Dealing with temptation using the gospel
When we are in the middle of being tempted towards sin, it matters how we think. It helps a great deal if we are prepared in advance as to how to respond.
This is true of all kinds of sins. Perhaps you are alone on your computer and you are tempted to click to sites that that you know you should not. Perhaps you have the temptation to lose your temper at those around you. Perhaps you really want that drink or substance that you told yourself you wouldn’t do any more. All of us have these moments. What tempts me might differ from what tempts you, but we will all be confronted with the choice as to sin or not at some stage.
Thinking about rules doesn’t help us all that much in the heat of the moment. Most of the time we know what the right choice is. Reminding ourselves that something is wrong and we shouldn’t do it does not have a lot of power. Especially if we have given into that temptation multiple times in the past.
The truth is that we are very good at justifying ourselves. We can tell ourselves that what we are tempted to do is not really that bad. We have done it before and nothing terrible happened. There are all kinds of other people who do this or worse. Or, to misuse the wonder of grace, to think that sin doesn’t matter so much because God will forgive whatever we do. All of these logical personal arguments seem compelling at the time. And they help us make choices that dishonour God and hurt ourselves.
Perhaps the worst line of thinking is when we become defeatist about our sin. We have given into a particular temptation so often that we expect to fail. When facing the same kind of temptation again, we tell ourselves that we are weak and cannot possibly say no. It is too difficult for us.
We need to be reminded of the power of the gospel. Instead of thinking about rules, think about your relationship with God. Jesus has died for you to pay for your sins. You have passed from darkness to light; you don’t need to live in the darkness any longer. You belong with Jesus, and it honours Jesus to say no to the temptation you are currently facing. Giving into this temptation is not just breaking some rule, it is going against who you are.
If you’re tempted to sin, thinking that God will forgive whatever it is later, you have to think about the cross. Sin is so bad it led to Jesus dying for you. Voluntarily giving into this sin is saying that what Jesus did was not so significant. We might be offered grace and be forgiven, and it might be free, but it was not cheap. It cost Jesus his life. Saying no to sin, working on being more like Jesus, these things matter more than you can ever know.
If you have become defeatist, thinking that you can never say no to a particular sin, remind yourself this is not true. Christians have the Holy Spirit. We have the power of God in us who helps us to say no to sin. We don’t need to give in; we might be weak, but God is strong. Jesus put a line about not being led into temptation and being delivered from evil into the Lord’s Prayer. This is a prayer that God loves to answer; he asked us to pray it! Pray in the heat of the moment.
Living the Christian life will mean resisting temptation often. Think in terms of the gospel. You can say no. You can grow in getting better in saying no. And if you do fall, try again. God is a God of second chances. We must not take this for granted, but strive to grow in holiness.