Temptation BEING GOOD BY NOT BEING BAD?
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matt. 5:28.
If it is true that the thought and intents of the heart are as much brought into account as the actions, and that when we have inwardly consented to a sin, we have already sinned, whether we ever go ahead and commit the action or not, then why not go ahead with the action? If we have sinned already, and lost the battle, why not follow through with impure actions?
Well, first of all, there may be some good moral reasons why not to follow through with the sinful action that have nothing to do with God or victory or spiritual life. If we have enough willpower to keep from killing someone we are angry with, we will be able to stay out of jail, and that's a plus. And there would be some real benefits for the person we are angry with, too! There are all kinds of moral benefits to be reaped from positive behavior. But it's still not victory in God's sight. And there is another reason, besides the moral benefits, that make it a good idea not to follow every inward sin with an outward manifestation of it. There is power available to turn back to Jesus and His power before the inner failure is worked out.
When we understand that we have already sinned when we have given inward consent to wrong, and if we no longer call that victory, then we have the choice of turning to God for repentance before we follow through on the action. We can realize that our eyes have somehow been attracted away from Christ, and will not even attempt to fight the enemy in our own strength, but admit our helplessness and turn to Him.
For the growing Christian, there may be many times when we will find ourselves depending upon our own strength, and giving inwardly to temptation. Because of the moral benefits to be reaped, we may be forced to grit our teeth and use our own backbone to keep from following internal defeat with external sinning. But we should not call this victory! If we are unwilling to admit that we are walking apart from Christ, it will be much longer before we are willing to turn and come again under His power. But when we admit that we have sinned already, and turn to Him again for repentance, He is able to give it to us.
But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her committed adultery with her already in his heart. Matt. 5:28.
If it is true that the thought and intents of the heart are as much brought into account as the actions, and that when we have inwardly consented to a sin, we have already sinned, whether we ever go ahead and commit the action or not, then why not go ahead with the action? If we have sinned already, and lost the battle, why not follow through with impure actions?
Well, first of all, there may be some good moral reasons why not to follow through with the sinful action that have nothing to do with God or victory or spiritual life. If we have enough willpower to keep from killing someone we are angry with, we will be able to stay out of jail, and that's a plus. And there would be some real benefits for the person we are angry with, too! There are all kinds of moral benefits to be reaped from positive behavior. But it's still not victory in God's sight. And there is another reason, besides the moral benefits, that make it a good idea not to follow every inward sin with an outward manifestation of it. There is power available to turn back to Jesus and His power before the inner failure is worked out.
When we understand that we have already sinned when we have given inward consent to wrong, and if we no longer call that victory, then we have the choice of turning to God for repentance before we follow through on the action. We can realize that our eyes have somehow been attracted away from Christ, and will not even attempt to fight the enemy in our own strength, but admit our helplessness and turn to Him.
For the growing Christian, there may be many times when we will find ourselves depending upon our own strength, and giving inwardly to temptation. Because of the moral benefits to be reaped, we may be forced to grit our teeth and use our own backbone to keep from following internal defeat with external sinning. But we should not call this victory! If we are unwilling to admit that we are walking apart from Christ, it will be much longer before we are willing to turn and come again under His power. But when we admit that we have sinned already, and turn to Him again for repentance, He is able to give it to us.
RSS Feed
