"Flee youthful lusts," the Bible says. This commandment is especially for you because you are young. But it appears impossible to keep - you just keep sinning. The temptations appear to be too strong. Even too powerful for God?
You, like all other humans, were born with a nature that desires to do your own will over God's will. The Bible refers to this as your "flesh." You commit sin when you follow your flesh's inclinations, or lusts. It sometimes feels as if you can't help yourself. Your thoughts are constantly drawn in directions that you know aren't pleasing to God - to complaining, judging others, sexual immorality, greed, and discouragement. The list goes on and on. You just keep committing sins. You start to wonder where God is in all of this, and whether He truly cares about you.
Jesus was tested in the same way that we are.
In fact, we can read about God's enormous love for us humans in His Word, the Bible. We can also read about His fervent hatred of sin and its consequences, so much so that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth as a human being, to save us from our sins. Jesus inherited the same flesh as everyone else, but through obedience and faithfulness, He denied and put to death the lusts that dwelt there, so He never sinned - not once.
We could indeed read about how Jesus was raised from the dead as proof of His enormous victory over sin and death, and how He is now in heaven with His Father, God.
The Bible then tells us that God has sent us the Holy Spirit to guide, help, and strengthen us so that we can follow in Jesus' footsteps in our daily lives. It is written that all who do so overcome sin and death in their lives, and Jesus does not hesitate to call them His brothers! (1 Peter 2:11) We read that He will return in the clouds one day to gather all of His brothers and sisters to spend eternity with Him in heaven.
The "exit route"
That is God's plan for us, but you are still being tempted in the meantime. Back to those youthful lusts, the temptation that seems to completely overpower your thoughts and body, so that you feel you can't resist. Impure thoughts, discouragement, anger, criticism, vanity - the lusts appear in seemingly endless streams. You feel as if you can't help but sin.
Let us look at what the Bible says. "God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability, but will also make a way of escape with the temptation, that you may be able to bear it." 10:13, 1 Corinthians The path that Jesus showed us is the way out. When He was tempted, He "offered up prayers and salutations to Him who was able to save Him from death, with strident cries and tears, and was heard because of His godly fear." 5:7 (Hebrews)
Isn't this exactly what you should be doing as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus? How desperate are you to be free of your adolescent lusts? Have you prayed to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that you can not only deny but also completely overcome your lusts?
The Holy Spirit will reveal the sin in your flesh to you. And He shows you what to do: you must despise your lusts, resist them, and flee from them. Your mind must never agree or succumb to lusts. You haven't sinned as long as you are fighting the sin revealed by the temptation! The Bible refers to this as the way Jesus demonstrated suffering in the flesh, and it is the only way to be free of sin. (1 Peter 4:1-3)
You don't have to keep sinning if you obey your faith!
God is Almighty, which means He can give you all the power you need to overcome, but you must want to, and you must obey Him, which means fighting your lusts. This is known as faith obedience, and these are the works that accompany and make your faith real. It means you must persevere - to endure. The battle may be long and difficult, but God has "given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3), and He will never fail you. It's true! Do it! (Explore it!)
"So, what shall we say?" Will we continue to sin in order for grace to abound? Absolutely not! "How shall we who have died to sin continue to live in it?" 1 Corinthians 6:1-2
Why do you continue to sin if you truly believe in God and His Son, Jesus Christ? There's actually no reason to!
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