life

The Word of God and Temptation

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

Today I’m continuing the blog series on temptation and the tools God has given us to fight it.  Last week, we examined the cross and how what Jesus has done for us on Calvary impacts our fight against sin.

This week, we’re looking at the Word of God and how the Scriptures help us fight our sin and grow in obedience to Jesus Christ.

Back in the 1990s, there was a popular bracelet/saying/shirt that read, “WWJD?”  The abbreviation stood for, “What Would Jesus Do?”  The idea behind the movement/apparel was to make Christians think about, in every situation, what Jesus would do?

I’m usually not a big fan of trendy Christian things, seeing as how all that’s produced over the years is some really cheesy music, really cheesy (and not necessarily biblical) sayings, and a slightly blasphemous “Jesus is my homeboy” t-shirt, but that saying isn’t too far off.  While the Bible, and the Christian life, finds its emphasis and foundation on what Christ has done for us, we certainly, in working out our salvation, want to do what Jesus would do so that we look more like Him and bring Him glory.

In fighting temptation, if we are to do what Jesus would do, we absolutely MUST know the Word of God.  If you are not consistently in God’s Word, you will never grow as a Christian.  I preach to myself, as much as anyone else, because this year has not been the most shining example of Bible study for me.  We have to understand just how crucial it is to be in God’s Word, and specifically in fighting temptation.  Jesus sets the example for us in this area in Matthew 4, as He battles the temptation of the devil.

Satan’s first temptation was to try and make Jesus use His authority and power as the Son of God for selfish needs.  Whenever we see Jesus using His authority and power as God (healing, miracles, etc.), it is always within the context of His ministry  to reveal Himself as the promised Messiah and Lord, and it is always done according to the Father’s will.  Jesus never uses His divine power to meet needs like food, drink or housing.  He never just plays around with His power, a la Jim Carrey in “Bruce Almighty.”  He knows that the Father will provide for Him, which is why He is able to tell us to not be anxious but trust the Father in the Sermon on the Mount.  And He knows that the Word of God says, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” in Deuteronomy 8:3.  Jesus is able to use the truth of God’s Word to fight back against the temptation to meet His own needs in a sinful way when the Father has told Him to trust Him.

Satan then tempts Jesus to test God’s love and care for Him by telling Jesus to throw Himself off the temple.  Satan himself uses Scripture to try and trick Jesus, saying that the Bible says “He will command his angels concerning you,”  and that “On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.”  Here is another reason we must know God’s Word for ourselves–If we don’t, we can be sure that our enemy will use our lack of knowledge of God’s Word to our destruction by twisting His Word and making us believe it says something it doesn’t, doesn’t say something it does, making us believe that we are doing God’s will when we are not.  Jesus sniffs out Satan’s plan and uses another Scripture to rebuke the devil: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.”  Jesus again knows what God’s Word says and combats lies with the truth.

Lastly, Satan tempts Jesus with the kingdom He is promised if He falls down and worships him.  We need to understand what’s happening here:  The devil knows that Jesus will reign as King for eternity.  He (and Jesus) also knows that in order for that to happen, though, Jesus must go to the cross.  And the devil knows that at the cross, his accusations against God’s elect will fall short, for our sins were paid for, and he knows that because Jesus reigns, he does not.  He knows that if he can get Jesus to skip the cross and all the suffering Christ endures for our salvation and His kingdom, he has defeated God.  In this moment of temptation, all of eternity is at stake.  This is a battle for the future of the entire universe.

And our King wins.  How does He win?  By knowing the Word of God.  Jesus Christ overcame the devil’s temptations, continued His life of perfect obedience to God, securing our righteousness, suffered the cross in obedience to God, securing our forgiveness, and rose again from the grave, securing His reign in our lives and in this world and the world to come, all due, in large part, because He knew and trusted God’s Word.  In the moment of temptation, Jesus yells, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.”  Jesus knew that God was God, that Satan was not, and that no matter what happens, He refuses to worship another God.

Hopefully in looking at Christ’s example, we now understand how vital, how crucial, it is that we know God’s Word if we are to work out our salvation in obedience to God and fighting back against Satan and our old sinful flesh.

