Grace Reformed Baptist Church, Bangalore

Deliverance From Evil

For the last time, we will continue to look at the sixth and final petition. The reason this is taking so long is that I believe this is a very foundational petition, and the reason we don’t progress in our spiritual lives lies within it. In many ways, we are subtly tempted and then lose the great blessings of God in our lives. Our lives could be so glorious and grandly blessed, a witnessing life. The Holy Spirit can flow through us like rivers to influence many souls, but it is spoiled only by temptation and sin. It is subtle; we don’t realize it.

Each of us should think about what is hindering God from blessing and using us. For some, it is not honoring or taking care of old parents. God does not bless them. For some, it is vain pride, covetousness, lust, anger, bitterness, or revenge. For some, it is breaking the Sabbath. For some, it is an idol in their heart. All of these spoil our lives. Our greatest duty to be blessed is to overcome the temptation to sin.

After looking at the great importance of “lead us not into temptation,” the petition ends with “deliver us from evil.” What evil is he talking about? Is he talking about great sickness, accidents, plagues, tsunamis, earthquakes, or dangers in this world? What evil is this? It is the greatest evil of all evils. The greatest evil in our lives is sin. I have tried to preach about sin in my feeble way many times, but I have never even covered a drop of its evil. There are not enough words for it in any language. Oh, the evil of sin, the vileness of it! How many of us realize it in our lives?

The Evil of Sin

Oh, the evil of sin! It is a deadly evil, a curse, a monster. When we realize how great an evil sin is, we will earnestly pray this prayer daily. Sin turned the greatest angel into the greatest devil. See what the Scripture compares it to. It is compared to the vomit of dogs (2 Peter 2:22), to a menstruous cloth (Isaiah 30:22), to a plague (1 Kings 8:38), to loathsome leprosy, and to a cursed thing.

• Sin is the greatest insult to a great and almighty God. We not only think against him but also act, and even hit and kill God. It is high treason against heaven.
• Sin is very offensive to God. If a person who worships in God’s house lives in the sin of uncleanness, though he be perfumed with all the spices of Arabia, he and his prayers are an “abomination to me” (Isaiah 1:13).
• Sin is an act of high ingratitude to God. He formed us in our mother’s womb, gives all things, feeds a sinner, and screens off many evils from him; and yet a person not only forgets his mercies but abuses them. He kicks the chest that carries him, hits the hand that feeds him, and spits on the face that loves him. What ingratitude! Did God give you life to sin? Did he give you health and food and energy to live in sin? Oh, what an ungrateful thing is sin!
• It is a foolish thing. A sinner prefers the pleasures of sin for a season over those pleasures which are at God’s right hand forevermore. For a momentary pleasure, a person loses all the blessings and joy of this life and eternal joy.
• Sin is a polluting thing. It defiles all the faculties—the conscience with its red guilt, the mind, the affections, and the will—as if the whole mass of blood were corrupted.
• It is a shameful thing. It shames all our dignity and honor in God’s image and makes us worse than animals. It is an enslaving thing. It makes us Satan’s slaves, giving our body and members to do his lusts to make him happy, but we never become happy by it.
• Sin is a disturbing thing. Sin breaks the peace of the soul. “No peace to the wicked” (Isaiah 57:21). When a person sins presumptuously, he stuffs his pillow with thorns. Sin causes a trembling in the heart, hell in his conscience, and makes him frightened at every noise. Thus, you see what an evil sin is in its nature, and what a need we have to pray, “Deliver us from evil.”

The Cure for Sin and Its Consequences

Saints saw sin as so evil that the godly would rather do anything than sin. Moses, when his eyes were opened, saw so much evil and foolishness in sin. He chose “rather to suffer with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures of sin” (Hebrews 11:24). The early Christians said they would rather be thrown to the lions than go to a bawdy house; they chose rather to be devoured by lions outside than by lusts within. The godly will rather endure outward sufferings than a wound in their conscience. So great an evil is sin that the godly will not sin for the greatest gain; they will not sin though they might purchase an estate by it—nay, though they were sure to promote God’s glory by it.

The godly testify that sin is a great evil, in that they desire to die for no reason more than this: that they may be rid of sin. It is their greatest grief in this life. It is worse than afflictions; there is more evil in one drop of sin than in a sea of afflictions. It is worse than death, worse than hell.

