I have really enjoyed being with you all the past few weeks as we’ve discussed our sinful condition, and our savior who is victorious. I’m now really looking forward to this post, where we’ll be looking at all the ways that we can be tactical about our sin, and Lord-willing, be victorious over temptation. 

This week, we’ll look at a few key elements that will help us to be as equipped as we can be in order to battle temptation. Those elements are:

• Being in the word 
• Having Time 
• Being in community

I want to add a little disclaimer here at the beginning. As a recovering legalist, I really love having bumpers on my highway. I really want to know steps to take to accomplish a thing, so that I know I’ve pleased God and checked something off my list. 

However, that’s not how faith works. We must walk alongside God in every situation, every step of the way, inquiring of Him what His will is for us in the present moment. We must seek to do everything in His strength, and not assume we know what He wants us to do today, because He gave us an answer yesterday. 

So, as I move into this week and look at some things we can begin to practice that put us in better readiness to resist temptation, I want to make clear that there is no formula for resisting sin. No formula, that is, other than drawing near to the Lord, and resisting the devil. As we previously discussed, we must strive to do everything in the strength of the Lord, or else our actions are meaningless. Anything done in our own strength is meaningless, because only the Father is the source of goodness and holiness. 

Now, let’s get into the meat of this week and the crescendo I’ve been building toward. How do we battle temptation? What are biblical principles that we can harness? How do we do this thing called walking in righteousness? How do we deal with our guilt and shame when we fail? Because we will fail. How do we take part in bearing each other’s burdens? How do we support our fellow brothers and sisters and how do we ask when we need to be supported?

That being said, let’s look at a few ways we can begin to put ourselves in the right posture to resist temptation. The first area we’re going to look at is the most important. Thinking back to last week, one of the main observations we all had about Jesus’ response to temptation was that He responded with scripture. We were all in agreement that scripture was then, and is now all sufficient to combat temptation and to remind ourselves of biblical truths. 

In order to resist temptation, we must be firmly rooted in God’s word. 

For a believer, the Word of the Lord is not optional; it is essential. It is the foundation of our faith, the guide for our lives, and the source of our strength in the battle against sin and temptation. Through the Scriptures, we come to know God, discern truth, resist temptation, and grow in righteousness. Regularly engaging with the Word is key to living out our calling as faithful followers of Christ, and it helps us become more like Him in every area of our lives.

Think of how we looked at Jesus example last week: every time temptation came His way, his weapon to fight back was scripture alone. So…if we aren’t saturated in scripture….if we deprive ourselves our our weapon…what do we have to battle with? 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

What I think is interesting about this passage is the different actions the Word of God is credited as useful for. We have Teaching, Rebuking, Correcting, and Training in Righteousness. Basically, the word of God is useful for telling us everything we should be doing, everything we shouldn’t be doing, anything we need to change about what we’re doing, and…in case anything falls into a gray area, it is useful for training us under the broad umbrella of righteousness, and the ability to do any good work. When you start to get into the weeds of how that plays out in the life of a believer, the implications are truly asstounding. We all know that living in righteousness is not a simple thing. Yet we see in scripture that the word of God is all sufficient for showing us the way. 

Romans 15:4 – “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.”

Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to divide soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”

An elder at our church recently had something interesting to say on the subject of a two edged sword, as he is teaching through Revelation. He mentioned how in a battle scenario, a single edged sword wouldn’t move as fast. The person wielding it would need to pause at the end of a stroke and spin it around before slicing the enemy again. A two edged sword, however, can be in constant cycle of motion. No matter where the sword would be in its arc, the enemy would never be safe to approach it from any angle, because every angle has a sharp edge. 

That’s just how it is with the Lord and the enemy! No matter what angle the lies of the enemy try to come from, the word of the Lord is there to slice them to bits, for our saving and the Lord’s Glory. When the enemy comes against us, with ill intent for our hearts and affections, we don’t have some impotent little dagger that we have to try to fling around. We can go barbarian on that defeated little serpent with the word of God and puree his lies like a blender! 

Psalm 119:11 – “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Psalm 119:98-112 – “Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules. I am severely afflicted; give me life, O LORD, according to your word! Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD, and teach me your rules. I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law. The wicked have laid a snare for me, but I do not stray from your precepts. Your testimonies are my heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart. I incline my heart to perform your statutes forever, to the end.”

The word of the Lord in the life of a believer is not optional. It is our sword in the spirit and our shield to ward off the fiery darts of the enemy (Ephesians 6). It is our training in righteousness. It is the lamp to our feet that we may not stumble. It is our endurance. It is our hope. It is the reason we know our sin exists. It is the reason we know God. It is the reason we know our Savior. 

