January 2
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57
If human resolve and determination is insufficient to produce lasting victory over temptation and life long change, then what is? Is it hopeless that we will ever be able to live the victorious Christian life Christ has called us to? Why is it that I fail time and time again? Why is it that I continually do the things that I have already determined that I will not do, and why do I not do the things I know I ought? Why are there times in my life where I cannot seem to get control of myself and stop doing what I know I ought not to do?
How can I get out of the cycle of sinning, repenting, resolving to do better, enjoying a time of victory and determination to keep it going, and then back to stumbling in sin again? This is one of the most helpless and depressing cycles I know of, for not only do we not have the enjoyment of the fruits of self-control and avoiding destructive sins, we no longer have the fellowship and leading of the Spirit of God. We have quenched the Spirit, and He naturally becomes distant from us as a result. Then if that is not bad enough, because we have sinned time and again, we lose hope that we will ever gain the victory, and we begin to lose the motivation to even keep trying to resist temptation.
The good news is that there is great hope for those caught in such a cycle of sin, and Christ’s power over sin and the encouragement and help of the Spirit of God within us is just as available to us as it is to those who aren’t ensnared in these ways. But this hope and encouragement are not found in ourselves, nor do they depend on our abilities and cleverness. The answer is deceptively straightforward, and the implementation of it requires a change of mindset and the development of a simple new habit that anyone can do.
The answer has not so much to do with us and everything to do with God. Christ alone is the key to our victory over temptation and our sin natures indwelling us. This sounds overly simple and like something we might teach in an elementary Sunday School class, but truly believing this and acting on this belief can be truly life changing.
From my perspective, few Christians act on a day to day basis like they truly believe this. I think most Christians have the idea that Jesus saves us and then we are to live the rest of our lives as well as we can in our own strength and effort, trying to do what is pleasing to Him. If we do, great, but if we don’t, well, hey we have our reasons and God understands. No wonder many of us fail, and some wash out altogether and wander from the faith.
Most Christians don’t know how to daily tap into the strength that God supplies. He alone can keep us from temptation and get us out of the mess of sinful habits and addictions that we have gotten ourselves into. He alone can impart to us a victorious life. He alone can give us the desire to live a holy life and the minute by minute power to do so. He is the answer from A to Z. Does that mean I don’t do anything? No, I must do everything I can to overcome temptation, but I must make the critical mindset shift that all power and ability and even the desire to do so comes from Him. All my great ideas and my personal determination to overcome can eventually be thwarted and defeated by trials and circumstances or a simple change of mind. Only by living in continual, minute by minute dependence on Him can we truly find lasting victory. More will be said on this in the next few days.