You are not defined by what tempts you. Just because a person may be tempted to be intimate with someone of the same gender, that does not mean that he must give in to that temptation, or that he is destined to be a homosexual. If a married man is tempted to cheat on his wife, that does not mean he must give in to that temptation or that he is destined to be an adulterer.… Read more
Category: Temptation
Men, Keep Your Shirts On
Many people now consider it socially acceptable for men to be shirtless in public, with much of their bodies on display. Is this pleasing to God? For many years, faithful Christians have taught that God set an objective standard for modesty that applies to both men and women when He clothed Adam and Eve in a garment that covered them from the neck to the knees. Scholars and commentators also note this same point.
In Packer and Tenney’s Illustrated Manners and Customs of the Bible, the Hebrew word translated as “coats” (KJV) or “tunics” (NKJV) in Genesis 3:21 is described as a garment that reached from the neck to the knees, and sometimes to the ankles.… Read more
Ignorance is Not Bliss
First John 2:16 lists three categories of sin: “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.” These are ways Satan tempts men to sin against God (Gen. 3; Mt. 4), but the Bible also speaks of another category of sin—sins of ignorance. Many have sinned against God in ignorance without being motivated by selfish desires of the flesh, lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. Even so, ignorance does not excuse disobedience to God, so the saying, “Ignorance is bliss” is not a Biblical concept.… Read more
10 Ways to Resist Temptation
Anyone who calls himself a “Christ”ian is claiming to follow the teachings and example of Christ, the one who never sinned (1 Pet. 2:21, 22). We could not be saved without Him (Mt. 26:28; Heb. 2:9; 5:9), but there is also a sense in which we must “save ourselves” (Acts 2:40; 2 Cor. 7:1). None of us deserve salvation, but we must be faithful to God to obtain salvation and keep it (Mt. 7:21; Php. 2:12; 1 Pet.… Read more