What's your apple?

So I'm reading this book on holiness by Jerry Bridges (I linked to it earlier in the month, if you're interested). In the last chapter, he discussed The Battle for Holiness. Let me give you a quote, then I'll discuss.

Just as fire burns any combustible material presented to it, so our own evil desires immediately respond to temptations.

So here's the thing. If you have a sin in your life that has been a real stumbling block, you need to keep it as far away from you as possible. If you are an alchoholic, it wouldn't be very smart of you to walk into a bar after you sobered up. You think you may be strong enough to resist the temptation, and you very well may that first time. But since you had no problems that time, you'll come back again. And again. Another quote:

Deceit of the mind is carried on by degrees, little by little. We are first drawn away from watchfulness, then from obedience.

Being holy requires vigilance people. You can't apply a patch and expect yourself to be able to resist all temptation. Do you know how easy it is to talk about someone behind their back? Sure you wouldn't do it by yourself, but if you put yourself in a situation with several other folks who like to gossip, resisting that temptation becomes a lot more difficult, and for many people, impossible.

We have to continue to pray and immerse ourselves in the Scriptures to stay strong. It's also helpful if you surround yourselves with like-minded friends, who can support and encourage you, as well as keep you in line (I call them "truth-tellers," which I think was a term someone else coined). All this to say that we always have to be on guard against sin. Always. Because we're still human.

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