THE STRUGGLE AGAINST TEMPTATION

Luk. 22:40 ... "When He arrived at the place, He said to them, 'Pray that you may not enter into temptation.'"

      Temptation is the inducement to commit sin.  The origin and progress of temptation is explained as follows: "Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death," (Jas. 1:14-15).  This tells us that temptation begins with lust and climaxes in sin, which results in death.  We can, therefore, think of it as a road which starts at LUST and ends at DEATH ... for the soul that chooses to travel it.  Lust is the desire for something God has forbidden us to do or to have.  To be "enticed" is to be offered an opportunity to fulfill the desire with encouragement to go for it.  Sin occurs when a person responds to the enticement and acts to fulfill the desire.  Death primarily means separation.  Physical death is separation of the soul from the body.  Spiritual death is separation of the soul from God for all eternity, and therefore from His grace and goodness.

      Yielding to temptation by sinning brings nothing better than a brief season of pleasure, (Heb. 11: 25).  It is a pathetic, wretched reward in comparison to its real outcome, eternal death.  Therefore, one should avoid temptation at all costs.  The Bible tells us various ways to do this, one of the most often mentioned is TO FLEE.  Thus are we urged in II Tim. 2:22 to "flee youthful lusts" and in I Cor. 10:14 to "flee immorality."  After referring to "many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge men (i.e., people) into ruin and destruction," Christians are exhorted to "flee from these things," (I Tim. 6:9, 11).  There is no point in going up against temptation when it is possible to avoid it, because those who play with fire will eventually get burned.  The most effective defense against temptation is obviously to diminish the desire for whatever is forbidden, since temptation is only possible when a person wants what God disallows.

      It is important to realize, however, that confronting temptation is a very challenging and arduous task.  It is not easy to curb a forbidden desire that is growing within you.  In fact, you might not even recognize its nature or power until it is far advanced.  And once it is there, struggling to be fulfilled, Satan comes upon the scene to lend the strength of his persuasion.  Just nine verses previous to the lead text above, Jesus said to Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat."  Satan is never far from anyone, ready to sift him like wheat and entice him to fulfill the forbidden urges.  This is why Jesus said to "pray that you may not enter into temptation."  Active prayer enhances all the other defense mechanisms against temptation that are offered in Scripture.

      When you begin to realize you are entertaining the urge to do something forbidden by God, take the matter to Him immediately in prayer!  Through His Spirit He will help you overcome that desire and put out its flame.  When you are enticed to satisfy a lust, pray to God about it quickly and fully!  He has the power to hold Satan away from you so that you cannot be coerced to fall.  The Bible teaches us to watch alertly for the approach of temptation.  All too often, however, our attention span is so short, and our spiritual vision so myopic, we do not see temptation until it is already ensnaring us.  But DAILY prayer (sincere and not ritual!) will increase your attention span and extend the range of your vision, thus enabling you to take evasive action while the temptation is yet at a distance.  We are also assured that "with the temptation (God) will provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it," (I Cor. 10:13).  But can we take that escape route, if we don't see it?  Just be assured that God will make it evident to you, and then you will see how to escape.

  

PREPARING FOR THE FINAL DAY

      Christians are constantly warned in the New Testament to conduct their lives with a view toward a very specific day in the future.  In this text, spoken by Jesus in the temple a day or two before His crucifixion, He referred to it rather ominously as "that day."  In Mat. 24:36 we are told that no one, except God the Father, knows when that day will be.  But Paul declares in Acts 17:31 that its time has already been fixed in God's mind.  Each day we all move one day closer to that unique day, unique because it is the last day of the existence of the universe.  Scientists theorize that the universe began with a "big bang."  Whether or not that is true, we are assured it will end with a "big bang."  It is written that "the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat," (II Pet. 3:10).  Personally, I am not so concerned about whether the universe began with a bang as I am about being prepared for its certain termination with a big bang.

      The preparation of His disciples for that cataclysmic day is the focus of Jesus' concern in Luk. 21:34.  He has told us it is certain and has also shown us something of the decisive events that will occur therein.  Thus we know it is not only the day when the universe will be destroyed, but the time when Jesus' disciples will forever be separated from those people who will be consigned eternally to a prison of darkness and torment.  Jesus wants us to prepare for that day by becoming His disciples and remaining loyal in  that relationship.  This unceasing loyalty, however, requires concentrated effort, indicated by the warning to "be on guard."  Day by day there are things and conditions that tempt us to come to them for indulgence, drawing our attention away from our commitment to be disciples of Christ and also away from the relentless flow of time toward the appointed day when it all comes to an end.

