There Is No Security From Temptation in This Life
There is no security from temptation in this life, but with patience, perseverance, and trust in God, we can overcome adversity and attain everlasting rest.
Thomas a Kempis preaches about the necessity of spiritual weapons and patience in the Christian journey, emphasizing the need to guard oneself with the shield of patience amidst life's battles and challenges. He encourages setting one's heart on Christ, being willing to endure suffering for His sake, and facing obstacles with bravery and perseverance to receive heavenly rewards. Kempis reminds believers to seek true peace and rest in God alone, willingly embracing all trials and hardships as opportunities for growth and virtue, knowing that earthly struggles are incomparable to the eternal glory that awaits.
Text
THE VOICE OF CHRIST
MY CHILD, in this life you are never safe, and as long as you live the weapons of the spirit will ever be necessary to you. You dwell among enemies. You are subject to attack from the right and the left. If, therefore, you do not guard yourself from every quarter with the shield of patience, you will not remain long unscathed.
Moreover, if you do not steadily set your heart on Me, with a firm will to suffer everything for My sake, you will not be able to bear the heat of this battle or to win the crown of the blessed. You ought, therefore, to pass through all these things bravely and to oppose a strong hand to whatever stands in your way. For to him who triumphs heavenly bread is given, while for him who is too lazy to fight there remains much misery.
If you look for rest in this life, how will you attain to everlasting rest? Dispose yourself, then, not for much rest but for great patience. Seek true peace, not on earth but in heaven; not in men or in other creatures but in God alone. For love of God you should undergo all things cheerfully, all labors and sorrows, temptations and trials, anxieties, weaknesses, necessities, injuries, slanders, rebukes, humiliations, confusions, corrections, and contempt. For these are helps to virtue. These are the trials of Christ's recruit. These form the heavenly crown. For a little brief labor I will give an everlasting crown, and for passing confusion, glory that is eternal.
Do you think that you will always have spiritual consolations as you desire? My saints did not always have them. Instead, they had many afflictions, temptations of various kinds, and great desolation. Yet they bore them all patiently. They placed their confidence in God rather than in themselves, knowing that the sufferings of this life are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to come. And you -- do you wish to have at once that which others have scarcely obtained after many tears and great labors?
Wait for the Lord, act bravely, and have courage. Do not lose trust. Do not turn back but devote your body and soul constantly to God's glory. I will reward you most plentifully. I will be with you in every tribulation.
Sermon Outline
-
There is no security from temptation in this life
- We are never safe and must always be prepared to defend ourselves
-
The importance of patience and perseverance
- We must set our heart on God and be willing to suffer for His sake
-
The nature of true peace and rest
- True peace is found in God alone, not on earth or in men
-
The value of spiritual trials and tribulations
- These are helps to virtue and form the heavenly crown
-
The importance of trust and perseverance
- We must not lose trust and must act bravely in the face of adversity
Key Quotes
“Dispose yourself, then, not for much rest but for great patience.” — Thomas a Kempis
“For a little brief labor I will give an everlasting crown, and for passing confusion, glory that is eternal.” — Thomas a Kempis
“I will reward you most plentifully. I will be with you in every tribulation.” — Thomas a Kempis
Application Points
- We must always be prepared to defend ourselves against temptation and adversity.
- True peace and rest are found in God alone, not on earth or in men.
- Spiritual trials and tribulations are helps to virtue and form the heavenly crown.