Software Vault: The Gold Collection/Software Vault - The Gold Collection (American Databankers) (1993).ISO/cdr19/livwosin.zip/LIVWOSIN.TXT

Text File | 1993-05-30 | 38KB | 655 lines

Is It Possible To Live Without
Sinning?


Copyright c by Joe Crews.
  All rights reserved.

No growing Christian in the world can be unconcerned about the
traumatic problem of temptation.  There is no age level when
moral choices and struggles of the spirit do not confront us.
Temptation may attack at different points on different issues,
but it will always be with us as long as we are in the flesh.
When I was a boy back in North Carolina, we could always tell
when the fruit was ripe out in the orchards.  A certain gang of
neighborhood boys would head in that direction, and everyone
would say, "It must be that time again."  Now, devils are
smarter than teenage boys, and as long as the fruit of your life
is sour and immature, they may leave you strictly alone.  But
when that fruit is ripe, all the demons may suddenly appear to
try to steal it away from you.
This means that the most spiritual people are the most likely to
face the most severe temptations.  They have something that
Satan would like to spoil or destroy.  Stragglers out on the
edge of the camp might come off with a whole skin, but the true
saints will be under constant harassment.
Does this mean that it is an honor to be especially tempted by
the devil?  Perhaps so.  In a way it is a compliment to have
thieves try to break into your house.  It shows that you at
least have the reputation for having money.  And when the demons
come around, it may indeed indicate that you are better off
spiritually than you have ever been before.
Now we are prepared to look at one of the most astounding texts
in the entire Bible.  "My brethren, count it all joy when ye
fall into divers temptations."  James 1:2.  Apparently, the
Bible writers were also convinced that temptation can be a good
thing.  Yet, the thought is in total conflict with all the
painful human experiences we have suffered in meeting
temptation.  Most people consider it to be a necessary evil,
downright destructive in its influence.
We certainly need to understand that there are some redeeming
features about temptation.  First of all, it proves that we have
moral insight.  No one can be tempted unless there are
meaningful choices to be made.  Issues of right and wrong must
be clearly distinguished.  People who see everything in the
moral realm as a kind of dull gray cannot pass through any great
battles of the mind.
One must have a special consciousness of good and evil in order
to be tempted.  Many modern religionists seem to have only
small, average consciences, which may account for the lack of
spiritual conflict.  What a contrast to the great characters of
the past who seem to have had dramatic hand-to-hand combat with
the devil.  Martin Luther's confrontation with Satan was so real
that he is reported to have thrown an inkwell at his tormentor.
You are to be congratulated, then, if you find yourself tempted.
It certainly implies that you are seeing the issues correctly.
But now comes the most crucial question:  After we recognize the
true situation before us, how do we find the power to choose the
good over the evil?  Paul sensed the urgency of this question
when he wrote his first letter to the Corinthian church.  No one
could have been faced with more obvious choices than those few
Christian citizens of Corinth.  The pagan world of the flesh
stood out in vivid contrast to the self-denying lifestyle of
their new-found faith.  There was no question with them about
right and wrong, and Paul wrote:  "There hath no temptation
taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may
be able to bear it."  1 Corinthians 10:13.
This verse contains a wealth of inspired encouragement for
anyone who is struggling against a recognized evil.  The apostle
warned against making an exception of ourselves.  It is so easy
for us to feel that no one else has ever had to face the enemy
in the same way that we have to.  Our burden appears heavier and
our battle seems more severe than any which others have
experienced.  Paul said that this is simply not true, and we
must not allow ourselves to think it for a moment.  This is old
stuff.  No matter what we suffer, the very same temptation has
come upon a million others long before we were born.
How very much we like to consider our situation different from
all others!  This provides a very clever rationalization just in
case we lose the battle and yield to the temptation.  If our
case is so different, God cannot judge us as strictly as others
who have a much easier test.  The businessman consoles himself
that cheating on taxes is not usually the right thing to do, but
he has suffered more shoplifting losses than anyone else.  And
besides that, he has been more discriminated against by
government bureaucrats.
The philandering husband argues, "My problem is unique.  My wife
is cold and unresponsive, and no one understands the pressures I
am under."
Mark it down:  Almost every sin will be prefaced by these three
words--"I'm an exception."  We must constantly remind ourselves
that this has been the psychology of Satan for six thousand
years.  All he tried to do in the wilderness of temptation was
to convince Jesus that He was different.  Every one of the three
approaches Satan used was based on the idea that as the Son of
God, He could do things that no one else could do--turn stones
into bread or jump off the pinnacle without being hurt.

