Temptation & Victory

Big idea: God’s plan is for us to live lives of freedom and love which is only possible when we surrender to the power and plan of His Spirit.

Introduction

Jeremy was an atheist and an alcoholic. His story is much like yours and mine. He had a bad habit that he couldn’t kick. His bad habit caused him financial ruin and destroyed his family. He had tried everything he could think of to fix his problem, but nothing was working. By the age of 32 he had become what some might call a “beaten teachable.” This is the way he put it, “I hit rock bottom so hard my mind cracked open.” So, when he walked into Alcoholics Anonymous for the first time and saw posters with ideas about God on them, he wasn’t turned away by it. Something inside him knew that what he needed most was superhuman help. Without someone freeing him from his addiction, Jeremy knew he would remain a slave to alcohol and eventually it would kill him.

Alcoholism is a good metaphor for sin. We are all enslaved to sin and without superhuman help eventually it will kills us.

Defining Sin

Let’s define sin.

You already know all the biblical definitions of sin:

sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4)

when you fail to do the good you know, that’s sin (James 4:7)

Sin is falling short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23)

Sin is deeply ingrained inside us.

Go to Galatians 5 and notice something about the sins it describes:

Galatians 5:19–21 ESV

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

What I’d like you to notice is that this list isn’t just a replication of the ten commandments. There are things like “division” and “rivalries” in this list, but you won’t find that in the ten commandments. So what’s going on?

In the sermon on the mount in Matt 5 Jesus showed us that sin goes deeper than just obedience to letter of the ten commands. Let’s read how He put it in verses 21-22:

Matthew 5:21–22 ESV

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

Notice how Jesus goes deeper than the actions of disobedience to the issues of the heart. If murder is sin, then the motives and attitudes that lead to that murder are sin as well — hatred, rivalry, dissension and the like. People will be able to see the action of murder, but they might not see or think much about the hatred and dissension in someone’s heart. But God sees into the heart.

In another place Jesus summarized the whole law with two phrases: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, and Love your neighbor as yourself. Love is the motivating factor behind God’s government. Anything that is opposed to God’s law of love is sin.

The root of sin is what’s going on in the heart, while the fruits of sin are the wrong actions you do. The fruit reveals the sin that’s inside us.

Luke 6:43–45 (ESV)

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. ...The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

What we see on the outside is a result of what’s on the inside, and if we’re honest with ourselves, we know we can’t change what’s on our inside. It’s like Jeremiah 13:23 asks, “can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil.”

This presents a problem. If we can’t change our insides and what our insides are producing is bad, then what are we to do? What hope do we have?

Bait and Switch

Satan has a solution for us. He gets us to focus on the fruit of our sin problem while ignoring the root. It’s a bait and switch!

He baits us into thinking that we can have a good moral life if we just change a few simple bad behaviors. And instead of the heart-work that we really need, he has us trimming fruit off our tree.

Let’s say you have a problem with lust. The devil will convince you that your problem is pornography, and if you can just give that up then you’ll be great. So you work hard and set up web filters, and even have an accountability partner, and viola! You’re sin-free. Except the heart problem still exists. You haven’t solved the lust in your heart. Dealing with the fruit without addressing the heart is a loosing game, and this sin of lust is going to pop back up before long.

Or maybe your problem is greed. The devil will convince you that the issue is just that you need to give a portion of whatever you make to charity and then your greed is justified. Its no surprise that the wealthiest people give the smallest portion of their money to charity while some of the poorest in the country usually give the highest percentage. The devil’s solution doesn’t solve your heart problem.

Maybe your problem is an indulgent appetite. Instead of dealing with the deeper issue of appetite the devil will have you focusing on your weight or your appearance or a particular food choice. He’s basically got you chasing your tail because there’s always going to be another food to give up or another health fad to follow.

Maybe your problem is pride. The devil doesn’t want you to loose your pride, so he just changes your focus to something that sounds better. For example, instead of the pride of appearance that has you dressing up fashionably with hair and makeup and jewelry, the devil distract you with the pride of modesty. So while you think you’ve solved one problem, the devil has actually created an entirely new one for you.

Maybe your issue is that you’re envious of the things someone else has. The devil tells you that you’ll be more righteous if you swear off that thing you wish you had, but then he tricks you into judging the other person for having it and talking badly about them. So now, you not only have the envy, but you also a judgmental and hateful spirit.