Look upon sin in the manner of its cure. Nothing in the whole universe could cure it. What a cost was needed! The guilt of sin could not be removed but by the blood of the Son of God, Christ. He who was God had to die and be made a curse for us before sin could be remitted. Oh, the agonies and sufferings of Christ! In his body: his head crowned with thorns, his face spit upon, his side pierced with the spear, his hands and feet nailed. He did not just suffer in his body; he suffered in his soul. “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death” (Matthew 26:38). He drank a bitter cup, mingled with curses, sweat drops of blood, and cried out upon the cross, “My God, why have you forsaken me!” What does all this tell us? That sin is a great evil. All this was to do away with our sin. View sin in Christ’s blood, and it will appear of a crimson color.

“The wages of sin is death,” that is, “the second death” (Romans 6:23, Revelation 21:8). A wicked person knows what sin is in the pleasure of it but does not know what sin is in the punishment of it. Sin is a stinging scorpion. What hell is: eternal, with no end, no rest, away from God, the source of good, cursed, eternal fire, a curse with Satan and his demons.

Oh, if sin is so evil when committed by any person, do you realize how evil sin is when it is committed by God’s children? Dung is unsightly in the street, but to see it in the temple is much more offensive. Leprosy in the foot is bad, but to see a leprous sore in the face is much worse. A sinning Christian dishonors the eternal gospel of God; the spouse of Christ defiles her chastity by sin. In the Bible, God has used the most graphic language to show how it breaks his heart when his people sin. It is terrible, even to the point of unbelievers asking, “How can a holy book talk like this?” It shows the great hatred God has when we, his people, sin. In one way, the sins of unbelievers are not to be wondered at so much. “The wicked shall do wickedly” (Daniel 12:10). But it is a great wonder when a redeemed child of God, whose sins are all washed, cleansed, forgiven, and forgotten, sins. The sins of God’s people do, in some sense, provoke him more than the sins of the wicked! The sins of the wicked anger God, but the sins of his people grieve him. There are aggravations in the sins of his people which are not to be found in the sins of the unregenerate, in eight particulars:

1. They sin against restraint. Believers have something which may restrain them from sin. When wicked people sin, they have no principle to restrain them; they have wind and tide to carry them, they have nothing to pull them back from sin. But a child of God has a principle of grace to check sin; he has the impulses of God’s Spirit dissuading him from evil. Other means, like God’s truth, church, and prayer, also serve as restraints. A sinning believer sins more desperately; it is as if a woman should try to kill the baby in her womb. Christian, when you sin presumptuously, you are killing the embryo of grace in your soul.
2. They sin against mercy. The sins of God’s people are greater than others because they sin against more mercy and infinite mercy. God has given Christ to a believer, given the Holy Spirit, made him a temple, a child. He has cut him off from the wild stock of nature and grafted him into the true olive. For him to abuse all this mercy is to outdo the wicked and to sin with a higher aggravation because it is to sin against greater love.
3. They sin against clearer knowledge. The sins of the godly have this aggravation: they sin against clearer illumination than the wicked. The godly have a light beyond others. They know the truth. They have better eyes to see sin than others; and for them to meddle with sin and embrace this filth must needs provoke God and make the fury rise up in his face. Therefore, you who are the people of God, flee from sin. Your sins are more enhanced and have worse aggravations in them than the sins of the unregenerate.
4. They sin against experience. The sins of the godly are worse than the unregenerate, for when they sin, it is against great experiences. They have felt the bitterness of sin in the pangs of the new birth, and afterward, God has spoken peace, and they have had an experimental taste of how sweet the Lord is and how great forgiveness and holiness are. And yet, after these experiences, that they should touch the forbidden fruit and venture upon a presumptuous sin enhances and aggravates their guilt. The wicked have never tasted the sweetness of a heavenly life; they have never known what it is to have any smiles from God; they have never tasted anything sweeter than corn and wine. Therefore, it is no wonder if they sin. But for a child of God who has had such love-tokens from heaven and signal experiences from God, for him to gratify a lust, how horrid is this!
5. They sin against their sonship. The sins of the godly are greater than others because they sin against their sonship. When wicked people sin, they sin against the command, but when the godly sin, they sin against a privilege; they abuse their sonship. The godly are adopted into the family of heaven; they have a new name. “Is it a light thing,” said David, “to be son-in-law to a king?” So, to be called the sons of God, to be heirs of the promises, is no small honor. For such to run into an open offense is sinning against their adoption. They hereby make themselves vile, as if a king’s son should be tumbling in the mire or lie among swine.
6. They sin against vows. The sins of the godly are worse than others because they are committed against more vows and blood covenants. They have given up their names to God; they have bound themselves solemnly to God by oath. “I have sworn that I will keep your righteous commandments” (Psalm 119:106). In the supper of the Lord, they have renewed this sacred vow; and, after this, to run into presumptuous sin, is a breach of a vow, a kind of perjury, which dyes the sin of a crimson color.
7. They bring reproach on religion. The sins of the godly are worse than others because they bring a greater reproach upon religion. For the wicked to sin is to be expected from them, as swine will wallow in the mire. But when sheep do so, when the godly sin, it redounds to the dishonor of the gospel. “By this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme” (2 Samuel 12:14). Everyone’s eye is upon a stain in a white dress; for the godly to sin is like a spot in scarlet, it is more noticed, and reflects greater dishonor upon the ways of God. How is the gospel hindered and suffering by the sins of you and me! Many have shed blood to honor this gospel and spread it, but can we dishonor and hinder the gospel by our sins? Their bloods cry to us. If we do so, all our blood can never wash off the stain they bring upon religion.