The Purpose of Temptation

Now Paul hastens to assure us that "God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able."  That is
reassuring and comforting!  But why should He allow any
agonizing conflicts to engulf His people?  Why not simply remove
all temptation?  The answer is found in James 1:2-4.  "My
brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect
and entire, wanting nothing."
A new, satisfying picture begins to emerge in these verses.
Temptation provides opportunity for spiritual conquest and
growth.  It is not a disgrace to be tempted.  If there are no
battles, there can be no victories through strong decision.
Neither can there be any nobility of character.  Virtue is tried
innocence.  Untried goodness may be no goodness at all.  I could
possibly sequester myself in a solitary cave somewhere and not
commit an outward sin for a whole week simply because I would
have no contact with any other person.  Would that week prove me
to be a virtuous individual?  Not at all.  Christianity is not
merely the absence of wrong behavior in the life; it has to do
with an aggressive practice of positive virtues as well.  My
life in the cave might prove more than I would like it to prove.
I would be good, but good for nothing!  The person who avoids
all temptation by avoiding contact with all people may do no
harm, but neither does he do any good.  He is morally anemic.
Now we are brought to Paul's assertion that God will "make a way
to escape that ye may be able to bear it."  Does this mean there
will always be an easy road out of every temptation experience?
No.  It just means that in every moral trial God will provide us
an
alternative.  There will always be two paths leading out of each
temptation--one, the
alluring path of evil; the other, an appealing path of good.
Paul is saying that we are
being drawn in two directions every time we are tempted.  At the
same time we are tempted to anger, we are also being tempted to
self-control.  When we are tempted to be dishonest, we are also
tempted to use integrity.
A little boy was standing in a store with his hand in the apple
barrel, caressing the attractive fruit.  Finally, the
storekeeper
approached the lad and asked, "Sonny, are you trying to steal my
apples?"  Quickly the boy answered, "No, sir.  I'm trying not
to."  We can easily understand what he meant by that honest
rejoinder.  All of us have struggled with those two voices and
those two choices.  We may not have it neatly analyzed and
defined, but we are really being tempted by goodness as much as
by evil.
He who represses the impulse to steal is expressing the virtue
of honesty.  He who represses the desire to commit adultery is
simultaneously expressing the ideal of purity.  The secret is to
apply this beautiful principle to our daily experience so that
we do not go through life regarding all temptation as a dreadful
enemy.  In the long run, we may discover that the most
intriguing, appealing things are really the good things.  D. L.
Moody named a certain beautiful hill near his boyhood home
Temptation Hill because he reasoned that someday, somebody would
be unable to resist the temptation to build a church on top of
it.  Sure enough, somebody did yield to the temptation, and a
lovely chapel stands there to this day.
Now, let's look toward the end of these dual tracks which lead
out of each temptation experience.  The temptation that makes
one character noble by non-consent will make
another character mean and ignoble by giving way to it.  This
law of human nature decrees that we can never be the same after
facing temptation.  We will either get the victory and be
stronger for the next one down the road, or we will yield and be
weaker for the next one we face.  Our character is built up or
torn down depending on the choice we make.

Should We Seek Temptation?

