Tempted, Yet Without Sin

This week, God brought Hebrews 4:15 to my attention:

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

The next verse goes on to say that, in light of this truth, we should go boldly to the Lord for mercy and grace in time of need. While boldness in prayer is the clear application of this passage, the Holy Spirit quickened another facet of truth to my heart as I read the verse.

Christ was “in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Not only is this a foundational point of doctrine, it brings the fact of Christ’s sinlessness right down where we live. Not only did Christ pass through a lifetime of living on earth without sin, He passed through “all points” of human temptation. The reason we have a High Priest who understands our frailty is because He, too, faced the same kind of temptation you and I face every day.

Yet, though Christ was tempted, He still remained sinless. This shows us two powerful realities:

Temptation is not sin. Simply being tempted to sin is not sin itself. Choosing to yield to temptation, however, is. We will all be tempted as Christ was, but the presence of temptation is not sin. This brings us to the second glorious reality:

Sin is Not Inescapable.  Because Christ faced temptation without sin, we, too, who have the Holy Spirit within us can face temptation and choose to say no. 1 Corinthians 10:13 makes this even clearer:

“There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common unto 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.”

God doesn’t want us to fall into Satan’s traps. Nor does He allow temptation that will force us to fall. He always provides a way of escape, a means of victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. But in order to yield to God instead of to temptation, we need the power of the Holy Spirit.

Whatever temptations you and I face today, God already planned a way out, a way to say yes to God and no to sin. And because Christ was tempted in every point like we are, yet without sin, we know that victory over temptation is possible through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Sin has no power over the Christian. You and I have the option of saying no, even to the strongest temptations we face. –What will you choose today?

 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Galatians 5:16