Because cutting off the fruit if sin is the best we can do on our own, we chase after the Devil’s suggestions. It’s like a drug addict who replaces meth with marijuana. We cut off one bad fruit and pretty soon we find another one popping up in our life.

The devil wants us playing the game of spiritual whack-a-mole so that we don’t realize what our real need is. We end up becoming like the Pharisees in Jesus’ day with our many rules and regulations to prevent us from sin.

Jeremy did that for many years—he’d quit drinking for a day or a week. Then he’d feel happy with his progress so he’d have a little wine with supper and pat himself on the back. Only later would he realize that he’d fallen right back into the cycle of addiction.

The truth is, its not until we realize our utter helplessness that we have any hope of transformation.

The Power of the Will

There’s a fabulous story of sin and salvation in the healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda.

Turn to John 5 and you’ll find the story in the first 9 verses of the chapter.

A certain man was lying by a pool near the Sheep Gate entrance of Jerusalem. A pagan idea had crept into the culture of the people. They thought that during the time of a certain festival a magical angel would stir the water and whoever got into the pool first would be healed. Their story sounds a lot like the so-called healing ministries of our day. They aren’t from God, but a lot of people flock to them.

One day Jesus walked into this strange scene. He saw one who had been trying to get himself healed at this so-called magical pool for years. He had been an invalid for 38 years. Jesus looked at him and having compassion on him He said, “Do you want to be healed?” Let’s read verses 7-9:

John 5:7–9 (ESV)

The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked.

“Yes, Jesus, I’d like to be healed, but every time I try I don’t make it in time.”

Isn’t that what Satan’s counterfeits are like? We want to be free from the prison of sin, but every time we try we end up back in the same situation, and sometimes even worse off.

Let’s learn a lesson from this story: that man could never have been healed by his own efforts at that pool of Satan’s deception, even if he had been able to get to the pool in time. All of that nonsense was just a distraction so that he wouldn’t look at Jesus.

But then Jesus came up to him. Notice the pursuit. Jesus is coming after you too. He’s looking at you in your helpless situation and he has compassion on you. He’s asking you, “Do you want to be healed?” just like he did that man by the pool.

Now, does wanting something make it so? No, our desires, no matter how noble they might be, are powerless to free us from our prison of sin. Jeremy could want to be sober every minute of every day and still be a drunk alcoholic. Wanting something doesn’t make it so.

What we need to understand is the true power of the will.

Notice what Jesus’ will for this man was:

“Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” That’s what Jesus wanted for this man.

Let’s pretend that after hearing this the man rolled over onto his elbows and started crawling towards the pool. Would he have been healed?

Or what if he had said, “wow, that’s exactly what I want. If only I could...” Would he have been healed?

NO.

The only way that man could be healed is when his will and God’s desire aligned.

Your will is is the spring of all your actions. When Adam and Eve surrendered themselves to Satan at the tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they submitted their will to Satan. And from that moment on he has been working out his plans in humanity. Satan’s plans and desires have become the root of our actions. For there to be any change in our lives there needs to be a fundamental shift in our allegiance—from the so-called magical pools of Satan to the will and plans of our Creator, Jesus.

Romans 6:16 (ESV)

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

To whom do you present yourself? To whom do you submit yourself? Are you going after the counterfeit healing that Satan lures you with? Or are you choosing to submit yourself to God’s plan and God’s will?

The power of the will is the power of repentance. To choose to turn away from Satan and to embrace the salvation of Jesus.

Believing that Jesus could help him, that man by the pool submitted himself to Jesus and applied his will to obedience. Now, if all that happened by that pool was for the man to choose to believe in Jesus then he would have stayed a cripple. No amount of will-power could change the fact that he was a cripple, but when his will was aligned with God’s will, then in that moment all the power and healing necessary for him to obey God poured into his body and he stood up, healed.

This is the “formula” for a growing Christian life: submit yourself to God’s plan and decide to obey Him, and He will give you His power to live a godly life.

You must remember that your will is the spring of all your actions. At the fall this will was given into the control of Satan; and he has ever since been working in man to will and to do of his own pleasure. But the infinite sacrifice of God in giving Jesus, His beloved Son, to become a sacrifice for sin, enables Him to say, without violating one principle of His government: “Yield yourself up to Me; give Me that will; take it from the control of Satan, and I will take possession of it; then I can work in you to will and to do of My good pleasure.” When He gives you the mind of Christ, your will becomes as His will, and your character is transformed to be like Christ's character.

