Temptation: General Scriptures Concerning

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?’” …

Then God said to Abimelech in the dream, “Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you from sinning against Me. That is why I did not let you touch her.

Be careful not to make a treaty with the inhabitants of the land you are entering, lest they become a snare in your midst. …

You must burn up the images of their gods; do not covet the silver and gold that is on them or take it for yourselves, or you will be ensnared by it; for it is detestable to the LORD your God.

Be careful not to forget the LORD your God by failing to keep His commandments and ordinances and statutes, which I am giving you this day. …

You might say in your heart, “The power and strength of my hands have made this wealth for me.”

But remember that it is the LORD your God who gives you the power to gain wealth, in order to confirm His covenant that He swore to your fathers even to this day.

…you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. For the LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love Him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Then Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.

It was Hezekiah who blocked the upper outlet of the Spring of Gihon and channeled it down to the west side of the City of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did.

And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that He might know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart.

Abundant peace belongs to those who love Your law; nothing can make them stumble.

My son, if sinners entice you, do not yield to them. …

For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight your soul. …

It will rescue you from the forbidden woman, from the stranger with seductive words

Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers.

Avoid it; do not travel on it. Turn from it and pass on by.

She does not consider the path of life; she does not know that her ways are unstable. …

Can a man embrace fire and his clothes not be burned?

Can a man walk on hot coals without scorching his feet?

I saw among the simple, I noticed among the youths, a young man lacking judgment, …

…calling out to those who pass by, who make their paths straight. …

A righteous man is cautious in friendship, but the ways of the wicked lead them astray.

The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning one from the snares of death.

The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.

A violent man entices his neighbor and leads him down a path that is not good.

If you cease to hear instruction, my son, you will stray from the words of knowledge.

He who leads the upright along the path of evil will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will inherit what is good.

And I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a net, and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God escapes her, but the sinner is ensnared.

He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

…he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

…a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.

You should have kept your feet from going bare and your throat from being thirsty. But you said, ‘It is hopeless! For I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’

Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.” …

The princes are inflamed with wine on the day of our king; so he joins hands with those who mock him.

“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. …

So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there. And the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. …

Then Jesus said to them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of Me. For it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’

“Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Some are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

But they themselves have no root, and they remain for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” …

At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There He is!’ do not believe it.

For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and wonders to deceive even the elect, if that were possible.

Watch and pray so that you will not enter into temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”

Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, …

The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.

The seeds that fell among the thorns are those who hear, but as they go on their way, they are choked by the worries, riches, and pleasures of this life, and their fruit does not mature.

And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”

Then Satan entered Judas Iscariot, who was one of the Twelve.

Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat.

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”

When He came to the place, He told them, “Pray that you will not enter into temptation.”

“Why are you sleeping?” He asked. “Get up and pray so that you will not enter into temptation.”

“I have told you these things so that you will not fall away.

They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. …

For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Therefore let us stop judging one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.

If your brother is distressed by what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother, for whom Christ died.

It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything to cause your brother to stumble.

Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

Be careful, however, that your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak. …

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.

But if someone tells you, “This food was offered to idols,” then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience— …

…in order that Satan should not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.

I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.

It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

…or because of these surpassingly great revelations. So to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me.

And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.

For the flesh craves what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, so that you do not do what you want.

…and do not give the devil a foothold.

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can make your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand. …

For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and that our labor might have been in vain.

For some have already turned aside to follow Satan.

Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

…while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin.

Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds, …

Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love Him. …

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in various trials

…so that the proven character of your faith—more precious than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial that has come upon you, as though something strange were happening to you.

As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

…if all this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.

With lofty but empty words, they appeal to the sensual passions of the flesh and entice those who are just escaping from others who live in error.

Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.

I have written these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you.

You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

And I heard a loud voice in heaven saying: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ. For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down—he who accuses them day and night before our God.

They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they did not love their lives so as to shy away from death.

And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.