"By His Own Desire"

 “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.” (James 1:13-14 ESV)

Every day, we find ourselves in a fierce battle between the spirit and the flesh. As we wake up, wash our face, and brush our teeth, we are confronted with the greatest obstacle to our righteousness-our own reflection in the mirror.  We are our own worst enemy in our journey with Christ. It's not our spouse or the man down the street, but our own selves that we must overcome.

The issue is self-control. God knows that as His children, this is our biggest struggle, and the opening the enemy seeks every single day. Knowing this, God gave us boundaries, rules, and guidance to help us in this struggle. Yet, He maintains His patience with us as He knows our perverse nature will pull us away from Him to what our flesh desires. It is all about self-control, of which we have very little. It is the “just one more” syndrome. Just one more drink, just one more leads to another, and another. Just one more slice of pie, one more look, one more visit, one more of whatever our perverse nature desires.

Our society promotes this behavior, making it even more difficult for Christians, which is why we see this confrontation throughout the New Testament. Peter reminds us, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,  since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.’” Worse yet, the modern church has evolved to the point where it believes that once saved, we can live as we please. This is entirely false doctrine.

If I were to tell you that our sanctification requires effort on our part, I might be labeled a legalist. However, the truth is that the Holy Spirit, who resides within us from the moment of our salvation, empowers us to do what we would not naturally do. He gives us the desire to act against our own inclinations, enabling us to change our minds about our sin. As Paul put it, “For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Galatians 5:13) We are not in bonds, but we are held in bounds, as Alistair Begg said.

Self-control is not easy. If it were easy to stop sinning, Jesus would not have had to sacrifice Himself on the cross. So, how can we, with an understanding of the gospel, justify living a secular life? Christ’s blood was not shed so we could sin. God forbid, as Paul put it in Romans 6. We are responsible in our war against sin. No matter how many times we fall, we should pick ourselves back up, repent of our sins with fear and trembling, and start walking back on that narrow path. We will constantly be at war with sin, the flesh, and the devil.

When we sin, we no longer think, “Well, I could not help myself.” When we sin, whatever we love something else more than God, we are idolatrous. Essentially, we are saying God is not enough for us. When sin scratches at the door, fall on your knees and let God intervene. Pray for the strength you do not possess because only God possesses the power to enable us to overcome sin. Change your mind about your sinning. It is the true form of repentance that turns us from our sin.

We have all heard stories of crimes being committed, such as embezzlement or employee theft, which are often referred to as “inside jobs.” Every sin is an “inside job”. It's not an external force that compels us to sin, but the person you look at in the mirror every day, you and your own desires and inclinations, who is planning the next sin, the next “inside job.” Stop them, stop that inner desire before you commit what you know should not be committed. Glorify Christ, not your inner nature of sin.

Grace and Peace.