Pastor’s Thoughts – 10/18/2026

In recent years there has been a growing number of ruined testimonies within Christianity. There are individuals who have had significant high-profile ministries of influence but were found to have succumbed to temptation resulting in disqualifying them from service and placing a black eye on the church bearing the name of Christ. Temptation is real. The first record of it is in Genesis 2 with the result of our first parents giving in to temptation which resulted in God’s holy justice bringing about the catastrophic separation of humanity from Him. We live in a fallen world with fallen natures and are exposed to temptations at every turn. However, the Christian is enabled and stated by John to be an overcomer (1 John 5:4). Yet, we also know that the redeemed still do sin (1 John 1:8). What does it mean to overcome? First, we must realize that temptation itself is not sin. Our Lord was tempted by Satan. Temptation does not come from God (James 1:13-14), but from the world, our flesh, and Satan (1 John 2:16; Matt. 4:1). Yielding to temptation results in evil and ruin (James 1:15). We thank our God for sending us Jesus Christ our sin substitute and perfect remedy for all our sins (1 Cor. 5:21), and giving us the Holy Spirit to overcome (1 Cor. 10:13).

Sin causes us to be separated from God. Even those born again injure their fellowship with God through personal sins. This is seen in 1 Peter 3:7 where our prayers can be hindered by our disobedience. For the Christian, fellowship is restored by our confession and agreement with God (1 John 1:9). But sin must never be taken lightly. It is important to know that every sin is an offense to God, and some sins bring irreparable consequences. Certain sins made public disqualify men from the ministry. When we study the Pastoral Epistles, these disqualifications are made clear by the requirements for elders who are called to lead our Lord’s church. They must be above reproach. All of us know that we often sin, and in many cases, we sin ignorantly and may not realize we have displeased our Lord. How do we draw the line between the reality of sin in our lives and the kind of sinfulness that destroys us from being above reproach? Our recognition of sin requires moral discernment found from familiarity with God’s Word. Even our motives are judged of God. Sins are spoken of by God as beginning from within and are later displayed by our conduct (Jas. 1:15).

We are told in Scripture that the man of God does not practice sin (1 John 3:4-10). This means that the person belonging to Christ by the new birth has an inner change that no longer loves and approaches sin as he did before conversion. This is not a state of arriving at perfection, but an obvious new direction brought by the inner working of God in the person’s life. We know that our old selves were captivated and ruled by sin. Christ Himself said, “Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil” (John 3:19). Before conversion, we are held captive by sin (2 Tim. 2:26). After conversion we are different. Paul addresses this issue in detail in Romans 6. He says, “Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for the one who has died is freed from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all time; but the life that He lives, He lives to God” (Rom. 6:6-10). This is the change in us that produces our overcoming and defines what that overcoming means.

Paul uses terminology of slavery both in the old self and the new. We are either slaves to sin or slaves to Christ. In either position that does not mean it is all we do. The non-redeemed sinner may do good and productive things, but is not characterized by such. The redeemed and transformed in Christ are also capable of doing wrong things, but are not characterized by such. As we study the Scripture, we learn profound realities that certain types of evil of which we may be tempted has horrific consequences. Those sins bring a reproach to the name of Christ, and what it means to belong to Him. James says it this way; “But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves” (Jas 1:22). We should also be reminded that God promises to severely chasten those whom He loves (Heb. 12:6). He goes on to say that if we are without discipline, then we do not belong to Him (Heb. 12:8).

The writer of Hebrews makes this emphatic statement, “Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14). We see from this that there must be an inner desire to please God that is seen in how we live. If such a manner of living is not active, then our salvation is brought into question. He also says that we cannot compromise our lives of obedience to Christ for peace with others who are engaged in sinful activities. We have a much greater responsibility to live holy lives for our Lord. Temptation is present in every form, and yet we must keep our mind and hearts clean and in fellowship with Christ. We must apply Scripture and conscience to every temptation. It is the greatest blessing to live as God’s child and be a light in the dark world. Let us take every opportunity to serve Him in purity of heart and in holy living. Let nothing come between our fellowship with our Lord that can hinder our ability to serve Him. We are called to praise His name with our lives!