Knowing and Enjoying God: A 14-Day Reading Plan With Tim ChalliesSampel

We do not often speak of duty today, but Christians traditionally understood the means of grace as duties, responsibilities of every believer toward God. And while these duties are the means through which God provides us with his grace, they are also the means through which God guards us against temptation. 

Christians who wish to overcome the inevitable temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil must remain dutiful, alert, and disciplined. 

As we fall away from these habits, we should not be surprised when we face increased temptation and when we more easily succumb to these temptations. 

Charles Spurgeon once wrote, “Idle people tempt the devil to tempt them.” 

Indeed, the devil is most active when we are most idle—especially in the spiritual disciplines. 

Matthew Henry says, “When we are out of the way of duty, we are in the way of temptation.” If that is true, so is the inverse: When we are in the way of duty, we are out of the way of temptation. 

This is not to say that when we take full advantage of the habits of grace we will face no temptation, but that when we do face temptation, we will readily avail ourselves of the means through which we can face it and triumph over it.

To learn more about Tim's latest book, visit http://wordsfromthewisebooks.com .