We are often put to the test in our Christian walk; We must resist all sorts of temptations. However, sometimes resisting is too hard. Then we have to turn to Plan B.
We will all have temptations in our lives, as long as we live in this body of flesh. Even Jesus was tempted! When we are weak or tired, temptations can be even more “tempting”. It is not surprising that the devil presented himself to Jesus at the moment when he was at his weakest physically. “After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.” (Matt 4.2 NIV) So, the devil approached Jesus and started by offering him… food!
Jesus was perhaps physically weak after his long fast, but He was far from being weakened spiritually: quite the contrary! A good way to resist temptations is to have a very solid relationship with God. “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4.7 NIV) The verse here shows that when our lives are subject to God, it will be easier for us to resist the devil and his temptations.
The word “resist” in James 4.7 comes from the Greek word “anthistemi”, which also means to oppose, to stand and not to flinch. It is also used in Matthew 5:39, where Jesus states to not resist (or oppose) when we are accused; If one strikes one cheek, let us also present the other cheek. In Acts 6:10, it is written that religious men could not “resist” the wisdom of Stephen’s teaching, that is, they could not resist it.
There are moments when we must resist temptation, which means to oppose it fiercely. We must not have a passive attitude before temptation. We must not just stand there doing nothing, and wait for it to pass. We must oppose it. We can do as Jesus did and use the Word of God to counter temptation. We can also do as Stephen did and let the Holy Spirit take control of our being.
However, sometimes the temptation is really too strong. Sometimes we approach a critical threshold where we are very likely to be trapped. When the temptation becomes too difficult, then it is necessary to go to plan B: to flee! This is what Joseph did when his master’s wife tried to seduce him. “And she caught him by his garment, saying, Lie with me: and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out.” (Genesis 39:12 KJV) Until that moment, Joseph had repeatedly refused her advances. He had fiercely opposed it. But when the pressure became too intense, he simply fled.
The action of fleeing is sometimes considered cowardly by those who think they are strong! Yet it is often the wisest solution to keep our purity. “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” (1 Cor 6:18 NIV) The Apostle Paul does not say to “resist” fornication. He says clearly to flee. It is the same word (“pheugo” in Greek) used to describe what the sailors did when their boat wrecked on shore, in Acts 27:30. They left their position to avoid death; Their lives were in danger if they remained there.
In the face of certain temptations, we must resist. At other times, we have to flee. We must understand that our spiritual state, our destiny is in danger of dying and we need to save it. We must do more than resist. There is nothing cowardly about leaving a place or situation that risks compromising our holiness, our consecration. In short, our relationship with God. This word, “pheugo”, is also used by Paul in 2 Timothy 2:22. “Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” (NIV)
Singles: Stop playing with fire! Do not resist sexual temptations: flee from them! A council that also applies to married couples. A married man should not flirt with a woman other than his wife, even if it’s “just a joke”. We can not put anyone in danger of death and say it was just a joke! Paul says that we must flee immorality and the evil desires of youth. We must take a radical position in this area as if our lives depended on it.
(By the way, Paul also strongly advises us to have the same radical attitude in front of idolatry (1 Cor 10:14) and in front of the love of money (1 Timothy 6: 10-12)… something to think about, right?)