Prinsep Street Presbyterian Church
Sunday Worship Service
13th February 2005
Text : Luke 4:1–13 (cf. Matthew 4:1–11)
Title : Temptations Along the Way
Introduction
When tempted to sin, if only we would see the real filth we would be kissing if we succumb to it.
Temptation Testing / Trials
Origin Satan, flesh and world God
Object To succumb To sanctify / strengthen
Opportunity Trust / Obedience Trust / Obedience
Overall Outworking of God’s sovereign will
The Fourfold Purposes Christ’s Temptation in the Wilderness:
• To reclaim the victory over temptation lost in the Garden of Eden (Romans 5:12–21)
Temptations: The Two Adams Contrasted
1 John 2:16 Genesis 3:6
(First Adam) Luke 4:1–13
(Second Adam – Christ)
“the lust of the flesh” “the tree was good for food” “command this stone to become bread”
“the lust of the eyes” “it was pleasant to the eyes” “the devil showed him all the kingdoms”
“the pride of life” “a tree desirable to make one wise” “throw Yourself down from here”
• To reinstate the victory of Israel lost in the wilderness (Deuteronomy 6:13, 16; 8:3). All of Jesus’ quotations from the OT come from Deuteronomy where Moses makes references to the historical experience of the nation Israel. The period of forty days and place in the wilderness parallel the historical experience of Israel being tested for forty years’ of wandering in the wilderness. What the nation Israel failed, Jesus the Son in whom God the Father is well pleased, passed all the tests of trust in God and obedience to Him.
• To reveal His FULL humanity in subjecting himself to the temptations here that are representative of the full range of human weaknesses (Hebrews 4:15).
• To reject any notion that temptation itself is sin and disobedience (James 1:15).
The Will of God
“…led by the Spirit into the desert…” (NASB)
The Work of the Devil
• Testing our strength – “if you are the Son of God…”
• Testing our rights – “…it will be yours.”
• Testing our steadfastness – “…the devil…left him until an opportune time.”
The Word of God
“It is written…” and “…it says…”
Truth for Life
Here is the STRATEGY in battling temptations:
• Be Scriptural: Is it a temptation to resist or an opportunity to seize?
• Be Straightforward: Is it revealing an area of weakness in my life?
• Be Submissive: Is there a way out that God has provided that I am unwilling to obey? (1 Corinthians 10:13)
Here is the CHALLENGE for you:
What is the ONE area in your life that you are currently struggling against temptations? Are you willing to be…
• Scriptural in assessing the situation,
• Straightforward in acknowledging your sinful inclinations, and
• Submissive to follow God’s provision of a way out?
Do we mean what we pray and pray what we mean every Sunday in the worship service the petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil One”? The problem with temptation is not that we are powerless or that it is pointless in trying to resist it because there is no way out. Rather, the heart of the problem with temptation is the heart: we don’t want the way out because we will not quit the sin!