These are the aggravations of the sins of the godly. Our sins wound our conscience, weaken grace, and provoke God more highly than the sins of others, and God will be sure to punish you. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities” (Amos 3:2).

If God does not damn you for your continuing sins, he may allow you to have a very tough life in this world with discipline; it will be hell here only. He may cause such agonies and tremblings of heart that you will be a terror to yourselves. You may draw near to despair and be ready to look upon yourselves as castaways. When David had stained himself with adultery and murder, he complained of his “broken bones” (Psalm 51:8). This metaphor sets forth the grief and agony of his soul; he lay in sore desertion for nine months, and it is thought he never recovered his full joy to his dying day. Therefore, you who belong to God and are enrolled in his family, take heed of blemishing your profession with scandalous sin; you will pay dearly for it. Think of the broken bones. Though God does not blot you out of his book, yet he may take away the joy of his presence and cast you out of his presence (Psalm 51:2). He may keep you in long desertion. You may feel such lashes in your conscience that you may roar out and think yourselves half in hell. Oh, the evil of a believer’s sin!

Use 1: For Instruction

1. Pray for deliverance from sin. Is sin such a deadly, pernicious evil, the evil of evils? See what we are to pray most to be delivered from, and that it is in reference to sin our Savior has taught us to pray, “Deliver us from evil.” We carnally pray more against temporal evils than spiritual ones. Pharaoh prayed more to have the plague of hail and thunder removed than his hard heart to be removed. A hypocrite’s prayer is carnal: he prays more that God would take away his pain than take away his sin. But our prayer should be, “Deliver us from evil.” Spiritual prayers are best. Do you have a diseased body? Pray more that the disease of your soul may be removed than that of your body. “Heal my soul, for I have sinned” (Psalm 41:4).
2. Recognize the source of trouble. If sin is so great an evil, see from where all personal, family, church, or societal troubles come. They come from the evil of sin. Sin is the Achan that troubles us and hinders the church and God’s work in the church. It is personal sins that spoil your joy, peace, life, and family. It brings us into trouble. “David said to God, ‘I am in a great strait'” (2 Samuel 24:14). “Jerusalem was so close besieged with enemies and watched, that there was no escape for her” (Jeremiah 4:17). Where was this from? “This is your wickedness” (Jeremiah 4:18). All our evils come from the evil of sin. The thorns that poke us are of our own weaving. The cords that tighten us are of our own twisting. Punishment follows sin as the weaving thread follows the needle.
3. Do not be in love with sin. If sin is so great an evil, how little reason has anyone to be in love with it! Some are so infatuated with it that they delight in it. The devil can so dress sin that it pleases the sinner’s palate. Sin is as delightful to a corrupt nature as meat is to the taste. Sick people like the wrong food. Sin puts a worm into the conscience, a sting into death, and a fire into hell. It is like those locusts in Revelation 9:7: “On their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions, and they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails.” After the woman’s hair comes in the scorpion’s sting.
4. Do not make light of sin. If sin is so great an evil, what shall we say of those who make light of sin, as if there were no danger in it; as if God were not in earnest when he threatens sin; or as if ministers were doing a needless work when they preach against it? Some people make nothing of breaking a commandment; they make nothing of telling a lie, lusting, anger, slandering; nothing of living in the sin of uncleanness. Then they think, “Why doesn’t God bless us? Why is there always difficulty?” They never examine their hearts or see their sins. They never break for their sins or change. If you weigh sin in the balance of some people’s judgments, it is very light. But who are those that make light of sin? Solomon has described them. “Fools make a mock at sin” (Proverbs 14:9). Who but fools would make light of that which grieves the Spirit of God? Who but fools would put a viper in their bosom?
5. There is no profit in sin. If sin is so great an evil, I infer that there is no good to be gained by it. What profit had Achan? His whole family was troubled and buried. What profit did Ahab have from the vineyard he got unjustly? The dogs licked his blood (1 Kings 21:19). What profit did Judas have from his treason? For thirty pieces he sold his Savior and bought his own damnation.
