Ever wonder why Jesus sent His disciples out in twos instead of solo? Because flanked with the right person we have support, encouragement and—protection. Protection from what? Ourselves! If you’re serious about walking in victory, accountability is a step you must be willing to take. So, who are you accountable to?
To overcome temptation has to be cause we love God. How many know that sin hurts God? We're all tempted but the Lord has promised that we can be over comers. "Temptation" is what my Sunday School lesson is dealing with this morning. I am trying to get the class to understand that there's consequences for following temptation.
A common reason Christians easily fall into temptation is the reasoning, Everybody's doing it, " so it must be okay." That's the devil's favorite "lemming logic." It's also why Peter denied Jesus. Just a few hours before betraying Jesus, Peter vowed, "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!" (Matthew 26:35 Everybody'sNKJV). And when Peter made that statement surrounded by his friends, he was very sincere. But when Jesus was taken into the judgment hall, it was no longer popular to be with Christ. Peter gathered with Christ's mockers around a campfire, and the longer he stayed, the easier it was to act and talk like Christ's enemies.
By letting the crowd measure our values, we become like the crowd. And the Bible says the crowd is usually wrong. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat" (Matthew 7:13). Christians have to think for themselves. They must resist peer pressure—they have to be different. If a billion people believe a lie, it's still a lie.
