July 11
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:12-13)
I believe the Christian can overcome temptation simply by willing it away. What I mean by this is that we have full control over our thoughts. Sin no longer has mastery over us, and in Christ we are dead to sin (see Romans chapter 6). If you truly don’t want to sin, as a Christian you have the power to overcome. As I have said before, as Christians we only sin because we want to sin.
There is a point in every sin, when we as Christians are tempted, that we simply choose to sin. We give in. We lose the battle for the mind. We decide to hand over control to the flesh. We choose to give in to those people or impulses that are clamoring for control of us. We decide that the passing pleasure of sin is worth more than God’s approval. We determine that we would rather have fellowship with the devil and indulge the flesh than fellowship with God. I believe it really is that simple.
The fleshly cravings of addicts can be so strong, so dominating, so overwhelming of every thought and desire that it seems like they cannot be overcome. I believe that in those instances, when the battle with the flesh seems so impossible to win, that we have to some extent already decided to fail. We have already let the devil in our heads. Perhaps we failed to guard our minds carefully earlier in the day; we consciously allowed ourselves to be in a position of temptation, or we did not the way of escape when we had the chance. Powerful, overwhelming temptation is the price for that negligence.
This decision to fail may have been as simple as not listening to the Spirit’s voice to go to bed when we were tired, and we decided to stay up late, when temptations for evil are much stronger. Or the decision to fail may have been a deliberate willingness to flirt with temptation and put ourselves within reach of the temptation, exposing ourselves to the things that tempt us, foolishly thinking we are strong enough to resist it even when we put ourselves close to it. The decision to fail may have been not reading the scripture when we knew the Spirit was leading us to do so, and instead we read materials or did things that set our minds on the things on the earth instead of the things above.
Just like a highly skilled athlete knows that they must practice the utmost disciplines of eating and exercise and mental rehearsals, so we too must practice mental and physical disciplines in order to overcome. The more we desire to overcome, the more we are resolved to walk in complete purity and holiness, the more we will become aware of the various choices that we make that lead to victory or lead to sin. Our resolve to overcome can be measured by the little things, the day to day, minute by minute choices that we make to choose to do everything we can to keep ourselves from sin. Those with true resolve will be found focusing on the things above at all times, not willing to stumble in sin even a little. They will be found setting their minds on the things above not just occasionally but continually; they will set their sights on pleasing Christ and fellowshipping with the Spirit at all times, day and night, and make it their goal to keep from sin.
How does your resolve to overcome sin compare with the resolve of athletes to win earthly prizes and recognitions? Are you fully committed? Are you fully resolved to do whatever it takes to win the prize? How is your mental discipline to set your mind on the things above day and night?