The world of Christians has been rocked many times throughout the past few decades, as multiple Christian men (and women) in leadership have been rightly accused of sexual sin. The downfall of these Christian leaders has caused intense hurt, disappointment, feelings of betrayal, and falling away from the faith amongst believers, and the mockery of unbelievers by their shouts of "hypocrisy!" Christians have wondered why their heroes gave into those temptations; after all, aren't leaders supposed to be the "perfect Christians?"
It is right to be concerned about the sin of those in leadership, and about the effect that it has on those who look up to them and follow after their teaching. However, if we examine our own lives as individual believers, we should realize that we ourselves are not without sin; indeed, I would imagine that we each even deal with sexual sin in one way or another.
I am not going to look at the reasons that this particular temptation seems to be on the rise, though there are many things that could be blamed. Nor am I going to suggest practical steps to avoid being tempted in the first place. Instead, my intention is to remind my readers of the hope that they have of forgiveness, and the power they have in Christ to overcome temptation (whether the temptation is one of sexual immorality or something else).
The first hopeful reminder I would offer is that your temptation is not exclusive to you.
When believers are tempted, they very often feel guilty and alone, as if they are the only believer ever who has been tempted at all, much less tempted by the specific temptation they are facing. They feel ashamed and scared, and do not want to turn to God or to a fellow Christian for help, because they do not want to acknowledge even to themselves that they are being tempted by such a terrible sin –whatever the sin may be.
In I Corinthians 10:13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. . ."[1] The temptations that believers struggle with are not going to be a surprise to God, and they are not going to be unheard of in the daily lives of other believers. We as children of God are all in a spiritual battle, wrestling against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).
What are some examples of other believers who have had to fight this temptation?
When I think of biblical accounts of believers who dealt with the temptation of sexual immorality, there are two specific people – or a group of people, in one instance – who come to mind. The first is the well-known account of David. Though he was an Old Testament believer, David was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) who desired to do the will of God. However, David struggled with sin, and the most infamous sin he committed was his adultery with Bathsheba which ultimately led to David's murder of Uriah.
The other example is that of the believers in the church at Corinth. These men and women were involved in all manner of sexual sin, even down to one of the men in the church having sexual relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1).
(Side note) the history of the church at Corinth is very interesting, and it is very relatable to today's culture. I'd encourage my readers to study the background and books of Corinthians!
Though these examples do not seem at all encouraging on the surface, they can actually be extremely encouraging. Consider David. Despite his sins of adultery and murder, God loved David so much that He sent the prophet Nathan to bring David to repentance. God readily forgave David, and though there were consequences for David's sin, God continued to use David mightily for His purposes after he repented.
Looking at the letters to the Corinthians, we may again find a demonstration of God's love. One of the reasons that Paul wrote these letters was that the Christians at Corinth might be convicted of their sin and repent. God's desire was for believers at Corinth to live holy lives in obedience to Him, but He did not condemn them or put them to death for their disobedience. Instead, He worked through His servant Paul to call their attention to their sinful behavior.
If God's desire for these believers was that they might repent and return to living for Him, what is His desire for us as 21st-Century Christians? The very same thing! Repentance is all well and good, but how do we say "no" to temptation when it is so very strong?
Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Emphasis mine). The verses which follow explain that we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Since we are, by God's grace, dead to sin and are no longer slaves to it, sin has no power over us. We have no obligation to give in to temptation.
Returning to I Corinthians 10:13, Paul did not end with acknowledging the commonness of temptation; he continued, ". . . 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." (Emphasis mine). When we give in to temptation, we should not claim that we had no choice, for God always provides the way to say "no" when we are tempted.
Though we have the power of God through His Spirit to overcome temptation, there will still be times when we give in. So what then?
Romans 8:38-39 promises that "neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing, not even our most outrageous sin, will cause the Lord to stop loving us.
I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (Emphasis mine). Confessing our sins to the Lord restores our fellowship with Him and is necessary for becoming obedient to Him and fruitful in ministry. As believers, we have no need to fear that we will lose our salvation. Our God's love never fails us, as promised in Romans, and He faithfully forgives and restores us.
What should we do when a brother or sister in Christ is caught up in sin?
The instructions to the Corinthian church was that the believers were not to have fellowship with the man who was committing sexual immorality (I Corinthians 5:9-10). However, when this man repented of his sin, Paul urged the Corinthians to "forgive and comfort him" and "reaffirm your love to him" (II Corinthians 2:7-8).
Galatians 6:1 teaches, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." It is the God-given responsibility of the child of God to confront the sin of other believers, but to do so in love and humility, and to forgive and restore those who are repentant of their sin.
Oh my dear brothers and sisters, this is such a difficult battle to fight. My prayer is that the Lord will work in each of your hearts to remind you of the hope you have in Christ, both for eternity and for the everyday battle you fight. I pray that you will not hide yourself – from Him or from fellow believers – in shame and despair when you are tempted, but that you will run to Christ and fight the wiles of the devil. Jesus Christ has conquered death and sin on our behalf; we need only to trust His mercy and power!
