A few days ago my wife and I were on a mini-date to Wild Oats. She got a mango smoothie and I got some yogurt and we enjoyed it in their little commons area. We were talking about something (I don’t really remember),- but we got onto the issue of sin and accountability. We started talking about the process of how we end up sinning, and came to a realization that there is an initial split-second window that is the main hinge of entering into sin or not. If we can learn to recognize this window we can drastically decrease the level of temptation and sinfulness in our life.
SAYING YES OR NO TO TEMPTATION
From the chart above you can see how as we go along during our day there is a small moment in time (which most of us do not recognize) where we can choose to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to temptation.
We most often say yes to temptation by being ignorant of the window, or even welcoming it. If we say yes in that window then it becomes increasingly difficult to pull up and not sin - though it can be done. And if we do sin then the proper response is to repent as soon as we can and then ‘get back up.’
But if we can learn to recognize that window and say no then we can avoid entering into temptation and continue on in holiness.
RECOGNIZING THE ‘WINDOW’
At first it is not easy to recognize this window. It opens to us when we first get in a situation and a thought or feeling comes up. If we entertain that thought or feeling for even a split second then we enter into temptation. We become tempted to act on that thought or feeling. But if we do not entertain it then we usually avoid the temptation. (I say usually because this is not a 100% rule.)
HOW TO SAY NO
We say no to temptation in a few ways:
- Pre-emptive prayer. In times when we are not in temptation, asking the Lord to deliver us from temptation ahead of time will help. Who knows what circumstances could be avoided where we didn’t even have the option to sin because we prayed ahead of time. He will give us more grace if we ask Him for it.
- Say the name of Jesus out loud and right away. This is harder than it seems. We do not like to invite Jesus into the midst of our temptation and weakness, but he delights in giving us grace to keep us from sinning.
- Pray in tongues. This helps bolster our spirits and strengthen our inner man.
HAPPY HOLINESS
We cannot forget that holiness and purity are of the upmost importance, yet not as an end of themselves but unto intimacy with Jesus and joy in our inner-man. We all know that half-hearted Christianity is a miserable way to live.
retroman said:
Another practical, simple, convicting post. Thanks for the kick in the pants!
CBB
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 11:01 am
Idhrendur said:
What timing! I had just agreed with God to be working on self-control today, then I read this!
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 11:42 am
Evan Olsen said:
That’s an awesome chart. I never really consciously knew about the window, even though I knew “if I let myself think this there’s almost no way I’m going back”
Happy Holiness is an awesome thing. I’m really looking forward to it!
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 11:49 am
Adam Parker said:
Wow, I love the graphic. I’m a very visual person, so I get really excited when I see something that reinforces something I didn’t quite get 100% before. This is great! This graphic should be distributed and used by the church and given to every Christian upon salvation.
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Ben Cunnington said:
Great post Shawn! I love the “action plan” spirit. Too much of the time we just don’t have a plan to avoiding sin. This is definitely something I want to develop and go after in my life. I love that God gives us grace as we say yes to doing “our part” which is turning away from evil and ungodliness. This is an aspect of “partnering” with God that I want to be more intentional about. When I say yes to partner with God, it also means doing my part in saying no to temptation and ultimately, sin
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Esther said:
Shawn says: From the chart above you can see how as we go along during our day there is a small moment in time (which most of us to not recognize) where we can choose to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to temptation.
OK, I looked at that with my mother’s eye and saw the typo and thought (in that 2-3 second moment of time) do I point this out or leave it for someone else? So, I’m going for holiness here and politely asking… did you mean (which most of us DO not recognize)?
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 2:21 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Adam: I’m going to sell it to Chick. They’ll said they’ll put it on the page just after the 4 spiritual laws.
@ Ben: Thanks for popping in over here buddy. I love what you said about when we say ‘no’ it is partnership with God. Like Song of Songs 2 says, “Catch us the little foxes.”
@ Esther: Wow, only one typo? I must have been on today. Thanks for pointing it out.
