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NASB | James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | James 4:7 So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil [stand firm against him] and he will flee from you. |
Bible Question: Anybody have advice on resisting temptation. |
Bible Answer: My friend, that's a very good question. 1. "What you need to understand is the true force of the will. This is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision, or of choice. Everything depends on the right action of the will. The power of choice God has given to men; it is theirs to exercise. You cannot change your heart, you cannot of yourself give to God its affections; but you can choose to serve Him. You can give Him your will; He will then work in you to will and to do according to His good pleasure...Through the right exercise of the will, an entire change may be made in your life. By yielding up your will to Christ, you ally yourself with the power that is above all principalities and powers. You will have strength from above to hold you steadfast, and thus through constant surrender to God you will be enabled to live the new life, even the life of faith." Steps to Christ, pp 47-48. Make a conscious decision that you will not under any circumstances give in to temptation (Joshua 24:15). 2. Notice that the key to all this is, of course, constant submission to God - perfect submission. Only when you have this mind of Christ and are devoted to God to the disregard of your own interests will you be empowered to resist temptation (James 4:7). 3. Pray, pray, pray. Jesus is eager to empower you to resist temptation (1 John 5:14, 15). However, the power to resist can only be gained though unbroken communion with God. 4. Don't consider the temptation. The more you consider, or think about it, the stronger the urge will become. Eve considered the serpent's words and soon the forbidden fruit looked very appetizing. Had she turned away the instant the temptation arose, she would have been safe. 5. It will be hard not to think about the temptation if you do not replace it with positive thinking. What works for me is memorizing, reciting, and meditating on scripture (see Psalm 119:9, 11). An excellent text to memorize and meditate upon in Romans chapter 6. 6. This final point is very important. Romans 13:14 says: "...make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." That means you should steer clear of any thing, place, etc that tempts you to sin. For example, a smoker who wants to quit smoking needs to avoid bringing cigarrettes on his person, and may even have to avoid the company/influence of those whose influence would tempt him to smoke, etc. I hope this has been helpful. In the mean time, continue to strive against temptation, depending on the Lord. He will give you the victory (1 Corinthians 15:57). |