<\/p>\n
\u201cWith her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life\u201d (Proverbs 7:21-23).<\/p>\n
DEALING WISELY AND DECISIVELY WITH TEMPTATION REQUIRES STRENGTH OF CHARACTER. If sin is to be avoided, we must be able to interrupt the train of events described by James: \u201cBut each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death\u201d (James 1:14,15). When we feel ourselves being pulled in the direction of doing something we know is wrong, we must have the character to \u201cdraw the line\u201d and refuse to cross it. Most people know what it feels like to hate or loathe a sin that has already been committed. But wouldn\u2019t it be a great thing to have the same intensity of feeling beforehand<\/em> so that the act could be prevented?<\/p>\n One reason we succumb to temptation as we do is that we don\u2019t really say \u201cNo!\u201d to sin. We often think<\/em> that\u2019s what we\u2019ve done, and so we\u2019re frustrated to find ourselves going ahead and doing that which we think we\u2019ve rejected. But often, the actual fact is that we\u2019ve not at any point really said \u201cNo!\u201d to the act we\u2019re contemplating. Decisively rejecting sin is more than a vague feeling that we ought not to do the thing. It\u2019s more than the soft whisper of our conscience. Rejecting sin requires that we gather ourselves together, decide upon our course of action, and refuse<\/em> to commit the act. It certainly does include the feeling that we shouldn\u2019t do the deed. But it must be more than a feeling. It must be a commitment<\/em> \u2014 a resolute, decisive, final commitment not to let ourselves be carried along by the momentum of temptation.<\/p>\n There\u2019ll surely be times when we find that we\u2019ve already allowed temptation to give birth to sin in our lives. At such times, godly sorrow does require character. But for all those who have enough character to feel sorry for what they\u2019ve done after the fact, there are far fewer who have the character to feel sorry in advance and \u201crepent\u201d of the deed before it has a chance to take place.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is much easier to repent of sins that we have committed than to repent of those we intend to commit\u201d (Josh Billings).<\/p>\n Gary Henry \u2013 WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com<\/p>\n