have more than we do.
The root of sin is not in desiring more. It is in how we assign our receipt of it to paths that cannot deliver it, or in assuming we already have it when we don’t.
Temptation is cured by acknowledging that sin will never give you what it promises.
While it often takes intervention of new external information before we listen, we all already have the information we need to see sin and know it is a lie.
For example, every single alcoholic knows that alcohol does not solve the problems for which they drink. Everyone who allows themselves to rage knows that it doesn’t make them feel better. Those who lust after others know they are chasing a false fantasy. One could continue this for every single sin.
Ponder the following passage:
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
33 They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?
34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.
35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever.
36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. (John 8)
The revelation that the thing to which you’ve connected your desire is not the thing that will fulfill it is terrible. It is the revelation that what lies before you is much greater than anything behind you. It is like finishing a PhD only to realize you are still somehow in kindergarten. It’s a thing that takes tremendous trust in God for him to reveal to us without our turning away from him because it makes the path longer or harder than our trust supports.
This is why knowledge of and trust in his justice is so important. Anything he requires results in something more than worth the cost. Always. Therefore, the greater the price, the more willing we should be to pay it. The harder the truth, the happier we ought to be to receive it.
Knowledge comes through faith but, so often, it isn’t an unwillingness to live the commandment that is the problem, but a lack of trust on God sufficient for him to provide the terrible truth that cures our temptation: what you seek is not found in what you think, and you are not yet willing to pay the price to get the real thing.
If you continue to struggle in sin, give God permission to reveal the terrible truth to you. It is the only thing that will bring you closer to receiving what he’s already shown you exists.