“And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.” (Exodus 8:28)
When Moses asked Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt to worship and sacrifice to the Lord, Pharaoh was willing. But he was not willing to let them go very far. In other words, he was saying, “You can worship and practice your religion, but let’s not get extreme.”
When we truly obey the Lord, we hear the same words. People say, “I worship the Lord, but you are too fanatical,” or “too religious,” or “too extreme.” They say this because they practice a slipshod kind of religion. But God has a standard. We have not reached that standard. We cannot hope to reach that standard on our own power and ability. But the process of sanctification by the Holy Spirit is exposing our defects and weaknesses so that we can surrender those things hindering us. We can recognize our defects and weaknesses and repent. Or we can accept them and live with them as part of us. Yes. We have a choice. “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore, choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:” (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Yes. God’s standard is high. It is perfection because He is perfect. We are human, living in this flesh and in this fallen world. Sin tempts us at every turn. And God’s Word says to us, “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36) That word that was translated “patience” means endurance and constancy. The Lord has given us His Promise to help us in that temptation. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. (1Corinthians 10:13) He tells us that we are able to stand up to that temptation. Any temptation that comes your way is not too much. It may feel like you won’t be able to resist but depend on Him. Make that decision that you will not sin. Get your strength from Him. And soon it will pass. Next time, you will resist easier.
Paul in Corinthians 10:13 also tells us that our temptations are common to man. In other words, we are all tempted in the same way. It’s not unique to only “me.” We have all been tempted in the same way. Even Jesus suffered temptation. But He did not sin. Whereas, we sin. But we can endure that temptation and overcome it.
I will give you a simple example, a situation we have all been in. Someone attacks you verbally and publicly, without cause. Our first impulse is to retaliate. We don’t even use curse words, but you use harsh and biting words. The temptation is to squash that person verbally. That’s the flesh. Jesus gave us an example, but we never seem to follow His example. That example is to use the Word of God in every temptation. (Matthew 4:1-11) What possible Word could we use in this situation. We cannot plead our defense. That’s just more fodder for the accusations. A good one would be to quote or paraphrase Mark 4:22. All things hidden will be revealed and every secret will come out in the open. With those words, you have shut the lion’s mouth without sinning.
There is a Scripture many struggle with. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) Many make excuses for their continuing to sin with the words that no one is perfect. While that is true, we cannot use that as an excuse because Jesus commanded us to be perfect. The word “perfect” there means complete in works, growth, mental and moral character. Believer in Jesus, even though our flesh is weak, we are complete in Jesus. We have the Spirit of God in us. Our human spirit is born of God in communication with the Almighty. It has been born of God and is pure and holy. We can choose to live in the Spirit. It is the harder road. It is the narrow gate. But we can choose it because the Lord has commanded us to choose it. And He has commanded us because He knows we can.
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