So what specifically do we look for and utilize in God’s Word in “fighting the good fight of faith?” (1 Tim. 6:12)

First, we look for and trust in God’s promises.  Sin tries to make us believe false promises like: “Looking at that picture won’t kill you.”  “Go on and be angry–you have the right to be angry.”  “No one will know that you do (fill in the blank).”  “God doesn’t: care about you, love you, satisfy you.”  The list goes on and on.  We must know that these are false promises, and we must fight them with the promises in God’s Word.

One of my favorites is Psalm 37:4–“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”  The idea behind this verse is that if you delight in God, He will give you Himself, because He gives you the desires (Him) of your heart! 

Another one that has been of great use lately is Romans 8:6–“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”  Couple this with verse 13: “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live.”  So, according to this promise, if we set our minds and walk (behave) according to our (sinful) flesh, we die.  But if we set our minds and walk (behave) according to the Spirit, we will have life and peace, we will live.  That is, we will have the joy of knowing we are living life the way God intended, we are honoring Him, and it is a sign that we possess eternal life.  We have peace with God through Christ, as Romans 5:1 makes clear, but we have more and more peace as we walk by the Spirit.

Secondly, we allow God’s Word to shape our view of truth.  Just as we fight sin’s false promises, we fight lies and deceit with knowing God’s truth.  In the Garden of Eden, Adam believed a lie instead of believing God (“In the day that you eat of it (the tree of the knowledge of good and evil) you shall surely die.”)  If we are to be renewed in God’s image, we need to encounter God in His Word and grow in our knowledge, faith and obedience to His truth. 

We have our minds, our beliefs, our worldviews, what we believe is true (and not true) changed as we know God’s Word.  So as our sinful flesh or Satan tries to deceive us and make us believe and act according to falsehood, we are now able, in knowing God’s Word, to fight back with the truth, because we know the truth.  But if we don’t know the truth, we cannot live by it.  So we must know the truth. 

Satan may lie to us to make us think that we can now use our freedom in Christ to do whatever we want.  But the New Testament is clear that we belong to Jesus:
“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body”  (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Pet. 2:16). 
“For you were called to freedom, brothers.  Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another” (Gal. 5:13).

The truth of God’s Word is that those who are free from guilt and shame, from the wrath of God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, now belong to God.  We know this truth, we love this truth, and we live out this truth.

Brothers and sisters, join me in knowing God’s promises, knowing His truth, and using this great weapon God has given us to fight against sin and be obedient to the Lord who has saved us by His obedience for His glory.  And let us remember when we do fail, which we will, more than we care to admit, to trust the promise found in 1 John 1:9–“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  When we fail to obey God as we should, we remember our salvation, humbly repent, acknowledging our sin before God and agreeing with Him about it, and trusting Him to forgive us of our sins and to change us by His grace, by His Spirit, and we get up and pursue Jesus, confident that we are forgiven by grace and that Jesus will finish what He started (Phil. 1:6).

May we trust your promises, Father.  May we know your truth and live in it.  May we never forget that we are righteous before you through faith, and may we continue to learn to live out the salvation we have in your Son.  May you give us strength, faith and grace for the battles that lie ahead.  May you be glorified in our gospel-believing, grace-driven and faith-driven efforts to be more like Jesus and honor your great name.  Amen.

God bless,
Neal E.

Next week, we examine the role of the Holy Spirit in fighting temptation.  As always, if you have any comments, questions, concerns, etc., feel free to leave them here or email me at nembry@charter.net.  You can also find me on Twitter at @NealEmbry. 

Preparing for the Return of the King: Matthew 25

/ Neal Embry / 2 Comments

The Lord of the Rings trilogy finished up with The Return of the King in 2003.  The final movie in the series was heralded as the best of the set, winning 11 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Peter Jackson.  The movie was highly anticipated.  I remember as a young kid who had just finished reading through the series how excited I was to see the last movie in the series.  In my astounding 12-year old wisdom, I thought Mr. Jackson had done an admirable job turning the epic novels into epic movies.  And of course I wasn’t the only one.  If my memory serves me correctly, my mom and I stood in line for at least 15 minutes to get into the theater (which feels like 5 hours to a 12-year old nerd like me).  Everyone in America it seemed was eagerly awaiting the Return of the King.