[1] All Scripture references are taken from the New King James Version.
It is right to be concerned about the sin of those in leadership, and about the effect that it has on those who look up to them and follow after their teaching. However, if we examine our own lives as individual believers, we should realize that we ourselves are not without sin; indeed, I would imagine that we each even deal with sexual sin in one way or another.
I am not going to look at the reasons that this particular temptation seems to be on the rise, though there are many things that could be blamed. Nor am I going to suggest practical steps to avoid being tempted in the first place. Instead, my intention is to remind my readers of the hope that they have of forgiveness, and the power they have in Christ to overcome temptation (whether the temptation is one of sexual immorality or something else).
The first hopeful reminder I would offer is that your temptation is not exclusive to you.
When believers are tempted, they very often feel guilty and alone, as if they are the only believer ever who has been tempted at all, much less tempted by the specific temptation they are facing. They feel ashamed and scared, and do not want to turn to God or to a fellow Christian for help, because they do not want to acknowledge even to themselves that they are being tempted by such a terrible sin –whatever the sin may be.
In I Corinthians 10:13, the Apostle Paul reminds us that "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. . ."[1] The temptations that believers struggle with are not going to be a surprise to God, and they are not going to be unheard of in the daily lives of other believers. We as children of God are all in a spiritual battle, wrestling against the wiles of the devil (Ephesians 6:11).
What are some examples of other believers who have had to fight this temptation?
When I think of biblical accounts of believers who dealt with the temptation of sexual immorality, there are two specific people – or a group of people, in one instance – who come to mind. The first is the well-known account of David. Though he was an Old Testament believer, David was "a man after God's own heart" (Acts 13:22) who desired to do the will of God. However, David struggled with sin, and the most infamous sin he committed was his adultery with Bathsheba which ultimately led to David's murder of Uriah.
The other example is that of the believers in the church at Corinth. These men and women were involved in all manner of sexual sin, even down to one of the men in the church having sexual relations with his father's wife (I Corinthians 5:1).
(Side note) the history of the church at Corinth is very interesting, and it is very relatable to today's culture. I'd encourage my readers to study the background and books of Corinthians!
Though these examples do not seem at all encouraging on the surface, they can actually be extremely encouraging. Consider David. Despite his sins of adultery and murder, God loved David so much that He sent the prophet Nathan to bring David to repentance. God readily forgave David, and though there were consequences for David's sin, God continued to use David mightily for His purposes after he repented.
Looking at the letters to the Corinthians, we may again find a demonstration of God's love. One of the reasons that Paul wrote these letters was that the Christians at Corinth might be convicted of their sin and repent. God's desire was for believers at Corinth to live holy lives in obedience to Him, but He did not condemn them or put them to death for their disobedience. Instead, He worked through His servant Paul to call their attention to their sinful behavior.
If God's desire for these believers was that they might repent and return to living for Him, what is His desire for us as 21st-Century Christians? The very same thing! Repentance is all well and good, but how do we say "no" to temptation when it is so very strong?
Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" (Emphasis mine). The verses which follow explain that we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Since we are, by God's grace, dead to sin and are no longer slaves to it, sin has no power over us. We have no obligation to give in to temptation.
Returning to I Corinthians 10:13, Paul did not end with acknowledging the commonness of temptation; he continued, ". . . 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." (Emphasis mine). When we give in to temptation, we should not claim that we had no choice, for God always provides the way to say "no" when we are tempted.
Though we have the power of God through His Spirit to overcome temptation, there will still be times when we give in. So what then?
Romans 8:38-39 promises that "neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Nothing, not even our most outrageous sin, will cause the Lord to stop loving us.
I John 1:9 says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (Emphasis mine). Confessing our sins to the Lord restores our fellowship with Him and is necessary for becoming obedient to Him and fruitful in ministry. As believers, we have no need to fear that we will lose our salvation. Our God's love never fails us, as promised in Romans, and He faithfully forgives and restores us.
What should we do when a brother or sister in Christ is caught up in sin?
The instructions to the Corinthian church was that the believers were not to have fellowship with the man who was committing sexual immorality (I Corinthians 5:9-10). However, when this man repented of his sin, Paul urged the Corinthians to "forgive and comfort him" and "reaffirm your love to him" (II Corinthians 2:7-8).
Galatians 6:1 teaches, "Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted." It is the God-given responsibility of the child of God to confront the sin of other believers, but to do so in love and humility, and to forgive and restore those who are repentant of their sin.
Oh my dear brothers and sisters, this is such a difficult battle to fight. My prayer is that the Lord will work in each of your hearts to remind you of the hope you have in Christ, both for eternity and for the everyday battle you fight. I pray that you will not hide yourself – from Him or from fellow believers – in shame and despair when you are tempted, but that you will run to Christ and fight the wiles of the devil. Jesus Christ has conquered death and sin on our behalf; we need only to trust His mercy and power!
[1] All Scripture references are taken from the New King James Version.
This is exactly what I needed to read today. You communicated the truth so clearly and brought up things that we so easily seem to forget in the times of trouble. What a comforting post, thank you so much for sharing! :)
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