THE BISCUIT TIN

Sam’s mum made biscuits and put them in the biscuit tin, telling him not to touch them until after lunch. Soon she heard the lid of the tin move, and she called out, “What are you doing?” A little voice called back, “My hand is in the biscuit tin, resisting temptation.” As amusing as the idea is, we know that temptation is that much harder to say “No!” to when our hands are ‘in the biscuit tin’.

This was the kind of challenge facing the early church in Ephesus. There were all kinds of open ‘biscuit tins’ for them to slip their hands into. One of which was sexual temptation. Paul understood that selfish, uncontrolled sexual activity was a huge problem for new gentile Christians in the early church to overcome. They had never had to control that part of their life before.

Paul wanted the Ephesians to stand against their instincts and the culture around them, and live out their identity as God’s holy children. So he reminded them that sexual immorality—which makes sex a normal part of our relationships, when actually it is special and to be left for marriage—goes against what it means to live for Jesus in purity (EPHESIANS 5:3).

As followers of Jesus, God’s plan is for us to stand out (so, to be holy) in this world. But keeping our hands in the biscuit tin when it comes to sex would mean allowing ourselves to daydream about sex, not putting safe-search controls on our phones or letting our relationships become more and more physical. These things will lead us into danger and regrets. Sex is powerful, good and—ultimately—tempting.

Standing out for Jesus means obeying the Bible, not our instincts (PSALM 119:9), living in self-control (1 THESSALONIANS 4:1-7), relying on God’s Spirit (GALATIANS 5:16), and trusting God’s good and proper limits for sex (1 CORINTHIANS 7:2,9). So let’s keep well away from the biscuit tin!

WE WILL NEVER STAND UP TO SEXUAL TEMPTATION IF WE KEEP LOOKING TO BE TEMPTED.

YouTh Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries