The heart is the seat of our emotions and desires, our spiritual control center. Jesus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander” (Matthew 15:19). Such self-knowledge comes from looking deep within, for sin does not begin with our actions, but with our hearts. To maintain watchfulness, we must first know our individual inclinations to sin. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Peter warns, “Be alert and of sober mind. In the same way, temptation tends to follow established patterns, to take advantage of deep-rooted habits. When water comes to the desert, it flows through established stream beds, even if they have long since run dry. We prepare ourselves to endure and resist temptation through the watchfulness of self-examination, which involves knowing our sinful inclinations and how we have succumbed to temptation in the past. But more commonly, temptations follow established patterns and take advantage of known weaknesses. “Therefore, stay awake” (Matthew 24:42a)! Watchful Self-ExaminationĪt times, temptation will seem to come from nowhere and overwhelm us, like a tsunami sweeping over shore. If only they had strengthened themselves with prayer, they might have held fast! Those who will not pray against temptation cannot expect to endure it. They did not pray, they did enter into temptation, and because of their lack of watchfulness, they fell into terrible, avoidable sin. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). John Stott summarizes the petition in this way: “Do not allow us so to be led into temptation that it overwhelms us, but rescue us from the evil one.” Jesus instructed his disciples, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. Thus, we are to pray each day that God would keep us from temptations that might overwhelm us. Every temptation is an opportunity to resist, to obey, and to grow in conformity to Christ Jesus. Still, we are to “count it joy” when we meet trials and temptations, knowing that these tests product steadfastness and that steadfastness, in turn, causes us to grow in spiritual maturity (James 1:3-4). Even then, these temptations are not God’s fault but our own, for “each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire” (James 1:14). Yet God does test our faith, and at times these tests expose inner weaknesses that generate the opportunity and desire to sin. Of course, the sinless God would never tempt his people to sin, “for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one” (James 1:13). When Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he told them to plead, “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13). Complacency here is the height of folly, the height of arrogance. He tells us to prepare for the temptation that will inevitably come against us by praying against both the Tempter and his temptations. Watchful PrayerĬhrist calls us to be watchful. We do this by watchfulness, by praying against temptation, and by studying our hearts for the first signs of its stirrings. If we are to endure and resist temptation, to come out of temptation refined and not ruined, we must take an offensive posture against it. Such is life as sinful people in a sinful world. Each day and each hour, we find our hearts stirred for those things God forbids. The Bible promises that temptations will arise from within and from without, for the Christian’s great enemies-the world, the flesh, and the devil-are arrayed against us, each attacking with its own weapon of sinful desire. In fact, every Christian will inevitably endure times of grueling temptation, when the opportunity to sin and even the desire to sin are nearly overwhelming. No Christian wants to be tempted, yet every Christian will be tempted. We have come now to the fourth rule for growing in godliness: Watch for temptation. We are now well advanced in our series, “8 Rules for Growing in Godliness.” These are instructions for the Christian to live a life that is pleasing to God. We do not become conformed to Christ apart from temptation, but through it. While we would never choose to be tempted, still we see how God uses it to accomplish his good purposes within us. Though we must never seek or desire it, still we have the confidence that God redeems the crucible of temptation to refine his people, to remove their sin, and to instill his righteousness within them. One of the means God uses to conform us to the image of Jesus Christ is temptation. Sponsor Show Your Support Become a Patron
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