Run Away... and Fast

Run Away... and Fast

The devil may yell "Coward!" after you, but do not be afraid to run away. There is only one method of meeting temptation - flee to the Lord. If it is necessary, the Christian can flee to the Lord in the very midst of a great temptation, but it is better for him to flee even from the situation where the temptation will be greatest.

In other words, a Christian who knows that he has been tempted (whether or not he has yielded) to pilfer small amounts in a job as cashier would not only have the right but the duty to ask for transfer to another job, not being afraid to state the reason why. Such a testimony would increase confidence rather than destroy it. Men or women who know that they are possessed of a very strong appetite for drink will properly avoid invitations to gatherings where liquor will flow freely. Knowledge of our weakness should give us an indisposition to put ourselves in a place of temptation. A high school girl once came to me and said that she had frightful temptations to "pet" with all her dates and asked if it were cowardly to avoid all but double dates. I told her that the Lord had given her that desire to avoid temptation and that she should follow it.

The Lord is able to keep money out of the hand of the one who knows the roots of pilfering are in him, and is able to do it right on the job where opportunity for sin abounds. The Lord is able to keep abstinent the one with appetite for drink, even though he finds himself in the midst of many drinkers. The Lord is able to keep the girl or boy clean even in the face of the clamant desires of the flesh. But the Christian who knows what the Word of God has to say about the weakness of man's nature will not flaunt that nature in the face of temptation.

I have a letter written by one who had been invited into a situation where there would be great attendant temptation. Its example is worth following. The person wrote, "I am afraid. I know that I have been growing in the Lord and that He is furnishing strength above measure. But I do not want in any way to pray 'Lead me not into temptation' and then walk straight into it. I am afraid. I know you will understand. Therefore I am going to do the only thing that is consistent with a Christian's position when he finds himself in such a situation . . . run away. The devil may cry 'Coward,' but discretion is not only the better part of valor, but it is the better part of Christian living."

This believer was obeying the command of the Lord to make no provision for the flesh (Rom. 13:14). The Christian who has shown the Lord and himself that he hates sin will find increased strength and power when he suddenly finds himself in a place of temptation which he knows he did not place himself in by his own premeditated choice. The Lord put him in that place, and will with the testing, make a way of escape that he may be able to bear it (1 Cor. 10:13).

1. What ways do you caution yourself, friends, and family against temptation?
2. Are we sure that despite any temptation we will never fall away?
3. What is the seal of that security? Is that security sure?
4. How does Ephesians chapter 1 help our understanding of abiding in Christ?