We have
concluded our series on holiness and, although my heart yearns to write
endlessly, my time is temporarily occupied by a development we are busy with.
Therefore I have decided to leave our study on the epistle of John for a while
and just regularly place a golden nugget or some of my previous articles until
such time as I am in a position to write regularly again. Do not forget to like
my Facebook page at Word Bytes for
then you have regular access to some more teaching.
“No
temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to
be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the
way of escape, that you may be able to bear it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
I do not
know what temptations you have struggled with before or currently have a hard
time with. I know though, that I am tempted quite often to sin in a certain
area. When temptation comes it usually works like this: Initially I resist it,
but as the lies from Satan and the self-justification of my sinful nature
increases, I sometimes give in to the pressure, my flesh enjoys it for a while,
after which regret kicks in and condemnation follows. This is probably what
Paul referred to when He wrote about the thorn in his flesh (2 Corinthians
12:7-9).
It is easy
to justify ourselves with the fact that we are weak, as an excuse to enjoy the
sins that are common to man.
In church we,
however, had a simple message the other day about the above passage in 1
Corinthians 10:13, which triggered the following thought in me:
The Lord
promised He will give a way out of a temptation. If we therefore surrender to
sin, we do not bear with the temptation supported by His power, but basically
slap Him in His face so to speak, for we then show Him we did not want His way
of escape, but rather desired to sin.
We read in
Hebrews 12:4: “In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the
point of shedding your blood.”
Say for
instance you have parked your car on a sloped road facing a cliff. You get out having
a look at the view, when your child releases the handbrake and the car starts
rolling. You have just swum in some nearby pools and are barefoot. You run
closer and throw your weight against the car which causes your bare feet to
drag across the rough surface of the road until the no skin is left and blood
flows. Are you going to let go of the car because your feet are bleeding and
let it drop down the cliff with your child it? No, you are going to resist its
momentum until you succeed.
Sin is like
that car - a killer! It kills your godly potential, you success as a
ministering Christian, the souls of those you influence and those you do not
reach because of your sin of disobedience.
Sin
is not only doing wrong things. It is any form of disobedience. “Therefore, to
him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin,” (James 4:17).
Are you
resisting sin to the point of shedding your blood? Do you rely on the Lord for
His way of escape?
Lord, you
are purifying your church. Please include me.
