Victory over the Besetting Sin.
Our Lord, in defeating Satan's temptations, taught us also how to overcome them: (1) by answering Satan at once; (2) by not vouchsafing to enter into his subtleties; (3) our Lord teaches us that there is an order in Satan's temptations.
I. If thou canst not find out thy chief fault, apply thyself to any bad one. It is better to gather thyself to an earnest conflict with almost any one, than to lose thy time in debating which to grapple with. Whilst thou art engaged in earnest about one God will disclose to thee others. In this warfare there are some rules, alike for all sins; some special to each; some, which relate to self-knowledge; some, how to be on our guard; some, to help our repentance; some, whereby we may gain strength to fight. (1) It is of the very greatest moment to know the occasions of our sin, and the way in which it shows itself. To know the occasions, puts us on our guard to know how our sin shows itself, gives us the means of stopping it. (2) Even in graver sins, it is very needful to observe whether the temptation begins from within or from without. (3) We should try not only to abstain from sin, but also by God's help to gain the opposite grace. If thou wouldest save thyself from falling backward, thou shouldest throw thyself forward. If thou wouldest not slip back into sin, thou must stretch forward to Christ and His holiness.
II. Look next at the method of this warfare. This is a practice by which some have in a few months gained more than in years before. First go into thyself; ask of God light to see thyself, bear to know thyself, and to know well what thy sins are; and resolve firmly by thy Saviour's help to part with them, rather than with Him. Pray to persevere, and all the rest will be easier. Thinkest thou that it will be toilsome to thee, so day by day to remove every speck of sin? What is it, then, which it is so wearisome to cleanse? Is it something which concerns thee not, something for a time only, something for another? Truly it is for Another too. For it is for the All-Holy Trinity. It is that thine own soul, thine own self, thy very inmost self, may be enlarged to contain God and the love of God, that thy senses may desire nothing but what they have in that blessed-making sight of God, and have what overwhelms all their desire, to be blessed in His bliss, wise in His wisdom, good in His goodness, joyous in His joy, full of God, yet stretching forth to God; all thine which is God's, save His infinity, and that will be for thee too, for thou canst never reach the bounds of His perfections and His goodness.
E. B. Pusey, Selected Occasional Sermons,p. 93.
Reference: Luke 4:1; Luke 4:2. G. Huntington, Sermons for Holy Seasons,p. 129.