Throughout our lives, we all encounter temptation. While one temptation differs from another, there is something essentially the same with every temptation. In this talk Andrew Wood takes you through three famous biblical accounts of temptation to show you what is at the heart of all our temptations to sin. Beginning with the very first temptation of the whole of human history, Andrew shows you what was really going on in the Garden of Eden with Adam’s temptation to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is not just some old-time fable supposed to stir the hearts of ignorant people and children. No, this ancient account proclaims profound truths concerning the longings of the human heart.

From Adam’s temptation Andrew then moves to consider the temptation to which Israel succumbed in the Sinai wilderness when they worshiped the Golden Calf (Exodus 32). In this account you will see a how what the forbidden fruit was to Adam, the Golden Calf was to Israel. As things change, so they somehow stay the same. In this Andrew shows you that what is essential in these two episodes is also at the heart of all our temptations.

Then finally, Andrew turns to Jesus and two specific encounters of temptation that he faces. The first is his threefold temptation by Satan in the wilderness, at the beginning of his public ministry, and the second is his temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night before he dies. By looking at these encounters Andrew shows us how to triumph over our temptations and thereby to save our souls!

Listen to a Sample of this Talk