Great Example

In His Name Devotionals
A GREAT EXAMPLE

“... How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9)

Our supreme example for living righteous lives before God is Jesus Christ, His Son. He left the glory of heaven to come to earth to live, suffer, be tempted, and die as a man. Hebrews 4:15 tells us, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…yet without sin.”

In the great Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:48, Jesus encourages us to “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.” However, we sometimes want to make excuses and justify our weaknesses and our shortcomings. We point out that, although Jesus lived as a man, He was also divine, as if that negated His suffering and temptation. We tend to take comfort in and feel justified by verses such as Romans 3:23 in which the Apostle Paul says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and 1 John 1:8 where John says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”

We have all heard the expression (and maybe said), “Well, I’m only human,” usually to make an excuse for sin and to imply that it is beyond our control. Especially if we have suffered some injustice at the hands of our fellow man, then we really think we have an excuse—the old “He hit me first!” attitude.

In Genesis, chapters 37, 39 and 50, we read the story of Joseph. In chapter 39, we read of his temptation and attempted seduction by the wife of his master. Joseph could have given in to the temptation and easily justified the sin in his own mind. After all, he had been almost murdered and sold into slavery by his own brothers. He could have responded, “Why should I try to live right after what has happened to me.” And Joseph wasn’t divine, he was human, a “red-blooded” young man who was likely truly tempted by the repeated advances of Potiphar’s wife. “And who would ever know, anyway? Way off down here in a foreign land, away from anybody who knows me.” But Joseph made no excuses and refused to betray his master’s trust and sin against God (Gen. 39:9).

And what did Joseph’s refusal to sin get him? Falsely accused and thrown into prison! Even more justification for saying: “What’s the use? If he was looking for an excuse, he could have said to himself, “Trying to live right is getting me nowhere, but in trouble!” But he didn’t. He continued to do God’s will and God continued to be with him.

Then finally, Joseph got his chance for revenge. He was Governor of the whole land of Egypt, there was a famine in the land, and his brothers came down from the land of Canaan to buy grain. Here was his opportunity to repay them for the evil done to him. But instead, Joseph forgave them, embraced them, and provided for them, even after their father’s death.

After much adversity, the story of Joseph has a happy ending, and “the good guy wins.” Joseph had never read Romans 8:28, in which Paul says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose,” but he understood its message, and in Genesis 50:20 he told his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good...” Joseph wasn’t perfect, but he apparently also understood the message of 1 Corinthians 10:13: “...And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.” And we don’t have to do it alone. Immediately after Paul tells us in Romans 3:23 that “all have sinned...” He continues in the next verse, “…and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” And immediately after telling us in Hebrews 4:15 that Christ was tempted but was without sin, in verse 16 he says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” No need for excuses.