It is God’s
grace that I write this blog regarding temptations. There is none that escape
temptations as everyone goes through it for God allows it in our lives that we
may come through victorious in all of them. God is omniscient and there is no
event that takes place in our lives without God knowing about it. He allows
temptations in our lives that we may endure and escape it, for there is greater
glory that awaits us when we overcome temptations. Indeed Jesus suffered through
temptations as we read in the Gospels and the author of Hebrews notes it,
15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our
weaknesses, but we
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15.
have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.
Hebrews 4:15.
If Jesus went
through temptations, as His followers, we too would go through it. If He
overcame it, we too will overcome it. Jesus was tempted in every way as we are
and He overcame every temptation. It is also true that we go through temptations
every day. Bottom line. Everyone goes through temptations every day.
As we sojourn in
this land pressing forward towards our eternal home, there are several sins
that Satan tempts us into, so that we may lose the eternal rewards in God’s
kingdom. It is important to understand that Satan is a celestial being and has
been present at least since the fall of man and is very deceptive in deceiving
God’s children.He plots schemes against God’s children to make them fall and
tempts us that we might sin. It is important to understand that there are
diverse kinds of sins and therefore, there are diverse kinds of temptations. The
list of sins that we may fall into is not exhaustive. In this struggle of
overcoming temptations, we overcome one and we see another temptation coming
our way and this goes on.
Cause of temptations:
In this
discourse, as we discuss about temptations, it is appropriate for us to wonder
what causes these temptations. The Bible says:
13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor
does he tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own
evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is
full-grown, gives birth to death. James 1:13-15.
God never tempts
anyone, neither is He tempted by anyone. However, God allows temptations in our
lives so that we may persevere under it to receive the crown of life. The cause
of temptations is our own evil desire as James writes it. The Bible says “For all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God”. (Romans 3:23). The sinful nature is present inside all of us
as we have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. The psalmist says that we
are conceived in sin. Now as sin has entered mankind, the sinful nature exists
inside all of us. This sinful nature that is present in us gives birth to the
evil desire to do evil and to commit sin. This desire, when it is conceived and
grown, it gives birth to sin. How does this happen?
All of us face choices, every single day. Indeed, life is full of choices, from the clothes we wear, to the priorities we set, to almost every single thing we do, we make choices. There is no choice that is made without a desire inclined towards it. At times, we may say that certain choices are made as there is no other option. But, if we break down the situation and look at it, we’ll find that we made a choice desiring the best in a situation. No one can have two desires at equality and yet make a choice. The choice is ultimately made as one desire overtakes the other.
Now, the evil
desire present in us motivates us to make the choice, and the choice we make to
sin gives birth to sin and when sin fully grows, it causes sickness and brings
about death. Death, not of a natural kind, but spiritual.
The Bible says,
13 No temptation has
overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 a way out so that you can endure it.1 Corinthians 10:13.
Temptations
come our way and all of them are common to mankind. There are no special
temptations that we face, differing greatly from what our fellow brothers and
sisters face each day. The temptations we face are common to all mankind. Isn’t
it comforting to know that we’re not alone in facing these temptations but have
one another going through the same temptations? This helps us in being
accountable with one another by sharing, bearing up one another in their
weaknesses and showing the love of Christ to our fellow brothers and sisters. Indeed, Jesus went through these temptations
being born in the human form. And through it all, God is faithful. The
temptations we face are those that we can bear and God will not allow us to be
tempted beyond what we can bear. This also bears witness of the sovereignty of
God over us. Whatever temptations they be, those that we overcame or struggling
to overcome, they are not beyond what we can bear and can be overcome through
Him who overcame it all. The Bible tells us that God provides us a way out of
these temptations so that we may endure them. And it is true in all our
temptations, there is always a way out to overcome and not give in.
Now,
having understood that, temptations are common to everyone and we can overcome
them, let us look deeper into God’s Word to see the directions that God has
given us to overcome these common temptations.
Overcoming Temptations:
Every
single child of God can overcome temptations, whatever it may be. For God has given
His children, His Holy Spirit through whom we overcome these temptations.
Call upon Jesus’ name:
This is a
simple thing to do but the multitude of victories that follow are great!
The Bible
says,
18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is
able to help those who are
being tempted.Hebrews 2:18.
Jesus
suffered temptations and He is able to help those who are being tempted. It is
Jesus who can help us during temptations. Many a time while tempted, we forget
to call upon the most awesome name, the name of Jesus. Call upon the name of
Jesus. I cannot quantify it but there is so much power in the name of Jesus.
When we call upon Him, oh, what a sweet release is there from the impoverishing
thoughts of temptations. The Bible says,
9
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave
him the name that is above
every name, 10 that at the
name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth
and under the earth, 11
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the
glory of God the Father. Philippians
2:9-11.
