They Weigh Too Much for Me
by Jefferson David Tant
Have you ever heard of Samuel Plimsoll? He was a member of the British Parliament back in the 1860s and 1870s. During this time there were some serious problems in the shipping industry. Numerous ships carrying loads of cargo were sinking in the ocean when they encountered severe storms.
Plimsoll took on the challenge. He devised a way to secure the safety of ships by determining how much weight a ship could carry before being in danger on stormy seas. A mark was placed on the hull of the ship, and then the ship was loaded to the point where that mark was at sea level, no more load was put on the ship. That brought about a great change in the shipping industry.
There is no telling how many ships, cargo, and lives were saved by this “Plimsoll Mark.”
Question: Do you ever feel burdened with sin? Do you feel that you can’t resist temptation and from time to time you sink into the sea of sin? Well, the truth is, we have all sinned. After our birth, when we reach the age of accountability and can make choices, from time to time we make the wrong choice. The apostle John wrote: “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (I John 1:10).
Does that mean that we are predestined to sin? That we cannot help ourselves? Are we born that way, as some denominations teach that we are born in sin? We won’t have a long discussion about “born in sin” here, but note one obvious problem with that doctrine. We know that Christ was born into this world as we are. He took on flesh. He was human. He got hungry. He got tired. Was he born a sinner? Obviously not! Could he sin? Obviously yes! If not, what was the point in Satan tempting Christ three times as recorded in Matthew 4:1-10? If Jesus could not be tempted to sin, then this was all a waste of time and proves nothing to us. But there is a lesson we can learn from this incident, and that is that we have the power to resist the devil just as Christ did. We have the ability and the power to say “No!”
That brings us to a consideration of I Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.”
God is faithful. He keeps His promises, which include protecting us. Now, we still have free will, and we can decide to sin, but we can’t say “I couldn’t help it.” Years ago, a TV comedian named Flip Wilson was known for his oft-repeated statement when he got in some trouble: “The devil made me do it!” No, Satan can’t make us do anything. We still have the power of choice.
In a sense, we might say that God has placed a Plimsoll mark on us. He has promised that He will not allow Satan to load us with such strong temptations that we will sink into the ocean of sin. God knows us and knows just how much of a load we can bear before we give in to temptation and sink into sin. So we can’t honestly say, “I couldn’t help it,” for God has provided us with the power to say “No.”
We have another promise of God’s help to overcome in II Peter 2:9: “Then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment.”
We are given instructions that will help strengthen us when we are in the fight against Satan and sin. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:10-12).
And just what is the armor of God? Paul describes that armor, which gives us a sure means of overcoming Satan, and that is by equipping ourselves with full armor to help us to overcome our enemy. “Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:13-18).
We also have Peter’s admonition: “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world” (I Peter 5:8-9). We can resist Satan. We have the power to do so.
A ship’s captain has the power to ignore the Plimsoll mark and overload the ship, and God has given us the power of free will. We can ignore God’s promise and ignore the “line” God has put on us for our protection and choose to sin, but there are consequences to pay.
"For my iniquities are gone over my head; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me" (Psalms 38:4).
