When tempted to sin, there are 2 forms of defence we can rely on; natural or spiritual. Both are vital weapons in our daily battles against the world, the flesh and the devil, but one is more effective to the overall war against sin.
The natural defence relies on our own strength, and stems from a desire to please PEOPLE. It employs arguments like (i) I might get in trouble, (ii) what will my friends think of me, (iii) I will lose the good opinion of my minister, or (iv) I’m a better person than that. While the natural defence is handy when temptation springs up unexpectedly, it is not a long-term solution, as Satan will just find something we want MORE than these. ‘The trouble I will get in is worth the joy it will bring me’, ‘I don’t care what others think, I deserve this’, or ‘even though it’s wrong, I’m still a good person overall’.
The spiritual defence relies on God’s strength, and stems from a desire to please Him. It looks to the cross, and asks ‘how could I do this and hurt my God, who gave His beloved Son for me’. It makes us hate sin overall, because it offends our good God. As Puritan William Gurnall says; Esau ‘wept because he lost the blessing, and not because he sold it.
A common misconception though is to think that because we are reading the Bible and praying, we are employing spiritual weapons against temptation. It is true that Satan trembles when seeing God’s children engaging in these means of grace. Yet many a Christian has fallen into temptation WHILE praying. Why? Because they are relying on our OWN actions (albeit Bible reading and prayer) and strength, which cannot hold Satan at bay forever.
We rely on God’s strength by following the example of the tax collector in Luke 18:13, and cry out ‘have mercy on me, a sinner’. Only by humbly admitting our weakness will the Lord lift us up, by making us hate any act that tramples on the blood of Christ.