Week 6 in Review

We’re halfway through the reading challenge! I’ve been loving the gospel of Luke. The portion of scripture I’d like to dig into this week is Luke 4:9-12, where the devil is tempting Jesus.

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

And Jesus answered him,“It is said,‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” - Luke 4:9-12

I found this very interesting, the devil actually knows and uses scripture to try and deceive Jesus. The trick here is that the scripture has been taken out of context. Through these couple verses we get to look behind enemy lines to see how we may be deceived. Satan and people’s inherently sinful hearts will take scripture and twist it to trick others or ourselves into believing something that the bible does not say, or even expressly forbids.

So what can we do about this? How can we avoid being deceived in this way? Jesus’ response to the deception gives us our first solution. He quotes scripture! Using his knowledge of and obedience to the law of God, he rebukes Satan. We need God’s word to be our authority and the lens through which we view the world and teachings. The only way we can do that is by knowing and obeying God’s word through his Spirit!

Another way for us to work through potentially false teaching or twisting of scripture is given to us by the account of Paul and Silas in Berea.

Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. - Acts 17:11-12

The Bereans eagerly received the word brought to them by Paul and Silas, but they didn’t stop there. They went to the word of God to ensure that what was being taught was true. We too should approach teachings in this way. So, if we try that with the scripture quoted by the devil what do we find? He quotes Psalm 91:11-12, reading the entire chapter what we find is that the promise quoted by Satan is for those who have made the Lord their dwelling place and refuge. You can’t do that and obey the enemy’s command.

Brothers and sisters, let’s test the teachings we hear against his infallible and unchanging written word! Let us pray that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, would guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:7), because even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light; so it is no surprise that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness (2 Cor 11:14-15). Christian, to resist the false teachings and attacks of the enemy and our own sinful natures, we need to be lovers, study-ers and obey-ers of God’s word through his Holy Spirit! So let’s be in his Word!

Have a blessed week!