Rewired by Christ

“Lord, thank you that you lead us out of temptation and that you deliver us from evil. We need you. We need your strength and your love to overcome the tests, temptations, and challenges that we face today and every day. Thank you that you are freely willing to give. Amen.”

Hello, church! Today we are going to see that overcoming temptation is possible in our lives. I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel my hardwiring is a little messed up. Did God make me this way on purpose? Because I struggle. I worry. I try to change and get better and sometimes I get so frustrated at my lack of progress. Sometimes I wonder, what is wrong with me?

Do you ever feel that way, too? Or am I the only one? Let’s remember something important:

John 3:17 ESV

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

If you’re like me and sometimes you feel a little messed up, God does not condemn you. He actually came to save you! He sees your mess and it doesn’t scare Him. He understands, and he enters into our lives to save us, not condemn us. That’s an important reminder.

There’s a word I want to introduce today that describes our potentially messed up, internal hardwiring. The word is called “habitus.” That’s the word. Habitus. It sounds a lot like “habits” but it’s not the same thing, even though they’re related. Habits are what we do, our habitus is who we are. It comes from a French sociologist named Pierre Bourdieu.

Basically, it means our internal, habitual, reflexive behavior. When we automatically react to something, we are acting out of our habitus. Our habitus is the combination of our beliefs, our understanding, our personality, and our habits — everything. It’s the core of who we are and why we do what we do.

To be blunt, our habitus can be good or bad. It can be courageous or it can be fearful. It can be selfish or it can be generous. It can be sinister or it can be Christlike. It will choose to love or it will choose to hate. It all depends on what we believe and how we put into action what we believe over a long period of time. Alan Kreider writes about the early church:

The early Christians rarely grew in number because they won arguments; instead they grew because their habitual behavior was distinctive and intriguing.

Their habitus enabled them to address the common and terrible problems that ordinary people faced in ways that offered hope. When challenged about their ideas, Christians pointed to their actions.

They believed that their habitus, their embodied behavior, was eloquent. Their behavior said what they believed. And the sources indicate that it was their habitus more than their ideas that appealed to the majority of the non-Christians who came to join them.

The early church was full of people whose internal core had been completely rewired into something hopeful, optimistic, patient, and joyful. They lived, loved, and reacted differently, “in ways that offered hope,” to the terrible problems life brings all of us. They lived with incredible love and self-control that non-Christians were strongly attracted to.

I wonder: is my habitual behavior “distinctive and intriguing?” Do I “face common and terrible problems in ways that offer hope?” Are my actions reflective of what I believe?

What about you? How would you answer those questions?

Today we’re going to look at a passage of scripture that demonstrates Jesus’ habitus. This passage is called the testing of Jesus because after Jesus fasted 40 days he was tested by the devil. The way Jesus responds gives us a good look at his habitus.

Matthew 4:1–11 ESV

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ” Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.

Some Observations

So let’s start by making a few observations. Jesus had just finished 40 days of fasting and then was tempted by the devil. First, the devil tempted him to turn stones into bread; then the devil tempted him to throw himself off the temple; then the devil tempted Jesus to worship him and in return receive all the kingdoms of this world as his own.

Did you notice how the devil barked at Jesus?

“Say this!” “Do this!” “Do that!” The devil is demanding, bossy, manipulative, and hurried. Jesus is never like that. If you ever feel God is speaking to you like that — in a demanding, bossy, manipulative, hurried way — realize that’s not your Father, it’s your accuser.

The devil talked to Jesus as if the devil was in charge. But notice this: the devil barked three commands at Jesus to no effect. None! Jesus spoke one command to the devil and the devil immediately obeyed!

Jesus has all authority over demonic powers, including the devil. And guess what? You have all of Jesus.

Colossians 2:9–10 ESV

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

Another quick observation is what the devil used to tempt Jesus with. What were the best tools the devil could find in his toolbox to give him the best shot at derailing the Son of God?

The devil tempted Jesus with lots of food. “Turn these stones into bread” (4:3).

Matthew 4:3 ESV

And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.”

The devil tempted Jesus with safety and security. “Throw yourself down…and you will not strike your foot against a stone” (4:6).

Matthew 4:6 ESV

and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ ”

The devil tempted Jesus with wealth and power. “All this I will give you…” (4:9).

Matthew 4:9 ESV

And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

The best tools the devil came up with were comfort, security, wealth and power. Jesus rejects them all.

