How do you rid yourself of temptation?

[Shadowprophet]

I want to be clean, I want to be without sin.. I like the feeling I get right after prayer, It's like a clean pure feeling, But it does not last, Sooner or later temptation happens..

My sins and desires offend me, And even though I try to resist, it's not so simple, The flesh is wicked and it desires what it does. Is there a way to make temptation go away and never come back. I dislike my temptations, I want them to stop completely, forever..There is no need to go into detail. And lest I be judged, No man is without sin. But, I am offended by my wickedness, it pulls at me like a chain coming straight from hell. To know the love of God, And then to feel the pull of Satan,, It's unfair, God deserves better then me, And I want to do better. But the devil knows my weakness.. And I am weak. How can someone make temptation stop? It's like a sickness that does not go away..

A never ending battle, And I just want peace,...Please note, I am not insane, I am just very spiritual,, I promise, My sins are not that different from any other male,, most likely..

But its not fair that Satan gets to try, over and over and over again,, it's like I am a stone and he is a stone cutter.. He picks at me until I am weak. And I fall to temptation..

It's not fair... I want it to stop...

 

[St_Worm2]

Hi SP, I'm very sorry to here about the trouble you're having with your thought-life. I've been there and I know how painful, tiring, and frustrating (and at times, infuriating) it can be

The good news is, there is an answer, PTL. It's called Scripture Memorization and I can tell you that it works It's not easy, especially at first, but I promise you, most of the what you're experiencing right now will all but disappear. Basically, you fill your mind with the word of God and, thanks to the HS, His word becomes the thing that's always in the forefront of your mind instead of all the lousy/sinful thoughts that you're having now In fact, after awhile, the bad thoughts seem like they're not even there anymore, even in the very back of your mind. It's almost like God's word fills your mind to overflowing and there's no room left for the bad stuff any longer!

If you think you'd like to give it a try, let me know and I'll tell you how to get started. BTW, it's a systematic and topical memorization of verses, not the entire Bible

Something else you will want to do now and ongoing is 1) trust God at His word concerning the devil (see James 4:7), and 2) learn to take all of your lousy/sinful thoughts "captive" in Jesus' name as soon as you think them and give them over to Him to deal with (see 2 Corinthians 10:5). You may need to do this over and over again for awhile, but along with Scripture memorization, you will eventually win this battle (well, you'll never completely conqueror it in this life, but it will be so much better it will seem like you have).

Yours in Christ,
David
p.s. - praying for you!

 

[Hieronymus]

I think we need God to rid us of it.
So the question then would be:
How do we get God to help us with this?

It has to do with the 'born again question' i think...

Non the less, wanting to get rid of it is a fruit of the faith.


But i hear you, i have the same struggles...

 

[SkyWriting]

I want to be clean, I want to be without sin.. I like the feeling I get right after prayer, It's like a clean pure feeling, But it does not last, Sooner or later temptation happens. My sins and desires offend me, And even though I try to resist, it's not so simple,

Holiness is being in communion with God. We are not there yet. People are born
into sin just as fish are born into water. Staying dry is not an option.
The first birth is the birth of water.

What you can do is recognise that in our Sin condition is our environment and
that we don't belong here permanently. God has forgiven us for this situation
and you must accept his forgiveness and you will likely feel as if you were dry.
This is the second birth. Having done that, you will still find yourself wet.

 

[chapmic]

When we are tempted we have to seek Jesus, the Holy Spirit is what can give us strength to endure our temptations and to walk away from sin. It is very hard, because it is a battle between the body and Spirit, but as long as you focus on Jesus and realize that he can give you the strength to overcome this because he has overcame everything then it is through your faith in Jesus's strength that can allow you to overcome. I hope this helps! God bless and I will be praying for you!

 

[D2wing]

I agree with previous posters. First you must believe that Jesus forgives you as many times as you ask him to past present or future. The main work is to keep our faith, not achieve righteousness.
The second part is controlling your thoughts. When tempted say no to yourself and put your thoughts on how much God loves you and forgives you. Use it as a reminder to read your Bible or sing a Christian song. Joyce Meyer and another Lady a Dr. Leaf, have some good teachings on this.
Lastly trust God to help you out. Know that he is on your side and will help over time. It would not hurt to get counseling and prayer.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

I want to be clean, I want to be without sin.. I like the feeling I get right after prayer, It's like a clean pure feeling, But it does not last, Sooner or later temptation happens..

