What is temptation? Some synonyms for “tempt” are: allure, attract, entice, seduce, and tantalize. Some synonyms for “tempted” are: enchanted, entranced, bewitched, hypnotized, spellbound, charmed, mesmerized, enraptured, and captivated. Each word generates an emotional picture. Temptation relates to sin. [We] are allured by it. We are attracted to it, enticed by it, seduced by its seeming pleasure, tantalized by the fantasy of what it would be like.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 80. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Sexual temptation is an issue of the mind. The mind can only act on what has confronted it through sight, reading, or hearing. Therefore, to guard against sexual temptation we must be careful what we look at, read, or listen to. Images are planted which cause lust to take hold. Even when we do not act out immorality we can be polluted by a mental and emotional fixation on sex.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 81-82. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
What are some of the best preventative measures against sexual sin?
1. Daily time with God in His Word and a commitment to spiritual growth.
2. A commitment to the battle for winning the lost.
3. A committed accountability relationship with one or two other [people].
4. A deepening marriage relationship with your wife.
5. A constant guard in your thought life and actions.
6. Determined and continually renewed commitment that you will not enter into sexual sin.
7. Defensive prayer.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1977, p. 86. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Sexual sin never begins by accident. People do not suddenly fall into an illicit sexual act simply by having an opportunity confront them. There is always some specific preparation. This preparation we call “pre-sexual” experience. Pre-sexual experiences are those experiences of mind and action which excite, train, or develop our sexual drives.
Copied from Honesty, Morality and Conscience by Jerry White © 1996, p. 180. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
In cases I have seen, some common threads emerge and seem characteristic of men who have fallen into sexual impurity:
1. The macho image and a sense of dominance.
2. A perceived failure in one’s job or a blow to one’s ego or pride.
3. A feeling of being “above the rules.”
4. Going easy on one’s self…in many areas like diet or exercise.
5. Carelessly allowing one’s self to be in places or situations that boost temptation.
6. A roving and undisciplined eye.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 85. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
[Men] experience sexual temptation daily. It is our plague, our persistent sickness.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 80. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Pornography is inextricably linked to masturbation for most men. In spite of the blessing the secular world give to this practice, declaring it as normal, we know that it connects to poisonous sexual images in our minds. Masturbation feeds on visual images to excite us.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 82. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Repentance is a conscience attitude of regret, a changing of the mind or a turning from sin to God. This includes a reorientation to God. In the Greek, metanoia (repentance) is the noun form of the verb metaneo (repent). The noun repentance indicates a reversal or turning around. The verb implies thinking differently. Repentance is active. “Producing fruit in keeping with repentance” (Luke 3:8).
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 124. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
When is conflict a sign of danger?
1. When the conflict is a repeated pattern in your life.
2. When many or most conflicts remain unresolved.
3. When you sense a pattern of unwillingness to be open to other positions of thinking.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 92. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
Confession is the open admission to God of our sin… [It] means to admit our guilt, assent to God’s sovereign standards, and agree with God that our actions are unacceptable… Confession is not trivial or just a quick naming of the sin. It is a deep admission of an offense to God… A deep spirit of contrition accompanies confession. There is remorse over our sin… [And] confession needs to be accompanied by repentance.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 123-124. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.
1. Examine your heart.
2. Deal with unresolved conflict.
3. Take a spiritual retreat.
4. Try spiritual reading.
5. Praise God.
6. Seek good teaching.
7. Try spiritual journaling.
8. Try new approaches to prayer.
9. Take care of your “temple” – your body.
10. Seek intimate fellowship.
11. Be innovative in your devotions.
Copied from Dangers Men Face by Jerry White © 1997, p. 173-175. Used by Permission of NavPress – www.navpress.com. All rights reserved.