Doesn't this provide a powerful argument to prove that
temptation can be a good thing?  Indeed, it does.  But it also
can be abused if we are not careful.  Because victory can do so
much good for us, should we go searching for an opportunity to
engage the enemy?  If temptation can be such a glorious
opportunity to develop character, why not pray "Lead us into
temptation" instead of "Lead us not into temptation"?  Some
might reason that they need an injection of new strength and
begin looking for a nice, juicy temptation so that they can gain
a victory and build their character.
What is wrong with that reasoning?  Is there a convincing answer
to it?  Those of us who possess this freedom of choice should
pray that we will not misuse it by placing ourselves in the
clutch of circumstances that might test us beyond our strength.
Fire controlled in the stove is great, but it is not very good
out of control on the roof.  It is better to shun the bait than
to struggle in the trap after it has sprung.
The fact is that we misjudge our own powers.  We do not
understand our own strengths and weaknesses.  For this reason,
no one is justified in deliberately seeking for a testing
situation.  We have no promise of deliverance under those
circumstances.  The Bible says, "The Lord knoweth how to deliver
the godly out of temptations."  2 Peter 2:9.   Again, God
promises, "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I
also will keep thee from the hour of temptation."  Revelation
3:10.  He is the only one who is qualified to arrange the
circumstances of our test.  He will permit to develop around us
only that which He sees we are in need of and have the strength
to endure.
Every one of us has particularly vulnerable points of weakness
in character.  It is also sadly true that there are special
moments of time in which we are most liable to be overcome by
the enemy.  Satan is well acquainted with that very moment when
our resistance will be the lowest, and he also understands our
individual weakness.  We can be sure of one thing--his strongest
attack against us will come in our weakest moment and at the
weakest point in our character.
What a solemn thought!  With such an enemy we can never feel
secure in our own strength.  We are only as strong as we are in
the weakest moment of our life.  Our character is only as strong
as its weakest link.  These facts forever preclude the
possibility that we can deliberately and safely expose ourselves
to tests in order to build character.  God must measure the
temptations to our personal need and strength, and He must
constantly control the force of those circumstances which try
our faith and experience.  In this kind of temptation we may
rejoice, as James admonishes us to do.

Sin Begins in the Mind

Another interesting fact about temptation is that it always
assails the mind first.   Every sin has its origin in the
thoughts long before it appears as an act of the body.  Jesus
said, "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness."  Mark 7:21, 22.  Almost every
category of evil is included in this long list of sins which
come forth from the heart.  Paul described lust as "fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind."  Ephesians 2:3.  The
Greek text more accurately says "desires of the thoughts."
Right at this point we must make some careful distinctions.  It
is very important to understand that desire, in itself, is not
wrong.  God has actually placed certain powerful
appetites and propensities within our human nature.  There is
nothing wrong with these drives as long as they are properly
controlled and directed.  This includes ambition, tem-
per, sex, and every other basic disposition.  Wrong comes in
only one way.  When desire
oversteps the bounds and seeks gratification outside the will of
God, it turns into lust.
Every day we are confronted with pictures, books, words, etc.,
which are exciting and
appealing to the mind.  It is through these emotional stimuli
that the mind is often presented with unholy desires.  The
temptation to lust is present, but this is not sin.  As long as
those desires are not gratified or fulfilled they are not wrong.
It is only when the mind responds to the desire by receiving it
and holding it that the temptation turns into sin.
James describes it this way.  "But every man is tempted, when he
is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.  Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin:  and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death."  James 1:14, 15.  Here the act of sin is
compared to the process of conception and reproduction.  Just as
a bee carries pollen from one open blossom to another to
fertilize the flower, so the heart of each individual is open to
the introduction of unholy thoughts and desires. If those seeds
are allowed to mingle with the carnal nature, they produce an
inevitable harvest of sin, and finally, death.  Our only
protection is to set a guard before all the avenues of the soul
to test every entering thought. By the grace and strength of
Christ, every evil desire can be recognized and sifted out so
that it has no opportunity to linger in the mind as a catalyst
of lust and sin.
This touches an issue that often becomes exceedingly sensitive.
How easy it is to say that we can monitor the mind and weed out
the clamoring thoughts of sin.  But can human beings, even in
concert with Christ, actually conquer the temptation to harbor
impure thoughts?  The Bible says Yes.  "For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling
down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of
Christ."  2 Corinthians 10:4, 5.
How is such total victory possible?  Is it accomplished through
prayer, faith, or personal effort?  Basically, we must agree
that this kind of deliverance comes only through the enabling,
indwelling Spirit of God.  There is not enough strength in the
flesh to overcome one evil desire.  Nevertheless, the victory is
not obtained without our strong cooperation and action.  God
does not work miracles to deliver those who do not use their own
God-given power to avoid evil.
Guard the Avenues of the Mind

