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The Roller Coaster of Faith | Matthew 4:1-11
Hold fast to the Word and you'll be alright
Caleb Lee
January 09, 2024
Being a Christian is hard.
It often seems like you come off a spiritually rich season and enter a season of temptation and struggle.
The good news is that it happened to Jesus too (Though he didn’t fall to temptations as many of us do).
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, “It is written,
“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 Then the devil took him to the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 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.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 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.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
This scene comes right on the heels of Jesus’ baptism, where the Spirit falls on Him and God the Father says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
If this happens to Christ, how can we expect anything different for ourselves? It’s expected behavior for the Enemy to tempt us back into our old ways before we’re able to find momentum on our spiritual journeys.
8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
But even though the Enemy is always on our case, Jesus shows us how to deal with the temptations as they come.
Knowing Scripture.
Satan knows Scripture well. He uses that knowledge to try and justify sin, as we see in Genesis with Eve in the garden, and here in Matthew with Jesus in the wilderness.
The only defense is knowing enough Scripture to discern the truth from half-truth.
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
Like I said from the beginning, Christianity is hard. But it’s worth it.
Have a blessed Tuesday my friends.
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