My sins and desires offend me, And even though I try to resist, it's not so simple, The flesh is wicked and it desires what it does. Is there a way to make temptation go away and never come back. I dislike my temptations, I want them to stop completely, forever..There is no need to go into detail. And lest I be judged, No man is without sin. But, I am offended by my wickedness, it pulls at me like a chain coming straight from hell. To know the love of God, And then to feel the pull of Satan,, It's unfair, God deserves better then me, And I want to do better. But the devil knows my weakness.. And I am weak. How can someone make temptation stop? It's like a sickness that does not go away..

A never ending battle, And I just want peace,...Please note, I am not insane, I am just very spiritual,, I promise, My sins are not that different from any other male,, most likely..

But its not fair that Satan gets to try, over and over and over again,, it's like I am a stone and he is a stone cutter.. He picks at me until I am weak. And I fall to temptation..

It's not fair... I want it to stop...

If you're a once saved always saved person, you might want to drop that mindset, as it leads people to compromise. I'm not saying that such is what is going on with you, but you really need to think about not risking your soul, as that is what sin does. It is deadly. Every time you feel the desire to sin, think, "is this worth risking my salvation over", and you're more likely to have victory over your temptations.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

Holiness is being in communion with God. We are not there yet. People are born
into sin just as fish are born into water. Staying dry is not an option.
The first birth is the birth of water.

What you can do is recognise that in our Sin condition is our environment and
that we don't belong here permanently. God has forgiven us for this situation
and you must accept his forgiveness and you will likely feel as if you were dry.
This is the second birth. Having done that, you will still find yourself wet.

He can't continue to sin and expect eternal life. The Bible indicates this reality. He should accept his forgiveness, if indeed he has repented, but then "Go and sin no more", just as Jesus commanded sinners to do.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

I agree with previous posters. First you must believe that Jesus forgives you as many times as you ask him to past present or future. The main work is to keep our faith, not achieve righteousness.
The second part is controlling your thoughts. When tempted say no to yourself and put your thoughts on how much God loves you and forgives you. Use it as a reminder to read your Bible or sing a Christian song. Joyce Meyer and another Lady a Dr. Leaf, have some good teachings on this.
Lastly trust God to help you out. Know that he is on your side and will help over time. It would not hurt to get counseling and prayer.

Jesus sacrifice on the cross did pay the price for all of our sins, but once you're saved, that doesn't mean that you can go on sinning, nor does it mean post-conversion sins are covered. To obtain correct standing with God, after one has sinned, a person must confess their sins to God to be cleaned of all unrighteousness.

 

[Shadowprophet]

If you're a once saved always saved person, you might want to drop that mindset, as it leads people to compromise. I'm not saying that such is what is going on with you, but you really need to think about not risking your soul, as that is what sin does. It is deadly. Every time you feel the desire to sin, think, "is this worth risking my salvation over", and you're more likely to have victory over your temptations.

Well some Christians believe that if they are saved, that they are saved forever.. I don't subscribe to that theory... The bible says, people can fall from grace and have their name removed from the book of life.. So no, I truly believe that people can backslide so far and lose their salvation.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

Well some Christians believe that if they are saved, that they are saved forever.. I don't subscribe to that theory... The bible says, people can fall from grace and have their name removed from the book of life.. So no, I truly believe that people can backslide so far and lose their salvation.

Well, that's a good thing to hear. I believe that OSAS has led many people to hell with false assurance.

I would recommend that you pray to God, read His Word, and always think "is it worth risking my salvation over" whenever these temptations come up. As time goes on, the temptation loses its grip of tempting you, as though the devil knows that he has met his match. The Holy Spirit will come alive in you like you won't believe and these sins will be a thing of the past.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

repost

 

[SkyWriting]

He can't continue to sin and expect eternal life.

