How Far Can Evil Pursue?
Pharaoh's army even managed to
pursue the Israelites along their escape path through the Red Sea, and
similarly, temptations often dare to appear even in the wake of God's saving
grace,...
No matter how whole-heartedly a person may
reject sin and evil, and embrace Christ and His Gospel, no one on this side of
the grave can expect to be free from pursuit by the temptations of the Devil.
In fact, a person completely unaware of temptations would have a lot to worry
about, since such a situation would suggest that the Devil had so completely
deceived him with the presumption that he wasn't even being tempted!
Pharaoh's army even managed to pursue the
Israelites along their escape path through the Red Sea, and similarly,
temptations often dare to appear even in the wake of God's saving grace, luring
partially repenting sinners to despair of God's power to save, even at the
moment they are being led by that very grace to safety!
But even formidable temptations are merely
advance scouts of the power of Evil, probing for weaknesses in character on
which to unleash Evil's most vicious attacks. That's why the Bible never
suggests that the power of Evil is weak - in fact, Scripture makes it clear
that Evil will always get the better of mere mortals struggling on their own!
But more importantly, Scripture also assures us that God's good is infinitely
stronger than all the powers of Evil, so casting ourselves on the shore of
God's mercy (and remaining there!) is the only safe haven from Evil's reach.