human birth, it cannot remain there, but must always come forth, always issuing in death. A desire born in the mind is one of the strongest things for the will to face. Isn’t it a fact that no man receives a temptation, letting it be conceived in his mind, with a predetermined realization that it will bring death, sorrow, grief and dis appointment to him? Of course not, for if this were the case, when our young people are tempted, they would at first see the end results. Instead, they can’t visualize the hollow misery, for sin will surely blast their lives leaving them empty. When tempta tion comes, however, they, like us, can think only of the exhilaration, ecstasy, and anticipated enjoyment of the mo ment. Yes, put it down as a vital fact: sin cannot stay inside the human heart. The death spoken of here is that which separates us from direct communion and fellowship with the Lord. How close do you feel to God today? The Bible reminds us of how our sins can separate us from the Saviour. David declared, “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.” He is talking about unconfessed sin. There is an interesting story of Ulysses in the writings of Homer. Evil sirens, bewitching she-demons, sang on fog-shrouded and rock-bound coastlines. Mariners w e re so en tranced by their overpowering music that they steered their ships toward the sound only to meet complete de struction on the treacherous shoals. The sirens plundered the cargos and killed the injured. Ship after ship was destroyed. Ulysses however, had a brilliant idea. He stuffed the sailors’ ears with wax so that they couldn’t hear the sirens. Unfortunately, this didn’t work. When Ulysses wasn’t looking the sailors simply took the wax out of their ears. Again the ships were dashed to pieces with loss of life as well as the goods on board. There was one whose name was Orpheus. He was an unusually talent ed musician who could play and sing like no one else in his time. His music was far superior to that of the wicked 19
when they were victorious over a foe his power entered their lives to make them just that much stronger. Of course we know that such is not pos sible, physically speaking, but in a spiritual sense it certainly is. This is exactly what happens when we yield ourselves to the Lord, overcoming temptation through the power of His might. Under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Paul wrote, “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal. 5:17). Victory can come only as we commit ourselves com pletely to Christ, putting on the whole armour of God. Verse 15 explains this fatal subject further, “Then when lust hath con ceived, it bringeth forth sin : and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” James is pointing out that temptation has an ancestry similar to physical birth. It takes an outward force and an inward reception to make conception possible. The moment we open our minds to the thought or deed, the seed is implanted and sin has therein been conceived. As in a
Mr. John Isaac (seated), director of the Biota Stewardship Department, looksover an important documentwith Mr. Sunshine Summers, a Chris tian attorney who has been used of the Lord to assist many friends of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Inc.
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