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All Christians, it is essential for us to know that no matter how spiritually mature they are in Chris experience temptations and have tendency towards committing sins and breaking the laws of God There is a difference, temptation and sin. Temptation is the initial tendency to do something contrary to the will of God, to disobey. Such tendencies come to all men, even as they came to Christ in the wilderness. Such tendencies are mere temptation and as such they are not in themselves sinful. Again, Temptation becomes sin when you meditate on the impression of sinning, agree with your will and develop a lustful desire, which is often followed by the actual act of disobedience(sin).
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But this conflict can be resolved when you, by an act of your will, surrender yourself to the absolute control of the Holy Spirit and face these temptations by his power: This was exactly what Jesus did when he was tempted by the devil filled with the Holy Spirit, he could not yield to the temptation. Paul succinctly presents this view thus:
"I say live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desire of the flesh"(Galatians 5:16).
This can done by recognizing our weaknesses and submitting them to the Lord daily in prayer. It can also b: done by opening up to the Holy Spirit, asking him to help you out and we can be sure such prayers are always answered as God wishes that non of us be eternally lost.
Again, we should conscious of the fact that the is real and has a mission to attack those who have set themselves apart to obey God at all times. The appreciation of this fact is important. because as Christians it will put us at alert always and make us look out for those areas he may likely strike. While, 1 will not advise that we fear the devil, as there is need for us to live and serve God in freedom. should constantly be in touch with the Holy Spirit, and ask him to strengthen our faith, if we have to be alert against the devil and his adversaries. St Peter tells us:
“Be sober vigilant. Your opponent, the devil is around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in faith, knowing that your fellow believers throughout the world undergo the same suffering (l Peter 5:8-9).
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To avoid deliberately falling into sin, we should be conscious of the world around us. This includes the type of friends we keep, our inordinate desire for money, material things of this world, the things that occupy us daily and our temperaments. I have not known of anyone who has inordinate love for this world and ever been used by
God in a significant way, because one cannot love God and mammon at the same time.
There is nothing wrong with having money and other material successes of this world, but Christians should wear the cloak of materialism very loosely as inordinate attachment to materialism may lead Christians astray In possessing money and other material things, Christians should not lose sighht of the kingdom of God, rather, they should seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and every other thing will be given to them. John warns Christians:
“Stop loving this evil world and all that it offers you, for when you love these things, you show that you. do not
love God; for all these worldly things, these evil desires the craze for sexual immorality, the ambition to buy things that appeal to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance - these are not from God. They are front this evil world itself And this world is passing away, and these evil forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keep doing the will of God will live forever (l John 2: 15 - 17).
The Bible also makes it clear that the other area we must be prepared for battle is the flesh, because the forces of the flesh constantly wages war the believer. The temptation of the flesh be strong and unless the Christian is prepared to be constantly in touch with Christ in prayer he may not be able to resist the attraction.
