Our goal as Christians is to become strong enough to withstand any temptation that the enemy may throw our way. As children of God grow in their relationship with Christ, God changes our hearts and gives us the strength to withstand the darts of the evil one. While we pray for strength to resist temptation and trust that God will provide help in those moments, we ought to be careful and strategic. If we truly desire to be pure and holy like our Father, then we should take this fight seriously. This battle is not merely about resisting sin when temptations arise, but putting ourselves in a position to succeed.
In Matthew 5, Jesus says, “If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29).” Jesus is calling the people to a new way of seeing the Law, guiding them to change from the inside out. In the middle of this discourse, Jesus gives us a lesson on the importance of priorities and valuing holiness. This extreme illustration of cutting off one’s hand or gouging out one’s eye for the sake of avoiding temptation is quite striking. We understand that avoiding sin with your right eye still leaves the left eye just as vulnerable to the same temptation, so Jesus’ point must go deeper. To apply this lesson to our lives, we should not diminish the importance of what Jesus is saying: get rid of things that cause you to stumble!
Many believe that they have the strength to resist the temptation to sin as it arises. There is a confidence we should have in knowing that temptation can be overcome, but we must be cautious of pride. When someone is arrogant enough to overlook the danger of temptation, that is when they become most vulnerable to its power. The power of sin is not something to be feared in Jesus anymore, but the danger of temptation should be taken seriously. We should never purposely walk into the path of sin to grow strong enough to resist because this often leads to callousness, curiosity, and stumbling. Instead, Jesus calls His people to cut off whatever might lead one away from entering the kingdom of God. While we work for the strength to resist temptation as it arises, we are putting ourselves in significant danger if we dabble in the very things that put Jesus on the cross.
The call to be holy (1 Peter 1:16-17) is a crucial part of being a child of God. Holiness involves setting ourselves apart, consecrating, making special, and abstaining from things that are not aligned to God’s character. We will be faced with ungodly people, speech, images, and other things we cannot control, all of which are part of living as citizens of heaven in a foreign land. What we can control should be viewed through the lens of holiness. What are we filling our hearts with? Things that pertain to the character of God or to the character of His enemy? Perhaps the thing keeping one from the kingdom is not an eye or a hand, but something seemingly mundane. Could a genre of movies be a stumbling block? A music artist? A place such as a gym or pool? A friend group? A phone? A TV? A video game? A book? Let us ask ourselves: is there anything that I ought to cut from my life so that I can begin to take holiness seriously?
Our walk with Christ is not about pushing ourselves so close to sin to see how strong we are in the face of temptation. It involves cutting out the evil, taking holiness seriously, and protecting our hearts. Maybe that involves eliminating stumbling blocks, creating safeguards, finding someone for accountability, or learning ways to reinforce God’s presence in our lives. Whatever it may be, now is the time to take holiness seriously. Now is the time to protect our hearts so that they may be pure for God, ready to be used for His kingdom.
—Joshua Brown