Absolutes to Live By

Absolutes to Live By

David Sproule

Sunday, 29 March 2009

Resisting temptation is a great challenge that every Christian must face and conquer. We can have confidence that Satan will constantly come after us and seek to devour us (), which calls upon us to constantly be prepared to deal with his devious schemes. If we choose to wait until the moment that the temptation comes upon us to prepare ourselves to overcome it, we are actually choosing to put ourselves in a position to be overcome by it instead.

The Bible tells us that Jesus “was in all points tempted as we are” (), and we read about one of those occasions in . We know that Jesus devoted Himself to forty days and forty nights of intense preparation for these temptations (which ought to be an indicator to us of the power of the tempter, the seriousness of yielding to him, and the strength we can achieve through the Lord). How did Jesus prepare Himself? What did He do? We find the answer in His responses to Satan’s attacks.

In Jesus’ answer to each of Satan’s snares, it is obvious that preparation for successfully overcoming the tempter’s charms is rooted in studying, meditating upon and writing the words of God upon one’s heart. To quench each of the devil’s darts, Jesus quoted a verse from Deuteronomy (8:3; 6:16; 6:13). Faith comes from hearing the word of God (), and faith is that which overcomes (). If we want to stand stronger against temptations, we must spend more time in the Word.

While each temptation varied in , each of Jesus’ responses, though different, was based on absolutes that each of us needs to live by. If we will use these as foundational principles for our daily activities (what we think, what we do, decisions we make, etc.), then we can follow in the footsteps of our Savior and be prepared to prevail over every deceptive trick the devil throws at us.

“Man shall...live...by EVERY word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Our every step needs to be guided by His every word (not just some or even most).

“You shall NOT tempt the Lord your God.” We must trust the promises of God and not test Him for proof.

“Him ONLY you shall serve.” To serve ourselves, or others or even material things will lead to devastation.

Live by these absolutes and you’ll never go wrong!