The Penn's Grove record., 1912-08-09
The Benefit of
Temptation
Overcome by the Grace Of God, Which
Brings One Into Closer Fellowship
With Christ.

lose much Of the deep sympathy
we have n for another. 1t also
has a very humbling effect, driving
US direct to the Lord for de~liverance.
WI would not know what a wonderful
Savior WI had were we not bounded
by the devil.
Alexander Whyte. speaking on this
subject, says: Luther, speaking to the
young preacher of his day, said: Z
did not learn to preach Christ all at
once. The Devil has been my best
professor Of exegetical and experiment
tai divinity. Before that great school
master took me- in hand, l was a suck
ling child, and not a grown man. Il
was my combats with sin and with
t that made me a true minister
Of the New Testament. It is always
a great grace to me, and to my people,
for me to be able to say to them, I
know this text to be truei 1 know It
for certain to be true! Without IN
cessant combat, and pain, and sweat.
and blood. no ignorant STRIPPING of a
student ever yet became a powerful
preacher So says one Of the most
powerful preachers that ever entered
the Pauline pulpit. Living Water.
No man can know the depths of his
own nature or understand his weak
nesses and needs until he has been
thoroughly tested by the fires of temp
tation. And no man can know by ex-
per1ence the power of divine grace ua-
til he has learned to conquer tempta-
ton by the grace of God. It is only
in the crucible of temptation that the
human heart and spirit can be puri-
fled, and it is only by overcoming
temptation that a strong spiritual man
hood or womanhood can be developed.
One who has never been tested by n
severe temptation cannot know Theth-
er there is any real backbone to his
character or not.
Therefore we all need to be brought
into contact with temptation. We
need to be tempted, as Jesus was,
on all sides Of our nature. But we all
meet with temptation enough in our
journey through life without seeking
1t, or putting ourselves in the way of 1t
unnecessarily. w all need every par
ticle Of will-power we possess, and all
the grace that God is able to bestow
upon US, to overcome the temptations
which we must meet; and if We desire
to win in the fight, we must carefully
avoid all temptations that we can
avoid without neglect of duty. We
must think Of temptation as a thing
to be feared. and must pray earnestly
to be saved from it, or to be enabled
to resist 1t.
Paul says, Let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall.
There hath no temptation taken you
but such as man can bear; but God is
faithful, who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation make also
the way of escape, that We may be abe
to endure it." We can depend upon
Gods strength to support US in our
hours Of weakness and of temptation,
If we are striving to live in commun-
ion with God and to do his will. If
we trust at all in the strength of our
own character as a protection against
temptation 1t will inevitably fail US in
the time Of our greatest need.
That was Peters mistake. He was
so confident of his own courage and
steadfastness that even after Jesus
had warned him he asseverated his
own reliability, saying Though all
men should deny thee, yet will l new
er." God allowed Satan to tempt
Peter. and to gain a great victory over
him by forcing him to deny his Lord
IN the most solemn manner in order to
destroy Peters self-eonfidence that he
might learn to trust in the grace of
God alone. And Peter was a stronger
and truer man and a more devoted
disciple ever after because Of his ter
rible fall.
Many a weak and sorely tested dis
ciple has become so conscious of his
own weakness and lack Of faith in the
time of temptation that he has almost
lost heart, and yet, by just holding O n
even as by the skin of his teeth, be
has won a victory by the grace OF God
which has brought him into closer fell
lowship with Christ.