Salvation in the Face of Temptation

[Prayer-Soldier]

Salvation in the Face of Temptation

Scripture:

And the Lord God formed man of the slime of the earth: and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God had planted a paradise of pleasure from the beginning: wherein he placed man whom he had formed. And the Lord God brought forth of the ground all manner of trees, fair to behold, and pleasant to eat of: the tree of life also in the midst of paradise: and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was more subtle than any of the beasts of the earth which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman: Why has God commanded you, that you should not eat of every tree of paradise? And the woman answered him, saying: Of the fruit of the trees that are in paradise we do eat: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of paradise, God has commanded us that we should not eat; and that we should not touch it, lest perhaps we die. And the serpent said to the woman: No, you shall not die the death. For God does know that in what day soever you shall eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened: and you shall be as Gods, knowing good and evil. And the woman saw that the tree was good to eat, and fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold: and she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave to her husband, who did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened: and when they perceived themselves to be naked, they sewed together fig leaves, and made themselves aprons. (Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7)

Wherefore as by one man sin entered into this world and by sin death: and so death passed upon all men, in whom all have sinned. For until the law sin was in the world: but sin was not imputed, when the law was not. But death reigned from Adam unto Moses, even over them also who have not sinned, after the similitude of the transgression of Adam, who is a figure of him who was to come. But not as the offense, so also the gift. For if by the offense of one, many died: much more the grace of God and the gift, by the grace of one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many. And not as it was by one sin, so also is the gift. For judgment indeed was by one unto condemnation: but grace is of many offenses unto justification. For if by offense of one man death reigned through one; much more they who receive abundance of grace and of the gift and of justice shall reign in life through one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by the offense of one, unto all men to condemnation: so also by the justice of one, unto all men to justification of life. For as by the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners: so also by the obedience of one, many shall be made just. (Romans 5:12-19)

Then Jesus was led by the spirit into the desert, to be tempted by the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was hungry. And the tempter coming said to him: If you be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Who answered and said: It is written, Not in bread alone does man live, but in every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him upon the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him: If you be the Son of God, cast yourself down, for it is written: That he has given his angels charge over you, and in their hands shall they bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone. Jesus said to him: It is written again: You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

Again the devil took him up into a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them, and said to him: All these will I give you, if falling down you will adore me. Then Jesus said to him: Be gone, Satan: for it is written: The Lord your God shall you adore, and him only shall you serve. Then the devil left him; and behold angels came and ministered to him. (Matthew 4:1-11)

Reflection:

As Eve gave into the temptation of the serpent of the garden, a struggle that would continue throughout all generations was set in motion. In that moment, the eyes of the children of the creation of God were opened to what is good and evil. We might be tempted to blame Eve for all which has transpired since, but we must not forget that the same choice was given to Adam; indeed, it lays before us all and will continue into the days of our children and all the generations to follow.

We have the choice of obedience to the will of God or to turn away from Him. It is this freewill, which God allows us, that gives meaning to our choices. Though the desire of God is that we walk with Him, He allows us to experience the consequences of our choices, perhaps so we may learn to trust in His ways. The evil one cares not what we learn, only that in the course of our choices, that we turn away from our Creator.

We must consider there are many ways by which the serpent seeks to tempt us and in a variety of ways we may not expect. For example; there is the sin of loving the law more than we love the One who gave it to us to be our guide. The purpose of the law of God is so that we may live in love of Him as well as one another, but the law may also be misused. In such moments, our temptation is not that we may fail to live according to its letter, but that we fail to live by its purpose and meaning. The consequence of our sin is not always immediately obvious when we turn away from that which God intends, but an evil consequence comes none the less.

The temptation of Eve, and subsequently Adam, continues to play out through to this very day. The serpent we face takes many forms. His goal is to turn us away from our responsibilities and that which is right and just. He seeks to blind us with our selfishness and the twisted logic by which we seek to justify our evils. Sadly, despite all which history reveals to us, despite all which the generations have seen; we appear to be no wiser than the first couple in the garden.

It is by our choice we open our souls to what comes of the light or the consequences of the darkness. It is by our weakness that we continuously condemn ourselves, but we are blessed that One was sent for our salvation. It is by the choice of the One who has remained forever obedient to our Heavenly Father by which we may be forgiven our failures. It is by His blood by which we may wash our robes white so that we may prepare for the day He will gather us into His kingdom. (Revelation 7:14)

Blessed are we that God loves us so much that He sent His only begotten Son for our salvation. Blessed are we that God seeks not to condemn the world, but to save it; but we must not have any illusion, the evil one continues to plot to undo all the good which God offers to us. We can expect that the one of darkness shall probe us daily. He will tempt us by many means, even with the scripture of God, just as the devil attempted to do with the Son.

Jesus was able to see through the twisted words of the devil because Jesus not only knows the words of scripture, but He knows their purpose, precedence, and meaning. Through His parables, Jesus seeks to teach us that if the outcome of what we do or fail to do is contrary to the commandments of love, then, our choice will not yield what is right and just. We may apply any logic we wish, but if our choice yields indifference to God or unjust harm to another child of His creation, then, the path to which we are tempted is clearly one of darkness.

We see many who are blinded. We see many who are confused. We see where there are those who make up their own rules or seek justifications in partial or twisted words. The question, though, is do we observe our own blindness? Are we aware of our own confusion? Do we comprehend what will cure our blindness and where we may find the knowledge and wisdom by which we may cure our confusion? The answer may be found in His Holy Word, but we cannot hope to fully comprehend all which it contains unless we allow our hearts to be guided by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who was sent to remind us of all which Jesus teaches. (John 14:26) It is the Holy Spirit which testifies to the truth. (1 John 5:6)

Let us, then, pray the Holy Spirit will guide us as we consider what may come from our choices. Let us pray the wisdom of the Lord will protect us from the twisted words of the evil one. Let us seek, daily, the wisdom of the Lord.

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways do we face today the choice faced by Adam and Eve?

In what ways may we deal with our temptations?

Why is it important that we study and pray so that we may comprehend the full meaning of the Word of God, not just the surface of its letters?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier