A Christian's Three Enemies
Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death.
— James 1:14-15
I don't know why people become perplexed as to why they fall into sin when they hang around places where they are vulnerable. Let's say that someone is struggling with drinking and then suddenly falls off the wagon, so to speak. So a friend asks, "Where were you?"
"Well, I was at a bar."
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"Why would you go hang out in a bar when you have a problem with this?"
"Well, they have a nice big-screen TV. I really like to watch the game there, and they also have the best chicken wings ever."
People will put themselves in a place of vulnerability and then are shocked when they fall.
That is how it started for Eve when she ate from the only tree that God had forbidden. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time, listening to the wrong voice, which led her to do the wrong thing.
Eve had access to all of the Garden of Eden to discover and enjoy it. But where was she? She was hanging around in the one place God told her to stay away from. Genesis 3:6 tells us, "So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate" (NKJV).
As you look at that verse, it is a foundational statement about the origin of all temptation. As Christians, we basically have three enemies that we face on a daily basis: the world, the flesh, and the Devil. The world, with its allure, is the external foe. The flesh, with its evil desires, is the internal foe. The Devil, with his enticements, is the infernal foe.
