Answers
By BGEA Admin • February 6, 2023 • Topics: Temptation
Q:
I became a Christian a couple years ago but am troubled that I’m still drawn by the things I used to love doing. I know now that these things are bad because they lead me to act sinfully. Isn’t Christ supposed to change people like me?
A:
From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham
The moment we receive Christ, we receive the Holy Spirit and are given a new nature that contends with our old nature. By the old birth we are children of the flesh; by the new birth we are children of God.
This is why Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be “born again” (John 3:3). After we receive Christ as Savior, we may be confused sometimes because many old temptations have not disappeared. We still sin. Sometimes we lose our tempers. Pride and jealousy may still crop up from time to time. This is not only confusing, it is discouraging and sometimes leads to spiritual depression. We may even have some particular “besetting sin” that plagues us that we do not seem to be able to conquer. Whenever the old nature asserts itself, we may begin to doubt whether or not we are really saved.
Satan wants us to doubt our salvation to make us ineffective. We must grow in Christ by studying the Word of God. The more we commune with God by reading His Word and spending time in prayer, the less we want of our old ways. The new nature begins to take over by the power of God’s Word that speaks into our hearts and puts our minds on Him and sets our feet on the right path. We must let the Bible become central to life and set our minds on the things of God (see Galatians 6:8); for we cannot grow spiritually strong without His truth.
(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)