The Lord
speaks through Prophet Joel and He says “And
everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Joel 2:32.
I urge
you then call upon Him when you are tempted, call upon Jesus with faith, there
is sure relief. For there is salvation in His Name! I cannot explain you enough
of the amazing power that is in the name of Jesus. Call upon Him. In many ways
when we are tempted, Satan sows thoughts of worldly pleasure and sin and here I
urge you brother, when such thoughts arise, shun it and call upon the name of
Jesus. Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘You
cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from
building a nest in your hair’. This certainly reflects some truth of what
we are discussing. Satan may throw thoughts at us, but it is left to us whether
we let them grow or disannul them. When such thoughts occur, call upon Jesus’
Name.
His grace is enough:
There is
abundance of grace that God has given us through His Son, Jesus Christ. Let us
not be ignorant of God’s amazing grace that has saved and is also available to
enable us to walk victoriously. The Bible says,
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through
faith, we have peace with God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, 2
through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in
which we now
stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death
reigned through that one man, how much
more will those who receive God’s
abundant provision of grace and of the gift of
righteousness reign in life
through one man, Jesus Christ. Romans
5:1-2, 17.
It is
important for us to grasp the context of the above verses. To aide that, I
encourage you to read through the book of Romans, chapters 3 - 8. In these
chapters, Paul writes about the depravity of man, his salvation by faith and
through grace, the nature and the works that follow salvation.
The Word
of God says, “for all have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God”. (Romans 3:23). We all were sinners before
we came to Jesus Christ. The sinful nature is present within us. But when we
accepted the Gospel and believed in His name and repented of our sins, we were
saved, i.e. we were declared righteous, justified of all our sins because of
what Jesus Christ did on the cross. This salvation that we have received is
simply because of the grace of God and by our faith upon Him. This was not
gained or earned by our works, lest we boast.
Now by
this God-given faith, we stand justified before God and have peace with Him
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, through Jesus Christ, we have access by
faith into this grace in which we now stand. I presume that many of us are
ignorant of this access we have through Jesus Christ into God’s grace. It is
not mere salvation but also abundant grace that God has made available for us.
The Bible
makes a comparative statement regarding death and life. Death came through one
man’s sin, Adam. And this death has reigned through ages upon everyone. Akin to
this, now, we who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of
righteousness, how much more certain it is that we will reign in life through
one man, Jesus Christ. Simply by receiving, God’s abundant provision of grace,
we will reign in life and overcome everything pertaining to death –
temptations.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather
offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer
every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14For sin shall no longer
be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:6-14.
6 For we know that our old
self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might
be done away
with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin – 7 because anyone
who has
died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with
Christ, we believe that we will also
live with him. 9 For we know
that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again;
death no
longer has mastery over him. 10 The death he died, he died to sin
once for all;
but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in
Christ Jesus. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.
13Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather
offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer
every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14For sin shall no longer
be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Romans 6:6-14.
This is
what happens when we believe and accept Jesus after repenting from our sins: the
old man i.e. the old sinful nature is crucified with Jesus and everything of
old is done away with and we are set free from sin. When we were baptized, we
were baptized into His death and just as Christ was raised from the dead through
God’s glory, we too will live a new life. Therefore, we are no longer slaves to
sin but we walk in freedom from sin. We have been set free.
Now, God
tells us that, in the same way, we ought to count ourselves i.e. consider
ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. I believe this
consideration of ourselves as dead must happen every day. It is needed that we
remind ourselves each day that we are dead to sin and we are alive to God. How
is it that, if we are dead to sin, we find ourselves struggling with sin
through temptations? It is because, we are still in our lowly bodies as mortal
beings and the sinful nature exists in us but it shall not have dominion over
our life as it had dominion in our former way of life.
Therefore,
Paul urges us to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies so that we obey its
evil desire but must let Christ reign through His Spirit in us. Indeed, Jesus
Christ is the Lord of our lives. When we believed in Jesus, we have become His.
He has bought us with His precious blood that was shed on the cross and we do
not belong to ourselves but to Him. Herein, God has made us stewards of His
possession. Therefore, we are not to offer any part of ourselves to sin as an
instrument of wickedness but offer every part of ourselves as instruments of
righteousness. Although the sinful nature exists, it has no mastery over us,
because we are under the grace of God.
Therefore,
by His grace and through faith upon Him, we are saved. If we are saved, we have
God’s abundant provision of grace. If we have God’s abundant provision of
grace, then, we must grow in His grace each day (2 Peter 3:18). If we grow in
His grace each day, then sin has no mastery over us. Now, if sin has no mastery
over us, we offer ourselves as instruments of righteousness and overcome every
temptation. Hallelujah! Let us sit at the feet of Jesus and receive His grace
each day.
