It seems we have this natural inclination to make excuses for our wrong
doings. We may even go so far as to blame God for not intervening or for
allowing us to get into the situation. The truth is, we sin because we get
subtly enticed and deceived; then we convince ourselves it's all right to
do it. To keep this from happening, the Word tells us to forsake even the
very appearance of evil and hold on to whatever is holy.
Read James 1:13,14
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed." (NIV)
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." (KJV)
doings. We may even go so far as to blame God for not intervening or for
allowing us to get into the situation. The truth is, we sin because we get
subtly enticed and deceived; then we convince ourselves it's all right to
do it. To keep this from happening, the Word tells us to forsake even the
very appearance of evil and hold on to whatever is holy.
Read James 1:13,14
"When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed." (NIV)
"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." (KJV)
What is the Holy Spirit? That inner voice that warns us when we are doing something wrong. For example: Say you are in a department store and your eyes are browsing the magazines, you see one with a particularly enticing front cover and pick it up but when you open it there are nude pictures inside, out of curiosity you browse through it inside of you there is this voice saying to you " I should'nt be looking at this." but you ignore it. That is what sin is, Ignoring the Holy Spirit. The magazine is only a temptation if you ignore the inner witness.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the way you articulated that Geoff. You are so right on. To further carry that truth, ignoring the Holy Spirit can easily become a way of life with no hint of Holy Spirit conviction. That is a dangerous place to be. Thanks for the comment. God bless.
ReplyDelete