Again, we are brought back to the question of inviting
temptation.  How far should we go in protecting ourselves from
the vulnerability to sin?  Jesus laid down a very clear
principle in the sermon on the mount.  "And if thy right eye
offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee:  for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and
not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.  And if thy
right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast if from thee:  for
it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish,
and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."  Matthew
5:29, 30.
Obviously, Jesus was not talking about the literal eye or the
literal hand.  One could violently decimate his body and still
be as wicked as ever.  Christ was talking about the occupation
of the hand and what the eye focuses on.  If we find ourselves
in a job or any physical situation which opens a door to
temptation, the counsel is to "cut it off."  In other words, get
away from any vocation which involves an enticement that is
liable to lead into sin.  The Master indicated that any radical
means should be used to avoid situations which might overwhelm
with soul-destroying sin.  Even an employment position should be
abandoned rather than risk the spiritual loss of eternal life.
If we find ourselves looking at some scene which is likely to
introduce sinful thoughts or actions, Jesus commands us to shut
that view away from our sight by any possible means.  The term
"pluck it out" conveys the idea of precipitous action if
necessary.
What a persuasive argument against the corrupt communication
media of today!  The alluring appeal of television is probably
the most powerful incitement to sin in the twentieth century.
The words of Christ have a most explicit application to those
who have difficulty controlling the television set.  Our Lord's
counsel to "pluck it out" would seem to translate into "throw it
out" if the eye continues to be offended by provocative pictures
on the tube.  Much better, Jesus said, to lose the advantage of
the educational material than to lose the soul by looking at
degrading programs.  If it can't be totally controlled, don't
take the chance!  Pluck it out!
Would Jesus ask us to deny ourselves some good thing just
because a small amount of mind pollution might be involved?
Yes.  It is much better to lead what the world calls a narrow-
minded existence--a one-eyed life--than to lead a so-called full
life and lose your soul.  "If any man will come after me, let
him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Luke 9:23.  Saying No to desirable, fleshly things is a basic
requirement of a Christian's discipleship if those things
present temptations which are likely to lead into sin.
What I am really saying is that even with a spiritual mind, we
need to follow the great basic principles of victory over
temptation.  There are places to be avoided if we want to have
total victory.  There are devotional requirements if we would be
wholly in harmony with Christ.  The avenues of the mind must be
guarded if we would defeat sin in its
inception.
What a tremendous difference it would make if all could clearly
understand the priority placed upon a pure mind.  Satan has
created a deceptive, artificial world of the flesh which makes a
powerful appeal to the mind of every man, woman, and child.
Only by recognizing the snares and appropriating all the weapons
of Christ's warfare will we be successful in resisting
temptation.

