Overcoming Temptation and Sin

Have you ever wrestled with sin? I have. I am thankful that God provides relief from sin. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. As far as the east is from the west He no longer remembers our sin. Yet you and I if we say we are without sin would be lying because each one of us has to overcome this world and this we can only do with the strength of God within us.

There are some people in this world that are completely given over to sin. They are no longer wrestling with it but they are convinced that good is evil and evil is good. Their hearts have hardened to their dark ways and their is nothing that you can say or do to make them believe otherwise. I pray that you are not one of those people. I pray that you still have a conscience and that you can still discern what is good and what is bad.

The grace of God is sufficient for each life that turns to Christ. In turning to Christ confessing him as savior and believing in your hear that He can set you free you begin an exciting journey. Their is deliverance from everything that you wrestle. Don’t ask me how God does it but I have seen Him deliver me from many fears and many sins. There are some sins that are more difficult than other sins to overcome and yet there is a way in Christ to overcome it.

I have in my life wrestled with sexual sin. To say that I didn’t would be a lie. I will say in the last 13 years that the wrestling has gotten much easier, but there was a time in my life that I failed sexually in many ways.

Even now there is still temptation, but temptation can be overcome. We must pray and ask God to help us overcome. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it.”

I consider this scripture a promise. When temptation comes I pray “Lord provide a way out,” and He always does. If the word of God says it then God will do it. Knowing the word is vital to spiritual well being.

When temptation comes the enemy will try to seduce you with every narrative that he can come up with. He will try to highlight what seems to be positive sides to sin. He will tell you that it is natural to do certain things and that it is even your human right. The story will sound so good the next thing you know you are repeating the lies that he said and you begin indulging in the sin.

But we do not have to give into it. We are seduced when we allow our own sinful desire to take over. Everytime we sin we are hardening our heart to it.

Ephesians 4:17-19 (NKJV) This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.

We should take this scripture as a warning. There is no difference between those who give into their sinful natures continuously and us. We have the same nature as them. The grace of God on our lives will help us to overcome this sin but we must submit to the Holy Spirit when he speaks and do what he says. If we allow sinful thoughts to enter into our minds we will eventually be seduced and consumed by them.

Romans 8:5 says, “For those who live according to the felsh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, The things of the Spirit.”

The ways to overcome is to pray and ask the Lord to help you live in the Spirit. To live in the Spirit you have to do what He says. I am not sure what that is for your life. But let me tell you how God dealt with me one time. I remember I was on a Social Media program that had a lot of seductive images of women. For me this was a temptation. In a dream the Lord told me to stop using that social media program and so I did. That temptation ended. I did something that the Lord said, which meant I was following the spirit and as a result I overcame in that situation.

I wish I could say that was the only time I faced that temptation but it wasn’t but each time I do face a temptation I pray and ask God to help me and He always does. He has even delivered me from strong spirits that would have tormented me to sin until I sinned. He delivered me and His peace came more strongly into my life.

I could write more but I will save that for another day. I pray for you today and ask God to help you with your own temptation. May you overcome as Jesus as overcome. May you experience the life of the Holy Spirit inside of you in its most pure and pleasing form.