The three temptations Satan 503s - 5 - 6

Sola scriptura, "by Scripture alone"

First - Nourishment

Mat 4:3-4, “And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.”

Second - Security

Matthew 4:6-7, “And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”

Third - Power/ Glory

Matthew 4:8-10, “Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
To each temptation offered by Satan Jesus responded with Scripture invoking the name of God. Reminiscent of Jude 1:9, “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.”

Perhaps God allows us to be tempted as a test and/or as a spiritual growth opportunity.

This summer I opened a little shop, now closed for the winter. It will reopen May 2015. As a BAC among mostly unbelievers there was/ will be the temptation to be politically correct; to bit my tongue when I hear potential customers/ other sellers promoting the theology that “All roads lead to God.” Then there is the fact that there is a major Mormon population claiming to be Christian while promoting false doctrine. Add to that those of the “New Age” and their “Designer god(s).”  

A discussion question from SD501 - Introduction to Spiritual Disciplines involved the important of making spiritual deposits?” Studying the Bible, attending/ leading Bible studies and really immersing myself in the Word is comparable to making “spiritual knowledge deposits.” Then I can make a withdrawal from my spiritual account to witness and to sweetly (PC) add, “It’s not me saying that, it’s in the Bible.”