|
|
|
Satan’s
Assault on the Individual (Part 2) By
Bob Myhan The
threefold temptation of Jesus, in chapter four of Matthew and Luke, is an
example of Satan's assault on the individual. However, before studying this
event, it will be helpful to consider what it means to be tempted. James
writes, "But each one is tempted when
he is drawn away of his own desires and enticed" (1:14). This
does not refer to the normal desires given by God but to “the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1
John 2:16). It is by being “drawn
away…and enticed” that one is led to engage in the “works
of the flesh” (Gal. 5:16-21). The
man who “looks on a woman to lust for
her,” for example, is not merely in danger of committing adultery
with her; he “has already committed
adultery with her in his heart” (Matt. 5:28). To
"entice" means "to lure by bait," which is what a fisherman
does; he knows the fish will not just swim up and willingly take the hook into
its mouth, so he puts something on the hook to attract the fish and obscure the
hook. Satan
does exactly the same thing. He attracts us with things that we desire, but may
not have with the approval of God. For example,
"Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators
and adulterers God will judge" (Heb. 13:4). The desire for a
permanent scriptural mate is natural, but the desire for a temporary or
unscriptural mate is not. Therefore, those who mate temporarily or
unscripturally are "fornicators” or
“adulterers," having been drawn away by their own desires,
enticed, and given in to the temptation. Although
Jesus "was in all points tempted as we
are" (Heb. 4:15), He was never "drawn
away of his own desires and enticed" because He had no
inordinate desires such as “the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” of which
to be drawn away and enticed. He never, for example, was in danger of committing
adultery because He never looked on a woman “to
lust for her.” Therefore He was "yet
without sin." After
fasting for “forty days and forty
nights," Jesus “was
hungry.” Satan, knowing hunger to be a driving force in man,
suggested that Jesus demonstrate His unique Son-ship to God by commanding "that
these stones become bread." It
is interesting that Jesus had not yet performed a single miracle. His first
would be changing water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana, after returning
to But
Jesus made it clear He was concerned with something far more important than mere
physical nourishment: spiritual nourishment from the word of God. "It
is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds
from the mouth of God." The point is that there is more to life
than physical sustenance of the outer man. There is also the spiritual
sustenance of the inner man. It was also His purpose to confirm His power by
feeding others rather than Himself (Matt. 14:13-21). Failing in the attempt to
get Jesus to sin by appealing to His appetite, Satan tried another approach. Then
the devil took Him up to the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,
and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is
written: 'He shall give His angels charge over You,' And 'In their hands they
shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Here,
Satan quotes scripture, but Jesus showed that Satan had perverted the verses he
quoted, not having harmonized them with other passages. "It
is written again, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"
Such
audacity as Satan had proposed would put the Father to an unnecessary test,
which the Israelites did again and again in the wilderness (1 Cor. 10:1-10; Heb.
3:7-11). Satan assumed Jesus desired such a thrilling, public rescue by His
Father. But he miscalculated. Failing again to find something with which Jesus
could be drawn away and enticed, Satan assaulted Him from still another angle. Again,
the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the
kingdoms of the world, and their glory. And he said to Him, "All these
things I will give You if you will fall down and worship me."
Bowing
down before Satan would have been far easier, physically, than being mocked,
scourged and crucified, but failing to do the Father’s will would have
defeated His purpose of earth. Besides
this the kingdoms Satan displayed were political in nature, and Jesus had no
political ambition of which to be drawn away and enticed. He had come to
establish a kingdom that would be heavenly and spiritual, rather than earthly
and political. Thus, rather than worship the devil, Jesus replied, "Away
with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and
Him only you shall serve.'" Doing
the wrong is always easier than doing the right, because the latter always
requires determination and, quite often, moral courage. Worshipping Satan simply
was not an option for Jesus. Let us ever strive to have the determination and
moral courage to do the right thing! Attacks
on the individual almost always come through one or more of these three avenues.
That is why we are told, "Do not love
the world, or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of
the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh,
and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of
the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does
the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17). If
you will think on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good
report, if you'll love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and if
you'll love your neighbor as yourself (Phil. 4:8; Mark 12:30-31), you will have
neither the time nor a place in your heart to love the world or the things in
the world. &
Faithful
Sayings By
Johnie Edwards There
are many faithful sayings in the Bible. It is expressly said of many statements
that, "this is a faithful saying."
Let's see three of these. 1.
Christ
came to save sinners. Paul said, "This
is a faithful saying, arid worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came
into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Tim.
1:15). One of the reasons Jesus came to earth was to 'make possible the
salvation of the souls of men. It was said concerning Mary,
"And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for
he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). It was
said concerning the birth of Christ, "For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord" (Luke 2:11). After the death of Jesus, He arose able to
save. "Wherefore he is able also to
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to
make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:25). Surely, this is a
faithful saying: Christ came into the world to save sinners! 2.
Godliness
is profitable unto all things. As Paul wrote to the preacher Timothy, he said, "For
bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things,
having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a
faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation" (1 Tim. 4:8-9).
Many place too much emphasis on the physical exercise and none on the spiritual.
There are some churches that spend more time planning for the social and
physical activities than for the spiritual! They seem not to realize this
faithful saying that godliness is more profitable than bodily exercise is to the
Christian. Bodily exercise is for now while godliness goes beyond this life into
that which is to come. 3.
To
die is to live. "It is a faithful
saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him"
(2 Tim. 2:11). The person who becomes a child of God became dead to sin (Rom;
6:1-11) but alive unto Christ. Paul told the Galatians, "I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith in the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). The one
who becomes dead to sin but alive unto Christ not only has life here but the
hope of the life to come. [via |