James 1:12-15
New King James Version
12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.

14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.

15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.

Sin is failure to conform to the moral law of God in act, attitude or nature. It is when you miss the mark of God’s standard. From the text above, you can see that sin is not something that God leads you to. Temptation comes from your own desire when you fail to conform to God’s standard.

You must understand that the temptation itself is not a sin but it becomes a sin when you yield to the desire, letting it take root and grow. In opposition to what society has normalised, God is against sin and it should not be taken lightly. James used an analogy of pregnancy to explain what temptation is and the best way to handle temptation is to stop the conception; kill it at its root.

Some practical steps on how to handle temptation are:

1. Know what sin is and know that sin is not okay.

Galatians 5:19-21
New King James Version
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness,

20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,

21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

The list above is not an extensive list but you must know that anytime you fail to meet the moral standard that God has set, you have sinned. Sin should never be seen as a normal thing to you. You must not be too comfortable that you begin to accept sin.

Romans 8:6-8
New King James Version
6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

2. Walk in the spirit and do not gratify the flesh.

Galatians 5:16-17; 22-25
New King James Version
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

The solution to the fight between the flesh and the spirit is to walk in the Spirit. Your reality as a believer is that you are dead to sin but you must then exercise this by truly living as a new man in Christ. Feed the spirit and then starve the flesh. Don’t be like the world. Don’t be led by your flesh. Throw out the things that fuels the work of the flesh.

Don’t just starve your flesh by staying away from sin, feed your spirit by praying, studying the Bible, listening to sermon and edifying music. Put boundaries and structure in place so that sin has no place to thrive.

3. Speak up.

Luke 4:1-4
New King James Version
1 Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,

2  being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

3 And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’ 

This temptation of Jesus happened in His mind. The devil did not appear to Jesus physically to speak to him but when Jesus responded, he spoke out. The Greek translation for the word “answered” in verse 4 means to “break silence”, “to affirm”. Jesus responded with words.

Take a leaf from Jesus’ book and don’t reply thoughts with thoughts. Rather, respond with words. When the thought of sin or ideas in contradiction to God’s word comes, affirm all that God has said about you in His word, rebuke these ideas firmly. Meditate on God’s Word and confess it daily.

4. Create the right environment

Create the kind environment that would aid your growth in God and would make falling into temptation difficult. Surround yourself with the right people, have a community of other believers that can pray with you and for you. Create an environment where sin would not easily thrive. Be mindful of the songs you listen to, the books you read, the movies you watch and the conversations you have with people. A life with the right boundaries is God’s will for you.

Most importantly, don’t give up. Even when you fall, sin is not your life. Your lot is not to struggle with one sin. Even when you fall, pick yourself back up. Don’t let sin win. Perseverance is a biblical virtue and you can overcome sin.

Proverbs 24:16
New King James Version
16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

You are the righteous man. God has clothed you with His righteousness so you can get up when you fall.

Romans 5:20
New King James Version
20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more,

God’s grace is enough for you such that even if you keep falling, you can get up.

Prayer Point
As I pray, I put the flesh in it’s place. I give myself to things that would starve the flesh and feed my spirit. I affirm all that I am in you.