Victory Over Sin

I Corinthians 10:13,  "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man.  And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

    If we are to have victory over sin, we must first acknowledge our sin and agree with God about it.  It does us no good to try to cover it up, excuse it, or rationalize it.  We cannot get away with blaming our sins on other people or circumstances.  A Christian psychologist named Dr. Henry Brandt pointed out that "People and circumstances do not cause our spirits.  They reveal our spirits."  Matthew 12:34b-35 say it this way,  "For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.  The good man brings forth good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings forth evil things out of the evil stored up in him."  In other words, what's in the well comes up in the bucket.
    Once we agree with God that we have sinned, we can repent and be forgiven according to I John 1:9, a verse that has often been called 'the Christian's bar of soap."  It says,  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  You might think, " I might as well do anything I like and then ask to be forgiven."  One problem with that philosophy is the fact that there are adverse consequences to sin even though we have been forgiven.  Also, sin grieves our Heavenly Father and disrupts our fellowship with Him.  So it is much better not to sin in the first place.
    How do we keep from sinning?  Our flesh is weak.  The pull of temptation is strong, and the enemy is tricky.  It's a matter of choice.  There is always a space of time, however small, between a temptation and sin.  James tells us what to do at the moment of choice in 4:7,  "Submit yourselves, then,to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."  We submit to God first so we can resist temptation in His power rather than fight in our own weakness.  A little girl gave me this excellent piece of advice.  She said, "Mrs. Eyster, do you know what to do when the devil knocks at your door?  You just send Jesus to answer the door."

Father, keep us from evil.  At the moment of choice between obedience to You and the temptation to sin, I pray that we will submit to you and resist the devil in Your strength.  Thank You that You have made a provision for us to keep from sinning.  Amen.