Not Through Blogging Yet -- Words on Temptation

Wow, so much for my goal of 4 or 5 posts a week. Man, I stink at blogging. But I'm not ready to quit yet. Tonight I would like to share a little bit on what I'm going through in the John Owen books. I have moved on to the second book in the three-book book "Overcoming Sin & Temptation," and I must say it is quite good. What you are about to read is a combination of my thoughts, God's thoughts, and John Owen's thoughts. But I hope that someone out there can get something from it, even if it's a repeat of what you have heard before.

Regarding temptation...

I think it my young Christian life, I've always given more respect to verses such as these:

1 Corinthians 10:13 - "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it."

Hebrews 2:18 - "Because he himself [Jesus] suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted."

and not as much respect to verses such as these:

Matthew 6:13 - "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one."

James 1:14-15 - "but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death."

Matthew 26:41 - "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."

Now, don't get me wrong - since I've been a Christian, I've always respected all these verses, but what I'm trying to say is that I think my life reflects that I've put more stock in the former and regarded the latter a little less.

The first two verses speak of the power of God to deliver his people from various temptations. In fact, we are told in one verse that God provides a way out of every temptation and in the other verse that Christ himself is able to help those who are being tempted. This is very powerful! Oh, how I've relied on these promises to get me through many a temptation. However, have I relied on them too much while ignoring the warnings in the other three verses?

When Christ teaches us how to pray, he says that we are to ask God to keep us from the temptation because of the evil that lies ahead. James teaches us that all sin can be directly traced back to a failed temptation. And finally, at the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ tells his disciples to pray, not for his safety or for God's glory, but that they won't fall into temptation -- because the body is weak!

I think God used this John Owen book to remind me of something -- instead of relying on God to get me out of every temptation, I should start by praying that don't fall into temptation to begin with! Owen does a fantastic job explaining how the various lusts of the soul just lie in waiting for the right moment of temptation when they can bust out and cause me to sin. The body is indeed weak. The old man is not completely gone in this life. Sure, I've heard this all before, but not in the way Owen describes. Or maybe God just needed to be heard once again, so he spoke up. Remember, if you are a Christian, you are being tempted. If you are sinning, then you are falling into temptation and failing! We need to be proactive in identifying problem areas, go for the kill, and avoid the temptation all together (until the sin is at least mortified).

Shall I be more practical? Struggling with thoughts of an affair with a co-worker? Don't talk to her. Struggling with watching 3 hours of television every night? Don't turn it on. Getting into a shouting match every time you play sports? Stop playing. These might be extreme, but we each need to identify when the moment of temptation comes and certainly when we reach the point of no return. Having fights with the spouse all the time? Find a way to get out of the situation(s) that cause the quarrels. I'm sure you get the picture, and you are probably doing this already. But I know I need to get better at things because I'm still a wretched sinner who lets the flesh get the best of me way too often. Christ went through too much for us to go on in life carelessly sinning and grieving the Holy Spirit.

And finally, remember the warnings in the Scriptures like these:

Proverbs 28:26 - "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered."