Ever been tempted? Haven’t we all! The thought pops into your head. Something gets switched on inside. Before you know where you are you are putting the thought into action. Next minute you hit the ground again and the guilt comes flooding in. Oh Lord, not again. Why did I do it?
James describes this process in James 1v13-15. The bait is dangled in front of our nose, we go after it and end up caught by the hook. Time and again the same thing happens. We become more and more guilty and, as James says, the end result of repeated sin is death.
Can we have victory over temptation?
Stronger willpower is not the answer. At least I have never found where I can get more willpower from. Paul tells us the New Testament solution in Galatians 5v16. He says “follow the Spirit and you won’t follow your evil desires”.
Anyone with children knows this works. Try telling a child not to do something. It either develops deafness and ignores you or, as soon as you turn your back, it goes back to the forbidden thing! But show the child something better to do instead and the problem is solved.
The way of law tells us “You must not sin”. Paul tells us in Romans 7 that the way of law did not work for him. It just made him more guilty. Instead the Spirit says “Come and follow me and let’s have adventures with Jesus”. The more we follow the Spirit, the less the evil desires in us have space in our lives. Life with Jesus is far too exciting for us to take notice of the old temptations.
This is the way to freedom. Just try it. I find it works for me at least!
You can hear more by logging in to armontalo.org/saarnat and listening to last Sunday’s sermon.
Graham Turner
