How can i overcome temptations?

[BelieveAll]

This has being a burden to me and i really want to be guided on ways of overcoming this menance called temptation.

 

[miamited]

Hi believe all,

Overcoming temptations can be tough. The Scriptures put a lot of time and effort into this subject. We, in our flesh, all have certain desires, feelings and/or emotions that make us 'feel' good and it is only natural to want to experience those things for the benefit of our bodies. It is, as Paul writes, a fairly constant battle of our will over our flesh. God's very first mention of overcoming temptations and desires stretches clear back to the days of Cain. God told Cain that sin was crouching at his doorstep. That he must overcome it.

What a perfect picture. It makes you picture a friendly dog that is sitting at your door waiting expectantly to be let in. When you open the door the dog bounds in and likely jumps on you wanting to be pet and cared for. How can we resist not opening the door? He is always there and there's no way you're going out of your house that the dog is not going to pounce on you. Sin is like that. It crouches there by your door waiting expectantly for you to go out into the world and panting and wagging its tail to be let in your house. But God told Cain that he must overcome it.

So, how do we deal with this sin that is sitting there always just waiting for our attention? First, I think we need to be as vigilant as possible to flee from temptation. We are generally weak with wicked hearts. The further away from the temptation we can be, the less likely we are to fall to it. While temptation itself is not a sin, for the Scriptures tell us that we will always be tempted, if we can distance ourselves from it our chances of not falling to it are lessened.

Secondly, by prayer and fasting. There is a time in Jesus' ministry where the disciples are curious why they couldn't drive out certain demons and Jesus tells them that 'this type' must be driven out by prayer and fasting. I gather from this that there are times that we just have to stop pretty much living our lives and devote serious time to our Father in prayer and fasting. Sadly, fasting is a lost spiritual discipline in these days. To us, it borders on asceticism. Whipping our bodies, metaphorically, by denying it the very basic sustenance that it needs for a time and being totally devoted in prayer for that time.

I believe with all my heart that fighting off temptation and opening the 'door' of our daily living being able to fend off sin that is always crouching there, is likely one of the toughest battles that any of us can face. But, I also believe with all my heart that it can be done. Of course, it doesn't make it any easier that there are plenty of folks we can gather around us to tell us what our itching ears want to hear. "Oh, that's ok everybody does it." Or, "Why shouldn't we enjoy the things that we lust for?" Remember, we were brought up, well, I don't know about you, but I was brought up in the generation whose mantra was 'if it feels good do it'. Our very constitutional foundation is built on our being able to seek after life, liberty and 'the pursuit of happiness'.

The sad part of sin is that while indulging in it may make you 'happy' at the time, sin only provides that happiness for a season. It will bite back and unfortunately, by the time it bites back, we're too far into the indulgence to get out very easily and then we come head on into the hard battle. It can be exhausting and it can be disheartening, but it can be won.

Lastly, as we work through our individual battles with temptation and the resultant sin, we must always be anxious and ready to go to our Father and seek His forgiveness.

God bless you.
In Christ, Ted

 

[BelieveAll]

Thank you so much, Ted

 

[timf]

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

 

[ToBeLoved]

This has being a burden to me and i really want to be guided on ways of overcoming this menance called temptation.

Hi BelieveAll,

Welcome to CF.

I'm not sure which specific temptations you are dealing with, but I try to remember that God only has our best interest at heart. The other thing I do is try to examine the negative consequences of things. That many times helps me see why I really do not want to do it anyways.

 

[Job8]

This has being a burden to me and i really want to be guided on ways of overcoming this menance called temptation.

BelieveAll,
Since you identify yourself as a Christian, you should be aware that God has given you the gift of the Holy Spirit for a number of reasons, one of them being the power to overcome temptations. This power must be appropriated by faith, which means that you must believe wholeheartedly "I HAVE GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT WITHIN ME, THEREFORE I CAN OVERCOME ALL TEMPTATIONS". So the next time you are faced with a temptation you can deal with it by resisting it in the power of the Spirit. "RESIST THE DEVIL, AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU".

 

[stuart lawrence]

All Christians must suffer temptations. It is easier to reply to how sin is to be overcome. Many people have written books on this subject, but Paul gives us the answer in seventeen words:

For sin shall no longer be your master, for you are not under law but under grace Rom 6:14

It is tragic, that many who claim to be fundamentalist, in effect preach a righteousness under the law, not by grace. The result for many has been devestating

 

[ToBeLoved]

All Christians must suffer temptations. It is easier to reply to how sin is to be overcome. Many people have written books on this subject, but Paul gives us the answer in seventeen words:

For sin shall no longer be your master, for you are not under law but under grace Rom 6:14

It is tragic, that many who claim to be fundamentalist, in effect preach a righteousness under the law, not by grace. The result for many has been devestating

Y EEEEESSS!

PREACH. PREACH. PREACH.

 

[stuart lawrence]

Y EEEEESSS!

PREACH. PREACH. PREACH.

Thank you for your gracious response. It is nice to meet others who accept the point being made.
QAt the age of ten I responded to an alter call and became a christian. However, I only had half a covenant. I immediately became conscious of my sin, for the law God required me to keep had been written on my mind and placed on my heart by the holy spirit. But I didn't know my sins and lawless deeds would be remembered no more.
I became miserable, crushed by guilt and feeling worthless for I could not remain the spotless state I knew I was in the night i got saved. No matter how hard I tried to live as God wanted me to, the sin returned, and grew stronger.
I used to look back to the time before I became a christian, I had felt alive without the law, for there was no condemnation then, but when the commandments came sin(consciousness) sprang to life and i died(spiritually) the commandment that wad ordained to life(if I obeyed it) instead brought death(for I could not keep it)
And yet, I knew the problem was not Gods good and holy laws, but my sin.
The tragic thing was, my experience was exactly the same as Paul's, yet he was speaking of his life as a pharisee pre conversion to christianity(rom7:7-11 KJV)

 

[NaturalSinner]

I am also having a hard time with temptations. I will keep you in my prayers brother.