Image: Scene from the grounds of FRIM (Forest Research Institute of Malaysia)
Note: This devotion is adapted from the closing
application from last Sunday’s sermon on Hebrews 2:16-18.
For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted (Hebrews 2:18).
Here
are seven practical ways that Jesus, the one who took on flesh for us, gives
help to the tempted:
1. He has given us a model and example for
righteous living. We can read through
the Gospels and see how Jesus responded in all kinds of circumstances,
including the betrayal and denial of his disciples and the mocking and cursing
of his enemies.
2. He gives us the Word of God in the Scriptures
to help us understand our own condition, to resist the attacks of the devil,
and to pursue things that are good and right.
3. He gives us his church, the body of Christ,
brothers and sisters who come alongside us in the name of Christ and who hold
us accountable to the commitments that we have made to live for Christ.
4. He gives us the indwelling Spirit and a
sensitive conscience so that we never rest easy with the presence of sin in our
lives. The Christian conscience acts
like a smoke detector giving off an alarm when sin smolders in our hearts.
5. He intercedes for us. He “ever liveth to make intercession” for his
saints (Heb 7:25).
6. He comforts us when we are defeated. When we fall he urges us to rise again.
Proverbs
24:16 For a just man falleth seven
times, and riseth up again: but
the wicked shall fall into mischief.
7. He gives us sure and precious promises. He
who endures to the end shall be saved (Matt 10:22). Greater is he that is in you than he that is
in the world (1 John 4:4). Listen to
this beatitude:
James 1:12 Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation: for when he
is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to
them that love him.
Matthew
Poole on Christ’s help for the tempted:
“This is the most powerful preservative against despair, and the firmest
ground of hope and comfort, that every believing, penitent sinner could desire
or have.”
John Calvin
on Christ’s help for the tempted: “Therefore
whenever any evils pass over us, let it ever occur to us, that nothing happens
to us but what the Son of God has himself experienced in order that he might
sympathize with us; nor let us doubt but that he is present with us as though
he suffered with us.”
When
we face temptation, let us remember that Jesus is able to help us.
Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle
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