Answers

By   •   January 26, 2015   •   Topics:

Q:

I admit I give in to temptations very easily, and it would be great if God would just make them go away. Will the devil stop bothering me if I become a Christian?


A:

No, the devil never stops trying to tempt us and turn us away from God, even after we’ve committed our lives to Christ. The Bible calls him “a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

But two very important things happen when we give our lives to Jesus. First, instead of wanting to please only ourselves and satisfy only our own desires, we instead want to please God. In other words, we no longer love the sins that used to attract us. Even if we sometimes give in to them, we soon learn to hate them, and we want to conquer them.

Second, when we sincerely commit our lives to Christ, God Himself comes to live within us by His Holy Spirit. We no longer have to fight temptations on our own; God is with us to help us! I once heard a man say that when temptation came knocking, he simply sent Jesus to answer the door! The Bible says, “The Spirit helps us in our weakness” (Romans 8:26).

Don’t be a slave to your temptations and bad habits any longer. You’ll never conquer them on your own, nor will you ever be able to look forward to the glories of heaven. Instead, by faith ask Christ to come into your life, forgiving your sins and giving you a new desire and a new power to live for Him every day. God’s promise is for you: “When you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).