Pastor's Pen

A monthly message from the hand of Pastor Stockman

Humorist Tom Wilson puts failure into perspective. "About the only time losing is more fun than winning is when you're fighting temptation." Mr. Wilson has a point -we've all tried to fight temptations to sin, and sometimes we fail. We may not even think it is a big deal at the time, but the consequences can be harmful or even catastrophic. In His letter to the Hebrews, God warns, "Take heed, therefore, fellow Christians, that none of you has a wicked, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God." (Hebrews 3:12) Instead, we are told to "encourage one another every day---To keep sin from deceiving anyone of you with its pleasures." (Hebrews 3: 14). 

I think one of the saddest verses in the Bible is Paul's comment to Timothy about his former companion, Demas. "Do your best to come to me; Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world." (II Timothy 4:10)  We cannot accomplish victory over sin and death by ourselves, that is why we need Jesus. But we can become losers eternally by our own efforts. We daily face temptations to give in to sin, to start down the slippery slope that leads us further and further away from Christ. That is why repentance is so important. To repent means to turn away from sin and turn back to God. Without repentance, we will drift further and further away from Christ and closer and closer to unbelief. We need to consider Demas, who lost the most important thing in life, his faith, because he succumbed to temptation.

Fortunately, we have a Savior! If Christ had not come to live His perfect life for us and to take our sins to the cross, we would have no hope of heaven. No wonder Satan tried so hard to make Jesus sin. If He had accepted the devil's offer to become the King of the World, the devil would, in one stroke, have had us all! But Jesus did not give in to Satan, and Satan suffered the ultimate defeat when Christ died on the cross to pay for our sins. Now that is one defeat we can all rejoice over.

Rev. Reed Stockman

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