Gospel

Walk Not Into Temptation

by Roland Crim
01/27/17
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Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. Luke 4:1-13 NIV

Only Christ could be lead alone to be tempted by the devil. Woe to anyone else haughty enough to think they could stand alone before Satan and not be totally humiliated into committing acts of sin. Remember part of the Lord’s Prayer says “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” Christ intercedes on our behalf before the Heavenly Father.

Let us see the temptations the evil one can entice us to take, as he tried to entice the Lord. First, there is the perishable. Bread is perishable. We must seek that which does not perish. We must live by the Word of God. Next, we can be enticed with instant gratification, worldly desires. We are not to worship these earthly desires. We are meant to only worship God, and Him alone. Finally, we are not to tempt God. God is our protector, yet we are not to put ourselves into situations to test God's love and care for us.

The evil one is way too cunning and deceitful for us to handle on our own. We must truly be careful where we step. We must not step into an area where we can be taken captive by him, even if it is just for a few seconds. It does not take the evil one long at all to bring havoc to us. We must always seek our Lord and the protection which He provides to us.

And, when we succumb to the evil one, let us hasten back to our Lord, seeking His forgiveness and cleansing from the sin we have committed. Satan will never be able to overcome the power of the cross!