22 But now that you have been set free from sin and
have become slaves of God, the
benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the
result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of
sin is death, but the
gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:22-23.
Kill sin through His Spirit:
John Owen
said, ‘Be killing sin or it will be
killing you.’I believe this is true and God through His word demands the
same so that we will live.
to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if
by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:5-13.
5 Those who live according to
the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but
those who live in
accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit
desires. 6 The
mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is
life
and peace. 7 The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God;
it does not submit to God’s
law, nor can it do so. 8 Those who are in
the realm of the flesh cannot please God.
9 You, however, are not in
the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if
indeed the Spirit
of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they
do
not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, then even though
your body is subject to
death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of
righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him
who raised Jesus from the
dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also
give life
to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers and
sisters, we have an obligation–but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if
by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:5-13.
God wants
us to live in accordance with the Spirit having our minds set on what the
Spirit desires and the fruit of it is life and peace. God reminds us that we
are spiritual beings living in the realm of the Spirit and not in the realm of
the flesh. We are new creatures in Christ who have the Spirit of God dwelling
in us. This Spirit of God gives life in our mortal bodies. Now, there is an
obligation, a duty assigned to us. It is an obligation not to the flesh but to
the Spirit. The obligation is to put to death the misdeeds of the body by the
Spirit so that we will live. As God’s sons, we must fulfill this obligation
every day. It is a duty and if we forsake to do it, we will find ourselves
succumbing to do the misdeeds of the flesh.
To put to
death is to kill every hint of fleshly desire by the power of the Spirit. Although
it is mentioned as misdeeds of the body, the misdeeds of the body is the result
of yielding our bodies to the fleshly desires. In putting to death, the desires
of the flesh by the Spirit, we put to death the misdeeds of the flesh. I
believe this happens in the time that we spend alone with God in prayer as we
call upon the Spirit of God to fill, strengthen and renew us. We must be filled
with the Spirit each day so much so that every carnal desire is burned down in
our hearts and minds. We must ask of Him to kill the sinful nature that is at
war with God. Paul says “I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and
the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20) Unto this end we must
yield ourselves to the Spirit so that our flesh is crucified with no power to
live and have dominion. Let Christ live in and through us.
As there
are various sins we may fall into, our fleshly man, if he is allowed to live produces
plenitude of fleshly thoughts in our minds. So then, to truly put the sinful
nature to death is not merely the absence of fleshly thoughts but the presence
of Godly thoughts instead. If indeed the death of the flesh occurs, certainly,
the life of the Spirit is manifested.
At times,
we see in our lives, that we overcome certain temptations over a period of time
and then fall back into it, all over again. In repenting, we wonder ‘how did I
yield myself to do such a thing?’We, by the Spirit of God must put to death all
the misdeeds of the flesh, sins that we are struggling with as well as the sins
we overcame. Let us not grow in complacency towards the sins we overcame for
Satan waits for an opportune moment to make us fall into it. We must yield ourselves
to His Spirit to put all of them to death each day. Let us be killing sin by
the Spirit, else sin will be killing us.
We must
put to death the misdeeds of the flesh by the Spirit each day and never cease
at doing it, then we will live. If we must forsake it at any day in our lives,
we shall find ourselves yielding to the flesh that leads us to sin and
ultimately to death.
In
overcoming temptations and sins, we can be victorious only through Jesus Christ
and by the grace that comes through Him and by His Spirit, whom we have
received through Him who lives in us.
An
admonition from the Lord:
1”To the
angel of church of Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven
spirits of God and
the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive,
but
you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die,
for I have found
your deeds unfinished in the sight of God. 3 Remember,
therefore, what you have received
and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if
you do not wake up, I will come like a thief,
and you will not know at what
time, I will come to you.
4 Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not
soiled their clothes. They will walk with
me, dressed in white, for they are
worthy. 5 The one who is
victorious will, like them, be
dressed in white. I will never blot out the name
of that person from the book of life,
but will acknowledge that name before my
Father and his angels.6 Whoever has ears,
let them hear what the
Spirit says to the churches. Revelation
3:1-6.
It is the
victorious or the one who overcomes temptations and those who have not soiled
their heavenly garments, who will be dressed in white. But God has made us more
than conquerors through Jesus Christ.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present
nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present
nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39.
There is nothing that shall separate us from the love of God, let
us love Him with all that we are. I urge you to spend time in prayer with what
you have read. If you do not pray, all this becomes as futile knowledge which
is ineffective and unproductive for life. But if you will pray now and yield to
His Spirit, it will become understanding for your heart which will produce the
wisdom of God in your life to live a victorious life.
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Allen Joseph Abraham
IV Year
Instrumentation and Control Engineering
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