YOU DON’T HAVE TO YIELD!

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves [as] slaves for obedience, you are slaves to him whom you obey; whether it is of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness.

Dear Believer,

I want you to notice the word ‘yield’ in this
passage. We ‘yield’ to something or someone that struggles with us or is trying to take control of us.

I want you to also notice that these words are spoken by an apostle of Jesus Christ to Believers, not to unbelievers. What he is saying here is worthy of serious attention.

He gives us a straightforward principle. One is a slave of something or someone he yields to. He says further that if you yield to sin, you are sin’s slave (or servant). If you yield to righteousness, you become a slave (or servant) of righteousness.

This is an attention-grabbing way of saying you will be controlled by the force you submit yourself to.

Now, the bothersome truth about this is that even though one is a Believer, it is still possible to yield to unrighteousness and even be enslaved by it.

How paradoxical can that get? A Believer to whom has been imputed the righteousness of Christ becoming so weak as to be taken over by unrighteousness! How can there be such a thing as an unrighteousness righteous person? Jesus made him free indeed; how can he become a slave of anything unrighteous?

You see, we are simply being told here that we have the strength and the choice to stand against all unrighteousness; that we have the power to submit to God concerning anything.

God is here putting the responsibility on the Believer. You have the power to do the right thing because you’ve been made right by God.

Satan will always come to you, but you must never yield.

I used to wonder at the temerity of Satan when he came to tempt Jesus. How stupid could the devil be? Tempting the Son of God Himself?

Shouldn’t the devil know better? Couldn’t he realize that Jesus would not fall for his tricks?

Here’s what the Spirit of God made me realize: Satan tempted Jesus because Jesus was still in the day of His flesh. (Hebrews 5:7). Everyone who is still living in human flesh will be tempted by the devil, and even God ‘in the flesh’ could not escape that.

Hebrews 4:15
For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.

Could Jesus have yielded to the devil?

Yes! That was why the devil came to tempt Him. Or what’s the point of coming to tempt Him if he knew it was impossible for Him to yield? Satan wasn’t that stupid. He knew since Jesus was in the human flesh, He could yield to temptation if He wanted to.

But He didn’t yield! He set the example for us. He has taught us that we don’t have to yield.

He taught us we can say to the devil “It is written” (Matthew 4:4).

He taught us we can tell him, “Get thee behind me Satan.” (Matthew 4:10).

Believer, recognize the power that you’ve received over temptation. It needs to be said clearly and loudly, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO YIELD!”

And like the hymn says,

Yield not to temptation,
for yielding is sin
Each victory will help you
some others to win.

Some Believers yield to present temptations and convince themselves that they will resist and overcome the next one. It doesn’t work that way. The more you yield, the weaker you become and the more difficult it is to resist next time.

You should resist now and run the devil out so that it will be easier the next time.

That is the way of victory, and Christ has given you that secret.

Now talk to your Father:
Dear Father, I acknowledge today the grace and the power you’ve given me over unrighteousness. I walk in the power and claim total victory. I shall not yield to sin and unrighteousness. I have made the choice to let you live through me and glorify God in my body and my spirit, in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Have a great day!

Your friend,
Deon.