A Stronger Attraction than Sin

Mark Corbett · Jul 19, 2017

Here’s an interesting analogy that can help us understand how experiencing more of God’s love and growing more in love with God helps us to resist the pull of sinful attractions.

All objects in the universe attract each other by gravity. The bigger the object, the more the pull of its gravity. The farther away an object, the less the pull of its gravity.

The Sun keeps all the planets in orbit with its gravity. But the planets also pull on each other. The force of the gravity of Jupiter on the Earth (when Jupiter is closest to Earth) is actually stronger than the force of the Sun’s gravity on Pluto. So, since the pull of Jupiter’s gravity is so strong, why doesn’t the Earth orbit Jupiter? After all, the weaker force which the Sun exerts on Pluto causes Pluto to orbit the Sun.

If the Earth did orbit Jupiter we would be in big trouble! To begin with, we would all freeze. Although the details are complicated, the simplest way to explain why the Earth does not orbit Jupiter is that while Jupiter’s pull is strong, the pull of the Sun is much stronger (about 25 thousand times stronger!).

What does this have to do with temptation? Temptation is like a pull towards something harmful. While it is true that we should directly resist the pull, this can get exhausting, and sometimes we are not strong enough. We feel like a little planet Earth trying to resist Jupiter sized temptation! Do we have any hope? Yes!

We are not alone in our battle against temptation. God helps us! One of the most powerful ways to resist temptation is to experience the stronger pull of the love and grace of God in Christ Jesus. Temptation may be bigger than us, but our God is way bigger than any temptation. Experiencing the pull of His love, truth, and grace can help us overcome the pull of sin.

So, the pull of the Sun is greater than the pull of Jupiter.

And, the pull of the Son is greater than the pull of sin.

The Analogy is Limited

Unlike the planet Earth, we are not totally passive when it comes to being pulled either towards sin or towards God. We can experience more of God’s attraction by spending more time with God through prayer, the Bible, and Christian fellowship and service. Conversely, we will experience a stronger attraction towards sin if we expose ourselves to more temptation.

So, a major key to overcoming temptation is to intentionally draw near to God. Pray a lot. Read the Bible. Listen to Christian music and sing praises in your heart. Go to church.

And stay away from things, places, and sometimes even people which lead us into temptation.

The pull of gravity depends on how close you are. So does the pull of God’s love and the pull of sin.

Here are two short passages to meditate on which are related to the ideas in this post:

NIV Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

NIV Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age . . .

You should also look at Romans 13:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 6:24, 1 John 2:15, and James 4:4.

For most of you, this post is over. But, if you are a bit “geeky” (like my daughter Joy and I), I’ve included some equations, charts, notes, and a cool video link related to the distance between planets and gravity.

Geeky Technical Science and Math Stuff (don’t miss the cool video below, even if you don’t like math)

Strength of gravity between Sun and earth:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(1.98*10^30 kg)(5.97*10^24kg)/(1.5*10^11 m)2

= 3.5 * 10^22 N

Gravitational Force between sun and pluto:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(1.98*10^30 kg)(1.46*10^22kg)/(5.9*10^12 m)2

F = 5.5 * 10^16 N

Gravitational Force between Earth and Jupiter at its closest point:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(5.97*10^24kg)(1.898*10^27kg)/(6.3*10^11 m)2

Fgrav = 1.9 * 10^18 N

Other note: The drawing of the solar system at the top of the post, like all drawings of the solar system, is not to scale. To see a really neat scale model of the solar system, watch the video below:

What an awesome Creator we worship!

Note: I think I first heard the analogy of Jupiter being like the pull of temptation and God being like the Sun from John Piper. I believe he talked about this during the “Sex and the Supremacy of Christ” conference put on by Desiring God, but I can’t find the message online.

This post is adapted from a post on my blog.

yeshuaslavejeff · Jul 19, 2017

Many of those conferences (online, in person, on television, etc) are attempting to separate people from Christ, to pull them further from Him, or to keep people from finding the Kingdom of Heaven.
Everyone must test every one of them, by Scripture, each point actually,
prayerfully before accepting or believing what is taught there.

Even though God is stronger, He will not override people's will, and most people choose to follow and to go with the weaker things, created things,
instead of worshiping, serving, honoring and obeying the CREATOR OF ALL by faith in Christ Jesus.

Mark Corbett · Jul 19, 2017

yeshuaslavejeff said:
Even though God is stronger, He will not override people's will, and most people choose to follow and to go with the weaker things, created things,
instead of worshiping, serving, honoring and obeying the CREATOR OF ALL by faith in Christ Jesus.

I agree that God does not override people's will and allows us to choose to be pulled into sin.

But, Praise God, He also shows us grace and His power is available to keep us close to Himself and safe from the evil one.

Grace and Peace, Mark

yeshuaslavejeff · Jul 19, 2017

Mark Corbett said:
I agree that God does not override people's will and allows us to choose to be pulled into sin.

But, Praise God, He also shows us grace and His power is available to keep us close to Himself and safe from the evil one.

Grace and Peace, Mark

Yes,
but like many on this site,
you mentioned some deceiver(s) at some point
who are already known or exposed as preaching false gospels or simply many errors
yet large crowds following them
even though they(the crowds) "should(or could) know better" they still continue to ignore that which opposes God's Word Directly - not even checking or testing the message as God's Word says to...
and even defending what is false ! ! just because someone says so ! !

