Sermon Tone Analysis

! Becoming An Overcomer

 

Notes:

 

The Bible teaches that all temptation can be summed up in three areas; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.

When the Bible says that Jesus was tempted in all things as we are, it is referring to these three areas.

Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever (bold mine).

-I John 2:15-17

When the Bible speaks of "every temptation," or "all that is in the world," it is not meant to be interpreted as every specific temptation that has ever been, or ever will be, experienced.

As referenced earlier this would clearly be impossible.

The proper interpretation of "every temptation" is just as I John 2:15-17 defines it.

All that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.

*Every specific temptation that man ever experiences can be categorized in one of these three areas*.

\\ \\ Well then, using I John 2:15-17 as our definition, can we now resolve the dilemma that Jesus Christ was “tempted in all things as we are?”  Indeed we can.

*Scripture clearly teaches that Jesus was tempted in the “all things” that I John 2:15-17 describes: namely, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life*.

Our prooftext is found in Matthew 4:1-11, and again in Luke 4:1-13, commonly referred to as the “*Wilderness Temptation*.”

*Luke 4:3* describes the first temptation:

And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”

The context of this passage is that Jesus had not eaten for 40 days.

He was hungry!

The desire of His physical body was to eat!  Thus, Jesus was being tempted in the area of *THE LUST OF THE FLESH*.

The second temptation that Jesus experiences is as follows:

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.”

-*Luke 4:5-6*

Here Jesus is being tempted with *THE LUST OF THE EYES*.

Satan tempted Jesus by SHOWING Him all of the kingdoms that he had authority to give Him, but Jesus would not succumb to such temptation.

As you might have guessed, the third and final temptation involves *THE BOASTFUL PRIDE OF LIFE*.

*Luke 4:9-11* reads: \\ \\ 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 give His angels charge concerning you to guard You, and on their hands they will bear You up lest You strike Your foot against a stone.”’

\\ \\ Here Satan is tempting Jesus to use the power and authority that He had access to as the Son of God, but which He had committed not to use for the sake of His purpose here on earth (see Phil. 2:6-7).

If Jesus had given in to this temptation He would have been acting out of the BOASTFUL PRIDE OF LIFE, rather than the humble submission to the Father's will to which He knew He had been called.

\\ \\ The amazing truth of scripture is that Jesus succeeded where Adam and Eve failed.

*A careful study of Genesis chapter 3 will show that Adam and Eve were tempted in "all things" just as Jesus was*.

Genesis 3:6 reads: \\ \\ When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate.

\\ \\ The tree of the knowledge of good and evil represented “all that is in the world.”

*A careful study of the preceding passage reveals that Adam and Eve were tempted with* *the lust of the eyes, “it was a delight to the eyes,” the lust of the flesh, “the tree was good for food,” and the boastful pride of life, “the tree was desirable to make one wise.”*

\\ \\ In conclusion, the Bible clearly teaches that Jesus was tempted in all things.

However, the interpretation of such a statement does not mean that He experienced all of the perverse manifestations of the temptations that exist in the world, but that He was tempted with the three root issues from which all sin originates.

Likewise, when the Bible says that "all temptation" is common to man it does not mean that all men experience the same perverse manifestations, but that they are all subject to the same three root issues, namely, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.

All men and women do not experience the temptation to rob a bank, nor is it likely that Jesus ever experienced such a temptation.

All men and women do not experience the temptation to murder, nor do I believe that Jesus ever experienced that temptation.

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NEIL ANDERSON DAILY DEVOTIONAL \\ from Freedom in Christ Ministries

April 24

!!! Satan's Threefold Temptation

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world (1 John 2:16).

You will be better prepared to resist temptation in your life when you realize that, according to the Scriptures, there are only three channels through which Satan will entice you to act independently of God.

They are summarized in John's instructions to believers concerning our relationship to this world: "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.

And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:15-17).

The three channels of temptation are the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

*The lust of the flesh preys on our physical appetites and their gratifications in this world*.

*The lust of the eyes appeals to self-interest and tests the* *Word of God*.

*The pride of life stresses self-promotion and self-exaltation*.

*Satan confronted both the first Adam and the last Adam through each of these three channels of temptation*.

Notice how *Satan used precisely those three channels to deceive Eve*: "When the woman saw that the tree was good for food [lust of the flesh], and that it was a delight to the eyes [lust of the eyes], and that the tree was desirable to make one wise [pride of life], she took from its fruit and ate" (*Genesis 3:6*).

The first Adam failed miserably and we still suffer the results of his failure.

But the last Adam--Jesus Christ--met Satan's threefold temptation head-on and succeeded triumphantly.

In Him we have the resources and the power to conquer every temptation Satan throws at us.

Dear God, please tear down any pride or self-deception I may have concerning Satan's strategies of temptation.

I know I can never become complacent about spiritual warfare.

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!

The Nature of Sin and Temptation

Now the Serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.

And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"

And the woman said to the Serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Then the Serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die.

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing Good and evil."

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:1-6

While we have all read plenty of commentary on the Garden, the Serpent, the Woman and the Man, and a lot about whether God did or did not say what Eve claims, and even what the Serpent claims, there has been little enough about the meaning of verse 6.

*Please note the three ways in which the fruit was a temptation for her*:

#.

Good for food

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Delight to the eyes

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Desirable to make one wise

Now we fast-forward to a time closer to us, when the Serpent is at it again, with a totally different result.

Then Jesus [after His baptism by John], being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the Devil.

And in those days, He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

And the Devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'"

Then the Devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

And the Devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."

And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan!

For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, and set Him 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 shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you,' and 'In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, 'You shall not tempt the Lord your God'" Luke 4:1-12

Too often, what is missed in commenting on this passage is each of these temptations was specifically linked to one of the notorious Messianic Expectations.

During the 400 Years of Silence the popular Jewish writings proposed all sorts of ponderous things that the Messiah would do for His People.

These "prophecies" included that he would see to it no Son of the Law ever went hungry again.

Indeed, the opulence of food would boggle the mind.

Bread would become more common than the flat stones of the Judean Wilderness -- which, by the way, bore a striking resemblance to the flat round bread everyone ate in the Mediterranean Basin those days.

There was also the obvious hope the Messiah would conquer every political foe, making the Jews rulers of the whole world.

Finally, this Messiah would announce himself with stunning miracles, to include specifically leaping off the Pinnacle of the Temple -- that far southeastern corner of the Temple terrace some 70 feet (213 meters) above the valley over which it extended -- and land safely.

Note again here, the nature of the temptations: