“Be
sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith,
knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your
brotherhood throughout the world” ( 1
Peter 5:8-9, ESV).
So how do we deal with temptation? During the month of November we often talk of
the Pilgrims and although the month has gone by, there is one thing that we seldom take time to be thankful about ... victory over temptation. The Pilgrims were Puritans
who weren’t interested in the reformation of the existing Church of England but
instead thought it best to separate and begin again. They were Separatists but
they retained much of the Puritan theology.
It was the Puritan's aim to reconstruct
and purify not only the church, but individual conduct and all the institutions
men live by. The Puritans wanted purity in their lives but they realized their
susceptibility to sin. They realized their hope and victory was in the power of
God especially when it came to dealing with temptation. The Puritans as a group
left us many thoughts concerning the common battle with temptation that all
Christian believers face.
One of the greatest Puritan theologians was
John Owen (1616-1683) and he wrote three books about living in victory over
temptation. These are some of his
insights in the area of temptation.
“Consider whether the sin you are
contending with has any dangerous symptoms attending it. Have a clear and abiding sense upon your mind
and conscience of the guilt, danger, and evil of that sin. Get a constant
longing for deliverance from the power of it.
Consider whether the sin is rooted in your nature and exacerbated by
your temperament. Consider what occasions and advantages your sin has taken to
exert and put forth itself, and watch against them all. Rise mightily against the first actings and
conceptions of your sin. Meditate in such a way that you are filled at all
times with self-abasement and thoughts of your own vileness. Listen to what God
says to your soul and do not speak peace to yourself before God speaks it, but
hearken what he says to your soul.”
Some might say that you can’t win the
battle over temptation with self-effort but if you look deeper at the thoughts
of John Owen, there is a sense of needing to be honestly aware of ourselves to
gain victory through the strength of Christ. As we draw close to God with an honest and contrite heart, He releases His power to work in
us. It is by the power of Christ being
alive in us, that we are able to do all things.
“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians
3:17, NKJV). We need to be ever thankful
for the mighty gift in the forgiveness of our sins upon the cross while
realizing our susceptibility to sin. In that humble place we can be ever thankful for the
victory that the living and risen Christ has given us over all things including
all temptation and sin. Long after Thanksgiving
Day is past, it is one of the greatest things we need to be thankful for.
“May
our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace
gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,
encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word” (2
Thessalonians 2:16-17 NIV).
No comments:
Post a Comment