Overcoming Temptation

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above. – James 1:17

When we sin, the consequence is separation from God. When we sin, we break fellowship with Him. Paul conveyed his struggle with sin in Romans 7:19: “The good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.”

Paul wanted us to know that he understood our struggle against sin and temptation. He too wanted the victory but would fall to sin time and again. And if it happened to Paul, it can happen to us. But there is a solution to the struggle with temptation.

The way you get rid of sin is not simply dealing with or focusing on the sin. It’s like being on a diet and deciding to focus on food all the time—it won’t work. Instead, to deal with temptation we must shift our focus.

Rather than keeping our eyes on our sin, we need to turn our eyes to our Savior. As we focus on him and not on our Romans 7 experience, we find the freedom to overcome.

Don’t look at your sin. Look to your Savior.