Hebrews 4:14-16

“14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (NKJV).

Last week we talked about the help we have in Jesus when it comes to temptation. Jesus was tempted, the Bible tells us, in all points like we are, and yet, He never sinned. You and I are tempted, and we sin. Sadly, we sin more often than we would like to be honest about. Jesus did not even sin by accident. We often do. We are caught off guard, and we say, do, or think something that is sinful. Jesus never did that. Not once. This morning I was reading in my devotions, and I came across this verse; it reminded me of what we had explored last week, and I wanted to expand on this to add to the benefits we have in Jesus and His humanity. Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, says this through the Holy Spirit:

1 Corinthians 10:13 “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 an escape, so that you can stand up under it” (Berean Study Bible).

When we add this verse to the verses above, there is an understanding that we are able to say ‘No’ to sin much more often than we do. These are convicting verses. But as with all scriptures, we need to explore all things. God is a practical and realistic God. In 1 John 1: 8-9, John tells us that if we say we have no sin, we are liars, and if we confess our sins, God will forgive us because He is faithful, and He will cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Once again, God’s faithfulness is emphasized as the reason that He will forgive. God is faithful, even in our temptations and even when we fail. So, yes, we can sin less, but we will not be sinless in this life, at least on the outside. Inside we are already sinless as the Holy Spirit lives in us and marks us as children of God.

• Jesus Will help, Hebrews 4:16

Jesus will help you and me when we are faced with temptation. He is there for us from experiential knowledge, and He is compassionate and kind. Maybe you think this is overkill. But temptation never goes away, even as an old man Solomon’s wives helped to turn him away from the Lord. There is no time in our lives when there is no temptation. We are tempted in many ways: money, sex, power, revenge, and pride. This list is far more exhaustive than this. But as long as you are breathing, you will be tempted. Satan will find a weakness, find a pressure point, find a crack that he can exploit, and it is important that we know that we have a Helper – Jesus, our Friend, who is there to help us.

Sadly, too many of us, myself included, have ‘pet’ sins. We have nurtured them over a lifetime, and the same sin that haunted us as young men/women seems to still haunt us as we get older. Often, and it is true for me, we get better at avoiding or saying ‘no’ to some sins, but for others, we are less able or rather willing to say ‘no.’ These sins satisfy something in us even when we know the end will be shame and guilt. Jesus, our Friend, will help here as well.

• God will temper your/my temptations, 1 Corinthians 10:13

We are promised that the temptations we face are common to all men. All men, even the greatest evangelists and famous preachers, the apostles and the saints that have gone on before us, were all tempted the same way as you and I. We are not unique, and the sinful opportunities placed before us are not some netherworld concoctions that no one has ever seen before. We are tempted in one of three ways or all of these three ways over a lifetime:

1 John 2:16 “16 For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world” (Berean Study Bible).

These are the only three categories of sinful temptations; all sin falls into one of these. All sin is common to all men, nothing new or unique just for you or me. There is nothing new under the sun, not even sin. But we are promised that God will NOT allow us to be tempted beyond that which we can bear. This is a part of His faithfulness; God does not set us up to fail.

• God will provide a way out

Sometimes the best way to avoid sin is to run. Remember Joseph and Potiphar’s wife; Joseph ran and left his cloak behind. Run, run, and keep running as far as possible. Often, we need to change the people we hang around with.

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:33, “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good character'” (Berean Study Bible).

One of the hardest things to have to do as a person, and especially as a Christian, is to leave the friends that you are familiar with so as to lessen the power and frequency of temptation. But this may be yours or my way out; this may be yours or my help from Jesus. Some of the ways out are practical: don’t steal, go to work; don’t commit sexual sins, get married, and on we can go. These are practical ways out that we can see and take steps to do.

Not all of God’s ways are miraculous and other-world fixes; some are simple and practically executable and for our benefit. We must also remember that making the right choice may also come at a cost. Joseph still went to prison, even though he did not sin against God. Daniel went to the den of lions, and the three Hebrew boys still went into the fiery furnace. Choosing not to sin is not about earthly rewards; it is about honoring God’s faithfulness to us, even when and if it costs us.

