Just as storms churn up old, submerged items from the ocean floor, temptations from a woman at work were dredging up long-buried issues for my friend Ron.

Ron was divorced, but long ago he and his wife had given themselves over to some degrading sins. Now, at work, a woman's advances were causing Ron emotional flashbacks. Some sins bury themselves deep within you.

It's like taking an alluring piece of cake and pouring a bunch of salt on it. Those grains are in there. It won't help to try to wipe or wash the salt away. The cake will never be the same.

Sin spoils all kinds of good things in life. And even though Christ's blood cleanses us and we can enjoy the forgiving grace of God here and now, some of the effects of sin are still embedded in our memory and emotions. They are "in there," and sin can be hard to resist. It's as if our own flesh is attacking us (Romans 7:23; Galatians 5:17). This is a very important reason why Paul tells us to "flee" from sin.

I often think that the fact that Ron resisted those temptations at work showed amazing spiritual heroism. Sanctified people do brave and heroic things sometimes—things that would be impossible without God's grace and help. But it's never easy.