"The Power of Choice"

Last week we looked at the account of when sin entered the world for the first time in Genesis 3. We began to look at Genesis 3:6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

We noted that “she saw,” and we talked about whether it really hurts to look. Next, in the verse, we are told Eve “took.” Satan’s first goal was to turn Eve’s look into lust; then Satan’s mission was to turn a desire into a decision.

When Satan tempted Christ in Matthew 4, he could urge the Lord to cast Himself down, but he could not throw Jesus down himself. The decision to withstand or fall to temptation was Christ’s decision to make.

God respects our power of choice. Everyone has a free will to do as they please. An old preacher, Dr. Percy Ray, made this statement years ago: “God will not make you live for Him, but He will make you wish you had.” So many times we want to play the “blame game.” But the truth is, at the end of the day, we make our own choices.

Satan will do everything in his power to make us choose sin, and our flesh is no match for his power. What we must remember is that with every choice there is a consequence that follows, and if we want to make the right ones, we must rely on the power that comes only from the Lord and His word. After all, Jesus Christ is the only man who chose to make the right decision against sin every time. 

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7