Making a Stand During Trials and Temptations

Posted on 17-Sep-2014

Feature by Corporal Brendan Eu Che-Jie of 12th Kuala Lumpur Company

Written on August 16th, 2014

“To be, or not to be”, quoted from the famous literary component – Hamlet, written by William Shakespeare. Trials and temptations can be said as the part and parcel of our lives. More often than not, a trial becomes temptation that caused us to sin against our great Captain - Jesus Christ. It is just like a tiny cigarette, a lightened cigarette being thrown out carelessly can cause a fire. All I want to say from the metaphor above is that our carelessness towards the matter, temptation in this case, will lead to a bonfire – sin. The only prevention towards this is to put out that fire before it spreads. In other words, to prevent ourselves from sinning, we only can “put out” the temptation before it happens. 

“For all have sin and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NIV).

Yes, we all do sin, and we humans were never to be perfect. By sinning, we somehow dishonour God’s authority, and by doing so, we shall face our consequence – death. God is a holy God who hates sin. Yet, He loves all sinners. Jesus has died for our sins. He has suffered on the cross for us and today He is alive!  

but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:14-15 NIV).

This death is not by physical, but it will be accountable on our spiritual realms, in other words, our afterlife. All who disobeyed God will be thrown down to hell to be punished, and to face eternal suffering. It all started from Adam and Eve, being tempted by the serpent to eat the fruit grown on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The both of them did not manage to overcome their temptations and they sinned by eating the fruit. As a result, both Adam and Eve were evicted from the Garden of Eden.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV).

Although we frequently turn our backs on the Father Almighty, His love for us remains unchanged even after decades or centuries. At that time, the people needed a Saviour to free them from the bondage of their sins, and the perfect person was none other than Jesus Christ. He was perfect, sinless, yet he still have to die for our sins. Why? It was all because of love. The Bible describes us Christians as “sheep”; being rather foolish and weak. This is why we need a “shepherd” – Jesus Christ, to guide us and to save us from our sins. Although he was mocked and insulted by the Romans; His suffering and ultimate crucifixion on the cross was rather unfair for Him, but He still did it for all of us willingly. He was obedient to God the Father even to the point of death on the cross although He has done nothing wrong that could have caused such a high penalty. What is more touching is He died for us while we were God’s enemies! He wants to save us! Christ has cleansed our sins with His blood, and we Christians are to be born again under his grace. He has redeemed us by His blood. Indeed grace has come to us free but it was not cheap!

“But God demonstrate His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV).

Many distractions that had cause us to stumble and fall, and we should let our faith be made stronger in God’s presence. Joining BB has taught us to be disciplined through its various activities. Through Christian Education imparted through the Brigade, we are guided how to overcome trials and temptations just as how our Great Captain has shown us. The author, James, has clearly illustrated the lesson to us. Do not play around with fire, or you will be burned. As Christians, we should get rid of anything that hinders us from living out a true Christian life. They may be people that we should stop hanging out with, or even hobbies we should give up on. So be cautious about where you set your eyes on, and be on guard so that you can overcome temptation.

“Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or left; keep your foot from evil” (Proverbs 4:26-27 NIV).

 
 
Page Created: 17th September 2014
Last Updated: 17th September 2014