Temptation...

As my mind wonders amid my thoughts, governance resonates with this awareness; I have often heard it said that because God is not evil He cannot be evil, which is obviously true. “Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” (James 1:13) – If that be true, which it obviously is, why then are we taught by the Lord Jesus to pray, “Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil (the evil one).”

Some of you may remember the account of Job; if not, here it is; “Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. The LORD said to Satan, "From where have you come?" Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it. And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?"” (Job 1:6-8) as this account further unfolds, although instrumentally it is Satan who brings evil upon Job, we can very clearly see that it is God who allows the calamity (evil) to fall on Job, “Have you considered my servant Job”!

Although the Apostle James teaches us that when we fall into sin, that it is because of our own wicked hearts that we hacker after so much of what God hates, yes hates! And sadly we are often lead astray by our own lust. It is one thing to have a thought but another when it becomes an intention. There is without doubt an aspect of God’s sovereign will which allows us to be tested in certain areas of our lives. Why? So that we may see where our treasure lies! For if we love God, like every Christian would be quick to confess, the apostle John teaches us this truth; “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” (1John 5:2)

The Apostle Paul on the other hand is quick to help us understand the severity the Christian faces on a daily basis, the coalface of our walk looks something like this; “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:12)   

With all this to consider where does that leave us? There is a testing that God require from every believer, sanctification must be tried and tested on a daily basis, we must get to a stage in our lives whereby we begin to have victory over the areas we once where enslaved to. That does not mean we should cavalier into areas that could easily trip us up, but rather pray, “Father lead us not into temptation”, however when we are tempted we have an obligation to seek out God’s grace to overcome the trail and in so doing we will come out on the other side more refined. This is the walk we have been called to! Has God every said to Satan have you considered my servant Tyrone? I somewhat doubt it, nevertheless I have an obligation by his grace to shoot for the mark. It is our duty as Christians to live a life that brings honour to God. The Lord Jesus has left us with his perfect example to follow.

May we be quick to seek His face as we less frequently buckle under the weight of our own sin! May God help us all; remembering that it is not by our own strength that we will overcome the evil one, but rather by the finished work of Calvary! We must call on Jesus to find the grace to overcome, but overcome we must!

Signing off

Tyrone