2 Sam. 11 - flee from temptation
by Jimmy Lau
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
David’s sin was not in seeing Bathsheba; it was accidental. David’s sin was in choosing to keep his eyes on an alluring image which let the lust fester with serious outcome. James warns: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14, 15).
The way to overcome temptation is to “nib it in the bud.” The idiom means to stop something before it gets worse, like nipping a flower when it's still a bud so it can't grow. If David had just walked away the moment his eyes caught sight of the woman bathing, nothing would have happened. Solomon says the way to flee from temptation is to flee from temptation: “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:15). Isn’t it obvious – the way to stop smoking is to stop smoking?
One reason you are stuck into a certain sin is because you embrace it; you love what you are doing and you cannot live without it. Ask the adulterer and he will tell you he loves the woman. Ask the person who is in an unscriptural marriage and he/she will reply he/she cannot help it.
Brethren, there is no repentance until there is a giving up of sin. May the experience of David be a warning to us to flee temptation.
2Sa 11:3 And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?
David’s sin was not in seeing Bathsheba; it was accidental. David’s sin was in choosing to keep his eyes on an alluring image which let the lust fester with serious outcome. James warns: “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death” (James 1:14, 15).
The way to overcome temptation is to “nib it in the bud.” The idiom means to stop something before it gets worse, like nipping a flower when it's still a bud so it can't grow. If David had just walked away the moment his eyes caught sight of the woman bathing, nothing would have happened. Solomon says the way to flee from temptation is to flee from temptation: “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away” (Proverbs 4:15). Isn’t it obvious – the way to stop smoking is to stop smoking?
One reason you are stuck into a certain sin is because you embrace it; you love what you are doing and you cannot live without it. Ask the adulterer and he will tell you he loves the woman. Ask the person who is in an unscriptural marriage and he/she will reply he/she cannot help it.
Brethren, there is no repentance until there is a giving up of sin. May the experience of David be a warning to us to flee temptation.
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