“Defeating Temptation” James 4:7 “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Comedian Flip Wilson made this line famous: The devil made me do it! The characters in Wilsons comedy routines often blamed the devil for leading them into trouble. While comedians are not usually a go-to source for biblical theology, Flip Wilson was partly right. The devil cant make anyone do anything, but he can definitely tempt us and influence our choices. But we have defensive measures. Jesus encounter with Satan in the Judean wilderness is a proof-text for the fact that Satan can tempt the child of God. This happened at the very beginning of Jesus public ministry when a failure on His part would have been catastrophic. Satan tempted Jesus three different times with three different enticements. But each time, Jesus rebuffed the offers and remained true to Gods Word and Gods will (Matthew 4:1-11). Though unsuccessful then, Satan departed from [Jesus] until an opportune time (Luke 4:13). James writes that if we do what Jesus did---submit to God in obedient faith and resist the devil---Satan will flee from us (James 4:7). When we live clothed with the armor of God in obedient faith (Ephesians 6:10-18), Satan will be defeated. “Those that would avoid sin must not parley with temptation.” Matthew Henry
Posted on: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:52:19 +0000
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