Begin Here, Remain Here (6)

Surely, in vain the net is spread
In the sight of any bird… Proverbs 1.17

Penance as preparation
I want to make one more comment about the Celtic Christian practice of penance, which, as we have seen, was frequently employed as a curative for besetting or particularly troublesome sins.

During the period of the Celtic revival, this spiritual discipline was used not only as a curative for contrary behavior, but also as a way of preparing oneself against sin. We read about this idea in a penitential written by Columbanus, the greatest of the early Irish missionaries to Europe. Here’s how Columbanus put it: “True penance is to refrain from committing deeds for which penance is to be done but when such are committed, to bewail them.”
In other words, if we know in advance what constitutes wrong conduct, we’ll understand what it looks like when it confronts us along our way in life. So we should make ready in our hearts, minds, and consciences to avoid such conduct, which, if we actually committed it, would require repentance. This is what Solomon had in mind in his proverb: If the bird knows how to recognize the net or the snare, and understands the consequences of straying into it, you can be sure he’s going to stay away.

We find similar prescriptions in various places in Scripture. Job “made a covenant” with his eyes, to keep him from lusting (Job 31.1). The psalmist “set a guard” on his tongue, to make sure his speech would be proper among certain people (Ps. 39.1). And Paul counsels us to “take heed” to temptations that may arise in our path, lest we fall through them into sin (1 Cor. 10.12).

Preventive penance
I suppose we might think of this as a kind of “preventive penance,” a way of disciplining ourselves before we fall into sin so that, when temptation rears its head, we’ll be able to recognize and endure through it.

Crucial to this being a successful component in our walk with the Lord is the ability to recognize temptation and to see through temptation to the consequences of obedience or disobedience (cf. Ps. 73). Whenever we find ourselves in temptation, one of two things can happen. Either we will fall through temptation into greater depths of sin and shame, or we will grow through temptation and thus make progress on the path of righteousness.

Theologian Helmut Thielicke once described temptation as finding ourselves in the place of wanting to be disloyal to God. Temptation itself does not constitute disloyalty, but it invites it. Is this the way we think about temptation? If it is, we can be sure we will regard every temptation, or every possibility of temptation, with wary eyes, and prepare for it accordingly.

Recognizing temptation
But how do we recognize temptation?

Paul says we will be tempted in many ways, but though we are tempted, we need not fall into sin. A “way of escape” through temptation is there for us to discover and pursue (1 Cor. 10.13). We simply need to know where to look.

Temptation can take many forms, but underlying them all is the Tempter’s subtle question to Eve, “Did God really say…?” Temptation is anything that challenges the Word, wisdom, or authority of God. The better we know that Word and the more consistently we yield to it, walking in God’s wisdom, the easier it will be for us to recognize the temptations that come our way. Once we identify something as a temptation, we need to think through to its consequences. Asaph explained that sin can lead to real disaster (Ps. 73.18, 19). Through the trap door of temptation lies the slippery slope of rebellion, shame, and even death (Rom. 1.18-32).
But if we recognize temptation, and resist it, seeking a way of escape through prayer and the Word of God, we’ll find our relationship with God strengthened and our walk with Him filled with renewed peace and joy (cf. Ps. 73.23-28; Jms. 1.2-4).

Make up your mind, each day, that you’re going to resist temptation with prayer and by resting in the Word of God. Let the Spirit of conviction and repentance be at work within you before you come upon the nets and snares of temptation, and you’ll be in a much better position to overcome the evil that threatens to engulf you with the good choices and conduct that please the Lord and honor Him.

This is the way of full faith and repentance.

For reflection
1.  What kinds of temptations do you expect to encounter today? Are you prepared to deal with them?

2.  Why is being grounded in the Word crucial for being able to recognize temptation?

3.  How would you counsel a new believer to prepare for and deal with temptation, whenever it arises?

Next steps: How do the Christians you know deal with temptation? Ask a few of them.

T. M. Moore

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This week’s ReVision study is Part 3 of a 10-part series, “Full Faith.” You can download “Begin Here, Remain Here” as a free PDF, prepared for personal or group study. Simply click here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.