Life is full of temptations. From the age of 4 to the age of 74 temptations are always around us in our everyday lives. Some bigger than others, but they are always there. The key is how we handle these temptations as we face them. Do we take them head on and conquer them or do we give in and let the devil get the best of us? Granted everyone will give in every once in a while because we are human and humans make mistakes. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Does that mean it is ok to sin, of course not. Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” We will sin yes but we must repent from those sins. As I have grown older in my life temptations have yet to get any easier. I often told myself when I was younger in my teen years that if I could just get through these hard times then things would be easier. I couldn’t have been any more wrong. I was still faced with temptations everyday and some harder than the ones from the day before. So how do we face these temptations? We must face them with God’s word. We must know how God feels on certain issues and we must act in a way that shows we feel the same way God does. As a college student the people I am around influence me and my decisions as I go through life. It is hard to be strong on a certain sinful issue when you’re the only one in a group not doing it. It would be much easier if we just gave in and went along with the crowd. You and I both know that we can’t please God and go along with a sinful crowd at the same time. So what is a person to do? Mark 9:43-48 “And if the hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” As you can tell if God would want us to cut off a limb of our body if it were to cause us to go to hell then I believe he would want us to cut off that friend or group that brings us down and into earthly sin. For if we stay with that friend or group and get brought down we will feel the fire that is never quenched. So how do we face these temptations? My college roommate (my freshman year) and I had a verse we went to often when we were having a problem, Ephesians 6:13 “Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” The verses following go on to describe this armor of God. We must girt our lions with truth, have the breastplate of righteousness, have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, take the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and take the sword of the spirit. If we put on this armor everyday there is no way we can be defeated. No matter what temptation we face we can win. So how do we beat temptation, we put on that armor of God and take it head on. We may not win every battle but when life is over and we stand before God on that judgment day, we will have won the war.
-Ben Stevenson
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