# 366 That I Might Not Sin Against You

The Book of Genesis

Day 366

Ge 39:6b-10, “Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance.  7 And it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me."  8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand.  9 "There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?"  10 So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her.”

Guess what? You will be tempted to sin today. Somewhere, somehow, you will be put in a place where you are going to have to choose between doing something according to the world’s way, or according to God’s way. God has given you complete freedom in that regard. He has given you the run of the house, just as Potiphar had given Joseph. As a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are no longer a slave, but a son, and a son has complete freedom in the house. He doesn’t have to be looking over his shoulder, worried about the lash of a whip at the slightest infraction of the rules. You have been set free by God’s only Son, who took the lashes in your stead. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (Jn 8:35,36)

You are no longer under law, you are under grace. Grace involves trust and God is so sure of the power of His grace, that He is willing to trust it to keep you in times of temptation. Grace adopts the attitude of Joseph that says, “In light of what my master is trusting me with, how can I abuse that trust? How can I knowingly violate my master’s rules. Joseph knew his heavenly Master’s rules as well, for he had hidden them in his heart, and they kept him from sinning against God.

Likewise, we too, can have the help of the Holy Spirit to keep us from sinning against God, when we hide His Word in our heart. Ps 119:11 says, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You!”

This hiding of God’s Word is a cooperative effort. We expose ourselves to God’s Word by humbly and prayerfully receiving it. This involves hearing it, reading it, meditating on it and memorizing it. God the Holy Spirit then hides it in our hearts. He knows where it is and reveals it to us in our hour of temptation. Know this! Believe this! And live like a son, rather than a slave, because if you try to do it on your own strength, you will fail.