Sin is a condition where one is not in communion with God.
Here is a simple list to being perfect:

15See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
16Rejoice always;
17pray without ceasing;
18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not quench the Spirit;
20do not despise prophetic utterances.
21But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22abstain from every form of evil.

Do these perfectly and you will not Sin.

 

[GeorgiaGuyinAtlanta]

Sin is a condition where one is not in communion with God.
Here is a simple list to being perfect:

15See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people.
16Rejoice always;
17pray without ceasing;
18in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not quench the Spirit;
20do not despise prophetic utterances.
21But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;
22abstain from every form of evil.

Do these perfectly and you will not Sin.

Christians do sin, but we must confess our sins to God when we do sin. We can't be perfect, for no one is perfect, no not one. Also remember that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth of God is not in us.

 

[SkyWriting]

Christians do sin, but we must confess our sins to God when we do sin. We can't be perfect, for no one is perfect, no not one. Also remember that if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth of Christ is not in us.

I guess you found the flaw in my comment.

 

[St_Worm2]

Jesus sacrifice on the cross did pay the price for all of our sins, but once you're saved, that doesn't mean that you can go on sinning, nor does it mean post-conversion sins are covered. To obtain correct standing with God, after one has sinned, a person must confess their sins to God to be cleaned of all unrighteousness.

Hi GGiA, it seems to me that if someone who claims to be saved never leaves (or quickly returns to) the sinful lifestyle they led before making that "claim", that's a sure sign that they were never saved to begin with I'm not, of course, saying that a true Christian never sins, a sinful "lifestyle" however is not what characterizes a true Christian's life (1 John 3:9).

I'm not an advocate of the "OSAS" doctrine, rather, I believe that God makes it possible for His children to persevere in the faith (see Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 7:25), such that the Lord loses no more of us than He told us He would, IOW .. NONE

We know that no one can come to Jesus unless the Father first draws us and gives us to Him (John 6:44, 65). Jesus also tells us plainly that, "ALL that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and that of all that He has given Me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day." (see John 6:37-40). Do you think the Lord will be proven wrong about that

As for the somewhat crass "OSAS" doctrine, the important part that needs to be remembered about being, "always saved", is that you actually have to be, "once saved", before the "always saved" part counts (and we know that many who claim to be saved, or think they are, sadly, are not .. i.e. Matthew 7:22-23; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43).

For me, the doctrine of Eternal Security isn't a license to sin and it never will be (how could anyone who actually knows God's love and salvation want to displease Him by returning to their former, sinful lifestyle ), but it does allow me to live in the assurance of God's love, rather than in constant fear that if I sin, He's going to kick me out the front door and disown me. Even my severely alcoholic human father never did that to me, so why would my Abba, Father? (who, BTW, loved us so much that He chose to send His Son here to die for us )

The Lord also tells us that we become Christians on the day we first "believe", and that such saving faith results in "PROBATIONARY life". Nah, just kidding, it results in "ETERNAL life", doesn't it

Like the Lord tells us in John 5:

"He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." ~John 5:24​

And as if the first part of that verse wasn't enough (and just to make absolutely sure that we understand His meaning), the Lord goes on to qualify what He said by telling us that as present possessors of eternal life 1) we will no longer face condemnation/judgment and that 2) we have [already] passed from death to life.

That's what I believe (and that's why I believe what I do .. in part anyway), but you are welcome to believe as you please, of course

Yours and His,
David
p.s. - just FYI Shadowprophet, most of the verses I used above are part of my "memory" verses. Scripture memory has many uses If fact, here's another one in closing. What does this verse teach us?

"These things I have written to you who believe in
the name of the Son of God, so that you may
know that you have eternal life"
1 John 5:13​

 

[tickingclocker]

You die. That's about it.

 

[Shempster]

IMO it all starts with personal deliverance. If you have spirits around you then temptations will be there. Get rid of them, or just push them back, and things go much better. I mean so much better that its easy to "put on" the character of Christ. Then when you are ruled by His nature, temptations really are not so much of an issue any more.
Get lazy though and the old nature rears to life. Gotta stay on it!

 

[longwait]

Stay away from situations that make you feel tempted (lead us not into temptation).

 

[bornagain91]

Say "NO" pray, asking Jesus Christ to stand by you... continue saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......"