God's Way Out of Temptation

Chuckle: Two men rented a boat and one caught a large fish. “We should mark the spot,” he said. The second man drew an X in the bottom of the boat. “That’s no good,” said the first man. “Next time out, we may not get the same boat.”

Quote: "Blessed is he who has never been tempted for he knows not the frailty of his rectitude (good moral character)." --Christopher Morley

"When you are tempted, he (God) will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it" (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT).

We all face various temptations every day of our lives, but temptation does not necessarily result in sin. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness but he never gave in to the temptation -- He never sinned (Hebrews 5:15). An amazing truth is that God has given us His Spirit to provide us the strength to avoid yielding to ever-present temptations. He provides us a way out. The operative question is: will we chose the way out?

Make no mistake, being tempted is a normal part of the Christian life and sin only comes when we do not take God's way out, but give in to the temptation. Do not be surprised when you are tempted and never allow yourself to feel guilty because you have been tempted. Rather, concentrate on your relationship with your Lord. As you grow in your faith and draw closer to Him, it will become easier to resist Satan's temptations. Our goal should be to live in the Spirit to such a degree that temptations become less and less attractive to us as our fellowship with Christ becomes closer.

Our culture is becoming more and more tolerant of ungodly living. Moral depravity and sin-inducing pressures are on display everywhere and are made to seem attractive as normal human behavior. However, each Christian should recognize that God's standards of morality never change. Sin is sin in God's sight regardless of our opinions on the subject. Each time we resist temptation we become stronger as a follower of Christ.

The word Paul uses for "temptation" can also be translated as "testing." We must remember that God does not tempt anyone, but He certainly does allow our faith to be tested from time to time. "When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone," (James 1:13 NIV). In the King James Version, the Bible says that God tempted Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son, Isaac. But, in reality, God tested him to determine the strength of his faith and willingness to obey Him no matter the cost (Genesis 22).

Whether we are tempted to sin or tested to strengthen our faith, God will show us the way out and give us victory in every situation. "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation" (2 Peter 2:9 NASB). Keep your spiritual ears tuned to God's voice and He will show you the way out of every temptation.

Love, Jerry & Dotse