"When you are tempted, you shouldn't say, "God is tempting me." God can't be tempted by evil. And he doesn't tempt anyone. But your own evil longings tempt you. They lead you on and drag you away. When they are allowed to grow, they give birth to sin. When sin has grown up, it gives birth to death." (James 1:13-15)

You don't have to sin. You can overcome and have victory every time, just like Jesus did. If you sin, it's because you choose to disobey God and obey the longings of your flesh. That's the simple truth. No blaming. No excuses.

If you are dealing with temptation in your life right now, be warned, DON'T DO IT! The price that you will pay for yielding to the temptation is too great. You have no idea what the consequences may be. Sometimes we don't see consequences of our actions right away, but there will be consequences. Galatians chapter six says: "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. People reap what they sow. Those who sow to please their sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; those who sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life."

Some people have yielded to desires and habits for so long that, to them, it really does seem like they can't stop and they're out of control. The way out is to begin to starve the desires that you've yielded to for so long. It won't be easy but you can do it. It won't take long before the desires that once controlled you get weaker and weaker. Eventually they will have no voice in your life whatsoever.

Wrong Thoughts
A big key to overcoming sin is found in controlling wrong thoughts. The Apostle Paul said in Second Corinthians 10:5, "I keep every thought under control in order to make it obey Christ." When trying to control your mind, your best friend will be the Word of God. It's only through a knowledge of God's Word that you can determine whether you are thinking correctly or not. Why is this so important? Because thoughts lead to action. If you think about something long enough, you will eventually act on it.

Just recognizing that a wrong thought is there is not enough. You should replace that wrong thought with what the Word of God says about it. The Word is always right and as you stay filled with the Word and God's Holy Spirit, you can master sin instead of sin mastering you!