Now the theory of all that is well and fine. Scripture is great, right? It’s lovely words on a page that comfort us and help us know our place and function in this world better. But what is the place of scripture when we’re about to lose our minds at our husbands over something? What is the place of scripture when we’ve seen an explicit image and really want to go back for a second take? What is the place of scripture when you’re all alone and no one would know if you indulged in “that sin”? What is the place of scripture when you’ve opened up a pornography website and wrestling with the desires of your flesh and the less-fun path that the Holy spirit inside you is pleading that you take? 

What is the role of scripture in those ugly moments when we feel the least worthy of it’s grace, and we are in most need of its sanctifying work?There are a few points that I will offer here, on the tactical side as well as some more broad theoretical ideas. 

First off, you can use scripture to pray. This serves a dual purpose, because when we use scripture to pray, we are simultaneously reminding ourselves of truth, as well as verbally and physically submitting ourselves. We talked back in week one about how verbalizing our sinful thoughts and temptations can be one of the steps to sinning, when we’re trying to see if we can sneak our sin under the radar and see if people around us are okay with it. 

An example would be something like this. “Oof, that TV show everyone is talking about has some bad scenes in it, but I’m really wanting to know how it ended. I’m sure I can just skip the parts as they come up. That should be okay, right?”

This is an unhealthy way to approach that temptation. It is completely void of biblical principles, and is operating completely in human understanding. In this scenario, the person being tempted is really just looking for a way to justify what the flesh wants, even as they feel the tension of the holy spirit within them telling them that this desire really doesn’t line up with God. 

Verbalizing our temptations, however, can also be a step in resisting the temptation. If I’m feeling tempted toward a certain area, I can speak that aloud  with scripture to bring my sin into the light of God and seek his help. Picture something like this. 

“Lord, I’m feeling really tempted to watch that show again. My flesh is telling me it’ll be okay, but I know that your word says otherwise. I know it’ll be hard to skip anything because it’s all so gripping. Lord, please help me to submit to your will. You say in your word that if we resist the devil, he must flee from us. Help me to resist. I commit to resist, in your strength, so the enemy and my own sinful desires must flee from me and my flesh must submit to your will. I will not unite the members of my body, which is a temple of the holy spirit, with this sin. Lord, please give me your strength and let your holy spirit reign supreme in all I do.”

Another example of handling temptation in an unhealthy way would be. “Man, my friend said something that is really offensive and hurt my feelings. Little do they know I have some verbal replies that will tear them down and show how little they are. Just wait until I see them again. I’ve been in the right all this time and now I’m going to show it. 

A healthier approach would be to take those emotions to the Lord in Prayer. “Lord, I am really angry about what my friend said. It hurts my feelings, it makes me feel small, and I am really wanting to reply in my anger. I feel like my anger is justified because I have been wronged here. But Lord, I know that this response of anger will not be glorifying to you or bring my friend closer to Christ. Lord, I feel a hair away from just sending them a text to spit out what I have to say. I feel weak and I feel so so angry. Lord, in my weakness, please let your power be on display. You tell me in your word that a kind answer turns away wrath, but a quick response churns up anger. I know your will toward me is kindness and righteousness, so I know that is how you would have be respond to my friend, as your image bearer. Lord, please let me be the hands and feet of Christ in this interaction, and turn the other cheek as you did. Give me a response that benefits those who hear and gives grace to the listener. Lord, I submit my hands and my mouth to you, please, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to you. I submit my flesh to your will.” 

Now, I must add a disclaimer here. Speaking words like the prayers I just offered is not a quick fix in and of itself. You can’t just pray the words and then move on with life as if a prayer is a nice bow on the box of a job well done and that’s all there is for you to do. Depending on the temptation, you may need to keep praying repetitively for minutes, hours, or even days depending on the temptation. We may need to continue to crucify our flesh with the holy spirit and scripture. We know from scripture that we need to bear our cross daily for Christ. And we know from life that resisting temptation is not a singularity. We live lives of being tempted. We live in the tension every millisecond of our lives, between righteousness and evil. We are never done battling temptation. 

Now you may be thinking, how can I say I submit my flesh to the Lord, if what I’m really feeling is like diving into sin? Isn’t it lying to say that I’m submitting if my emotions really aren’t? That is a perfectly valid question, and it is one that I’ve asked of myself. To that I would say that obedience is an objectively good thing we must do, despite how we feel. If we wait to submit to God or do his will until our emotions line up, we will be waiting a very long time to submit to the Lord and living a very spiritually stunted life. 

On the flip side, though, if we keep choosing to submit to God, despite how we feel, our feelings will eventually catch up. Being obedient to God does not leave us feeling left out and like we got the short end of the stick. That’s not God’s plan for us. Choosing righteousness is not to mean we will always feel left out and deprived. None of us get the short end of the stick in God’s kingdom; despite the brokenness we experience in this world, each one of us is given abundant spiritual life in the Lord, even if that means missing out on some “fun” sin experiences. 

