As a Christian, it is the greatest battle you will ever face. The final outcome may be secured, but you will find yourself on the wrong end of the spear on many occasions. There are times when you will become battle-weary, demoralized, defeated, and may even choose to give up the fight and surrender (or at least call a truce). I’m speaking of the battle against sin.

Scripture is clear that we are new creatures in Christ, yet we often go on living according to our natural flesh as we lose the battle with sin in our lives. We often feel like we don’t have the resources to overcome temptation when it comes knocking at our door. Yet, the key to victory over what we are facing is found in Scripture: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” (1 Cor. 10:13). Scripture clearly identifies sin so that we can identify it and God always gives us an ability to escape the temptation.

This was true even back in the days of King Solomon. Long before Solomon’s time, Moses wrote these words in Deuteronomy 17:15-17: “… he shall not multiply horses to himself”, “neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away: neither shall he greatly multiply to himself silver or gold”. Yet, King Solomon fell victim to these sins many, many times and ultimately brought down a kingdom because of it. While this passage was written by Moses long before the people were even established in the land or had thoughts of designating a king. It seems to have been written prophetically for a time in the future when Solomon would be king over the largest empire that Israel would ever possess. These are the exact areas where he struggled with sin as the king. Solomon surely knew God’s commands, so where did he go wrong? Let’s look at three things that failed him in his battle against sin:

WISDOM – There is no question that Solomon was the wisest man that ever lived. He had administrative prowess, discernment, and insight far greater than the average person. People from all nations came to visit him to hear him impart some great words of advice. Yet, despite his ability to determine truth from error and right from wrong, it did not prevent him from DOING the wrong thing. Wisdom failed Solomon in the battle against sin.

WEALTH – Solomon’s wealth was second to none. The Bible describes the great hordes of precious metals, jewels, animals, land and empire that he had gained. The nation of Israel has never since seen this type of prosperity. Yet, he writes “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Wealth did not quench his appetite for sin and may have even enabled him to sin more.

WILL-POWER – As a man who was called to lead a nation, Solomon may have been led to believe that he would have power within to resist sin in his life. Many leaders who are well respected, full of glory, power and fame gain too much confidence in themselves. They come to believe they are invincible. Yet, sin has ruined the careers of many politicians, leaders, and even pastors in the church. Don’t believe the lie that you have enough will-power to resist sin. It will beat you in the end.

How many times do we look back in scripture and find warnings against the exact sins we are struggling with? As Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Since the problem of sin is not new, let’s look to God’s Word for answers. Galatians 6:10-18 describes the armor that God has given us for battle against sin. Jesus, in the Lord’s Prayer, describes the reliance we need to have on God for our battle (“lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”). Sometimes we will need to stand up and resist sin (James 4:7) and other times we will need to flee from it (1 Timothy 6:11). What Scripture assures us of is that we can be victorious over sin through God’s help, according to His power, and by using the methods prescribed in His Word. So, don’t be defeated in the battle – stand up to sin!