The Pressure of Temptation, Part 2

And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”

And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’”

And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, so that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’”       

And Jesus answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.  Luke 4:3-13

It is all too true in our daily experience that Satan does not give up when we successfully resist his first attempt to lure us into sin. Most of us are aware that at that point he applies a little more pressure.

Jesus’ response to Satan’s three temptations was to say, “It is written...” Can you see the importance of Jesus’ line of defense? If Jesus, being God in the flesh, resorted to using the Word of God as His defense against Satan’s temptations, how much more should we who are earthly, sin-prone children of God depend upon God’s Word to carry us through the hour of temptation?
       
Which area of your life comes under attack often? What is your point of weakness? Where do you tend to give in to the pressure of sin’s appeal? Go to God’s Word and find what He says about those areas of your life. Hold firmly to these Scriptures which speak to your heart. Memorize these verses and have them on hand when temptation begins to test your will to resist.
                                           
We all face temptation, but we can praise God because He has not left us to stand in our own non-existent righteousness but has already won each battle for us.

“Learn to say ‘no;’ it will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.” -C.H. Spurgeon