One thing that was discussed in the sermon on Sunday was about the temptation of Jesus. Sunday didn’t provide enough time to go into detail about the purposes of Jesus being tempted as He began His ministry. Therefore, this is a follow-up to that point.
The Bible declares in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was tempted just like we are, yet without sin. And this leads some to say, well if Jesus couldn’t sin, what was the purpose of satan tempting Him those 40 days? The purpose was to two-fold.
First, to show beyond the shadow of any doubt that we can trust Jesus. H.A. Ironside said of the temptation of Jesus, “His temptation was not to see if perchance He might fail and sin in the hour of stress, but rather to prove that He would not fail, because He was absolutely the sinless One.”
The second reason of Jesus’ temptation was to give us an example on how to handle temptation when it comes, and it will come. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” So Paul is saying that temptation is going to come. And notice, God is faithful in that with every temptation that comes, He will provide you with an escape so that you don’t have to give in to that temptation. What is the number one way God has provided for us to escape temptation? For that we would look in Matthew 4, where the temptation of Jesus is detailed fuller. In Matthew 4 we see that with every temptation satan brought at Jesus, Jesus quoted Scripture back to satan. So the number one way God has provided for us to avoid sin and to handle temptation is the Word of God. That is why it is vital for you and I to spend time in the Bible every day. We don’t just want to read it to say that we read it. We want to read it to know God and how to please Him. Paul says that the Bible is given by the inspiration of God and that it is good for doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction of righteousness so that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly furnished to do good works. To do this we must do what Psalm 1 to meditate on the Word day and night and in Psalm 119:11 it says, “Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against You.” Have a plan and work the plan on being in the Bible daily. If you need help in that, please let us know, we would love to be able to help you establish a healthy habit of reading the Bible.
Pastor Justin