Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
This passage of scripture teaches us the sacred truth of cooperation with God in the eradication of sin from our hearts and the consequent victorious living that comes about as a result. In all of our endeavors, whether spiritual or temporal, we should always bear in mind that we are to do all things in partnership with God, meaning that we have our responsibilities to fulfill, and He promises to do for us what we can't. As it pertains to our salvation there are specific duties and responsibilities given to us in order to facilitate the effectual working of The Holy Spirit, in cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
One of the most important of these responsibilities is that we should never place ourselves in harm's way, where we know temptations lurk, or where the forces of evil agencies are firmly entrenched, if God did not specifically send us to such and such a place. In other words, we should not presume to go witnessing at a night club where the enticement to lust is in the air, for if we were to do this, the good that we intended to do could be derailed by the enemy of souls, who could touch a responding chord in us via one of his human agents. Actions like these that are taken without the specific direction of God constitute the sin of presumption, and attempts to place an unwarranted burden on The Holy Ghost to deliver us from sins and temptations God had never intended to come our way.
When we observe the model prayer given to us by Christ, we see Him asking God not to lead us into temptation, but rather to deliver us from evil. In our Christian experience we must face temptations and overcome them in order that we may grow spiritually, but it is God who should determine when and how we should be tempted. This truth is clearly demonstrated in the temptations of Jesus in the wilderness, where it was The Holy Spirit who took the initiative in leading Him to be tempted of the devil. And throughout His entire life, not once did Christ ever presume to place Himself unbidden on satan's enchanted ground, thus setting us the perfect example that we should follow in all of our experiences. Let's read:
Matthew 4:1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. 2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. 3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
The Holy Spirit led Jesus to a place where there was no food so that he could begin His victory on our behalf where we first fell, on the issue of appetite. There, the temptation of satan on this important point, asserted its strength against the hunger that Christ was obviously suffering, and He did resist the incursion against His soul by depending on God to provide the necessary food in His own time and way. But we are never to deliberately place ourselves in a place where we know we will have nothing to eat for many days, with the hope that an angel will miraculously provide a "Big Mac and fries" out of the blue to satisfy our hunger. This would be an attempt to force God to deliver us from unnecessary temptation, and no such promise is given in the scriptures.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture which calls upon us to exercise prudence and good discretion in avoiding temptation as far as possible, and then if it comes our way, we can confidently look to God for help, for He has promised to give us grace to overcome, in times of genuine need. Let's read:
Proverbs 27:12 A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself; but the simple pass on, and are punished.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!