Application

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Whenever we witness a baptism we are watching a person publicly yield themselves to God. They are recognizing that the’ve got a bad tree and no amount of fruit trimming is going to fix it. So they’re surrendering themselves to God and He promises to change their heart—to transform their “tree” into something good through the power of His Holy spirit.

Acts 2:38 ESV

And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

In my next message I’ll explore what it is the Holy Spirit does for us and His involvement in our lives transforms us.

For now, let’s wrap up this discussion of temptation and victory with some practical principles of victory.

Three principles

The first principle is the knowing principle.

Romans 6:11 NLT

So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.

2 Corinthians 1:20 ESV

For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.

We must know who we are in Christ, and what God promises us.

The second principle is the resisting principle.

Romans 6:12 NLT

Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.

We are to resist sin, Satan and sin-provoking circumstances. Put yourself in places where good influences and godly people are and keep yourself away from activities and places and people that tempt you to sin. When we are pursuing the pleasure and fascination of knowing God we can say “no” to temptation far more effectively.

The third principle is the pursuing principle.

Romans 6:13 NLT

Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.

This is first a submission of our body and mind to God to be used by Him for His purposes and His will. Secondly it is an active pursuit of God through Bible study, prayer, and witness.

What if you’ve submitted yourself to God, you’ve stored up God’s promises in your heart, and you’ve resisted, and then you fall into sin again?

There’s a fantastic verse in Proverbs 24:16:

Proverbs 24:16 (HCSB)

Though a righteous man falls seven times, he will get up,

but the wicked will stumble into ruin.

As Christians we may fall, and fall, and fall again. We are victorious, not because we don’t struggled or even because we don’t fallen. We are victorious because we repent and turn to Jesus every single time. Victory is not just the moment when we resist temptation. Victory is a repeated and continuous life of surrender to Jesus.

An alcoholic may make a choice and even a determined effort to change. They come to AA meetings, they follow the steps, and then one day they mess up and get themselves slammed. In that moment they are not a failure, they are a work in progress. Even though in that moment their promises are about as strong as ropes of sand, they must choose again to go back to AA and follow the steps. They’ll probably mess up again and again in the process, but each time they’ll learn something new about themselves. Each time they come back they’ll have grown from the experience. And eventually their falls will become few and far between. And yet, they will always call themselves an alcoholic. They know that without continued reliance on God and a determination to keep themselves surrendered to God’s plan for their lives, they will fall again.

We know that Christ’s perfect righteousness is the only thing that can make us worthy of heaven. Imagine that Christ’s righteousness is way up at the level of the ceiling. When you give yourself to Jesus and proclaim to the world through Baptism that you are His and He is yours forever, you’re somewhere down at the floor in the level of your righteousness compared to Christ’s. But are you saved?

Yes, Jesus saves you from your sins. He covers your filthy rags with His righteousness. You are worthy of heaven at that very moment. If you died right then you would be ready for Jesus’ second coming.

Suppose that some time has gone by since you gave your heart to Jesus. As you surrender and learn God’s will and choose to obey Him, He gives you the power of His Spirit and you grow. But like anything in life, you have your ups and downs. This week might be down and next week might be up. Over the weeks and years of your life you see that you’re growing. No longer is your righteousness at the floor, you’re climbing higher and higher. Each time you fall you don’t fall quite so far, and each time you look back at your life you’re better off now than you used to be. After many months and years maybe now you your righteousness is a few inches off the floor. And its exciting to see where God has brought you.

If you were an alcoholic, now praise be to God, you’re living a sober life with all its the joys and blessings.

If you lived a profligate lifestyle, now praise be to God, you have a life of purity and fidelity with all its blessings of love and faithfulness.

And yet, no matter how long we live or how determined we are, we’re never going to be in a place where we can say our righteousness is anything but a gift from God. Just like that man by the pool of Bethesda, we are only healed by the power of God, and our salvation will always be the result of Christ’s perfect life and perfect death in place of our own. There will never be a time in our lives where we can say to Jesus, “thanks for the hand up, I’ve got it from here.”

Jesus promises you that 1 Cor 10:13 “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Jesus is our way of escape. His Spirit is the power behind every victory, and the architect of your new heart.

And so God tells us James 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

I’m so thankful that God wants good things for me. Its miserable wallowing in sin and I don’t want to do it. Rom 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

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Please stand with me as we sing our closing hymn:

Father Lead Me Day By Day (482)