No Confidence in the Flesh

Although some people seem able to resist anything except
temptation, others appear to be almost complacent about the
problem.  Is it possible to have a misplaced confidence in the
flesh and its ability to cope with temptation?  Paul wrote, "Let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."  1
Corinthians 10:12.
Have you noticed how some of the most unlikely individuals fall
prey to the most unlikely sins?  It is often the case that a
person is overcome in the area where he feels the strongest.
How does it happen?  Do we become careless on the point of our
supposed strength?  It appears so.  No inspired explanation is
given as to how Moses could succumb to impatience or anger.  The
Bible presents him as the meekest man who ever lived. Such a
person might yield to many other temptations but surely not to
passion.  Yet, that is exactly the sin that shut Moses out of
the promised land.  He smote the rock in anger instead of
speaking to it as God commanded.  Numbers 20.
Elijah's great strength was courage. He withstood single-
handedly all the entrenched forces of Baal on Mt. Carmel.  With
incredible boldness he challenged anyone who deviated from a
path of full obedience to God.  Yet, immediately after his
successful contest with the prophets of Baal, he fled like a
coward from the threats of Queen Jezebel.  It was so out of
character for the fearless Tishbite!  Did he drop his guard in
the area of his fabled strength?
Abraham was distinguished by his total trust in God.  He is
called the father of the faithful.  Yet he lied to the King of
Egypt out of fear that his wife would be taken from him.  Do
these great Bible characters not demonstrate dramatically how
Satan attacks the place in our lives where there is a lack of
alertness?  No one should think he is immune to Satan's attacks
because of some demonstrable virtues.
It is also very interesting to note that no one really
anticipates the result of yielding to temptation, since it
usually approaches along the line of least resistance.  Gehazi
saw the flashing colors of the Syrian garments--not the leprous
scars which would follow him to the grave.  Achan saw the
coveted wedge of Babylonian gold--not the anger of a nation
which would rise up to stone him.  Judas could not see past the
glittering silver coins to his fearful remorse and suicide.
Another great truth about temptation, which should bring courage
to all of us, is that many temptations will cease to trouble us
as we make good choice a habit.  Just as our brain is programmed
to do wrong by constant yielding to compromise and defeat, so it
may be programmed for victory through strong decision and right
choices.  Most of the terrible struggle will disappear from the
experience as our nature adjusts to a program of habitual
victory.
Someone wrote an article entitled "Don't Decide to Go to
Church," which stirred considerable controversy.  But the basic
premise of the article was simply that we should not have to
debate over the decision to attend church.  Just as we don't
struggle three times a day with the decision to eat food, so we
should not have to make some heavy decisions about going to
church each Sabbath morning.  Repetition of a practice finally
turns it into an automatic response, and the temptation to stay
away from church no longer exists. So it can be with many other
forms of temptation as we use our wills to establish victorious
patterns of thought and action.
Are you sometimes tempted not to pray or read your Bible in the
morning?  Probably every Christian has faced that temptation at
least once.  Is it possible to take the strength out of that
particular temptation?  Yes, it is.  Thousands of people have
established such a pattern of daily devotion that they don't
even consider not taking the time to do it.  The temptation no
longer really exists for them.  They have followed the counsel
of Paul, "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good."
Romans 12:21.
Thus far we have uncovered some of the psychological tricks that
Satan uses for trapping people into sin.  We have also concluded
that sin originates in the mind, which means that some very
special attention must be given to protecting that vulnerable
target of the enemy's attack.  We have suggested placing
specific guards before the avenues of the mind to shut out
suspicious thoughts and desires. We have strongly recommended
using the will to say No to the urges of the flesh.  All of this
counsel is good, but it is also useless if one truth is not
recognized.  Now we move into the very heart of the
temptation/sin problem.

The Power of a Positive No

The power to say No to temptation is only possible for those who
have received the mind of Christ through conversion.  The carnal
mind has no choice whatsoever about sin.  It is foredoomed to
failure and defeat.  All the processes of choice, free will, and
decision are centered in the mysterious gray matter of the
brain.  Here is where Satan made his first attack on Eve.  In
order to make her sin,
Satan had to influence her to open her mind to someone besides
God.  And the only way to reach her mind was through the
emotional avenue of the senses.   Thus, the Bible says that she
"saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant
to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise."
Genesis 3:6.
Please notice that the serpent was only able to corrupt her mind
through the things she looked at and listened to.  It was the
appealing beauty of the fruit, plus the hypnotizing sound of the
flattering voice, which finally led to Eve's downfall.
Mark it down:  It is only by utilizing the paths which are under
our conscious control that Satan is able to defile the mind.  In
other words, we must give our consent before an act of sin can
be committed.  No one compelled Eve to leave her husband, walk
to the tree, listen to the serpent, or eat the fruit.  Every
step was a volitional act in response to some sensory appeal.
God had placed within Eve a holy will and a perfect, sinless
mind.  Through these sanctified powers a total separation from
sin was always possible for her.  Yet she chose to disobey God.
Our case is not quite so clear-cut and simple.  We do not
possess by nature the kind of pure and unpolluted mind that Eve
had.  We have all inherited the weak and compromised bodies and
minds which disobedience produced in Adam and Eve.  By yielding
to Satan and choosing to obey him instead of God, Eve instantly
lost her power to resist temptation.  Her will became weakened,
and the law of sin began to operate in her body to produce
death.  By that one deliberate act, she forever doomed herself
and her off-spring to a life of unremitting struggle and defeat.
Had God not immediately introduced the plan of salvation in
Genesis 3:15, all the human race would have followed Eve's
course of willful sin and would have died without hope.  The
promised seed of the woman
offered hope for degenerate men to reverse the effect of Adam's
and Eve's sin.  Through Christ the death sentence could be
lifted and the mind of enmity could be replaced by the mind of
Christ.  "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ
Jesus." Philippians 2:5.
It would be useless to deal with the subject of temptation
without recognizing that the
ultimate answer to this problem is a spiritual yielding to
Christ.  All the counsel in the world, and all the knowledge of
sin's devices will be less than useless if the mind is not
surrendered to Christ.

