We Can Overcome
Week 7 | The Purgative Way
For most of my life, I have felt in the dark about how to overcome the sins that so easily entangle me (Heb 12:1).
I was taught that my only tactic against temptation was to try to resist.
But what the old spiritual writers say is that when we train with Christ, we become less enticed by temptation. In fact, the longer we pattern our lives after Christ’s, the more grace makes temptation less like millstones around our neck and more like stepping stones beneath our feet.
That doesn’t mean we simply surrender to temptation and wait for deliverance.
In the words of St. Paul, we must “make no provision for the flesh” (Rom 13:14). We must “fight the good fight” (1 Tim 6:12).
Training with Jesus doesn’t give us permission to be carried away by the torrents of our iniquity. It creates a progressive liberty from those torrents altogether.
If we keep stepping forward - not perfectly, but persistently - we can overcome.
Room to Reflect
Have you ever felt like resisting temptation was your only option? How has that worked for you in the past? How might “training with Christ” be different?
How do you typically respond when you stumble — do you give up, feel shame, or keep stepping forward?
What does the description of grace making temptation feel less like millstones and more like stepping stones stir in you?
Very wise Jonathan. It is our persistence in repentance and following Jesus, bathed in his mercy and trusting in the sufficiency of his forgiveness, that bit by bit separates us from the sin that sometimes only gets more stubborn as we focus on it. God knows our hearts and will reward us for sincere confession and sincere devotion to Him.