English Puritan John Owen wrote that we need to be killing sin, or it will be killing us. According to Ligonier Ministries, vivification and mortification are a dual process that helps shape a Christian’s character. This process involves putting to death the old nature, or “old man”, through mortification, and growing in a new life in Christ, or “new man”, through vivification. What tempts you to sin may be different than what tempts me. Here are some ways to grow strong in your Christian life so that you can fight temptation when it comes:
Bible Reading and Study – It is important for believers to regularly read the Bible. This will allow you to better know the mind of God, His character, and the story of redemption from Genesis to Revelation. There are many different Bible reading plans. I choose to read straight through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and then back to Genesis. Choose a plan that works for you.
In addition to reading the Bible, try to get involved in a Bible study at your church or with friends. You will find that there is quite a difference between reading and studying the Bible.
Bible Memorization – In fighting temptation, it is helpful to have Bible verses memorized that you can go to when tempted. It also gives you hope. The Psalmist wrote in Psalm 119:11:
I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Prayer – Prayer is an important spiritual discipline to fight temptation. It is helpful to have a set time for prayer, but that may not always be possible for you. The Christian’s life should be a praying life. You can pray between classes, on your work commute, while you run or walk your dog. It is not important where or when you pray, but that you do pray. Your transformation into Christlikeness relies upon the work of the Holy Spirit.
Regularly Attend Church – I write “attend,” but I strongly believe in committing to a local church body through membership. In a local church you will sit under the preaching of God’s word and have fellowship with other believers.
Guardrails – As I mentioned above, we each have those things that will tempt us to sin. It could be alcohol, pornography, shopping, or any number of things. Knowing what those things are that tempt us and what the triggers may be, we need to build guardrails around them. For example, if pornography is a temptation, build guardrails around the internet, movies, television, etc. If you know what your triggers are, just try to avoid tempting situations (i.e. if going out with certain friends leads to gossip, it’s easier to avoid the situation than trying not to gossip.)
What other suggestions on how to fight temptation and sin would you have to offer?
You can watch the “Question and Answer” session from the conference I referred to above here. The question I refer to begins at the 33:55 mark in the video.
We need to remember that even though we are Christians, we do still sin, and thus we need to repent of that sin. Burk Parsons has said that we should hate our sin as much as God hates it. The Protestant Reformer Martin Luther in the first of his famous “95 Theses”, wrote:
When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent” (Mt 4:17),
he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.
We should always bear in mind this quote from Kevin DeYoung “we must do good, not as the means of our acceptance with God, but as an expression of it. Good works are not optional for the Christian.”
The more we love God and get to know Him, the more we want to please Him, love Him, and love others. He is our good Father, and we are Completely Known and Completely Loved.
1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. 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 endure it”.