April 30
“I buffet my body and make it my slave…lest I myself should be disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:27)
Today we will wrap up this principle of readying ourselves and preparing for temptation. We have discussed a number of important topics, yet I feel we have just scratched the surface of this crucial topic. Much more could be said about specifics regarding buffeting our bodies and what that might look like in light of various sin tendencies. The goal here is to keep things general enough to apply to most situations.
We touched on the problem of cycles of sin, how it seems like we can experience victory for a time, only to fall back into temptation and sin; we then can be even more discouraged and less confident and less enthusiastic about gaining the victory in the future because our hope of overcoming dims while our dependence on sin grows. If you are in this situation, you need encouragement and exhortation to never, never, never give up trying to live the godly life and gain complete victory over whatever sin assails you.
We discussed pride and explored in a little more depth this insidious sin and how it can lead to other sins. We explored how we can become arrogant and overconfident when we have success or when wealth increases. The contrast between the humility and obedience of those who are going through trials and afflictions and the pride and disobedience of those who are comfortable and successful was touched on as hopefully a motivation for us to be on the lookout for pride in our own lives.
We looked at a five step process for readying ourselves for temptation that consists of (1) wanting to break the cycle and wanting to understand how we failed, (2) examining and analyzing the circumstances, feelings, and thinking that lead us to sin,
(3) understanding the truth and how correct beliefs and actions could have enabled us to avoid those sins, (4) formulating a plan for victory, and (5) praying and readying ourselves to gain the victory next time.
We touched on the importance of analyzing each of our primary sins and formulating a plan to help us avoid them in the future. Having and following a plan, knowing where we are weak and what we need to do to avoid stumbling at those weak points, is a key part of our daily victory. Many of us have heard the phrase, “People don’t plan to fail, they just fail to plan.” This is true of overcoming temptation as it is in many areas of life.
In summary, we have been discussing the need to analyze the paths we take and circumstances and thinking that accompany the sins we commit. We must think through our successes and our failures to gain an understanding about what were the circumstances and thinking patters that lead to success and those that lead to failure. We ought to do this on a regular basis, as long as sin remains in our lives and until we are able to walk in victory at all times. Complete holiness is our inheritance from the Lord and our calling as Christians. Never, never, never give up trying to walk as Jesus walked, pure and sinless throughout His life. This pursuit pleases God.