The Second Adam's Temptation

Consider for a moment how Jesus made that way of escape from
temptation for every one who will accept it.  He came as the
world's second Adam, and faced the enemy exactly like the first
Adam had to meet him.  And yet, of course, it was not exactly as
Adam and Eve were tested.  Jesus did not meet the tempter in a
lovely garden surrounded by beauty.  He struggled with Satan in
a wild, desolate wilderness.  The first Adam had
access to every possible variety of luscious food, but Jesus was
emaciated and weak from forty days without food or drink.
The first Adam faced the tempter in the strength of a perfect
body, untainted by a single hereditary flaw. Jesus took humanity
upon Himself after 4,000 years of sin had weakened the human
race.  He accepted all the hereditary disadvantages and
liabilities which sin had imposed upon the physical
descendants of the first Adam.
No one will ever fully understand the nature of that wilderness
contest.  Satan had anticipated this confrontation for years,
and perhaps for centuries.  In those three subtle temptations he
had combined all the psychological expertise that his mastermind
could provide.  In effect, Satan appealed to the same basic
human emotions which had destroyed the first Adam--appetite,
presumption, and position.  But, thank God, the deceiver could
not find one thing in Christ to respond to his enticements.  The
second Adam utterly disarmed and defeated the devil in the very
areas which had been so effective against the first Adam.
We need to stretch our minds in an effort to comprehend this
truth.  Why was the great Creator-God of the universe willing to
submit to the indignities of that agonizing experience?  Had He
not already proven His power over the evil one by casting him
out of heaven?  Why should He voluntarily place Himself at such
terrible disadvantage in the midst of
another conflict with Satan?
The answer is simple.  The devil had stolen away the masterpiece
of God's creation.  Mankind, whom God loved, had been kidnapped
by the enemy, albeit willingly, and was held in captivity.  Two
things happened that day when Adam was conquered by Satan.
First, he and his descendants immediately fell under  the
irrevocable sentence of death which God had pronounced upon
transgressors of His law.  Second, his entire moral nature
became so traumatized and degraded by sin that it would never be
possible for Adam or his posterity to refrain from sinning
again, and again.
Do you see the problem?  What could God do to release the
creatures He loved from the devastating consequence of their
sin?  They were doomed to die and they had forfeited the power
to obey.  Satan exulted.  He reasoned that God Himself could not
get man back without changing His law or compromising His
justice.  At last, Satan had found a way to prove the charges he
had pressed against God.  In the presence of the holy
angels he had accused God of being unfair and requiring an
impossible obedience.
Now he gloated over God's dilemma, as these charges seemed to
have proven true.  Man apparently could not obey.  Now God would
either have to let man die in his sin, or change His law, or
accept transgressors in His kingdom--so Satan must have
reasoned.
God met the problem with such an incredible strategy that no
devil or man could have faintly anticipated it.  Satan was
overwhelmed by its implications.  Briefly, it involved God's
taking man's place and accepting the punishment of death for
him.  Neither the law nor the sentence for breaking it was
changed.
In order to die for man's sin, though, God had to take upon
Himself a nature that was subject to death.  Deity could not
die. Jesus accepted the unspeakable conditions of being born
into the lost, condemned family of Adam.  In the incarnation,
God not only provided for His atoning death for sin but for a
dramatic rebuttal of Satan's charge that man could not live
without sinning. In order to make the demonstration absolutely
unanswerable on Satan's part, Jesus submitted Himself to the
same human limitations of every child of Adam.  He was tempted
in all points as we are tempted, yet He completely overcame
every one of them by using the same divine power that is
accessible to each one of us.  He was still God totally and
completely, but He was also totally man.  In meeting these
temptations, He voluntarily restricted Himself to the same
spiritual resources available to man today.  Thus, He shattered
Satan's lie that obedience for humanity is an impossibility.

