Temptation and Sin

Today on a morning walk I saw a German Shepherd at high alert from across the street, staring off into the distance with ears perked up.  He growled as he pulled on the lead that was stretched taut, firmly grasped by his owner.  There was no audible communication from the master who was being dragged along.  The dog's effort to pull on the lead left him breathless and muffled his barking.  It was as if the owner did not exist, so strong was the dog's impulse to follow his natural instincts.

As I looked both ways before crossing the street I saw the reason for the German Shepherd's agitation.  In complete contrast, an owner stood on the corner opposite the other pair and his dog--which looked to be part Husky--lay on the ground with his head elevated as he stoically stared straight ahead.  The lead hung limp between owner and dog which was very attentive to every movement and commands of his owner who stood beside him.  There was no growling, barking or pulling on the lead.  The Husky showed self-control because he had obviously been well-trained and prepared for such encounters.

Seeing the difference of behaviour between the dogs reminded me of a conversation I had recently concerning temptation and sin.  In Christian circles we often speak of temptation being something outside of us when in reality it springs from desires within us.  The dogs had two things in common:  they were both dogs, and they both unexpectedly came across another dog during a walk.  The reaction of each dog was different due to their owner and their preparation and training--or lack thereof.  The stimuli was the same, yet one dog was conscious of his owner who held the lead whilst the other was behaving as dogs naturally do.

We can imagine our sinfulness can be blamed on an abundance of temptation or sinful people around us when the problem resides in each of our own hearts.  There is no temptation without desire.  If I despise  and am disgusted by beetroot, I will be tempted to eat it.  James 1:13-14 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed."  If the German Shepherd was a person, he could not have blamed his behaviour on the Husky across the street.  Likewise, we cannot blame our lack of self-control on peer-pressure, the internet or because someone called us a name.  The desire to do and say as we want without godly boundaries is the problem inside us circumstances of life brings to light.  The devil tempted Eve and Jesus, but only Eve was enticed because there was desire in her heart she was willing to disobey God to satisfy.

Having been born again by faith in Jesus, Christians have received the Holy Spirit who empowers us to live in the way that pleases God:  repenting for sin, ceasing from sinful habits and obeying God's word.  God also provides the way of escape from temptation as Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  For much of our lives (even as believers) we lived like the German Shepherd with no thought of God or the lead we strained against to follow our natural impulses which left us unsatisfied, and as the Husky we can learn to acknowledge, listen to and seek to please our Saviour.  When we encounter something that makes us strain against godly boundaries God has set, let us confess our illicit desires and turn to God in humble obedience.

The Courageous Way

I enjoyed hearing a speech delivered by Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court at a University of Texas at Austin event.  During his decades on the bench. Justice Thomas has been known as a man of few words during oral arguments, yet when he speaks I have found he has many good things to say as a God-fearing man and American.  His quality of character, faithfulness in labour and devotion to God make him a man I deeply respect and admire.  Those who speak disparaging of him may do so because he is principled and godly like Daniel of old who would not be swayed by commands of a king, the fickle favour of princes or criticism from holding fast to those self-evident truths, that men have been created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.

In his speech, Justice Thomas urged regular people of the United States to be courageous to uphold the Constitution as the 56 signers, who with "firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence" mutually pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and sacred honour.  While he spoke of being courageous in standing up for the principles founding founders held dear, I find the following quote a fitting exhortation applied to Christians to be courageous by faith in our Saviour Jesus to daily walk in love, the light of the Gospel and the truth of the Bible during our pilgrimage to glory:

"Each of you will have opportunities to be courageous every day.  Whether your calling in life is as a day labourer, a stay-at-home mom, a small business owner, an educator, an office worker, a judge, or some other endeavour.  It may mean speaking up in class tomorrow when someone around you expects you to live by lies.  It may mean confronting today's fashionable bigotries such as antisemitism.  It may mean standing up for your religion when it is mocked by a professor.  It may mean not budging on your principles when it will entail losing friends or being ostracised.  It may mean running for your school board when you see that they are teaching your children to hate your values in our country.  It may mean turning down a job offer that requires you to make moral or ethical compromises.  One thing I do know to be true, it will mean waking up every day with the resolve to withstand unfair criticism and attacks.  These are choices that we will confront that will confront you and you must decide whether to respond with timidity or with courage as the signers of the Declaration did.  It will of course not be easy.  Never is.  But if like me, you need a greater source of strength than yourselves, you will need to rely on your faith to guide and to sustain you through it all.  You will disappoint people you thought were friends and enduring personal attacks--as well as attacks on those you care about.  But if you stand, you will find that courage, like cowardice, can be habit forming and it will become a part of your life and a part of who you are.  And I may dare say it is liberating.  You will also be a living example for others to emulate."

God exhorted Joshua many times to be courageous in obedience because God had commanded him and would be with him, and we too can be courageous through Christ.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if courage was our habitual way of life rather than only in exceptional or extraordinary instances?  Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who trusted in God spoken of in Hebrews 11, by God's grace Christians can be courageous to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and run with endurance the race set before us.  Our courage does not spring from being exceptional people, but because we trust and obey our awesome God.  This is true freedom!

Affliction is Good?

"It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes."

Psalm 119:71

I don't think anyone sees affliction as intrinsically good, yet the psalmist affirmed through experience that God was able to use affliction for his good.  If a tree could speak, it might cry out in pain to have branches cut and trimmed by a skilled arborist, but as a result of pruning the tree will be healthier and produce more fruit.  Years ago our family had a lemon tree in the back yard with one large but light lemon on it--and it hung there for months.  I didn't want to trim the neglected tree for the sake of the "fruit" that never seemed to ripen, and when I finally harvested it was dry, woody and inedible.  I trimmed the tree following an online tutorial, and the tree for one year did not produce a single lemon.  The next year, however, we harvested over 80 juicy lemons!

