THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIAN LIFE by Jacob Ninan

Author:Jacob Ninan [Ninan, Jacob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Windows User
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 16

TEMPTATION AND SIN

Everyone faces temptations of different types daily. A lot of people seem to give in to temptations thinking that if temptations do come, there is no other option but to give in! If this was true, that we cannot help but give in, then there would be no hope of ever overcoming temptations. But the fact of the matter is that this is a lie from the devil. Many people have actually learnt to deal with temptations and overcome them. Jesus Himself was tempted in everything just like us, and never sinned even once (Heb.4:15). The Bible says very clearly that we are not under any obligation to follow the desires of our flesh (Rom.8:12). It will be helpful if we can understand what happens when we are tempted and what we can do to deal with temptation.

Temptation is simply an invitation to sin with an attractive appeal to us to enjoy some thrill, pleasure, gain, advantage, etc. The sting of temptation is hidden, just as a sugar coated pill containing poison inside. Certainly there is a thrilling outcome when we yield to temptation, but it is certain that the poison will hit us soon with disastrous results. It causes ‘death’ (Rom.6:21) that translates as break of fellowship with God, distortion of our personality, and physical consequences (Gal.6:7).

Temptation comes to us from the strong desires (lusts) that are there inside us in our ‘flesh’ (Jas.1:14,15). These lusts are exaggerated forms of the normal desires we have, and we have them as strong desires because of the sinful tendencies we have inherited from Adam as a result of his fall. For example, our normal desire to eat can become exaggerated and we can overeat! When we listen to the appeal of these desires and give in to them, we sin.

If we struggle to stop sinning – by trying to stop acting out the sinful behaviour – we usually fail. The place to focus on is not the act of sin but what goes on inside us. Let us look at the sequence of temptation in more detail so that we can get clearer understanding.

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