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Armen said:
This is a very good post Shawn, as usual. However, I am intrigued as to why you encourage tongues, rather than just prayer?
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 8:44 pm
{Shawn} said:
@ Armen: I encourage both. Praying in tongues may be the one we don’t think of, so that’s why I mentioned it. Thanks for bringing that up.
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 10:32 pm
Idhrendur said:
I have to agree about the graphic. Visual aids are amazing.
And let me say I’ll be impressed if Chick gets your graphic next to the four spiritual laws. Personally, I’d try contacting Campus Crusade for Christ International about that instead. That whole copyright/IP thing, ya know?
Posted on May 10, 2007 at 11:10 pm
Ronni said:
nice reminder. I don’t pray in tongues near enough. I think it’s my control issue… *sigh* Which gee… praying more would help huh? LOL.
Thanks man.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 3:31 am
Notes from the Trail » Escape temptation said:
[…] you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!Shawn has a great post and a wonderful little graphic (shown below) related to resisting […]
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 6:13 am
{Shawn} said:
@ Idhrendur: I didn’t actually submit the graphic to Chick. I threw it together in about 15 minutes with Adobe Illustrator.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 6:53 am
Adam Parker said:
Who coined the phrase “happy holiness?” And what would you say was a proper definition of that phrase?
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 7:06 am
{Shawn} said:
@ Adam: Mike Bickle probably coined it, but I don’t know for sure. A proper deffinition, eh? Well, I don’t know if I could give a dictionary style one, but I’d say that happy holiness looks like joy in our inner man as we pursue and genuinely strive for righteousness and living a life of obedience.
Matthew 5:48 says that we can be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect. But instead of trying to act perfect like the pharasees did we try to respond perfect as a bride who loves her bridegroom. It’s an issue of the heart 1st.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 11:11 am
Idhrendur said:
Oh, I know. I was running with the joke. Beyond the point where it was funny. I have a tendency to do that…ah well.
Posted on May 11, 2007 at 3:12 pm
nathan said:
I love the three things we can do to head off temptation: I always seem to forget to call on the name of Jesus, the source of all authority. Thank you for the reminder!
Posted on May 13, 2007 at 11:57 am
Coffee ChriS said:
Shawn,
Excellent post and graphic as has already been said…I feel strongly to encourage you someday you should be a published and known author! Just make sure to put lots a pictures in the book for people like me!
Posted on May 14, 2007 at 8:38 am
Beppo said:
Very good article! I agree that we need a pre-emptive plan against temptation. It certainly comes after us! We aren’t called to just follow the tide of the day, but to be victorious at all times.
If I may continue the “stepping on toes” that you started…
A problem is that many of us enjoy the temptation, so we don’t push away the temptation immediately. And submitting the initial thought to the obedience of Christ is very important. It’s so much easier to resist right away than if we dwell on it for a while. (And while it’s not a sin to be tempted, if we’re dwelling on the temptation for a while, that can’t be good…) It would be wise of us to intentionally avoid temptation (which is easier said than done these days).
Posted on May 16, 2007 at 5:55 pm
Joy Unspeakable is Found in Love Unrestrained | The Fight Spot said:
[…] week in the comments on my post about virtue Adam asked for a proper definition of “Happy Holiness.” I gave a decent answer - in my […]
Posted on May 18, 2007 at 6:52 am
Fighting in the Mind « Extravagant Waste of Love said:
[…] to. After half an hour of trying to calm down and crying out to God for help, I remembered a blog I had recently read about saying no to entertaining thoughts that lead to sin. I recognized at […]
Posted on May 19, 2007 at 3:02 pm
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[…] How 3-5 Seconds Can Bolster Virtue Within You | The Fight Spot - […]
Posted on February 18, 2008 at 11:39 pm
Mike said:
Just wanted to say I’m loving your blog! Looks like a lot of your stuff is IHOP-inspired, Mike Bickle and the like. Keep it up, the practical stuff is so refreshing.
Posted on March 23, 2008 at 11:57 am