Resist Temptation
When a believer is faced with a temptation and he is enticed to compromise his beliefs, he needs to flee from it as far away as he can. He should not allow sin to lure him away from the path that God has ordained. The Bible says, “Run from temptations…” (2 Timothy 2:22-24). The apostle Paul admonishes the believers, “Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof” (Romans 13:14).
The Christian should provide for the needs of the body, but he should not seek for the excitement and gratification of unholy physical lusts. A life of luxury and self-indulgence promotes the fleshly passions that should be resisted (Romans 6:12, 13; 8:13). The apostle even stresses to “Abstain from all appearance of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22) for “evil” appears in many guises, and the believers should be alert to all the many forms in which it masquerades.
Eve drew too close to the forbidden tree and then waited to hear Satan’s arguments. As soon as she saw the tree and heard the serpent doubt God’s truth, she should have run away. The Word of God commands us to flee from temptation (1 Timothy 6:11). Paul compares the Christian life with the athletic contests. Victory was always the result of determined persistence and firm self-control over the body (verse 12).
The faith of the believer must be continually renewed in the day-by-day experience of growth in sanctification (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:12–14). Each new step in this process may be considered as a new putting on of Christ, and the believer who continues in this changing experience will grow more perfectly to copy the image of Christ and reflect Him in his actions (2 Corinthians 3:2, 3).
Don’t Compromise
The story of Joseph gives a great example of how a believer can successfully avoid compromising his beliefs. While Potiphar was away on business, his wife attempted to seduce Joseph, his most trusted servant. Joseph was tempted to consider the rewards of that sinful relationship—riches, higher position, and more honor.
This was a hard temptation for a single young man, that is to give up his values for power and pleasure. Yet, even with all the enticements of Satan, Joseph was so sure that it was a sin against God and he rejected it without hesitation.
Joseph not only refused to commit adultery, but he also fled away from it. “So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her. But it happened about this time, when Joseph went into the house to do his work, and none of the men of the house was inside, that she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me. But he left his garment in her hand, and fled and ran outside” (Genesis 39:10-12).
Joseph’s character remained pure under continual evil pressures. Wisely, he rejected even to be in Potiphar wife’s presence. In thus refusing, Joseph showed his purity, sound mind, and determination in doing that which is good. The stronger the temptation, the more determined he became in opposing it. The decision of Joseph to resist evil is an example for all believers to follow today.
The Psalmist wrote, “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me” (Psalms 101:3). David determined not to look upon evil (1 John 2:16; 2 Corinthians 3:18), that his life may not copy what he would see. Humans copy what they habitually see. “Hear no evil; see no evil; speak no evil.”
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
