Gospel

It Is Our Desire

by Roland Crim
12/14/17
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Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Matthew 4:1 NIV

Jesus is God, yet He also was man, a human, like us in all respects, except sin. Jesus was not excluded from temptation in His walk upon this earth. He experienced temptation, just as we do, yet, in each case He overcame the temptation. No one can say Jesus never sinned, because He never faced temptation. He faced temptation enough.

A popular expression is “the devil made me do it.” That sounds much to me like Adam and Eve speaking. It is true that the devil can place temptation in our pathway. But, it is our desires within the heart that lead to the commission of sin. Temptation on its own is not sin. But when the desires placed within the heart are not controlled, and a self-centered desire leads to a wrongful act, this is the commission of sin.

We use the above expression to attempt to escape responsibility. This is not good. Until we realize that it is our desire and our action which led to the act of sin, we will not be struck with remorse and the need to seek repentance. But, we must face these if we wish to find Christ to ask for forgiveness. We must be willing to take responsibility for the action we took, and seek to be reconciled to the Father through Christ. This is the cleansing our heart and soul yearn to have.

Do not fall into the trap of making excuses. Accept responsibility, repent, seek Christ, and ask for forgiveness.