The Vision (2.12.21): Spiritual Applications from the Temptation

 

Image: Snow covered blueberry bush, North Garden, Virginia, February 12, 2021

Note: Devotion taken from last Sunday's sermon on Matthew 4:1-11.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Matthew 4:1).

There is much to learn in the inspired account of Christ’s temptation (Matt 4:1-11). Most importantly, we learn about our Lord; we also learn about Satan and his devices; and we learn about our defenses against Satan.

First, we learn how Christ was tempted, not succumbing to temptation, but he triumphed over it through obedience.

In this he not only proved himself to be one who knows our frame, who knows what it is to suffer all manner of temptation, but he also provided us a model for overcoming temptation by obedience.

Consider Hebrews 4:15: “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

Second, we learn about the devices of Satan.

He is like a roaring and prowling lion seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). He attempts to strike at us when we are most weak and vulnerable, especially when we are alone and in the wilderness. He tries to deceive us by twisting God’s Word and casting doubt on his propositions and promises to us. He will appeal to our desire to satisfy our physical appetites, to have peace and security, and to have power and prosperity. He will twist the Word of God and try to justify our sin by adding a veneer of piety and religiosity. He will even quote Scripture to serve his own ends. He will masquerade as an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14).

Third, we learn how to resist and defeat Satan by following the model of Christ.

Our first defense is listening to the voice of God and not the voice of Satan. We follow God’s commands, not Satan’s suggestions.

Every temptation is not only an opportunity to fall into sin, but also an opportunity to stand firm in obedience. The man who lifts weights builds up his muscle by resisting and pushing away the weight. So spiritual strength comes by resistance. See James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

We need also avail ourselves of the armory of God’s Word. When Paul lists the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:17 the last thing he commends is taking up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” We need to hide God’s Word in our hearts that we might not sin against him.

Some of you have heard me suggest the idea of taking one simple verse and using it as an "arrow verse" to repeat and pray when you are feeling attacked and overwhelmed. Shooting out a Scripture arrow from your lips or heart can help in times of trouble.

For fear and anxiety, one might use Psalm 56:3: “What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.”

For struggles with lust, Psalm 101:3: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes.”

For struggles with unresolved anger, Ephesians 4:26: “Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”

For struggles with pride, Proverbs 16:18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”

You can build up your own arsenal, your own reserve of scriptural resources, that might become a means of grace for your sanctification.

Finally, we are reminded that God allowed the temptation of our Lord, and he will allow us to suffer this as well. But he also gave deliverance, and respite, and he gave his angels to minister to him (Matt 4:11). We can also be sure he will do the same for us.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle

The Vision (8.8.20): The "Rusty Chain" of Temptation

Note: Devotional taken from last Sunday's sermon on James 1:12-16.

James 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

In Romans 8:29-30, Paul describes what has been called “the golden chain” of redemption, and in James 1:2-4 we described what we called James’s “golden chain” of perseverance.

These “chains” provide a series of interconnected events or actions that lead to some glorious end, according to the design of God.

Now, in James 1:14-15, the apostle describes what might be called the “rusty chain” of temptation. This, however, is not a positive chain. It is not a golden chain but what we might call a “rusty” one.

The first link in this chain is “lust” (in Greek it is plural: “lusts”). The Greek word epithumia means a desire, a longing, or a craving. But the word entails a desire that is inordinate or ungodly. It is a desire that trespasses beyond the bounds of what is holy, good, and right.

We typically think of lust as referring to inordinate sexual desire, as when Christ taught that the man who looks at a woman lustfully (using a verb from the same root of the word used here) has committed adultery in his heart (Matt 5:28).

But there are many other lusts or desires, including lust for power, lust for control, lust for revenge, lust for anger, lust for money, lust for dominance, etc.

The rusty chain of temptation begins in the heart of sinners, even in the hearts of believers (who still battle with sin), when they are governed by any inordinate desire or lust.

This desire draws a man away and entices him. Sin promises pleasure, but it delivers pain. Proverbs 20:17 says, “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel.”

The second link in v. 15a is sin itself. This tells us that there is a difference between the idea of sin and the doing of the deed itself. But notice the imagery here. It is reproductive and gestational. Desire conceives the enticement to sin that, if nurtured and fed, will give birth to the monster of actual sin itself.

The third link in v. 15b is death. The monster child of sin “when it is finished” (when it reaches maturity) leads to death. This last link is simply an alternate expression of Romans 6:23: “The wages of sin is death.”

There is a warning here: Do not be enticed by temptation. Do not give yourself over to wicked desires. Do not let these lead to actual transgressions. The end result will be death, not merely physical death but spiritual death, what the Scriptures sometimes call “the second death” (Rev 2:11; 20:6).

Grace and peace, Pastor Jeff Riddle