July 9
“Therefore let him who thinks he stands, take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12)
A fourth reason why we may stumble again after being so determined to overcome sin is that we become overconfident. Our zeal to overcome sin and not go back to it may carry us for a while, several days or weeks perhaps, maybe longer. But Satan can be very patient, and he will wait for an opportune time to reemerge and continue his attacks on us (Luke 4:13). We have to be ready for the enemy’s next attacks and be aware that they will come sooner or later.
We might enjoy a season of victory and success at resisting and overcoming temptation; all of us do I hope at some point in our struggle against sin. God is faithful and will fight on our behalf and give us relief. But how easily we begin to think that we are the source of victory over the temptation, that we have it under control? How many of us have begun to think that our ability to be tempted to do such and such is a thing of the past and that we have outgrown that sin and are immune to those temptations? I certainly have been “tempted” to think these kinds of thoughts regarding temptation, but they are flat out wrong and will lead us right back into temptation sooner or later.
The bad news is that we will always be vulnerable to temptation. We will never get to the point where we can flirt with or allow ourselves to be exposed to temptation and be completely immune to it. Even Jesus, who never sinned and never developed a habit of sin, who didn’t have a sin nature continually pulling at Him craving for satisfaction, had to do battle with Satan and actively resist temptation. If Jesus was not complacent or cocky toward temptation, neither can we be.
The bad news is that God is not in the business of fixing our sin nature. He never says that He will take away or remove our sin nature. Certainly it has been reported by many individuals that “God took away my desire for..,” and they find that they have victory with much more ease than before because the desire is gone. Praise God if that describes you in your battle against sin! But beware, because although God may have buried those desires and “taken them away” as far as you can tell, if you become arrogant and overconfident and begin flirting again with those fleshly lusts, you may find that they are alive and well after all, and God may allow you to fall in them again after all.
I prefer God to just completely remove once and forever my sinful impulses and desires, to take away my capacity for sin. But that simply isn’t His way. He wants us to be dependent on Him all of the time. He wants us to find our enjoyment in Him rather than in the lusts of the flesh. He wants us to lovingly and willingly choose Him rather than pining after sin. He wants us to choose obedience rather than disobedience because of a love for righteousness that is greater than a love for evil. He wants us to believe in Him, to trust Him, to patiently wait on Him to satisfy our desires in His timing and give us “pleasures forever” (Psalm 16:11). All of these things would not be learned if God were to just remove our sinful desires.
Resolve to overcome. Be confident in your victory in Christ. Be strong in your desire for truth and righteousness. But never think that you are immune or that you have conquered a particular temptation. Keep humble. Keep vigilant. Realize that your victory is in Christ and in staying close to Him. Never think that you can flirt with temptation or dabble in sin and not take a fall. Expect that temptation will come again if you are enjoying a season of respite. Don’t let it take you by surprise. Don’t let down your guard. Don’t be overconfident in yourself and your ability to resist temptation.