Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. 

                                                                                                           Luke 4:1-2 

Today: Read Luke 4

Who would be the only one in all of history that would have wanted Jesus to fail in His mission of redeeming mankind? That’s right! We have a spiritual enemy and his name is Satan. He is known by many different names (the devil, the serpent of old, Beelzebub) but his mission is the same. He hates God, hates God’s creation, and hates us. His mission is to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). If he could have somehow tripped up Jesus through the temptations in the wilderness, then Christ would not have been the unblemished, perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). Instead, like all of the rest of humanity, Jesus would have been relegated to the status of fallen. Although tired and weak from forty days of not eating, Jesus did not fall to the schemes of the devil rather He triumphed over them, completing His mission to be the only physical being to walk the earth without sin. Then He gave up His own life and in an emphatic, glorious exclamation of His power over sin and death, He rose again! Jesus, victor over the temptations of the devil!

Every one of us has been called to be a reflection of the wonderful love, grace, and mercy of Christ. We, like Jesus, can expect temptation and also, like Christ, we can overcome through His power. What we need is a strategy to recognize and defeat this vile, hateful, spiritual enemy. Here are three scriptural truths to assists us in this effort.

1. The Strategy Of Wrong Belief

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.                                                                                  

                                                                                                2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

One strategy used by our enemy is that of wrong belief. Sometimes I wonder how many people there are in the world today that are believing the wrong thing. When you consider how many are outside of the body of Christ then add to that those who claim to be Christians without any biblical foundation for such a claim, I would suggest to you that most people are without a solid spiritual foundation. Just ask people questions such as, “What is the meaning of life?”, “Do you believe in heaven and hell?”, “How many ways are there to get to heaven?”, and “Who do you believe Jesus to be?” and see the variety of thoughts and opinions that are had.

I believe that this strategy of wrong belief is most widely executed by keeping people away from biblical truth. Paul instructs us that it is the enemy that is blinding the minds of the unbelieving. This truth is established by Jesus in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:19, Mark 4:15, Luke 8:12). It is also the devil that desires to see Christians remain in a weakened state, staying spiritually stagnant. I believe that we play right into his hands when we ignore a basic principle of spiritual growth, spending time daily in God’s Word. It is highly possible that many people form opinions about scripture without actually looking to see what it says. It is also quite possible that many shy away from biblical truth because it allows them to establish their own truth and continue living life on their own terms. Whatever may be the case, claiming salvation by faith in Jesus while possessing apathy toward studying scripture, seems contradictory. We must know who our enemy is and what weapons we have to fight against him. Jesus used scripture to defeat the devil. What about us?

2. The Strategy Of Destructive Behavior

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. 

                                                                                                       James 1:13 

In addition to deceiving us into wrong believing, our enemy will also attempt to get us involved in wrong actions. Temptation to do wrong does not come from God. He is not the one tempting us to fall into sin. Our spiritual enemy understands that while God does not fall into temptation, we certainly can and do. If there is any among us who is able to negotiate the snares of this life and the temptations that so easily beset us without failure, we need that person to step forth and assist the rest of us in our walk. Of course, none of us can claim absolute perfection in this life. Only Christ can lay claim to that truth. For the rest of us, the battle to do what is right and avoid what is wrong can be a daily struggle. Paul was no stranger to this battle between the spiritual man and the flesh (Romans 7:14-25). But we have powerful weapons in which to fight against the schemes of the devil and avoid destructive behaviors. The power of the Holy Spirit should never be minimized. Paul tells us that if we walk in the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). It is this daily relational walk with God through Christ that enables us to see the fallacies of this world and to stay away from the things that would derail our spiritual effectiveness. Jesus was constantly and consistently about His Father’s business. What about us?

3. The Strategy Of Guilt, Shame, And Ineffectiveness

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

                                                                                                James 5:8 

Lastly, we see the attempt on the part of the enemy to destroy what God purposes for our lives. This is where the enemy can get us coming and going. If we are walking upright, temptation can present itself. If we fall, then guilt, shame, and ineffectiveness can soon follow. This is where I believe the church needs to practice the very truth that they proclaim. Consider the following truths:

(a) God offers forgiveness and grace to cover us every time that we fail.

(b) Our authority to serve God comes from Him through His calling on our lives.

(c) The power to effectively carry out His purpose for us also comes through His Spirit.

Why do we often preach forgiveness, grace, and restoration, only to dismiss those among us who fail? If the church is not preaching grace and forgiveness, that in itself is problematic. But for the church that understands that failure does not mean the end to God’s calling, its actions need to mirror its message.

We have an enemy that would like nothing more than to derail us from fulfilling the calling that God has on our lives. I find it interesting that when people fail, they often leave the church, which is the very opposite of what they should be doing. This same enemy would like to divide, disrupt, and destroy the work of the church so that the end result will be ineffectiveness. When we fail, instead of lamenting our failures and licking our spiritual wounds, we should go to God, asking for forgiveness and restoration and then move forward in the power of knowing that those spiritual realities are ours to enjoy.

We have an enemy. He has a strategy. He blinds the minds of people so that they will not be saved (Luke 8:12). He wants to distract us with the trappings of this world (1 John 2:15-17). And when we fail, he wants to bring us into the subjection of guilt and shame so that our lives will in effect become spiritually stagnated. Jesus resisted the devil and he departed from Him. We can do the same (James 4:7).