The good news is that, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it..” 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)
James 1: 12Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried,he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.
13Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man:
14But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
15Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.
16Do not err, my beloved brethren.
Vs 13 say, God does not tempt anyone! But each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.
In other words, don’t be a Christian who, every time encounters a bad situation will either blame it on God or the devil. James is trying to say that there is some evil in us that manifests from our fleshly nature. That is the reason why you don’t need to teach kids to lie or steal. It’s in them. According to the book of James, the source or the genesis of temptation is evil desire! If we can tackle the root cause with the help of the Holy Spirit then we are getting closer to our victory! Nip it off the Bud!
So then how is a desire formed? A desire is formed through our senses. If I was blind and had never seen the color red, how could I desire for the color red? If I was a deaf man who had never heard a single note before would it be possible that I desire to listen to music? What we feed our mind through our senses is what causes us to desire for the same.
So then our first step out of any temptation is to guard our senses. If there is something that you are struggling with, (smoking, pornography, a bad tongue, alcoholism, video games, a physical/emotional relationship outside the will of GOD) make a check list on what are the sources to that sin that you have access to –
Can it be bad company? Too much TV, wrong books, being in the wrong social set up? Find it, and shut it down without mercy! Notice verse 14 talks about evil desire first dragging away and then enticed. The word “dragging away” to me seems like a process.
Humanly it’s impossible not to face challenges when on earth, but from the point of initial contact with the temptation if you allow that to linger then before you know the temptation has caught you by the collar and dragging you into its pit!
The Bible says: Resist temptation and FLEE from evil. Do you FLEE or just hang around temptation?
Step two: Acknowledge that this is one of your temptations and confess it quickly and continuously. Don’t allow guilt to question your relationship with God. Remember that as long as we are on this earth we are going to face continuous battles against this flesh. Therefore it is important that you on a daily basis wash yourself with the blood of Jesus.
If you are asking, Shyju, wont God get tired forgiving me? NOPE! This is the greatest lie of the enemy, don’t let him fool you into thinking God is finally frustrated of FORGIVING YOU. Get up and keep running till you don’t fall anymore. When God sees that you do not take His grace for granted and that you are earnestly seeking His help then God will help you and rescue you!
Step three: battle it in the Spirit. Most of the times the temptation is brought by a evil spirit. That does not mean that you can blame the devil and do nothing about it like mentioned earlier. Even Jesus prayed, lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil! This is clear direction from the Spirit that every believer must put on the spiritual armor and engage in spiritual battle against those areas of your weakness. The spiritual battle includes not just prayer but by confession of the word of God and your status in Christ which the devil hates to hear!
Vs. 15 talks about a formation period. Desire conceives Sin. Now if a desire is formed in the mind and lingers long enough it then becomes a disease of the heart. Before you know it you are bound to it. It starts off as a flash of thought & then if you allow it to linger it’ll argues over the consciousness or the conviction placed by the Spirit.
Many a times we allow ourselves to debate with sin. Mostly the wicked one that visited our great grand mother Eve comes to us trying to tell us about how this is a small risk or that it is not going to hurt anybody. But like I usually say, we are not called to debate with sin, we are warned to flee from sin. But for those of us who try debating with sin we mostly end up giving birth to sin! And now when sin stays it gives birth to death!
What we must do at the face of temptation is use the free will given by God to us.
Many of us Christians are today basing our decisions on our emotions/feelings. If it doesn’t feel right/good, it aint right! Right? WRONG!!!
Remember (and this is a very important point) don’t make decisions based on your feelings. Rather we must make a decision to surrender in the presence of the Holy Spirit by seeing the joy to come through the eyes of Faith!!! Make a decision basing it on the Word & instructions of GOD. Yes it may be painful, it may mean giving up but you will at least have the assurance that you will not lose your soul.
Let me simplify this for you: for those of us grappling with this point: Let’s say you are beginning to fall in love with somebody. (That’s not wrong in itself) But that somebody is not single but married with family and kids. Do you still go ahead? Your heart says “YES! YES! YES but the word of God says NO! So what do you do? Resist! FLEE! Don’t hang around! When your mind starts thinking about that person- Say STOP! In Jesus Name I take every thought captive and submit it to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
My dear friend if you are finding yourself trapped in a situation like this, seek all the help you can from spiritually mature leaders/elders in your church. We have matured leaders in our ministry who can help you with advice if you are ready to open up. Break free. Save your soul. The devil will time and again come to steal, kill and destroy. Let’s be smarter than the enemy. Refuse his lie, there is a way out. CONFESS your sins, set yourself free and surround yourself with prayer and strong Bible based believers.
Do not be deceived my dear friends. May God bless you to make the right decision and not be moved by feelings. Guard your heart with prayer and the word. After you read I’d love to read your response about these blogs! Hoping and praying this helps and strengthens you.
Sincere love& earnest prayers for this generation,
Shyju
on Guarding Your Heart. Learn about dealing with friendships to protecting your heart from hurts. See the full contents here.
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