A Weapon Against Temptation
“Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
Jesus went into the wilderness for a specific reason: to be tempted by the devil. Jesus also fasted during this time, so He was very weak physically. When the devil tempted Him to turn stones into bread, Jesus responded with Scripture: “It is written,…” Two other temptations followed, and Jesus responded to them with Scripture. The devil eventually left, defeated.
Jesus could have used His power as God the Son to defeat the devil, but that would not help us when we’re tempted to sin. We don’t have that power. Instead, Jesus used something we also can use: God’s Word. The Word of God–the Bible–can help us when we are tempted to sin.
Temptation often comes suddenly and without warning: “…sin lieth at the door.” (Genesis 4:7) We don’t know when or how temptation will come, but we know it will. Say you’re a cop looking for a suspect. You think he may be in a local porn shop. Obviously, you have to go in and look, but it will be tough not to glance at the merchandise while you’re there. Psalm 101:3 is a great verse that can help your eyes not to wander: “I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:”
When you find a passage in the Bible that is helpful in some area, memorize it. When the devil tempted Jesus to turn stones into bread, the Lord did not pull out His Bible looking for a verse, find Deuteronomy 8:3, then read, “…man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.” He knew the Scripture right away.
Of course, Jesus could have recited the whole Bible by memory, but you get the idea. When you find a Scripture that addresses some area of temptation you struggle with, or one that is otherwise helpful, memorize it. Ask the Lord to bring it to your mind when the need arises.
As a cop, you memorize many things: license plates on stolen or wanted cars, code numbers for traffic violations and crimes, and Miranda rights to give suspects. Scripture memorization is doable, it can actually be enjoyable, and it will strengthen you in your Christian life: “…I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” (1 John 2:14, boldface added)
The Bible has many passages to help us, whether we are tempted to sin, discouraged, weak in faith, or just need to hear from God. Most importantly, the Bible tells how to have forgiveness of sins and eternal life by receiving Jesus as your personal Saviour. If you want to know more, please go to www.clevelandbaptist,org, click “Helpful Links”, then “How Do I Go to Heaven?”
Brain Miller 6/21/2022
Cleveland Baptist Church 4431 Tiedeman Road, Brooklyn, Ohio 44144 216/671-2822