Now to make the cheesy transition that’s been evident since you read the title:

Are we as Christians prepared for the return of our King?  Jesus challenges His followers in Matthew 25, right after He’s discussed the actual event of His coming back, to see and ensure that they are doing what is befitting a disciple of Christ waiting on His return.

One of the greatest truths surrounding God’s Word is that it continues to speak to, encourage and challenge us today.  As I read Jesus’ words about being prepared for His return and what the life of the disciple should look like in Matt. 25, I was challenged to look into my life and see if I was bearing this fruit, and what steps I can take to continue to bear it.  I was brought to repentance over wasting time, over being too Neal-centered instead of being God-centered, and looking out for me instead of the least of these.  And I’m brought to a humble admission that I know that I want to honor God by obeying His commands found here, but I’m not entirely sure how exactly it looks in my life.  But I know who does.  And I’m asking Him to show me, to change me, and to help me move forward in this.  So what exactly is it that God is saying, not just to me, but to all believers, in Matt. 25?  Let’s look.

The chapter is split into two parables and one prophecy (a parable is an earthly story with heavenly meaning).  The first deals with ten virgins.  In case there’s any misunderstanding, Jesus is not condoning polygamy here.  He’s also not saying that there is any kind of sexual relationship between Christ (the bridegroom) and the church (the virgins).  The virgins represent the Church because as sex is the consummation of marriage, so the return of Christ is the consummation of the kingdom and Christ’s marriage to the church (again, sans sex).  Sex, as wonderful a gift as it is, is a foretaste of the joy we will have when Christ returns for His Bride.  Lord, let us anticipate this with faith and joy!

So, with that important background information, let’s keep going.  The virgins go to meet the bridegroom at night, to go to his home for a wedding feast, a celebration.  But five of them don’t bring enough oil for the journey, and they all (even the wise ones) fall asleep due to the groom’s delay.  But when the call for the virgins to rise and meet the bridegroom comes, those who have oil are prepared, they get up, and they go to their husband. And when the five who forgot oil ask the five who brought it, they’re told to go buy some.  In the process, the groom comes back, the five wise virgins go to the feast, and the other five, well…”Afterward, the other virgins came also, syaing, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” 

Jesus doesn’t know them.  They haven’t lost their place at the table.  They haven’t simply shown up late.  Jesus never knew them.  To put that in layman’s terms, these women were never saved in the first place.  In Matt. 7:21, another one of those terrifying verses, Jesus says to the men boasting in their works, “Depart from me, I NEVER knew you.”  He never knew them.  Ever.

So the point we need to grab first here is that perseverance, and sticking with Jesus, is necessary for salvation.  No, it doesn’t bring justification.  But if you are truly justified, you will persevere.  If you do not persevere, you do not lose your salvation–it is proven that you never had it in the first place.  And what kept those women from persevering?  They didn’t bring enough oil!  They forgot the most important thing!  That’s the equivalent of me going out to eat and forgetting my wallet, or going to the car without my keys.  First-century lamps don’t run without oil!

The lesson for us, or better put, the challenge for us: Have we “counted the cost” of following Christ?  Are we ensuring that there is nothing we need to add or take away to or from our lives to help us obey Christ until the end?  The oil here is most likely referring to continuing in the Spirit and/or faith in Christ.  And to be sure, our foundation for perseverance should be faith in the Lord who makes promises like Phil. 1:6, and in the work of the Spirit who is able to make us holy.  But we join God in His work, and the challenge from this first parable is this: Is there anything I need to add to or take away from my life to ensure that I will be faithful to obey and walk with Jesus until the end, whether in my death or His return?

The second parable is the parable of the talents.  The master gives three servants three different amounts of money.  To one, he gives five talents; to another, two; and to another, one talent.  The first two both make a return on the investment, while the other buries it and does nothing with it.  As in the first parable, this servant is thrown in hell.  Why?  Because his attitude betrayed his false profession of faith.  Make no mistake about it: While your works do not in any way justify you, the Bible is clear that your actions/works back up your claim to be justified. 

