(upbeat music) - We're honored to be joined again by author and speaker Paul Tripp on the Ask Pastor John podcast. He is the author of the outstanding book, Sex and Money. And in the book you say this, when it comes to sexual temptation, you say, "Run from the pride that says you are stronger "than you really are." Wow, explain this pride that says, "We are stronger than we really are "in the face of sexual temptation." - Wow, wow, wow, I think this is so important.

I would say it this way. Generally, it's not my weakness that gets me in trouble. It's my delusions of strength. The Bible is all about the beauty of God's grace for the weak. In fact, you could argue that there is no such thing ever considered in scripture as human autonomy and human self-sufficiency.

I'm neither independent nor self-sufficient. So even in the pre-fall condition, Adam and Eve were not so powerful as to not need God. They were created to be dependent on God. Now, we don't like dependency. If you're a parent, those arguments your children have with you about what to eat and about what to wear and about when to go to sleep are not about those issues.

That's that child saying, "You will not rule me. "I'm gonna make my own decisions. "I'm gonna set my own rules. "I'm strong enough and I'm wise enough to do that." And so we all do that in some way. We all swindle ourselves into thinking that we're wiser, stronger, and more righteous than we actually are.

And that really makes us susceptible to temptation because we don't prepare ourselves for weakness and foolishness because we don't believe it exists in us. Let me say it this way. I think this is a practical way of talking about this. I think that we're called to live in a constant state of prepared spontaneity.

What that means is I don't know the temptations I'm gonna face today because I'm not sovereign. I'm not omniscient. I don't see the future, but I know everything God says about the fallen world and its dangers. And I know everything God says about the sin that's in my heart that makes me susceptible to those dangers.

So I prepare myself for what I don't know is coming so when it comes, I'm ready. And the way that you prepare yourself is you preach yourself a positive theology of spiritual weakness coupled with a positive theology of sufficient grace. And you never stop preaching that to yourself. I wanna say what I say all the time.

No one's more influential in your life than you are 'cause no one talks to you more than you do. You're in a constant conversation with yourself. And that's either a gospel-driven conversation that acknowledges weakness and seeks grace or it's a delusional, self-swindling conversation that promotes delusions of human strength and delusions of human righteousness that sets me up for temptation.

- That is very humbling. Thank you, Paul. That was Paul Tripp, the author of the book, "Sex and Money." You should check it out. Get everything you wanna know about this podcast at our landing page. Go to desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn. We return tomorrow with John Piper who will explain why God sometimes takes away things from our lives.

What is God doing to us in our losses? I'm your host, Tony Reinke. I'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) (upbeat music)