How can I resist temptation?

Run away!

Remove whatever leads you into sin, or remove yourself from the situation that leads you to sin!

Everyone has different areas of weakness. So identify what usually leads you away from God and then avoid those situations, activities, or people. As Jesus put it, “If your eye — even if it is your good eye — causes you to lust, gouge it out and throw it away. . . . And if your hand — even if it is your stronger hand — causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away” (Matt. 5:29–30).

"I wonder," writes author James, "how He might rephrase that today: “If your tongue causes you to talk about people behind their backs, grab pliers and pull it out ... if your ear causes you to listen to gossip, lop it off ... if your foot causes you to break the speed limit, take a hacksaw to it ... if your fingers cause you to surf to sleazy websites, snip them off.”

His point?

Take sin seriously and take whatever drastic steps are necessary to remove sin-causing things from your life.

Was Mary Sinless?

Did Mary live a perfect life? Read next feature >