Fighting Temptation

“The key to resisting the tug of sin’s desire begins with seeing ourselves in the light of Christ’s work.”

Many Christians think willpower is the key to overcoming temptation. They believe that all we need to do is to try harder. In Romans 6, the apostle Paul reveals a different strategy. He shows us how to fight temptation with truth. One reason we yield to temptation may be that we do not understand the change that has occurred from being in Christ. As a result, we respond to sin as if its power still enslaves us. Our instinct to rely on our own strength is a kind of muscle memory in the spiritual realm.

According to verse 16, by offering ourselves to sin in this way, we perpetuate its mastery over us. The cross fundamentally changed our relationship with sin through our union with Jesus Christ in His death, which liberates us from sin’s domination (Rom. 6:5–7). Sin is no longer our master because Christ’s death and resurrection have enabled us to “serve in the new way of the Spirit” (Rom. 6:9; 7:6).

The key to resisting the tug of sin’s desire begins with seeing ourselves in the light of Christ’s work. This involves an exercise of faith. Step one is to believe that Christ’s death and resurrection were for us: “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him” (Rom. 6:8). Step two is to engage in a mode of faith that Paul describes as “reckoning” (v. 11). As one New Testament scholar observes, the word “reckoning” is “not a pretending (‘as if’), nor a mere ideal, but a deliberate and sober judgment on the basis of the gospel.”

Step three is a reality check; we remember how yielding to temptation has affected us in the past. In Romans 6:20–21, Paul asks: “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of?” Although the answer is implied, he tells us anyway: “Those things result in death!” Sin is not your friend, but the truth is. When you struggle with temptation’s pull, think before you react. Recall what the Bible says is true about you. Remember how sin has already treated you. Then, act accordingly.