Temptation!

 Daily message of hope...
August 4, 2025, Monday Message:

Luke 17:1 NLT: “One day Jesus said to his disciples, ‘There will always be temptations to sin, but what sorrow awaits the person who does the tempting!’”

In this dissertation, Jesus identifies two types of sinners. The first is like most of us, average, everyday people who easily fall into sin. We’re not careful enough. We’re not constantly guarding against sin. Therefore, sin easily falls into our lives. We need to repent and return to the Lord, and realize that Jesus helped us by dealing with our sin problem. We can and will be forgiven.

The other type evilly leads others into sin. It’s not just their sin that’s wrong. It’s doubly wrong to encourage others to sin. It’s as if they set up sin traps, attempting to ensnare as many as possible. This is far worse than just falling away from the Lord. This is treason, switching sides, going to work for the bad guys. God will deal with these turncoats. Jesus says it would be better for them if they tied a millstone to their neck and dived into the deepest sea. Redeemable? Probably not.

Jesus goes on to explain that if another believer sins, we should call them on it. Don’t give it time to fester into something bigger than it is. And if they repent, we are obligated to forgive. If they sin seven times and repent seven times, we are to forgive them seven times.

We should always guard against the ever-present sin. The ever-present sin should highly regard the loving forgiveness offered through Jesus. Repentant sinners should be met with our forgiveness. If we forgive others, we’re following in Jesus’ footsteps!

Pastor Norton Lawellin
Jesus In the City Fellowship