6. The pleasure of sin is fleeting. If sin is so great an evil, see the folly of those who venture upon it because of the pleasure they have in it. “Who had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12). As for the pleasure of sin, it is but a seeming pleasure; it is but a pleasant fantasy, a golden dream. And besides, it is a mixed pleasure; it has bitterness intermingled with it. One pleasure, ten bitterness. There are those inward fears and lashes of conscience that embitter the pleasure. In short, the pleasure people talk of in sin is their disease. Some people take pleasure in eating chalk or coals, which is from a disease; so when people talk of pleasure in eating the forbidden fruit, it is from the sickness and disease of their souls. The pleasure of sin is soon gone, but the sting remains.
7. Wisdom is to depart from sin. If sin is so great an evil, what wisdom it is to depart from it! “To depart from evil is understanding” (Job 28:28). Is it not wisdom to avoid a snare? “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”
8. Appreciate those who warn you. If sin is so great an evil, how justifiable and commendable are all those means which are used to keep people from sin! How justifiable are a minister’s admonitions and reproofs! “Rebuke them sharply” (Titus 1:13); cuttingly. It is a metaphor from a surgeon who searches a wound and cuts out the proud flesh so that the patient may be sound. So God’s minister comes with a cutting reproof, but it is to keep you from sin and to save the soul. Esteem them as your best friends who would keep you from sinning against God. A minister’s job is to show us a clear glass of ourselves. God never made ministers to be false glasses, to make bad faces look fair; such ministers make themselves guilty of other people’s sins.
9. Make it your great care to keep from sin. If sin is so great an evil, it should be a Christian’s great care in this life to keep from it. “Deliver us from evil.” Some people make it their sole care to keep out of trouble; they would rather keep their skin whole than their conscience pure. But our care should be chiefly to keep from sin. How careful we are to forbear a dish that a physician tells us is hurtful to us: “It will bring a kidney problem, heart trouble, or cancer!” Much more should we be careful that we do not eat the forbidden fruit, which will bring divine vengeance. “Keep yourself pure” (1 Timothy 5:22). It has always been the study of the saints to keep aloof from sin. It was a saying of Anselm, “If sin were on one side, and hell on the other, I would rather leap into hell than willingly sin against my God.” Oh, what a mercy it is to be kept from sin! We count it a great mercy to be kept from the plague and fire, but what is that compared to being kept from sin?

Use 2: For Exhortation

First, to everyone in general. If sin is so great and prodigious an evil, as you love your souls, take heed of sin. If you taste the forbidden fruit, it will cost you dearly; it may cost you bitter tears, it may cost you lying in hell. O, therefore, flee from sin.

1. Take heed of sins of omission. James 4:17. It is as dangerous not to do things that are commanded as it is to do things that are forbidden. Some people think it is no great matter to omit reading Scripture. The Bible lies by like rusty armor, which they never use. They think it is no great matter to omit family or private prayer; they go several months, and God never hears from them. They have nothing sanctified to them; they feed upon a curse, “for every creature is sanctified by prayer” (1 Timothy 4:4-5). O, take heed of living in the neglect of any known duty. It was the prayer of a holy person on his deathbed, “Lord, forgive my sins of omission.”
2. Take heed of secret sins. Some are more modest than to sin openly, but they will carry their sins under a canopy; they will sin in secret. If sin is so great an evil, let me warn you this day not to sin in secret. Know that you can never sin so privately that the two witnesses, God and conscience, are not always by.
3. Take heed of your besetting sin. Beware of that which your nature and constitution most incline to. As in the hive there is a master bee, so in the heart there is a master sin. “I kept myself from my iniquity” (Psalm 18:23). There is some sin that is a special favorite, a darling sin that lies in the bosom, and this bewitches and draws away the heart. O, beware of this! Each of you, think about what your besetting sin is. You may nicely excuse it and say, “This is one sin I cannot leave.” But this is also a great evil and can take you to hell. Unless you kill this sin, you will not progress. It has already done great damage in your life.

