Sunday, April 20, 2008

A great article below explains the distinction between temptation and sin.


When I was a new Christian the guilty feeling of being tempted haunts
me but as I mature in Christ, then I realized, even Jesus himself
was tempted.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our
weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are,
yet without sin

I have found that many Christians struggle with the distinction
between temptation and sin. Bombarded by tempting thoughts, they
conclude that there must be something pretty sick about them. But
even Jesus was "tempted in all things as we are." But finish the
verse: "Yet without sin." As long as we are in the world, we are
exposed to temptation just like Jesus was. But He didn't sin, and
we don't have to sin either (1 Corinthians 10:13).

The basis for temptation is legitimate human needs. We will
either look to the world, the flesh and the devil to have our needs
met, or we will look to Christ who promises to meet our needs
(Philippians 4:19). The essence of temptation is the invitation to
live independently of God.

The power of temptation depends on the strength of the
strongholds which have been developed in our minds as we learned to
live independently of God. If you were raised in a Christian home
where magazines and television programs of questionable moral value
were not allowed, the power of sexual temptation in your life will
not be as great as for someone who grew up exposed to pornographic
materials. Why? Because your legitimate need to be loved and
accepted was met by parents who also protected you from exposure to
illegitimate means of meeting your needs. The person who grew up in
an environment of immorality may experience a greater struggle with
sexual temptation simply because that stronghold in the mind was
well-established before he was born again.

Jesus was tempted to meet His own physical needs by using His
divine attributes independently of the Father to turn a rock into
bread. But instead He responded, "Man shall not live on bread
alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God"
(Matthew 4:4). We also must respond to temptation by relying on God
to meet our needs.

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