      Jesus singles out three such distractions, which may be something more of categories than specific entities.  First, He calls attention to being weighed down with dissipation.  This refers to overindulgence in activities that produce physical pleasure.  It is evident that worldly values center on the aim of enjoying life physically as much as possible day after day.  One's life can easily become devoted to pursuing pleasure to the extent that nothing else matters.  Any talk of controlling physical indulgence so that the soul can be conditioned for God's purposes seems folly.  The interpretation of life as indulgence in pleasure is manifestly the prevailing view in our present world.

      Second, Jesus emphasizes the allurement of drunkenness.  The primary reference is clearly to alcohol.  This is specific, but its magnitude is such that it alone will sidetrack countless multitudes from preparation for the final day.  Intoxicating drink has been, and probably always will be, the destruction of untold millions of lives physically, domestically, socially, and spiritually.  It is likely that Jesus also includes in this warning other chemical substances which have the same, or worse, numbing effect upon one's spiritual conscience.

      Third, Jesus points out the danger of the worries of life.  There is a burden of work to be done continually to carry on civilization, and people must train themselves and exercise their skills to accomplish it.  Jesus knows this and approves the Christian's participation in it.  His warning, however,  is directed against making this involvement the sum total of our ambition and energy.

BECOMING LIKE ANGELS

Luk. 20:36 ... "Neither can they die any more, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection."

      It was the week of Jesus' earthly ministry, and He was filling each day with the important work of teaching the great crowds which came to the temple to worship.  The common people listened with wonder and admiration to His lessons, but those of the religious elite were envious and hostile.  It is reported that "they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement to deliver Him up to the rule and the authority of the governor," (v.20).  At times they also challenged Jesus to debate on issues they had carefully planned to become snares to Him.  One of these concerned the Mosaic doctrine of levirate marriage.  If a man died with no son, it became his brother's duty to take the widow as his wife and have a son by her in the name of his dead brother.  The Sadducees contrived a case where a woman was wife to seven brothers consecutively without having a child by any of them.  They wanted Jesus to tell them which of these men would be the woman's husband "in the resurrection."  These men were filled with insincerity and sarcasm, for Sadducees denied there was to be a resurrection.  In His reply, Jesus referred to Exo. 3:6 to show that the resurrection will be a reality.  Then He made the statement in Luk. 20:36.

      Jesus' words reveal the true nature of the condition of the people who are admitted to dwell in heaven after the Judgment.  First, He says, "Neither can they die any more."  Death is a traumatic event for us.  Even when the deceased has lived a righteous, God-fearing life in Christ, his/her departure fills those left behind with deep sorrow and grief, which indicate the love that bonded them.  One of the sublime benefits of residence in heaven is that "there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain," (Rev. 21:4).  The happiness of heaven will suffer no pause from the death of one of its inhabitants.  No funeral procession will mournfully pass its streets.  

      Second, Jesus says that those who enter heaven "are like angels."  In this world, even as God's redeemed, we are inferior in status to angels.  The ancient psalmist wrote, "What is man, that You take thought of him? ... You have made him a little lower than angels," (Psa. 8:4-5).  But when a person is received into heaven, he is elevated in status to that of angels, a grand honor for those who have struggled in the flesh in the sin of this earthly domain.  Angels evidently have no gender and therefore no need for the marriage union, since Jesus said that they "neither marry nor are given in marriage."

      Third, Jesus said that those who enter heaven "are sons of God."  Because in this world Christians are already sons of God, this must refer to an advancement or perfection in their relationship with God.  If we are the children of God there, then God is our Father.  So, here we see an ideal family scene presided over by a perfect Father who always provides the best for His children.

      Fourth, Jesus says that people in heaven are "sons of the resurrection."  In the New Testament a Christian who has died is spoken of as being "asleep in Jesus," (I Ths. 4:14).  Like all other people, Christians must also die, but their status in death is very different from those who are not in the Lord.  When Jesus returns at the end, "the dead in Christ shall rise first ... and thus we shall always be with the Lord," (I Ths. 4:16-17).  In that remarkable event we will exchange our corruptible human bodies for ones that are new and spiritual, (I Ths. 15:50-53).

BLOG INTERMISSION: OVERVIEW

    

      The New Testament has 260 chapters.  Posting an article that highlights a passage in each chapter means that this project will require 260 articles, if it is continued to the end.  At this point, from the beginning last September, I have posted 65 articles.  Each chapter from Matthew 1 through Luke 21 has been featured.  The progression through the New Testament is now at the one-fourth point.  Before proceeding further, I think it good to pause briefly and make a few pertinent observations.