Now, what does that tell us about the priorities of God?

Comfort, security, wealth, and power are the exact same temptations the devil uses to derail us! They can easily become idols in our life, but not because our desires are too strong, but because they are too weak. God has much greater things in store for us than mere comfort, security, wealth, and power. Those are things of this world that will fade away. We are people who want more: we long for love, justice, peace, purpose, and joy. Those are the better things. C.S. Lewis said,

It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition [comfort, security, wealth, and power] when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the beach. We are far too easily pleased.

How Jesus Responded

The devil tempted Jesus three times with the most powerful ammo he had at his disposal, and each time Jesus held strong and overcame the challenge. Let’s look at Jesus’ habitus, his internal reflexive behavior.

Jesus responded each time with scripture, with relational trust in the Father, and with self-control. These three qualities are part of the internal wiring of Jesus (the human part— we do recognize he is fully human and fully God) that can also become part of our internal wiring as well.

Jesus responded with scripture

Three times the devil tempted Jesus and three times Jesus responded with scripture. Jesus didn’t have a pocket Bible or an iPhone, so these verses were planted deeply in his heart and mind.

Jesus answered,

Matthew 4:4 ESV

But he answered, “It is written, “ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”

Deuteronomy 8:3 ESV

And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

Matthew 4:7 ESV

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’ ”

Deuteronomy 6:16 ESV

“You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah.

Matthew 4:10 ESV

Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “ ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’ ”

Deuteronomy 6:13 ESV

It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear.

When we routinely read and reflect on scripture, it becomes part of who we are.

And here’s the neat thing: when we suddenly find ourselves in a tempting situation, the Holy Spirit brings important verses to our minds in order to strengthen us and encourage us. Scripture gives a voice to the Holy Spirit in our hearts and mind.

Jesus responded out of relational trust in the Father

This takes the scripture response one layer deeper. Jesus responded with scripture, but beneath those verses was a relational trust in the Father the scriptures point to. Jesus did not have a relationship with the Bible, he had a relationship with the God of the Bible. The Bible exists to point us to a living God, a loving Father.

Relational trust is different from mere belief in doctrine. Doctrine is very important! But it is secondary to a relationship with God. Many people have correct doctrine and yet know nothing of a walking fellowship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Others have questionable doctrine but have a relationship with God. These people eventually get their doctrine straightened out because it is God himself — a loving Father and living God — who is leading and helping them.

Relational trust is faith in the Person of God, trust in his character. It is an awareness of his abiding presence in our lives, that he never leaves us alone. Relational trust is walking with God through the ups and the downs of life, receiving love and life from him in all circumstances. Relational trust knows that God is always present, is always loving, is always helping. Even in the midst of terrible circumstances. It doesn’t matter what happens to me, it matters Who is abiding in me.

This relational trust was deeply ingrained in Jesus’ habitus. It can be deeply ingrained in us also.

Jesus responded with self-control

Jesus’ habitus, his reflexive response to the devil, was also one of self-control. Now most of us feel we lack self-control, or at least we lack a large amount of self-control, but I want you to know that self-control is something we can all grow in. It can be part of our core response.

Self-Control Is A Fruit Of The Spirit

One final thought on self-control. It is a fruit of the Spirit. This means as we walk with Christ and abide in him, over time we will grow more and more in self-control. In fact, I want you to know that you have access to a ridiculous amount of self-control! God is infinite in his love and goodness, and he will give you good gifts!

We can’t say to ourselves, “Well, I’m not like other people, I wasn’t born with a lot of self-control.” No one was born with “a lot of self-control” because it develops over time. Have you ever seen a toddler with a ridiculous amount of self-control? Neither have I.

You have direct access to every bit of self-control that you need. And, God is so good and loving that he wants to develop it in relationship with us. That means we get to work it out together as we live in relational trust with him and practice self-control. Urge-surfing and the 10-10-10 Rule are just two practical ways to get started.

Conclusion

Here’s the GOOD NEWS: when you are facing temptation or hardships, you can respond with scripture, relational trust, and self-control! It is possible that your internal, reflexive response to temptation and hardships will become so strong that you can withstand everything the evil one throws at you.

Deep change will happen in our lives. Jesus can and will rewire our core as we wash our minds with scripture, live in relational trust with the Father, and urge-surf our urges to grow in self-control. Our lives will be distinctive and intriguing as we overcome common hardships and temptations in a way that gives hope to others.