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“It is through faith that a righteous person has life” (Romans 1:17, NLT).
The patriarch Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look with lust at a young woman” (Job 31:1, NLT). Job couldn’t control his environment and its temptations then, any more than we can now.
Still, we can learn a valuable lesson from Job’s words. A covenant is a promise made in good faith with the intention of keeping it. It’s a step of faith you commit to before you know what circumstances you’ll encounter.
The Bible tells us, “The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17, NKJV), not by our own efforts. Faith is based on God’s revealed will, and our part is agreeing with God’s will with the understanding that only by his power can we fulfil our vow.
Our selfish nature pushes against keeping God’s commandments; that’s why everything we need to succeed is ours because of the Holy Spirit who indwells us. If you wait until you feel strong enough to honour your covenant with God, it will never happen.
But if you make it by faith, recognising your own weakness, the Holy Spirit will provide the strength you need to keep it! His covenant, made by faith, enabled Job to say, I will ‘not…look lustfully at a young woman’ (Job 31:1 NIV).
But isn’t it better not to make a covenant than to make one and break it? No, because all our failures are covered by Christ’s blood. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us…and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, NKJV). Repentance brings forgiveness and a fresh start!
“Tempted in the same way that everyone else” (1 Corinthians 10:13, CEV).
According to Jesus, lust is preceded by temptation and can lead to sin (see Matthew 5:27-28). But the good news about dealing with temptation is that you’re not alone. God’s word tells us, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13, NKJV).
In light of this Scripture, simply saying “I couldn’t help myself” is an excuse that doesn’t hold up before God. The Bible says no temptation is greater than God’s faithfulness. If you choose the way of escape which he offers, you won’t fall into the trap. And if you do fail, it will be because you didn’t draw on God’s faithfulness.
The temptation may not disappear immediately, but you will be given a way to bear it, to hold out against it. The temptation remains an active possibility, but God gives the option of trusting in his reliable, delivering power.
Bearing temptation implies an ongoing process. You can win the battle, but the war will never fully end until the last shot is fired at the coming of Jesus when every foe will become his footstool (see Acts 2:35).
In the meantime, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV).
By Alfred Nyamekye