That sin which a person cherishes most, and to which all other sins are subservient, is the one that is most indulged and catered to.

• The sin a person does not want to be corrected for is their darling sin. Herod could not endure to have his incest spoken against. When John the Baptist interfered with that sin, it cost him his head.
• The sin that has the most power over a person and most easily leads him captive is the beloved of the soul. There are some sins that a person can better resist and repel, but there is one sin that, if it becomes a suitor, he cannot deny but is overcome by it. This is the bosom sin.
• The sin which men use arguments to defend is the darling sin.
• The sin that most troubles a person and haunts them during an hour of sickness and distress is the beloved sin. Do you not remember how you lived in a certain sin, though you were often warned, yet you would not stop? Conscience gives a nagging lecture on the darling sin.
• The sin that a person is most unwilling to part with is the darling sin. “Must I part with this delightful sin?” That question cuts to the heart. It is the Delilah, the beloved sin. Oh, if sin is such a deadly evil, do not dare to indulge any bosom sin, which is the most dangerous of all. Like a disease striking the heart, which is mortal, it leaves but one gap for the wild beast to enter. One darling sin that is lived in sets open a gap for Satan to enter.

So, the prayer is “do not lead us into temptation, and deliver us from evil.” We fall into this great evil by entering temptation. Let us work hard so that we are not overcome by temptation. I have some suggestions to overcome temptations.

• Avoid loneliness. Solitariness is good for prayer and for the Word of God, but not when you are being tempted. We give Satan a tactical advantage when we are alone. Eve was defeated in the absence of her husband. Having regular fellowship with the church and individual believers is a good remedy against temptation. We should take the initiative to foster that and not wait for others to do it. Avoid tempting situations: lonely TV watching and using the internet are dangerous because they feed the flesh. We keep telling ourselves, “no TV, no internet in individual rooms.” Use them only in the common area where everyone can see. I always work with the Internet, and I keep many helpful safeguards. I have OpenDNS installed, which blocks inappropriate sites. If I go to a wrong site, an alert will be sent to my wife. A weekly report is also sent to my wife’s email about any such site I visit.
• Be sober-minded. If you would not be overcome by temptation, study sobriety. “Be sober, because your adversary walks about” (1 Peter 5:8). Sober-mindedness consists of a moderate use of earthly things. An immoderate desire for these things often brings people into the snare of the devil. “‘And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with carousing, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unaware'” (Luke 21:34). A love of money can be a danger. “‘They that will be rich fall into a snare'” (1 Timothy 6:9). He who loves riches inordinately will acquire them unjustly, work excessively, and not keep watch over spiritual things. Be ready to reduce your luxuries to grow in your spiritual life and do something for God. Control your food, entertainment, and worldly things. He who is drunk with the love of the world is never free from temptation.

If we would be kept from actual sins, we should be careful to avoid all the entry points and occasions of sin. Do not run into evil company. He who would not get the plague will not go into an infected house. Guard your senses, which can be the entry points to sin. Keep a close watch on the two portals, the eye and the ear; especially look to your eyes. Much sin comes in through the eye. The eye is often an entry point to sin; sin ignites at the eye. The first sin in the world began at the eye. Looking begat lusting. Lack of self-control begins at the eye. Looking at the food or wine when it is red and gives its color in the glass causes excessive drinking (Proverbs 23:31). Covetousness begins at the eye. “‘When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, and a wedge of gold, I coveted them and took them'” (Joshua 7:21). The fire of lust begins to kindle at the eye. David, walking on the roof of his house, saw a woman washing herself, and the text says she was “beautiful to look upon.” He sent messengers and took her and defiled himself with her (2 Samuel 11:2). Therefore, look to your eyes! Job made a covenant with his eyes (Job 31:1). If the outworks are taken by the enemy, there is great danger of the whole castle being taken.

