Firstly, let me state that no one is without sin, we all struggle with sin and if someone tells you otherwise he or she is a liar, yes, a liar. Even the holiest of Saints would dare not state that they are without blemish, for to state such a thing would be an oxymoron as it would be an indication of self pride on their behalf. We all fall short of the glory of God! Romans 3:23, and knowing this we should not be disheartened when we do fall, but rather ask the Father of boundless mercies for forgiveness with pure intentions and He is faithful to forgive us, 1 John 1:9.
There exists only one who was able to conquer temptation and walked this earth without sin. He was an unblemished lamb, crucified for us and by His death He conquered death and by it we have been given new life through our baptism. "He became sin for us so that we may become righteousness of God in Him" 2 Corinthians 5:21, He is Christ Jesus, our Holy God and Immortal King.
By Jesus' passion, He took the sins of the world upon Himself so that whoever believes in Him will have the gift of the forgiveness of sins. This does not give us a free pass to go and sin, "God shall not be mocked" Galatians 6:7, but rather this gift of grace that has been bestowed upon us should be considered with fear and trembling for a great cost was paid for our redemption!
So how do we strengthen ourselves for times of temptation, Christ gives us a clue as to what we ought to do in order to stand firm, Christ states the following in Matthew 7:24-27
24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. 26 Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
What is this rock of which Jesus speaks of? It is Himself, Jesus is stating that if we not only believe in Him and confess Him with our lips but also act on His words, then we are considered as wise builders who when are tempted, do not falter. This leads to another question, what commands, how do we fulfil these commands? Jesus also provides an answer to this question below within a verse found in Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ 40 On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Love my brothers and sisters, love is the answer for love binds all things as we read in the Epistle to the Colossians 3:14. Jesus wants us to love the Lord and each other, for if we truly love God then we will serve Him tirelessly, we will worship Him, pray to Him, offer fasts to Him, sing to Him, cry to Him, read His word and pick up our crosses and follow Him daily. If we love our neighbour as ourselves then humility will follow, kindness will abound, meekness will radiate from you and Christ will shine as a beacon of hope to the distressed, oppressed, poor and those who are broken in spirit.
When we finally realise that we are lacking in love, we will only then understand what is needed in order to overcome the burden of temptation for God Himself will guide us through the fire. For when we do come to this realisation, we will humble ourselves before the Lord and consider ourselves nothing before His greatness. We will also then come to the conclusion that we are not better than anyone else and that we must first truly seek to remove the plank from our own eye before considering the speck in our brothers' eye.
Love is medicine, it brings joy to the hearts of men and comforts the widow, let us learn to love so that we may overcome temptation and walk in the footsteps of Jesus the Messiah. Love never fails and through it, all other spiritual fruits are made perfect.
Amen.
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