Every believer will face temptation to fall into sin. And learning from someone else’s defeat is the safest way to discover how to have victory.
Take King David and Bathsheba, for example. In 2 Samuel 11, they both found themselves on the roof with temptation.
David was surveying his kingdom when he should have been out protecting it, and Bathsheba was bathing where other men could see—with her husband far from home.
All of us know what it’s like to be on the roof… to be faced suddenly with a temptation we’re not prepared for. And we must decide whether to stay and go along with it—or get off the roof.
David and Bathsheba knew adultery was a sin, but they still went along with it.
They both ignored the fact that the rules God gives are rules—not suggestions. And you can’t stand there on the roof saying, “Well, God knows I’m lonely” or “He knows I need this.”
The rules are the rules. So, you remember them, and you just say, “no.” You look for the way out. You get off the roof.
Because there isn’t any sin too big for God to forgive, but there are consequences, and the repercussions can go on forever. God would rather spare you and those you love than have you fall out.
So, if you find yourself on the roof with temptation, simply pray as Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one” (Matthew 6:13). And then take His hand and let Him lead you safely to the ground.