When the lemon tree was neglected and left alone, it grew many leaves and branches.  One might imagine cutting off branches would reduce the fruitfulness of the barren tree but it increased exponentially.  This illustrates well the fruitfulness of affliction in a Christian's life, for God uses it to teach us of Himself, guide us to seek Him in times of trouble, and cause our lives to produce holiness.  This morning I read a passage in Hosea where God said He was like a moth unto His people.  Moths are harmless to humans but can be destructive pests because they eat natural fibres people use to make clothes and blankets.  It would have been very disappointing to pull out clothing to wear and find it eaten away and rotted with holes from moths, and this was a picture of the condition of Israel when they rejected God and ceased walking in His ways.  Their society and family fell into decay, and the damage done by sin was obvious and could not be hidden.

Hosea 5:13-15 reads, "When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then Ephraim went to Assyria and sent to King Jareb; yet he cannot cure you, nor heal you of your wound. ¹⁴ For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. ¹⁵ I will return again to My place till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."  When Ephraim became sick and helpless due to idolatry, God's people sought aid from the Assyrians who could not heal them.  So what did God do?  He brought more severe judgment upon His people, for He became as a young lion to them.  The tearing of a lion is far more deadly than the damage done by moths.  God retreated like a lion to its den until His people were willing to acknowledge their sin and seek His face.  God's affliction of His people was actually a mercy, for in their affliction they would earnestly seek Him--the God who loved them, would rescue and heal them.

Hosea 6:1-2 shows affliction from God led them to unite and return to the LORD:  "Come, and let us return to the LORD; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. ² After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight."  The living God who tore them desired to heal them and inclined to bind their wounds.  He would revive them and raise them up so they might live forever in His presence.  This rising the third day alludes to what God would accomplish by the death and resurrection of Jesus, for the Saviour who laid down His life and was able to take it up again would rise from the dead on the third day glorified.  So Jesus is faithful to do for all who receive Him by faith according to the Gospel.  All who have been redeemed and revived by God can see Him at work in our troubles and say with the psalmist, "It is good I have been afflicted!" because through them God teaches us and makes us more spiritually fruitful.

Being Left Alone

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught His disciples not to give what was holy to the dogs or cast their pearls before swine.  It would be abominable to offer food God provided to sustain the priests and Levites to scavenging dogs, and it makes no sense to toss valuable pearls at animals that will disregard them and trample them underfoot.  God has given us great wisdom in His word that is food for our souls we ought to treasure, and when people refuse to regard God or hear His word there is little point to continue speaking to them on the subject.  They will try to bite the hand that tries to feed them.

Since Jesus told His disciples not to give what is holy to the dogs, we can know He walks in His own wisdom.  We can see this illustrated in the life of king Saul who disregarded God's word and disobeyed the word of the LORD spoke through Samuel, and when given opportunity to repent and humble himself Saul refused to do so.  He cared only for his own honour before the people.  The Spirit of God left him and an evil spirit sent by God troubled him, yet he still did not repent.  A time came when Saul was afraid of the Philistine army and cried out to God, yet God did not answer him.  Why?  He had refused to listen to or obey God, so why should God say anything?  Saul's response of seeking the aid of a medium tells us God was perfectly justified to remain silent, for he was unwilling to wait on God and submit to his word.

One scripture that is often repeated without context is found in Hosea 4:6 when God said, "My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge...".  The knowledge God spoke of is found in Hosea 4:1 when God lamented there was "...no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land."  This lack of knowledge of God led to ignorance of His law and disobedience as we see in Hosea 4:2 & 6.  A consequence of God's people rejecting and forgetting His law was He would forget their children.  Knowing God disciplines those He loves like a father chastens his son in whom he delights, I shuddered at the implications when I read Hosea 4:17:  "Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone."  When people are sinning, they do not like to have their sin pointed out.  We prefer to be left alone and do our own thing, yet because God loves us He will convict of sin, righteousness and judgment.  He will pursue us and continue to speak to us so we might forsake our sin and return to Him.  In Ephraim's case, a point had been reached when God said to leave them alone.  His words would fall on wilfully deaf ears and proud hearts, so He had nothing to say to them.

I am reminded of a similar statement Jesus made when speaking of Jewish religious rulers.  The Pharisees were offended when Jesus said they worshipped God in vain due to their hypocrisy.  The disciples of Jesus weren't sure He knew they were offended by His words and asked Him.  Matthew 15:13-14 reads, "But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴ Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."  Jesus did not give the Pharisees the "silent" treatment, for He spoke God's wisdom plainly and personally to them.  But when they refused to receive His correction and were offended, Jesus told His disciples, "Let them alone."  Being blind leaders who would not submit to Jesus opening their eyes, they would end up falling in a ditch.  It might be spiritually falling into a ditch and not being able to climb out that would prompt them to humble themselves, cry out to Jesus the Good Shepherd and be saved.

God chastens His children out of love, and He also is moved by love to let alone the proud, stubborn soul determined to go his own way to ruin.  If Ephraim would not listen to God, learn of Him and walk in His ways, shame from their idolatry could lead the northern kingdom to repentance and restoration.  Consider the meekness of God's wisdom that is pure, peaceable, and willing to yield--so even sinners who were left alone could be redeemed and reconciled to Himself!  It was when he was left alone with the pigs the prodigal in the parable came to his senses and returned to his father who waited for him with open arms.  We know God is always inclined to save, for Jesus commands His disciples to love our enemies, bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute us.  Our enemies may not listen to God, but He will hear our prayers offered for their sakes.