Four Words To Fight Temptation

Today we find ourselves almost to the end of the Lord's Prayer from Matthew 6. We dealt with forgiveness yesterday..."forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors". That brings us to a verse that in my opinion is often misunderstood.

You have probably heard someone say something along the lines of "the temptation was just too strong, and I gave in". Maybe you've even said that yourself. When we get to Matthew 6:13 "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.", we stumble upon something that every believer faces every day, perhaps almost every moment of every day - temptation.

Now temptation in and of itself is not a sin. In fact, one definition of temptation is "an enticement to do wrong by a promise of pleasure or gain". We know that temptation is not a sin because Jesus lived a sinless life, yet the best illustration in scripture regarding temptation has Jesus as the "star" of the scene. It's found just a few chapters before we get to our text on the Lord's Prayer.

Matthew 4:1-11 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do 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 splendor. "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

The best way to avoid being led into temptation is to follow our role model Jesus. Unlike our temptations, which are mostly initiated by our own flesh, Jesus is dealing with the master of deception, satan, who even tries tripping Jesus up with scripture. So what was the strategy Jesus used to fight temptation? I think it can be boiled down to four words that we can carry with us every day.

Those four words aren't "I shouldn't do it", "Please help me Jesus", or even "I will not sin". The four words tap into the only power we have against temptation. "As it is written" are the four words found throughout the story of the devil tempting Jesus. I think it's incredibly important to catch this.... Jesus, who lived a perfect, sinless, blameless, and holy life did not depend on anything in himself when it came to resisting temptation. He went straight back to to source of His strength, the word of God.

Psalm 119:11 is one of my favorite verses. It reminds me of this strategy that Jesus used when fighting temptation. It says "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

So when we find ourselves battling temptation today, let's remember where our strength is found... not in our weak and ever-changing flesh, but in the power of the inerrant, unchanging word of God!

Have A BLESSED day and Live for Jesus!

Whatever It Takes,
Chip