Living in obedience is a continual lifestyle choice, motivated and sustained by the Holy Spirit through a lifetime. It is not an isolated action or moment of resistance here and there throughout our day. To follow Jesus is to lead a radical resistance against the devil in our hearts, and constantly surrender our hearts to Jesus. 

To be extremely practical about how scripture can help us interact with our sin in a way that leads to victory, consider these ideas:

Is there a physical space where you face temptation more often than others? Do you want to dive into the snack drawer when you get home every day? Is your bedroom a place where your phone habits are harder to control? Do you always yell at your kids during schoolwork time because of their misbehavior and your own temper issues? Do you always view things you shouldn’t on the computer in your bedroom?

What scriptures can you arm yourself with before you enter those places? Can you put a sticky note with scripture on the snack drawer about gluttony? 

Can you have a mature christian friend that you can have a standing phone call with to pray after you get home from work, while you’re still in the car?

Can you start your day with quoting scripture while you’re in the shower? 

Can you put a scripture verse on your steering wheel and recite it when you get in and out of your car throughout the day? 

Can you get a water bottle with a scripture verse on it and read that verse every time you take a drink?

Can you listen to a chapter of scripture every day while you load the dishwasher?

Whatever your strategy, I would encourage each and every one of you to find ways that you can get the word of God into your mind and soul every day. It is our most crucial weapon to have at hand. 

We covered this briefly in week one, but I’d like to dwell on it a little now. It is very difficult to do any of this “sin battling” if  you don’t have time. If you are rushing from appointment to appointment with no downtime or margin for God in our lives.

In order to resist temptation, you must have time for our spiritual health

It is important to have time, because our spiritual health and walk with Jesus is the most important thing in our lives. Now, notice that I did not say it “needs to be” or “should be.” Our spiritual health is the most important thing in our lives whether we make it a priority or not. It stays at a level one importance whether we think we’re doing alright, or acknowledge that we need Jesus more than ever. 

To ignore our sin or neglect it out of laziness, is like knowing there is a bomb counting down under our bed, so we just move to the next room over so we can’t hear it ticking down. The bomb still exists, it is still ticking down the time, and it will still destroy our life if we don’t call in the bomb squad. 

I’ll quote here again something I referenced in week one. Corrie Tenbaum says this, “If the Devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you hurry.” 

Walter Adams, the spiritual director of C.S Lewis takes this thought even a little further, “To walk with Jesus is to walk with a slow, unhurried pace. Hurry is the death of prayer and only impedes and spoils our work. It never advances it.”

Where we allocate the lion’s share of our time reveals our where we place the most value. And that’s not just me speaking, Jesus tells us in the gospel of Matthew, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That is from Matthew 6:21

Again, this is an overarching principle that can feel a little paralyzing to try and implement, so here are some practical points of thought. 

Do an audit of your time. I did this recently with the help of a mature older christian woman, and discovered that I have way more time than I actually realize. Break down in detail; your work hours, how much sleep you need, and every other commitment you have. Include the time you spend on your phone, gaming online, reading magazines, or watching TV. Be brutally honest with yourself. The reality of how you use your time already exists, so don’t hold back to try and make yourself look better to yourself. 

What do you do first thing in the morning? Do you reach for your phone and start scrolling? Do you sit on your bed and wait until the last possible minute until you get ready for work? 

Do you wait for children to wake you up and then spiral away the rest of your day in the understandable chaos of keeping little humans alive? 

Once that is done, take a look at all the blank space you have. If you don’t have blank space sufficient for prayer and scripture reading time…consider what fat you can cut. Do you really need to watch a TV show every evening? Do you need to listen to music on your morning commute, or can you listen to a book of the bible or sermon? What could you do differently about that routine? Could you wake up 10 or 20 minutes early to read a chapter of scripture and pray over your day? If a chapter is too much, could you read the verse of the day? Something that takes less than 10 seconds. 

What do your lunch breaks look like? Do you scroll while you eat and then rush back to work? Could you leave your phone at your workstation, and read a passage of scripture instead, or simply sit in silence and allow yourself space to think?

We are all to be stewards of the time and gifts that the Lord has entrusted us with. If we don’t make room for Him as a priority in our schedules, no one else will do it for us. 

We need to be in Community to see our own sin, to have support from the body/the church, and to follow the scriptural command to bear one another’s burdens. 