• Be continually on your spiritual watch. Watch your thoughts. “‘How long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you?'” (Jeremiah 4:14). Sin begins in the thoughts. First, people cherish revengeful thoughts, then they dip their hands in blood. Set a spy over your thoughts. Watch your passions of anger and lust. The heart is ready to be destroyed by its own passions, just as a vessel can be overturned by its sails. Watch your temptations. Satan continually lies in ambush and watches to draw us to sin. He is fishing for our souls; he is either laying snares or shooting darts. Therefore, we need to watch him, so we are not enticed into sin. Most sin is committed due to a lack of watchfulness. Oh, how necessary is the spiritual watch! Shall Satan be watchful, and we be drowsy? Does he watch to devour us, and shall we not watch to save ourselves?
• Beware of idleness. Satan sows most of his seed on fallow ground. It was Jerome’s advice to his friend to always be busy, so that if the devil came, he might find him working in the vineyard. Idleness tempts the devil to tempt. Always plan. When you have something to do, occupy yourself. Have a daily exercise and a daily Bible reading plan. Always be busy with something.
• Make your case known to a godly friend. Hiding a serpent in the bosom is not the way to be safe. When the old serpent has gotten into your bosom by temptation, do not hide him there by keeping his secret. If a spark gets into the thatch, it is not wise to conceal it, as it may set the house on fire. Do not conceal temptation. Reveal your temptations, which is the way to get others’ prayers and advice. Let all see that you are not loyal to Satan’s side, because you are telling all his plots and revealing his treasons. Besides, telling your case to some experienced Christian is a way to find ease. Just as the opening of a vein brings ease, so the opening of your case to a friend will bring ease to the soul, and temptation will not have so much power.
• Make use of the Word. This the apostle calls the “sword of the Spirit,” a fitting weapon with which to fight against the tempter (Ephesians 6:17). This “sword of the Spirit” is a two-edged sword: it wounds carnal lust and it wounds Satan. He who travels a road where there is robbery will be sure to ride with his sword. We are traveling to heaven, and on this road, there is a thief who always attacks us wherever we go. We need to ride with a sword; we must have the “sword of the Spirit” with us. We must have the skill to use this sword, and it will put the devil to flight. Thus, when Satan tempted our blessed Savior to distrust and blasphemy, he used a Scripture weapon, “It is written.” Three times he wounded the old serpent with this sword. Christ, with his power and authority, could have rebuked the prince of the air as he did the winds, but he stopped the devil’s mouth with Scripture, “It is written.”

It is not our vows and resolutions that will do it. It is not a charm that will drive away the devil. But let us use the Word of God against him: this is an argument that he cannot answer. It was a saying of Luther, “I have had great troubles of mind; but as soon as I laid hold of any place of Scripture, and stayed myself upon it as upon my chief anchor, my temptations immediately vanished away.” There is no temptation that we do not have a fitting Scripture to answer. If Satan tempts you to break the Sabbath, answer him, “‘It is written, Remember to keep the Sabbath day holy.'” If he tempts you to impurity, answer him, “‘It is written, whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.'” If he tempts you to worldly fear, say, “‘It is written, Fear not them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do.'” There is no better way to defeat temptation than by Scripture. The arrows we shoot against Satan must be fetched out of this quiver. Oh, study the Scripture, and you will be too much for the devil. He cannot stand against this. Why do people live in sin? It is because they either do not read the Word or do not believe it.

The Word of God equips us with great promises to handle temptation. Let us see two of them. A wonderful promise about temptation is 1 Corinthians 10:13, where it says temptation will not be above our strength. This is so true.

