Joseph and Potiphar's Wife: How to Resist Temptation

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife: How to Resist Temptation | Momentum Church | Efficient Church

Introduction

How do you stay faithful to God when everything around you pushes you to give in? That question runs through Joseph's whole life. Sold by his brothers, torn from his family, enslaved in Potiphar's house, he finds himself alone in Egypt. And yet Genesis 39 shows him standing firm, refusing adultery with his master's wife, even at the cost of his freedom. This sermon from Momentum Church, part of the series "Dysfunctional Family," walks through the text step by step to help you understand how Joseph held his ground, and how you can hold yours too when temptation comes knocking.

Sermon Outline

1. Recognize what God is doing in your everyday life

The preacher opens with his 92-year-old grandmother who, after finding her hearing aid again following prayer, said: "It's a grace that amazes me, when God helps me find what I'm looking for." She gives God the credit for everything.
Genesis 39:2-3 repeats twice that the Lord was with Joseph and made everything he did prosper. What stands out in the middle of it all: Potiphar himself recognizes that Joseph's success comes from the God of Israel.
Potiphar's name means "the one sent by Ra," the Egyptian god. That such a man would recognize the Lord shows that the people around you, too, can see that the living God is real, through your work, your honesty, and your words.
When someone tells you, "you've got a lucky star," answer like Joseph: it's not me, it's what God is doing in me. Our lucky star is named Jesus.

2. Understand how temptation works

"After these things, his master's wife looked at Joseph with desire" (Gen 39:7). She sets a desiring gaze on this handsome, faithful servant. According to Matthew 5, she has already committed adultery in her heart.
Don't be a hypocrite: flirting with the line, allowing yourself certain looks, giving too much room to certain thoughts or bad images, that's already stepping into the mechanism.
It isn't outward temptations that trip you up first, it's the wrong desires you carry inside. Wrong desire gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death (James 1).
The devil's strategy is seduction, to pull you away from God and his blessing.

3. Joseph's three reasons for saying no

Reason 1: not betraying his master's trust. "He has kept back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife."
Reason 2: the act itself is wicked. "How then could I do this great wickedness?" Adultery destroys, believer or not; it brings misery, suffering, shame, and leaves scars on bodies and marriages.
Reason 3: "... and sin against God?" Joseph fears God more than he fears his earthly master. The real tragedy would be being separated from his Creator.
Obeying just to avoid disappointing others only holds up for so long. In the long run, it takes a change of heart that only God can bring about in you.

4. Three keys to resist when temptation is right there

Submit to God (James 4:7). Like Joseph, call on God the moment temptation appears. Sin has power in the dark; name it, bring it into the light, and it loses its grip. "Confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed" (James 5:16).
Resist the devil, meaning be radical against evil. Joseph refuses to listen, refuses to lie beside her, refuses even to be with her. Matthew 5:29-30: if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. There may be apps, habits, or situations you need to cut off for good.
Draw near to Jesus. 1 Corinthians 10:13: God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear; he will provide a way out. Jesus was tempted in every way just as you are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15-16). Draw near to the throne of grace with confidence: he is the one who delivers.
When the devil sees he can't have you, he goes all in: Potiphar's wife turns to physical aggression (Gen 39:11-12). When you're facing aggression, there's only one answer: flee. Joseph leaves his garment behind and runs.

5. The cost of obedience and God's faithfulness

Potiphar's wife plays the victim, lies first to her household servants and then to her husband, and shifts the blame onto Potiphar ("the servant you brought us"), a tragic echo of Adam's "the woman you gave me."
Potiphar grows angry but does not have Joseph executed: he puts him in the prison where the king's prisoners were kept, under his own authority. His trust in Joseph was probably not entirely gone.
"The Lord was with Joseph and extended kindness to him" (Gen 39:21). The devil doesn't follow Joseph into prison. God starts prospering everything he does all over again.
Your obedience may come with an immediate cost: less money because you refuse to lie, a lost opportunity because you refuse to give in. God remains faithful and extends his kindness to those who obey him.

Key Takeaways

Give God credit for what comes from God. Your transformed life is a testimony: it's not me, it's what God is doing in me.
Sin begins with a look and a desire. Fight the wrong desires before they take root.
Three reasons to say no: respect for others, the inherent seriousness of evil, the fear of God. The fear of God should weigh heavier than the fear of people.
Resisting happens in three moves: submitting to God, being radical against the devil, drawing near to the throne of grace in Jesus.
When facing aggression, flee. And if obedience costs you something, remember that the Lord stays with you, even in prison.

Personal Application

What has God done in your life over these past few months that you haven't yet taken the time to publicly credit to him?
Where are you at with your looks, your thoughts, or the apps and habits feeding wrong desires? What are you ready to cut off today?
Do you fear God more, or the opinion of others, when you're tempted? What difference would that actually make in your everyday life?
Is there a hidden sin you've been carrying alone for too long? Who can you confess it to this week so you can be set free (James 5:16)?
Facing a recurring temptation, what would your equivalent of fleeing look like, like Joseph leaving his garment behind, even if it costs you something?

Scripture References

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Joseph refuse Potiphar's wife?

Joseph gives three reasons in Genesis 39: he refuses to betray his master's trust, he recognizes that the act is wicked in itself, and above all he does not want to sin against God. For him, the fear of God outweighs the fear of people.

How do you resist temptation according to Genesis 39 and James 4:7?

The verse says: submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. In practice, Joseph calls on God, refuses to listen, refuses to be alone with the woman tempting him, and finally flees. Submitting, resisting, drawing near to Jesus: the three go together.

Why does Joseph end up in prison even though he obeyed God?

Sometimes obedience comes with an immediate cost. But the text points out that the Lord was with Joseph in prison, extended his kindness to him, and made him prosper even there. God stays faithful to those who obey him, even when circumstances seem unjust.

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