Matthew 4:1-11
4 Then Jesus was led up
by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the
devil. 2 And after He
had fasted forty days and forty nights, He [a]then became
hungry. 3 And the tempter
came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these
stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and
said,“It is written, ‘Man shall not live
on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil *took
Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the
temple, 6 and *said to Him, “If
You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning
You’;and‘On their hands they will bear You up,So that You will not strike Your foot against a
stone.’”
7 Jesus said to
him, “[b]On the other hand, it
is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord
your God to the test.’”
8 Again, the devil
*took Him to a very high mountain and *showed Him all the kingdoms of
the world and their glory;9 and he said to Him,
“All these things I will give You, if You fall down and [c]worship me.” 10 Then Jesus *said to
him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You
shall worship the Lord your God, and[d]serve
Him only.’” 11 Then the devil *left
Him; and behold,angels came and began to minister to Him.
(NASB)
When was the last time you were tempted?
Did you yield to it or resist it?
What is temptation?
Theologians and Bible scholars have examined and written
much about the doctrine of sin but in comparison very little has been
considered about the doctrine of temptation.
It seems reasonable to consider what the Scriptures say about temptation
in order to prevent the possibility of sinning.
Is temptation a positive or negative thing?
I.
Word
Study:
a. Old Testament: In the Old Testament the Hebrew term which is
translated as “tempt” or “temptation” is nasah. It occurs about 40 times in the Old Testament
but is also translated as “test” or “prove”.
b. New Testament: The verb form “peirazo” occurs about 40 times in the New Testament as
well. It is translated as “tempt” or
“test”. The noun form “peirasmos” is
found about 20 times and is translated as “temptation” or “trial”.
II.
UNDERSTANDING:
In the Scriptures the term often translated as “test” or “temptation” is
actually a neutral term. Whether it
becomes positive or negative depends on the source and intent behind it. When the source has a negative intent to tear someone
down or entice to do evil then it is “temptation” or “tempt”
that we see. This is what most people
think of with regards to temptation. If the source has a good intent to build someone up and
see them improve then it is seen as “test”,
“trials”, or “prove”. Yes a test is a good thing. Just like in school a teacher gives a test to
gauge that you understand the material.
The intent of the test is not to see you fail but to see what your
knowledge is so as to proceed in striving to pass the course. It is the same Greek term as that used
above.
The good news for us is that what the world or Satan
intends to tear us down with God can actually use it to build us up.
“And
we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose.” -Romans 8:28 (ESV)
So whether we pass the “test” or yield to “temptation” is
really up to us!
III.
POINTS
TO PONDER:
What are some ways you can resist temptation?
What have you found useful to build up your arsenal to
resist temptation?
Some ideas to consider are:
1. Read Scripture regularly.
2. Have
at least a 5 minute devotional time with the Lord each day.
3. Prayer
4. Listen
to Christian music regularly.
5. Strive
to keep positive sources feeding your mind and spirit.
6. Start
each day asking yourself, “What is one task to focus on that will honor God
today?”
7. Attend
the assembly of the saints regularly.
8. Ask
yourself before doing or viewing anything, “Can I see Jesus doing this?”
Ever since the Garden of Eden temptation has been with
us. But by the power of the Holy Spirit
we can resist the evil intent of temptation and pass God’s test to be a better
servant in which to honor Him. I won’t
say “good luck” because its not a matter of luck, it’s a matter of the
will. So when tempted will it be God’s
will or a worldly will you follow? Something
to consider isn’t it? Your response will
determine whether you honor or dishonor the Lord.