We cannot go into depth here due to time, space and rules. Just test everything, every message, everyone claiming to have a message from God,
as God says to test everything before believing it,
and remain constantly in prayer, without ceasing,
and continually seek God's Kingdom, always, day after day,
by faith and grace in JESUS.

Halbhh · Jul 19, 2017

Mark Corbett said:
Here’s an interesting analogy that can help us understand how experiencing more of God’s love and growing more in love with God helps us to resist the pull of sinful attractions.

All objects in the universe attract each other by gravity. The bigger the object, the more the pull of its gravity. The farther away an object, the less the pull of its gravity.

The Sun keeps all the planets in orbit with its gravity. But the planets also pull on each other. The force of the gravity of Jupiter on the Earth (when Jupiter is closest to Earth) is actually stronger than the force of the Sun’s gravity on Pluto. So, since the pull of Jupiter’s gravity is so strong, why doesn’t the Earth orbit Jupiter? After all, the weaker force which the Sun exerts on Pluto causes Pluto to orbit the Sun.

If the Earth did orbit Jupiter we would be in big trouble! To begin with, we would all freeze. Although the details are complicated, the simplest way to explain why the Earth does not orbit Jupiter is that while Jupiter’s pull is strong, the pull of the Sun is much stronger (about 25 thousand times stronger!).

What does this have to do with temptation? Temptation is like a pull towards something harmful. While it is true that we should directly resist the pull, this can get exhausting, and sometimes we are not strong enough. We feel like a little planet Earth trying to resist Jupiter sized temptation! Do we have any hope? Yes!

We are not alone in our battle against temptation. God helps us! One of the most powerful ways to resist temptation is to experience the stronger pull of the love and grace of God in Christ Jesus. Temptation may be bigger than us, but our God is way bigger than any temptation. Experiencing the pull of His love, truth, and grace can help us overcome the pull of sin.

So, the pull of the Sun is greater than the pull of Jupiter.

And, the pull of the Son is greater than the pull of sin.

The Analogy is Limited

Unlike the planet Earth, we are not totally passive when it comes to being pulled either towards sin or towards God. We can experience more of God’s attraction by spending more time with God through prayer, the Bible, and Christian fellowship and service. Conversely, we will experience a stronger attraction towards sin if we expose ourselves to more temptation.

So, a major key to overcoming temptation is to intentionally draw near to God. Pray a lot. Read the Bible. Listen to Christian music and sing praises in your heart. Go to church.

And stay away from things, places, and sometimes even people which lead us into temptation.

The pull of gravity depends on how close you are. So does the pull of God’s love and the pull of sin.

Here are two short passages to meditate on which are related to the ideas in this post:

NIV Colossians 3:1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

NIV Titus 2:11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age . . .

You should also look at Romans 13:14, Romans 12:2, Matthew 6:24, 1 John 2:15, and James 4:4.

For most of you, this post is over. But, if you are a bit “geeky” (like my daughter Joy and I), I’ve included some equations, charts, notes, and a cool video link related to the distance between planets and gravity.

Geeky Technical Science and Math Stuff (don’t miss the cool video below, even if you don’t like math)

Strength of gravity between Sun and earth:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(1.98*10^30 kg)(5.97*10^24kg)/(1.5*10^11 m)2

= 3.5 * 10^22 N

Gravitational Force between sun and pluto:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(1.98*10^30 kg)(1.46*10^22kg)/(5.9*10^12 m)2

F = 5.5 * 10^16 N

Gravitational Force between Earth and Jupiter at its closest point:

Fgrav = (6.67*10^-11 N m2/kg2)(5.97*10^24kg)(1.898*10^27kg)/(6.3*10^11 m)2

Fgrav = 1.9 * 10^18 N

Other note: The drawing of the solar system at the top of the post, like all drawings of the solar system, is not to scale. To see a really neat scale model of the solar system, watch the video below:

What an awesome Creator we worship!

Note: I think I first heard the analogy of Jupiter being like the pull of temptation and God being like the Sun from John Piper. I believe he talked about this during the “Sex and the Supremacy of Christ” conference put on by Desiring God, but I can’t find the message online.

This post is adapted from a post on my blog.

:=) Fun enough, and yes, practical.

Another crucial thought to add.

In the prayer Christ instructed us to pray, we specifically pray to not fall (be pulled into :=) temptation, and even more -- even to be delivered (pulled away from :=) evil and away from the clutches of the evil one.

Direct intervention in the gravitational situation.

Quite a helpful thing to pray for, because even with your good advice, we will still need this at times because all falter at times in part because of other people and their actions which we cannot control of course.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."

Mark Corbett · Jul 19, 2017

Halbhh said:
:=) Fun enough, and yes, practical.

Another crucial thought to add.

In the prayer Christ instructed us to pray, we specifically pray to not fall (be pulled into :=) temptation, and even more -- even to be delivered (pulled away from :=) evil and away from the clutches of the evil one.

Direct intervention in the gravitational situation.

Quite a helpful thing to pray for, because even with your good advice, we will still need this at times because all falter at times in part because of other people and their actions which we cannot control of course.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,

10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us today our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one."

Amen! The Lord's prayer is so powerful. It just so happens that I just finished a sermon series on the Lord's prayer. So far I've only had time to post two of the messages on YouTube. Here is one of them:

A Stronger Attraction than Sin

Mark Corbett

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yeshuaslavejeff

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Halbhh

Everything You say is Life to me

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