Note: Who doesn't experience “temptations?” It is important to understand that the sin is not the temptation, but when we yield to it. Temptations can come at anytime, even while in church! Temptations are also neutral – there are good and bad ones. For example, I may be tempted to buy and give to someone who is homeless. This is good, if I follow through and do so. If I am tempted to buy food for someone whom God places on my heart to bless, but I don’t follow through and do so, then that would be sin as well (cf. James 4:17). But the kind of temptation that the article below is speaking about are the ones which comes to us to move us to sin. How do we battle against such temptations? What is a good plan? You may be surprised to know that there is only one step needed to get you off to a good start. Check it out!
The One-Step Plan for Taming Temptations
According to the dictionary, the word “tame” means to "make less powerful and easier to control." As Christians, we need to learn to tame temptations, don't you agree?
Through the years, I've discovered a very important principle for taming temptations. I can tell you that if you will follow the one step I'm going to share below, you'll enjoy much greater success in taming temptations. But you must commit ahead of time to never swerve from this one step. You must make a covenant with yourself to be relentlessly faithful to this one step. Only then will you enjoy the victory I speak of.
The one step you must unswervingly commit to is to irrevocably SAY NO to the temptation at the very moment it first emerges in the mind. There can be no compromise here. As soon as the temptation first surfaces in the mind, you must choose against it INSTANTLY, with no delay, and no hesitation.
Here is the reasoning: At the moment the temptation first emerges in the mind, it is at its weakest. During the first three seconds of the temptation, the strength of the temptation might be likened to a spiderweb that is around you. You are strong enough to break free from a spiderweb.
However, if you've not said no to the temptation and you reach five seconds, that spiderweb becomes dental floss. It becomes harder to break free.
If you're still pondering the temptation at seven seconds, it becomes a rope -- very hard to break free at this point.
If you're still pondering the temptation at nine seconds, it becomes a wire around you -- it's almost a sure thing you won't break free.
If you're still pondering the temptation at 11 seconds, it becomes barbed wire -- you're trapped. You can't break free and you will inevitably sin.
The underlying theology behind this analogy is that man's mind is fallen. It's been infected by sin. Our brains have "buggy software," as it were. Because of indwelling sin, our minds have a bent toward sin. Our fallen brains "default" toward sinful behavior.
Sin has what you might call a gravitational pull. At the first moment a temptation emerges in the mind, THAT is the moment at which it will be easiest to pull free from the gravitational pull of sin. The longer you wait, though, the stronger the gravitational pull becomes. That is why you must choose to SAY NO to temptation the very moment it emerges. That first moment is the time when you have the best chance of victory over the temptation.
When a temptation first surfaces in the mind, many Christians often make the mistake of pondering to themselves: "Should I or shouldn't I?" They wrestle over whether they should give in to the temptation. The problem is, because the mind is fallen and has a bent toward sin, the human mind is preconditioned to succumb to temptation. That's the way your sin-ridden brain is "wired." The longer you give your brain to reflect on the tempting thought, the more rationalizations it comes up with why you should give in to the temptation. THAT is why you must choose to SAY NO to temptation the very moment it first emerges.
Now we begin to see why Scripture consistently urges us to immediately flee from sin:
Second Timothy 2:22 urges us to "flee youthful passions."
First Timothy 6:11 urges us: "As for you, O man of God, flee these things."
First Corinthians 10:14 tells us to "flee from idolatry."
First Corinthians 6:18 tells us to "flee from sexual immorality."
The Greek word for "flee" carries the idea of "taking flight" -- much like a bird that flies off as soon as it becomes aware of an approaching cat. The bird doesn't just sit there, pondering "Should I or shouldn't I?" It takes offimmediately. The word "flee" carries the idea of "quickly escaping danger." As soon as the danger surfaces, one must take immediate steps to get out of danger.
Related to this, Genesis 4:7 tells us that "sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you..." In this metaphor, sin is like a predatory animal outside your door, waiting for you to step out so it can pounce on you. That is why one must be ready to "take flight" by fleeing sin. An immediate response is necessary.
One of our best examples of this in the Old Testament relates to Joseph, toward whom Potiphar's lustful wife made sexual advances. Joseph immediately "fled and got out of the house" (Genesis 39:12).
This idea of fleeing from sin lies behind the teaching of Job 31:1: "I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I gaze at a virgin?" Job had a predetermined attitude of turning away his gaze so that lust could not pounce on him like a predatory animal. He conditioned his spiritual reflexes to turn from sinful thoughts immediately.
An immediate response is the only policy that can keep you safe. Proverbs 6:27-28 puts it this way: "Can a man carry fire next to his chest and his clothes not be burned? Or can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be scorched?" One must respond immediately. If you feel the heat of temptation, you must move away quickly, or else you'll get burned by sin. This immediate action is the "one step" that will help tame temptation in your life.
This is also why 1 Peter 2:11 instructs us, "abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul." The word "abstain" is a present tense in the Greek, indicating continuous action. The only way you can continually and perpetually abstain from the passions of the flesh is to immediately turn from temptations as soon as they surface.
So, I exhort you, my brothers and sisters, choose today to be a slave of Jesus Christ -- and always SAY NO to sin as soon as the temptation arises in the mind.