• Temptation is a common experience. It is not our case alone, but it has been the case of God’s most eminent saints. “‘There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man,'” yes, to the best of men (1 Corinthians 10:13). Christ’s lambs, which have had the mark of election upon them, have been set upon by the world. Elijah, who could shut heaven by prayer, could not shut his heart from temptation (1 Kings 19:4). Job was tempted to curse God, and Peter to deny Christ. Hardly any saint has gotten to heaven but has met with a lion along the way. No one escapes the lot which all the saints suffer. Furthermore, Jesus Christ himself, though free from sin, was not free from temptation. It is some comfort that those who have been our betters have wrestled with temptations.
• Satan’s power is limited. Another rock of support is that Satan can go no further in tempting than God gives him permission. The power of the tempter is limited. A whole legion of devils could not touch one swine until Christ gave them permission. Satan would have sifted Peter until he sifted out all his grace, but Christ would not allow him. “‘I have prayed for thee,'” etc. Christ binds the devil with a chain (Revelation 20:1). If Satan’s power were according to his malice, not one soul would be saved. But he is a chained enemy. It is a comfort that Satan cannot go a hair’s breadth beyond God’s permission. If an enemy could not touch a child any further than the father allowed, he would do the child no great harm. The Apostle Paul faced many temptations. He learned a great truth and shares it with us in 1 Corinthians 10:13. How wonderful that God never allows you to be tempted beyond what you are able. It doesn’t stop there. He never allows you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but He always does something else. He himself makes the way of escape out of that temptation. God is always there when you are tempted, not passively watching, but actively intervening. See the verse; it says God makes something just for you: the way of escape. What an amazing three-letter word. Not “a” way, but “the.” God, at that very time in that very situation, makes a specific way of escape just for you. For what? So you do not fall into sin. God does all this so you do not fall into sin. So the next time you are tempted, look for that way. How can you believe there will always be a way? God is faithful; He will not allow you to be tempted. What a promise to remember.

Another promise is that Jesus Christ is near at hand and stands by us in all our temptations. Here, take notice of two things:

1. Christ’s sympathy in our temptations. Christ suffers with us. “‘For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities'” (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus Christ sympathizes with us; He is so sensitive to our temptations as if He Himself lay under them and felt them in His own soul. In our body, when one part is in pain, the whole body suffers; so when we suffer, Christ’s heart is moved. We cannot be tempted but He is touched. If something is hurting your child, would you not pity it? You cannot pity it as Christ does the tempted. He had a fellow-feeling when upon earth, much more now in glory. This fellow-feeling in Christ arises not from an infirmity or passion but from the mystic union between Him and His members. “‘He that touches you, touches the apple of his eye'” (Zechariah 2:8). Every injury done to a saint, He takes as done to Him in heaven. Every temptation strikes at Him, and He is touched with the feeling of them.
2. Christ’s help in temptation. As the good Samaritan first had compassion on the wounded man (there was sympathy); then he poured in wine and oil (there was help) (Luke 10:34). So when we are wounded by the red dragon, Christ is first touched with compassion, and then pours in wine and oil. “‘For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to help them that are tempted'” (Hebrews 2:18). The Greek word for “help” signifies to run speedily to one’s aid. So fierce is Satan, and so frail is man, that Christ, who is God-man, runs speedily to his help. When we see our child being harassed by an animal, how we run to help. When Peter was ready to sink and said, “‘Lord, save me,'” Christ immediately stretched forth His hand and caught him. So when a poor soul is tempted and cries to heaven for help, “‘Lord, save me,'” Christ comes in with His auxiliary forces. Our Lord Jesus knows what it is to be tempted, therefore He is ready to help such as are tempted. It has been observed that women who have given birth are more pitiful to others in their labor than those who are barren; so the Lord Jesus, having been in labor by temptations and sufferings, is more ready to pity and help such as are tempted.

Concerning Christ’s helping the tempted, consider two things: His ability and His readiness to help. “‘He is able to succour them that are tempted'” (Hebrews 2:18). Though the tempted soul is weak, he fights under a good Captain, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. When a tempted soul fights, Christ comes into the field as his second. When the devil lays the siege of a temptation, Christ can raise it when He pleases. He can beat through the enemy’s quarters and so rout Satan that he shall never be able to rally his forces anymore. Jesus Christ is on the saint’s side, and who would desire a better bodyguard than omnipotence? As Christ is able to help the tempted, so He will certainly help them. His power enables Him, His love inclines Him, and His faithfulness engages Him to help tempted souls. It is a great comfort to a soul in temptation to have a helping Savior. Alexander, being asked how he could sleep so securely when his enemies were about him, said, “Antipater is awake, who is always vigilant.” So when our tempting enemy is near us, Jesus Christ is awake, who is a wall of fire around us.

How and in what manner does Christ help those who are tempted?