Romans 15:1-2 – “We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 – “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. For if one falls down, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to help him up! Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; but how can one keep warm alone? And though one may be overpowered, two can resist. Moreover, a cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

I really love this passage. There’s a real sense in just three short verses of how much we need each other for our very survival, as Christian brothers and sisters. We need each other to do the work of Christ well, because none of us are capable of doing it all. We need each other to help restore one another when we fall. We need each other to help one another resist. I think that is a very important point here. While temptation is something we experience alone, we can share the process of resisting with another member of the body. I have a friend who I often call when I’m facing a certain issue, and without fail they pray with me, point me toward truth, and help bear the weight with me. 

Galatians 6:1-3 – “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

But a warning here…not just anyone can be in that kind of close relationship with us. What does the text say? It says “you who are spiritual” should restore the person caught in transgression. The place of a supportive and encouraging brother and sister in your life should not be just anyone. It would be inappropriate to let an unbeliever into that area of your life and ask for their support. Because they are not indwelt by the Holy Spirit and not living off the word of God, they would very likely not be restoring you but rather leading you astray. 

It is also not appropriate because even a strong believer can be caused to stumble by sin, as the text says. The text prescribes that those who are spiritual ought to do the restoring, and even then to watch themselves, lest they too be tempted. 

But this text also ends in such a beautiful way. A command to bear one another’s burdens, and in doing so we fulfill the law of Christ. I love this, because it harkens us back to the new commandment that Christ gave. 

John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

In helping one another bear the weight of resisting sin, and the burden of our struggle, we fulfill the law of Christ, and show each other and the world that we are His. 

Hebrews 10:23-25 – “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Notice how considering how to stir each other up in good works…is in the same sentence as gathering together. Don’t get me wrong, in this modern world I am grateful for the ability to talk to friends on the phone while I do dishes or have a video chat with family in other states. But there is no substitute for physically being in community with our brothers and sisters in Christ. God created us to be in proximity to each other, physically. 

We see this begin to be reflected and understood better by science as well. Even something as simple as a hug offered by a friend in a time of discouragement can have the following effects, because of the chemical reaction that God hard wired into our brains. 

In a study conducted by Healthline in 400 adults, those who received regular hugs were less likely to get sick. In this same study, those who had physical contact with a loved one while experiencing pain, reported a lower grade of pain than those who were experiencing the pain alone. 

This only scratches the surface, and doesn’t address the spiritual implication of being in physical spaces of community. But we begin to see where God hardwired us to be physically together. It is tantamount that we be in a healthy church community, and healthy christian friendships that support our health, both spiritual and physical. 

1 John 1:7-9 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

As this text says, if we are in the light with the Lord, then it follows that we have fellowship. There is a very real sense in which, if we are not walking in fellowship, we may not be walking in the light, or may at least need to reexamine our priorities. 

Now, some tactical thoughts here, of course. Friendships can be hard! I totally understand and acknowledge that. It can also be very difficult to start building friendships as an adult if you haven’t done it previously. Being in a relationship, being open and vulnerable, is hard and takes a lot of faith. Our schedules are busy and it can often feel like it would just be better to keep our lives to ourselves and be a friendly smiling face once a week at church. I can feel awkward to try and instigate a friendship.

But I have good news…we’re all adults in this room, and we get to use our big people words. 

As you begin to move forward in seeking relationships that move you toward christ and keep you accountable to the word, you can ask other mature sisters to be your friend or mentor. I myself  went to an older christian woman and asked her to be my spiritual mother, because I was lacking that wise input into my life. I’ve asked friends to be accountability partners with me in the past. You can tell an already existing friend or an acquaintance that you want to deepen your friendship, and ask if they would like to do that with you. State your intentions clearly.

Like with our time, no one will make friends for us. We can’t move through life in a way that doesn’t leave time or space for friendships, and expect them to spawn out of the woodwork. We must put in work to being friends with people who will move us toward Christ. 

I really don’t want to be closing out this week, and honestly, I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of this topic. There is so much more to say on the topic of temptation, and all the practical ways we can be fighting it. Really, I wish I had another 3 weeks with you all. But, in a way, I think it’s good that we didn’t get into the weeds of every topic, and the Lord isn’t giving me time to tell you what to do in every little circumstance. Because the goal isn’t that we have a perfectly laid out plan that allows us to walk through life with an armored bubble that doesn’t allow us to encounter temptation. 

No, in this world we will face trouble and temptation. But Jesus has overcome this world. Jesus has overcome our sin. The goal here is that we walk with Jesus. The goal for your life and every moment you find yourself in is that you lean not on your own understanding, but on the finished work of the Cross. 

Yes you will still wrestle with your sin. You will still face times of failure. 

But know that the penalty for your sin is ultimately done away with and paid in full. The way of escape and the victory over that sin is there, waiting for you to walk in it as you choose the path of righteousness. 

Galatians 5:1 – “It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yolk of slavery.” 

He who is mighty has done a great thing!

-M-