{"id":1576,"date":"2022-01-23T15:53:59","date_gmt":"2022-01-23T21:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/?p=1576"},"modified":"2022-01-23T15:53:59","modified_gmt":"2022-01-23T21:53:59","slug":"enduring-temptations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/2022\/01\/23\/enduring-temptations\/","title":{"rendered":"Enduring Temptations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
\u201cFor all that is<\/em> in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world<\/strong>\u201d
1 John 2:16 <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

It would be very important to understand that as soon as one acknowledges\npublicly that they belong to Jesus, and they begin to be obedient to God\u2019s\nWord, the battle begins. Because Christians have made the decision to reject\nthe things of this world for the things of God, the Prince of this world\n(Satan) wants to defeat Christians in the Christian life. \u201c8. Be sober, be\nvigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about,\nseeking whom he may devour: 9. Whom resist stedfast in the faith \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (1\nPeter 5:8-9a). Adversary<\/strong> means \u201cenemy; it is applied to the devil, the\nadversary of man and accuser of Christians<\/em>.\u201d Remember Job: Satan stood\nbefore God\u2019s throne, accused Job, and proceeded to attack him. But only with\nGod\u2019s permission (see Job 1:6-12 and 2:1-7). We must watch out because Satan\ndesires to \u201cdevour\u201d Christians. He wants to destroy each Christian life and\nthat witness for Jesus. Understand that God knows when Satan comes against\nChristians, and God wants to help us to be strong \u2013 defeating Satan\u2019s\ntemptations. If you recall, Satan tempted Jesus immediately after Jesus was\npublicly declared as God\u2019s Son. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In that wilderness, Jesus was tempted in three particular areas by Satan.\nLater, John wrote a verse where these three areas are clearly mentioned. \u201c15. Love not the world, neither the things that\nare<\/em> in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not\nin him. 16. For all that is<\/em> in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the\nlust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the\nworld<\/strong>\u201d (1 John 2:15-16). Notice the three areas of temptation: the\nlust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Keep these\nthoughts in mind as we read the events of Satan tempting Jesus in the\nwilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember: Jesus had been in the wilderness for forty days and nights with\nno food. \u201c3. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son\nof God, command that these stones be made bread. 4. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall\nnot live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of\nGod<\/strong>\u201d (Matthew 4:3-4). God had just declared with an audible voice to\nall that Jesus was His Son. Nevertheless, the first thing Satan said to Jesus\nwas a challenge of that very fact: \u201cIf thou be the Son of God.<\/strong>\u201d Once a\nperson trusts in Jesus, becoming a Christian, one of the first things Satan\nwants to do is to cause that new Believer to doubt their very salvation \u2013 that\nthey are truly a child of God \u2013 and to doubt the Word of God. However, did you\nnotice Jesus\u2019 defense? \u201cIt is written.<\/strong>\u201d\nJesus quoted the Bible. Did you notice the temptation Satan presented to Jesus?\nFood! Recognize that Jesus defeated this temptation from the devil by quoting\nGod\u2019s Word. Just as God\u2019s Word says, \u201c\u2026 that man doth not live by bread\nonly, but by every word<\/em> that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD\ndoth man live<\/strong>\u201d (Deuteronomy 8:3). Jesus understood that God\u2019s Word was more\nimportant than earthly food. Even today, we are to use God\u2019s Word as our\ndefense. Notice this was a temptation of \u201cthe lust of the flesh\u201d (stones to\nbread). Remember 1 John 2:15-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second temptation was recorded in Matthew 4:5-7: \u201c5. Then the\ndevil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the\ntemple, 6. And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down:\nfor it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their<\/em>\nhands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a\nstone. 7. Jesus said unto him, It is written again,\nThou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.<\/strong>\u201d Jesus again quoted God\u2019s\nWord as a defense against Satan\u2019s attacks. \u201cYe shall not tempt the LORD your God \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (Deuteronomy 6:16a).\nNotice this was a temptation of \u201cthe pride of life\u201d (to jump from the pinnacle\nof the temple). Remember 1 John 2:15-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 The third temptation was recorded\nMatthew 4:8-11: \u201c8. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high\nmountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;\n9. And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall\ndown and worship me. 10. Then saith Jesus unto him,<\/strong>\nGet thee hence, Satan: for it is written,\nThou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.<\/strong> 11. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold,\nangels came and ministered unto him.<\/strong>\u201d Jesus quoted God\u2019s Word as a defense\nagainst Satan\u2019s attacks \u2013 again. \u201cThou\nshalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him \u2026<\/strong>\u201d (Deuteronomy 6:13). Notice this was a temptation of \u201cthe\nlust of the eyes\u201d (the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them). Remember 1\nJohn 2:15-16.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following verses help us understand why Jesus had to be tempted and be victorious in those temptations. \u201cFor in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted<\/strong>\u201d (Hebrews 2:18). Also, see the following verse. \u201c15. 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<\/em> without sin. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need<\/strong>\u201d (Hebrews 4:15-16). Jesus understands what it is like to endure temptation, and He can be an encouragement to all Christians today. Jesus will help us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you hidden God\u2019s Word in your heart to use as a defense against temptations?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It would be very important to understand that as soon as one acknowledges publicly that they belong to Jesus, and they begin to be obedient to God\u2019s Word, the battle begins. Because Christians have made the decision to reject the things of this world for the things of God, the Prince of this world (Satan) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[318],"tags":[868,345,39,80,871,869,615,867,219,870,866,124,254],"class_list":["post-1576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-picture-with-verse-and-blog","tag-1-john","tag-christians","tag-deuteronomy","tag-jesus","tag-lust","tag-matthew","tag-pride","tag-quoted","tag-satan","tag-tempt","tag-temptations","tag-wilderness","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1576"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1576\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1578,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1576\/revisions\/1578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/biblicalpath.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}