• He helps them by sending His Spirit, whose work it is to bring those promises to their minds which are fortifying. “‘He shall bring all things to your remembrance'” (John 14:26). The Spirit furnishes us with promises as so many weapons to fight against the old serpent. “‘The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly'” (Romans 16:20). “‘God will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able'” (1 Corinthians 10:13). “‘The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head'” (Genesis 3:15). We are often in times of temptation like a man whose house is surrounded and cannot find his weapons, his sword and gun. In this case, Christ sends His Spirit and brings things to our remembrance that help us in our combat.
• Christ helps those who are tempted by interceding for them. When the devil is tempting, Christ is praying. The prayer which Christ offered for Peter when he was tempted extends to all His saints. “Lord,” said Christ, “it is my child that is tempted; Father, pity him” (Luke 22:32). When a poor soul is bleeding from the wounds the devil has given him, Christ presents His wounds to His Father and, by the power of those wounds, pleads for mercy. How powerful His prayer must be! He is a favorite. He is both High Priest and a Son.
• Christ helps His people by taking off the tempter. When the sheep begin to stray, the shepherd sets the dog on them to bring them back to the fold and then calls off the dog. So God takes off the tempter. He “‘will with the temptation make a way to escape,'” He will make an outlet (1 Corinthians 10:13). He will rebuke the tempter. “‘The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan'” (Zechariah 3:2). It is no small support that Christ helps the tempted. The mother helps the child most when it is sick; she sits by its bedside and brings it medicine. So, when a soul is most assaulted, it shall be most assisted.
• Flee the occasions of sin. If you would not be overcome by temptation, flee the situations that lead to sin. The occasions of sin have great force to awaken lust within. He that would keep himself free from infection will not come near an infected house. When Joseph was enticed by his mistress, he shunned the occasion. The text says, “‘He hearkened not unto her to be with her'” (Genesis 39:10). Do not come near the borders of temptation. Suppose someone had a body made of gunpowder. He would not come near the least spark of fire, lest he should be blown up. Many pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” and yet run themselves into temptation.
• Make use of faith. If you would not be overcome by temptation, make use of faith. “‘Above all taking the shield of faith'” (Ephesians 6:19). Faith wards off Satan’s fiery darts so they do no harm. “‘Whom resist, steadfast in the faith'” (1 Peter 5:9). Mariners in a storm flee to their anchor; so flee to your anchor of faith. Faith brings Christ with it. Duelists bring their seconds with them into the field; so faith brings Christ for its second. It puts us into Christ, and then the devil cannot hurt us. Though other graces are useful to resist the impulses of Satan, faith is the conquering grace. It takes hold of Christ’s merits, value, and virtue; and so the Christian becomes too much for the devil. As the stars vanish when the sun appears, so Satan vanishes when faith appears.
• Be much in prayer. If you would not be overcome by temptation, be much in prayer. Those who walk in infectious places carry antidotes with them: prayer is the best antidote against temptation. When the apostle had exhorted them to “‘put on the whole armour of God,'” he adds, “‘Praying with all prayer'” (Ephesians 6:11, 18). Without this, all other weapons will do little good. Christ prescribes this remedy, “‘Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation'” (Mark 14:38). A Christian fetches strength from heaven by prayer. Let us cry to God for help against the tempter. “‘Keep back your servant from presumptuous sins'” (Psalm 19:13). We have no power to inherently keep us from evil. Let us therefore ask God for strength to keep us from sinning! Let us pray the prayer of David, “‘Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe'” (Psalm 119:117), and that other prayer, “‘Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not'” (Psalm 17:5).
• Do not argue with Satan. If you would not be defeated by temptation, do not enter into a dispute with Satan. When Eve began to argue the case with the serpent, the serpent was too much for her. The devil, by his logic, disputed her out of paradise. Satan is too subtle a deceiver for us to hold an argument with him. Do not dispute, but fight. If you enter into a conversation with him, you give him half the victory.

To conclude all: let us often say this prayer, “Lead us not into temptation.” If Satan tries to entice us by a temptation, let us not give in. In case a Christian has yielded to temptation out of weakness and not by design, let him not “cast away his anchor.” Instead, he should take heed of despair, which is worse than the fall itself.

Christian, immerse your soul in the cleansing waters of repentance, and God will be at peace with you. Repentance gives the soul a way to rid itself of sin. Christ loved Peter after his denial of him and sent the first news of His resurrection to him—”‘Go tell the disciples and Peter.'” It is an error to think that one act of sin can destroy the habit of grace. It is a wrong to God’s mercy and to a Christian’s comfort to make the despairing conclusion that after one has fallen by temptation, his spiritual state is irrecoverable. Therefore, Christian, if you have fallen with Peter, repent with Peter, and God will be ready to seal your pardon.