Freedom From Bondage to Sin - Ruminating in the Word of God

The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Genesis 39:11-12,

"One day he [Joseph] went into the house to attend to his duties, and none of the household servants was inside. She [Potiphar's wife] caught him by his cloak and said, 'Come to bed with me!' But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house."

I have to report that I have heard one too many sermons on how sin is festering just under the surface within the heart of each believer and that when it comes to temptation we need to follow Joseph's example and flee or we will simply drop into the cesspool of sin, as it is very thin ice we are all on.

While I in no way underestimate the pull of sin in my own life and recognize its ugly head when it has reared up in my life, I think we do a great disservice to both Joseph and the Lord when we define Joseph's account in this way. To me the account provides an entirely different picture of Joseph. Beyond that, what the Scriptures reveal to us about what the Lord has done for us relative to sin in each of our lives should be great cause for worship and praise for him: the Lord has not left us as spineless wimps relative to sin as some would have us believe. Perhaps it is because some are reluctant to "step up" when confronted with sin. I know I have at times.

Joseph did not flee Potiphar's wife because he was tottering on the brink of giving way to the enormous pull of sin's temptation. The account clearly tells us he was resolute in his dealings with Potiphar's wife. When she approached Joseph his response was a clear refusal, "How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?" Genesis 39:9. The account goes on to say that she spoke to Joseph "day after day" but he refused to go to bed with her. He ran out of the house, leaving his cloak in her hand because she grabbed him. He wasn't fleeing temptation at all, he was fleeing her grip! He defined would-be adultery with her as sin against God.

There is no question that the temptation to sin is great. God told Cain, "…sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you…" Genesis 4:7. Paul also tells us, as believers, our sin nature is in conflict with the Holy Spirit who resides in us. He tells us in Galatians 5:17, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." But note what he tells us in the previous verse, "So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature." We are no longer the slaves to sin we were before we embraced Jesus Christ in faith. In Romans 6:17-18 we read, "But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." We have become a new creation in him, 2 Corinthians 5:17!

When it comes to the temptation to sin, our wonderful God provides for us. His Holy Spirit dwells within each of us and provides a way out, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." 1 Corinthians 10:13. For those of you who like to find a haven to sin in Romans 7:14-23, you need to read it a little more carefully. When you resolve what Paul is saying in Romans 7 with what he has to say in Romans 6 and 8 ("…if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God." Romans 8:13b-14) you will have a clearer understanding of what Paul is saying.

Will I sin? Unfortunately, I suspect so. I need look no further than my own track record as a believer. And so I rely on John's words in 1 John 2:1, "…if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One." It certainly won't be because God has left me, as his child, on thin ice, tottering on the brink of dropping through into the cesspool of sin. He has provided for all of us all we need for life and godliness, 2 Peter 1:3. Is not this a wonderful cause for our worship of God?

Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!

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