The servant was given a gift by his master, and he was selfish and prideful.  He wanted it for himself instead of giving glory to his master.  He was lazy, afraid of the man he thought “harsh, reaping where (he) did not sow, and gathering where (he) scattered no seed.”  There was a misperception of the master.  How can our misperceptions of Jesus alter our faithfulness to Him?  If we think Him the gracious, yet firm Savior and Lord that He is, we will trust and obey.  If we think Him harsh, we will not.  May God grant us the faith and the eyes to see and embrace Jesus as He is.  And may we reject the laziness of this man, afraid to take God’s gifts and go out into the world and do something for His glory with them.

The challenge: How can we use our gifts (spiritual, financial, jobs, etc.) to advance  God’s kingdom?  How can we use all that God has given us to point people to Christ for salvation and to worship God for all that He is?

The last section of Matt. 25 is Christ’s prophecy concerning final judgment.  There will be people that inherit the kingdom, and people that inherit hell, and Christ Himself will separate them.  To one group, Christ says “Come in to the kingdom,” lauding their caring for the least of these, reckoning it as service to Him directly.  They, surprised that Jesus says they served Him, ask when they saw Him in need, and He responds by saying, “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.'”  And to the group that failed to look after the least of these, He says, “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'”  And again, they go to hell.

In this context, Jesus is speaking of caring for the least of these within the Church.  However, we know that God’s command is that we care for the least of these outside the church as well.  But there’s a special kind of love for the Church belonging to the Christian.  And this is an indicator of salvation.  Scripture is clear:  You cannot claim to be a Christian, under the Lordship of Christ, trusting His salvation, and disregard or hate the church.  You cannot.  Jesus has left no room for it.  If you do not love God’s people, you do not love God.  If you do not support the mission of the Church (so long as the mission of the Church has remained biblical), you do not support the mission of God.  So great is the union between Christ and His Bride that hatred of her is hatred of Him.  And love for her is love for Him. 

The challenge: How can we utilize our time/gifts/etc. to care for the least of these, especially in the church, and outside the church as well?

These are hard challenges.  My prayer is that you are already either doing these things, or you, like me, see some fruit of this, but a need to repent and move toward this in your life.  Our King is coming back.  This is what He has commanded we do as we wait: do whatever is necessary to follow Him fully, use all that He’s given us for His glory, and care for the least of these.

And, as I admitted before, I’m not completely sure what that looks like in my life.  I have ideas.  But I also have a Hebrew midterm on Saturday, and not a lot of uninterrupted time to get these thoughts down and think through it.  So my prayer/plan is that God would not let me waste these next few days, that He would show me what I can do immediately to start doing this, and then on Monday, when I get several hours of uninterrupted free time, that God would show me, through prayer, through worship, through His Word, how I can do these things in my life as I wait to see my Savior’s face.

How about you?  Perhaps you read this right after it’s posted, and you have a day off tomorrow.  Fast.  Seek God’s Word, seek His will and ask how these things can be done in your life, for your joy and holiness, and for God’s glory.  I encourage anyone to join me Monday as I take a break from food/TV/Internet/phones to hear from God about this.  And I encourage you to join me in trusting Christ as Savior and Lord, and looking forward to seeing His face and being with Him for all eternity, if you have never done this.  This is the first, and most important step, to honoring and obeying God in Matt. 25.

Let’s do this, Church.

Lord, may you show us how we can commit more fully to obedience and your glory in our lives.  May we seek to use all that you have given us for your glory, that you would be worshiped for all that you are.  Lord, help us persevere in faith, continuing to rely on what you’ve done for us, trusting you as Lord to finish what you started, and as we wait for your return, may we love the least of these, especially in our own family.  May we rejoice at your coming, as salvation is finished, as we leave our sinful flesh behind, as we come to complete and eternal joy in you.  May all of these things be done for our joy, for our holiness, and for your glory.

God bless,
Neal E.