All Lost Things Restored

With a life of perfect obedience behind Him, Jesus laid down His
life to meet the penalty of the broken law.  His death and
resurrection gave Him the final authority by which to reverse
all the human havoc wrought by Satan's victory over Adam.  Now
Jesus had in His hand everything man could possibly need to be
restored to God's Edenic plan of perfection and holiness.
Although it had cost Him an infinite price to obtain, He
offered all of it as a free gift to anyone who would receive it.
What did He have to offer?  Deliverance from the death sentence
through His own assumption of the guilt and penalty, credit for
a perfect life of obedience through His imputed righteousness,
and victory in the flesh over every temptation Satan can devise.
Many who have joyfully received the first two gifts have been
fearful to accept the third.  Why should we hesitate to be an
exhibit for God?  By receiving His power of victory over
temptation, we provide a vindication of God's original purpose,
and we expose the blasphemous lies of Satan for what they really
are.
Right now Satan holds a tenuous position as a temporary ruler of
this world.  He watches in desperation as Jesus and the Holy
Spirit break through the barriers of sin to release multitudes
of his captives.  The power of the flesh is broken every time
self surrenders to Christ.
Temptation loses its power when He enters the life.  By one
decision right now, victory is assured.  The second Adam was to
deliver you from the old sinful nature of the first Adam. He
wants you to change families.  There is no hope for us to
overcome temptation unless we get out of the defeated, dying
family of the first Adam.
Jesus offers each one of us the victory which He won over Satan
in the flesh.  We might be suspicious of this gift had He not
overcome in the same human nature we possess.  Now He wants to
enter your life and live out the same victory in you day after
day.
One of my favorite stories has to do with Augustine, whose youth
was marked by gross licentiousness and immorality.  As a young
man he was swept by mighty currents of emotion for two women in
his life.  Like a chip on the tide, Augustine would be drawn
toward his godly mother, Monica; and then, toward a dissolute
woman who seemed to hold  him under an evil spell.  In spite of
his mother's prayers for him, Augustine continued a course of
miserable compromise.  Sometimes he would be attracted to the
righteous instruction of Monica, but then, the evil influence of
the other woman would draw him back.  The battle was long and
terrible.
But then came that glorious day when in his garden Augustine was
converted through a mysterious voice directing him to Romans
13:13, 14.  When he read this text, the scales fell off his
eyes, and he rushed to convey the good news to his mother.  She
was delighted at the dramatic change in her son.
While walking down the streets of Carthage the next day after
his conversion, Augustine saw the woman who had been his
companion in sin.  She was coming directly toward him and there
was no way to avoid the encounter.  Without even acknowledging
her presence, Augustine brushed past her without a word.  She
stopped, unbelieving, and then ran after him in a state of
outrage.  Grabbing his arm she cried, "Augustine! Augustine! It
is I!"  He stopped in his tracks, looked at her, and said, "Yes,
but it is not I."  Then he walked on down the street and out of
her life forever.
Augustine told the truth that day because he was indeed a new
person.  It is only in the strength of the second Adam that we
will be able to turn from temptation.  Sin loses its appeal for
those who are in love with Christ and have made their decision
to serve Him instead of self.
Satan will have no problem overcoming the children of the first
Adam.  He defeated the father and he can handle the children as
well.  On the other hand, he will find no way to conquer those
who draw upon the strength of the second Adam.
This is the way of escape that is promised to those who will
receive it. Jesus simply passes on to His spiritual children the
total victory which He won over the devil while living here in
human flesh.
This is the heart of the matter. Under this power the Christian
uses his surrendered will to choose the lifestyle which avoids
the hidden snares of temptation.  Both factors are very
important in winning the victory--having Christ in the heart and
avoiding presumptuous situations of temptation.  May God lead us
in applying these spiritual principles to our own experience.

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