Once you got saved, your spirit man received Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and you became a new creature in Him.
However, though your spirit is saved you still have to deal with that crazy beast known as the flesh.
Scripture admonishes us that once we’re saved we are to renew our minds by constantly reading the Word of God so that we can become more like Him, and crucify our flesh each day by feeding the Spirit. (Romans 12:2,1 Peter 2:2, Galatians 5:16, Galatians 2:20)
It’s important not to give opportunity for that old man, who was led by the flesh to rise up and revert back to its old, sinful nature.
Scripture describes how, when we’re tempted, if we yield to temptation we can be drawn away by our own lust and enticed to sin again. (James 1:14)
Think about it, from the very beginning when God told Adam and Eve not to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve was tempted by satan’s words, and then Eve looked on that tree and saw how beautiful it was to her and how good the fruit looked that she was enticed. Because she was enticed, she ate the forbidden fruit and even took it one step further by bringing her husband down with her enticing him to eat the forbidden fruit as well.
We know how the story ends, God finds out about it and after both Adam and Eve tried to play the “blame game” (instead of taking responsibility for their own actions) and were ultimately thrown out of the garden sent to die spiritually and eventually physically because they gave in to the temptation. (Genesis 3)
It’s easy to be tempted, especially in today’s society – you can be tempted by stepping outside in warm weather and seeing half naked folks or even turning on the computer. The key is to not allow the initial temptation, or what satan throws at you, to entice you to the point that you sin.
Our old man, or sinful, flesh nature wants to sin.
We want to give in to our own fleshly, which includes sexual desires, and I don’t know about you, but it’s something about warm weather that gets ex boyfriends to calling lol But instead of allowing temptation (or that fine, sexy fruit…Lawdhammercy) to entice you to sin…Scripture admonishes us to flee! (1 Corinthians 6:18)
Don’t let the lust of the old man’s sinful nature draw you away and entice you because when lust conceives, or when it takes a hold of you, it brings forth death, which could include spiritual death (as continued sin is continued separation from God) or even physical death (as the wages of sin is still death Romans 6:23)
So instead of wallowing in sin with the one who causes you to repent at the altar every week, it’s important to get free from that and continue to walk in newness of life by continuing to praise God, fellowship with other believers who will encourage you in your walk, rid yourself of toxic environments and toxic people who could entice you to sin, attend Christian functions and positive, Christian events as much as possible and read the Word and pray every day so that you won’t be enticed to sin and that you won’t be drawn away.
Remain in God’s love and continue to abide in the vine so that your life can go from glory to glory and that you can remain free from the bondage of sin.
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. James 1:14-15
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. John 15:4
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Kim Brooks, author of bestselling novels, She That Findeth, He\'s Fine...But is He Saved? and more. www.kimontheweb.com