Returning To God, and Dealing With Temptation
Feb 26, 2020
By Dan Li
This is written to a new Brother or Sister who may have grown-up Catholic, but then came to faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, then back-slid, and now have returned to Jesus in repentance.
It is part of a 3-part series:
Part 1: Returning To God, and Dealing With Temptation
Part 2: Faith, Temptation, and Strength (For the prodigal who is returning to God, by His mercy and grace)
Part 3: The Flesh-man, The Spirit-man
This is about returning to God:
If the Lord is drawing you back to Himself- it was not your good idea, it was His, if even in response to your prayers:
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end; While it is said, Today if ye hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. ” (Heb 3:13-15)
Since God is drawing you back to Himself, He will also make you able to come, by faith. You cannot come by your own good works, your own will, or your own strength (Peter couldn’t do it, John 13:36-14:4, and you can’t either)– it must by Jesus Christ, and that, by faith in Him. If you try to do your righteousness or to fix yourself (except to repent, believe, trust, listen, and yield to God), you will fail. But if instead you believe Him, that He died and was raised to life, for our sake, that you might have eternal life, you will have eternal life.
This is about temptation:
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to
those who love Him.
13 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.
14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.
15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
If it is the Lord who is drawing you back to Himself- it was not your good idea, it was His- He is doing it. God is good, and "you are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus, unto good works…" Eph 2:10
Key Verse:
James 4:4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
5 Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that He has made to dwell in us”?
6 But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.
10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He lift you up.
These are steps, given in a particular order.
1) Humble yourself before God (the He will give you grace. Grace is God’s help in whatever form He chooses).
2) Submit yourself to God (honestly give God your whole life, heart, plans, desires, future)
3) Resist the Devil
4) THEN the Devil will walk away flee from you. The Devil flees because of the presence of God with you, that you receive after you submit to God. The Devil is scared to death of God. And if God be for you, who can be against you? Are we submitted to God, is the question.
5) Draw near to God (and God will draw near to you)
6) Cleanse your hands, you sinners (this must be done by going to Jesus- Repent of your sin, confess it to Jesus, ask for forgiveness trusting He will forgive you according to His promise in 1 John 1:9. Purify your hearts- double-minded is someone who
loves something else too. We must get rid of your love for other things- this is a decision. Sinful weaknesses, desires and inclinations need to be taken to the cross of Christ and put to death there – it is the power of Christ’s death on that cross that gives us freedom from sin. Get the other stuff out from between your focus and allegiance to God alone.
7) Be wretched, mourn and weep. This is the correct attitude we should have about our sin and weaknesses/inclinations to sin. Don’t treat them as OK, or just part of life, or as acceptable or even tolerable, but instead treat them as murderous enemies of our soul and as enemies of God that we must never be allied with. God is so serious about sin, that it cost the life of His only Begotten Son of God on the cross to die for our sins- such a great cost, we must never treat it lightly. Don’t call a bad thing good, nor a good thing bad- God alone is the one who determines this, not us, not humans, not governments, nor angels, and it is written in His Word, the Bible. Don’t ever be happy you have sinned nor accept it as OK or normal. You must not have pity on yourself when you have sinned– this is not the correct kind of weeping, mourning, or wretchedness- no don’t have pity on your sin nature nor on your having given-in to it. Instead, take self-pity and your other sins, each one individually, to the cross of Jesus, admit it also is a sin to Jesus, and crucify it there with Him.
Self-pity acts like godly sorrow, but it lies, it is not real godly sorrow, it only cares about itself and giving you excuses to you to stay trapped in your sins- it is from the Devil. Also, if anyone, even a pastor or minister, comforts you in your sin, or minimizes it, even slightly, this person is not of God- do not listen to this sort of person, whatsoever! Never comfort yourself in your sin! Someone once told me they were struggling with sinning, and occasionally giving-in to it; but that his favorite T.V. pastor told him (and everyone else watching) that “it is normal for Christians to sin, they should just to do their best, and God will understand”. This is very false doctrine! (Jer 6:14). A Christian, Scripture says, should never let sin reign in his moral body (Rom 6:12-16), and that the wages of sin is death (Rom 6:20-23). We must, as genuine Christians, take our sins, sinful desires, sinful inclinations and weaknesses to sin, to the cross to die there with Christ on that cross! The flesh-man is that weakness to sin, and Scripture teaches us to crucify that flesh, that old man of sin.
8) If we sin or are being tempted to sin, it is no time to be joyous or have a great outlook on life- I’m not talking about depression here, where a person in doubt of God or in despair, where he/she thinks there will never be a change in their heart– no! But it is no time to be happy and joyous. It is a time of seriousness, mourning and gloom- but we should keep looking to Jesus- in humility, admit we were wrong or have a wrong heart that keeps wanting to sin, humble ourself under our weakness to sin, before God, ask Him to be the strength in our weakness, ask Him for forgiveness, ask Him to keep us from sin- but you must ask believing. If you don’t ask believing, don’t bother asking. Make the decision before you ask for things of God, to believe Him to answer your prayer. Time of solemn prayer, being honest with God, not joyous or in making ourself happy, but in prayer, seeking God for repentance and help. Verse 10 tells us that if we humble ourselves, God will lift us up. So be expecting God to soon come and lift you up- He is your Savior- wait for Him to come. Temptation is not sin, it is only the temptation to do so- the Devil wants to destroy you with sin. Just keep taking it all to God- He will strengthen you. There are times when tempted, you may wonder, "God where are you" and you may feel left alone with this temptation- that is a temptation to doubt God in there.. But God is there, just trust God still, even when you don’t feel His presence.
God will slowly change who you are brother or sister, into like Himself.. only, be faithful to Him, keep your focus on Him.