      I have been pleased that so many people in so many places have read the articles.  Outside the United States there have been readers in eleven other countries, especially France and Russia.  I am somewhat astonished that I can share knowledge of the Bible and its inspired message with people whom I do not know and probably never will.  Through this medium I hope a connection has been made that will yield eternal benefits.  The connection is a common knowledge of divine revelation; the eternal benefits, I hope, will be eternal life, since God's word is the word of life.

      Some of my readers are, however, quite known to me.  They are my Facebook friends, people whom I personally know.  A few of you I have had the honor to teach face-to-face in Bible classes in church.  It is my hope and prayer that these articles are meaningful and encouraging to you.  I am trying to write them in such a way as to open up and bring into the light the message in each text that is featured.  Also, I fervently hope that the "spirit" contained in any Scripture passage will enter into the heart of each reader and bring a measure of the encouragement needed to face the vicissitudes of life.  I write and publish these articles for the good of the reader, not for any self-oriented benefit.

      I must admit some disappointment that a great many of my Facebook friends are not reading the articles.  Perhaps you do not see Facebook as a place for teaching/learning, but rather a place for sharing your personal experiences (in vivid photos) with all who care to view them.  Each person may, of course, use Facebook for what he/she wants it to be.  It is the greatest avenue for free speech and self expression I know.  But, friends, each of my articles take only 3-4 minutes to read.  In the trip down your News Feed, surely you can pause that long to read something that might draw your attention briefly toward God and remind you of His desire for your attention.  God is always ready to bless you and waits for you to give Him the opportunity.  It is my fervent desire that in reading one of these articles you give your Heavenly Father that opportunity.  SOLI DEO GLORIA.

HANGING ON JESUS' WORDS

Luk. 19:48 ... "All the people were hanging upon His words."

      After a ministry that lasted about three years, Jesus made the journey to Jerusalem that resulted in His arrest, trial, and crucifixion.  Having passed through Jericho, where He visited in the house of Zacchaeus, He proceeded up into the mountains of Judea to Mt. Olivet, which rises on the east above Jerusalem.  From there He made a triumphal entry into the city, while a great multitude followed along, crying out, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (v.38).  Going directly to the temple, Jesus expelled those within who were engaged in commerce, declaring that "it is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a robbers' den," (v.46).  For the next several days Jesus boldly and publicly taught the great crowds which assembled in the temple courts.

      There were, however, those who looked on Jesus and His work with total contempt.  They were His inveterate enemies -- Pharisees, chief priests, scribes, and "leading men among the people."  (The latter were the top echelons of Jewish society that did not hold public office.)  Almost from the start they had opposed Jesus at every turn and lately had been secretly plotting His death.  Scornful of the multitudes which had joyfully accompanied on His triumphal entry, these bitter antagonists ordered Jesus to "rebuke Your disciples," (v.39).  Jesus, of course, refused.  During the following week as He taught in the temple, these enemies frequently engaged Him in carefully planned debate in an effort to trip Him up and disgrace Him.  To their frustration and dismay, their best laid plans came to naught as Jesus' perception and power of reason proved too much for them.

      As the rulers chafed and fretted while Jesus taught, fervently wishing they could silence Him, the common people "were hanging upon His words."  Throughout Jesus' ministry it had been this way.  The common people went to hear Him, were filled with joy and hope by His lessons, and returned again and again to hear His teach more.  But those at the top of society with vested interests felt threatened by Jesus' doctrine and power, and sought ways to stop Him and His movement.  This pattern did not cease with Jesus' death and ascension to heaven, for the movement He launched did not stop at the end of His earthly ministry.  Under divine guidance the apostles promoted the movement (now in the form of the church) with ever increasing success.  And those with power, wealth, and prestige continued to oppose it.  The same pattern continues to this very day.

      In the final analysis, there are but two sources of wisdom for the human mind to acquire and assimilate into a way of life, that of human experience and that of divine revelation.  Human wisdom is limited by empirical experience, which itself is limited by space and time.  No one has ventured beyond death and returned to tell us what exists there.  No one has journeyed beyond the universe and come back to reveal what lies beyond the furthest edge of this vast capsule of space.  Jesus declared, however, that He was fully knowledgeable of all that lies beyond our space-time limits, since He descended into our domain from the realm of existence without.  The whole issue resolves itself into the matter of faith.  Will one put his faith in Jesus' teaching about things beyond the limits of human perception, or will He reject Him as a fraud and rest the case upon what human reason and discovery can teach him?  Jesus' enemies in Israel chose the latter course.  The common people, however, chose the former and "were hanging on Jesus' words."  Whether one's choice is right or wrong is revealed in the first moment beyond death, but that is one moment too late if Jesus' words, which were rejected, are true.