• God will help you stand

When we have to endure the fight that comes between the flesh and the Holy Spirit in us, God will help us to stand and make the right choices. But if and when we fail, He is just as faithful to forgive, and He still loves us. Standing up is like a muscle, and the more often you use it and exercise it, the stronger it will become. Just don’t quit, don’t give up, and know that when we fail, Jesus is still our Friend, and He still loves us. Grow in this grace, my dear brothers and sisters; Jesus is there to help, and God our Father is faithful.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)
Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

“14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Over the past weeks, we have explored the different aspects of how Jesus blesses us in the Christian life and walk. I can tell you without a doubt that He makes himself real to me in a myriad of ways, and He develops my confidence in Him and His plan. One of the wonderful ways that we are blessed in this Christian life is the promise of a personal God. Not some generic national deity that has no power and no ability to actually help. As the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 115: 5-7,

“They have mouths, but cannot speak; they have eyes, but cannot see; they have ears, but cannot hear; they have noses, but cannot smell; they have hands, but cannot feel; they have feet, but cannot walk; they cannot even clear their throats” (Berean Study Bible).

These idols are useless and are worshipped by the very men who made them, a complete turnaround from what should be. We worship the God who made man, but they worship the god that man made. It seems so crazy to us, but if that is all you know, then you are trapped. The Bible offers us the real God, a personal God; one who cares, one who knows, and one who can affect our situations.

• Jesus Our High Priest, verse 14

The High Priest had to offer an offering for his own sin before he could offer one for the sins of the people. He had to acknowledge the fact of his own weaknesses before he could help the people. Jesus is human. Yes, but he never sinned. But He knows what it was like to be tempted. Of course, we know He is also God, but for today we will take a look at how His human existence is a benefit to us.

God has no limitations. As such, there are certain things that He knows but He has never experienced. Jesus came to understand our experience and to then be able to truly help us in this life from experiential knowledge. Jesus experienced hunger, fatigue, thirst, and betrayal. He experienced being hated and despised (in Heaven, He is worshipped and adored). He experienced limitation (in Heaven, He had no limitations). He experienced being accused of evil when He is the very essence of good. He experienced pain, suffering, death, loss, and every other human experience and emotion that you can imagine. He has been there and understands from experience what you and I are going through. Jesus knows it for sure.

We can stand assured that when we come to the Lord in prayer and in real need, He truly understands, and He can sympathize with us and offer genuine comfort from the perspective of experiential knowledge. Jesus can offer us practical solutions. He can offer us honest steps that He knows will make a difference and that will help us get through.

All too often, we do not take the advice that the Holy Spirit gives us, and we make the situation worse than it needs to be. Jesus understands the limitations that we humans have. He understands the frailty of life. He saw death over and over, from Joseph, His dad, to the many Jews around Him and the graves that were a part of the landscape. He understood suffering and poverty. He was poor, He had no money, and He was not very popular. Jesus is more popular today than He was when He walked the earth in the flesh. Jesus can feel what you and I feel, and He can help; He will help, and He wants to help.

• Jesus, Our Mercy and Grace, verse 16

Jesus can and will help if we come and ask for help. If we ask for help while we are being tested and tempted, He will help us to sin less and to avoid sinning as often as we do. When we do fail, He is our Advocate before God the Father.

1 John 2:1-2, “My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world” (NKJV).

Jesus was tempted, and He never sinned. He was tempted like we are in the very same way: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. These are the three ways that we are all tempted.

1 John 2: 15-16, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life— is not from the Father but from the world” (Berean Study Bible).

Jesus is ready, willing, and able to help us to resist our urges to sin. He is ready, willing, and able to help us when we do fail, and no one loves us as He loves us. No one can comfort us like Him. Why? Because we serve a living God, a personal God, one who has felt what we are feeling. He can have compassion on us in our limits, and He can help us to transcend those limitations in His power and in His grace and mercy.

We have a personal God. The relationship I have with Him is individual, just like yours is. It is unique to me and yours to you. This is why Jesus came, not just to save us from our sins, but to offer us true, hands-on love, compassion, and mercy because He understands our limitations and our frailty. He knows our emotions first-hand, He knows our pain first-hand, and He will help. Just ask Him. He stands at the ready to run to your side, first of all, to help you not to fall, but if you do, and sadly, we all do, He is there to pick us up, dust us off, remind us He still loves us, and help us to try again.

Oh, what a loving and merciful God we serve! I pray that you have this kind of God at your side. I am thankful to have Him at my side.

God bless you,

Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Mississauga Missionary Baptist Church

How to Connect with Us

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MississaugaMissionaryBaptistChurch
Online: https://www.mississaugamissionarybaptistchurch.com/ (under construction)
Email: missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca