April 27, 2012

Hebrews 2:18  Because he (Jesus Christ) himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Back in the day when I attended Second Baptist here in Springfield, John Marshall, senior pastor, used to preach/teach from each verse in the Bible.  I remember one of his reasonings was so he would avoid those pet issues becoming a frequent sermon themes.  I don't know if he still follows this pattern, but I remember thinking, "No way a single verse can be the basis for 30 minutes of preaching."  I quickly learned that was not the case.

After reading and ruminating on Hebrews 2:18, three things jumped out at me.

The first of which is the focus of Blackaby's entry for today.  Blackaby points out that as followers of Jesus Christ, we have Lord and Savior who, because of God's perfect plan of salvation, is able to identify perfectly with any temptation we face because he was similarly tempted.  Blackaby writes, "Ours is not an unsympathetic God who is unconcerned with our struggle to live righteously, but we follow a God who knows how difficult it is to resist sin and withstand temptation."  The desert and Garden of Gethsemane were not the only times Christ was tempted.  He was fully man during his time on earth and with that came all the same temptations, desires and yearnings all humans and specifically men face.  The difference is that he allowed God to direct, edit and control those human feelings, thoughts and actions.

Second, I find it interesting the verse states, "Because he himself suffered when he was tempted. . ."  I had never considered that temptation itself can create suffering.  Even if we don't act on that temptation, it can still create unrest, discomfort, even suffering.  As I ponder this even more, I recall specific times when resisting temptation created a very real, ongoing, intense struggle.  Many times temptation is not as easy to overcome as simply recalling a Bible verse.  I wonder if there would be more spiritual victories if, as Christians, if we recognized and embraced the fact that resisting temptation is a very real, intense and sustained battle.  It's hard not to sin!

Finally, "he is able to help those who are being tempted."  This suggests that temptation is an ongoing, never-ending part of life.  Paul did not write, "those who were tempted" or "those who are occasionally tempted".  We "ARE" being tempted.  Because of this it is imperative that we "pray continually" (1 Thes 5:17) to our Heavenly Father and remember that our Lord and Savior is able to help us because us because "he himself suffered when he was tempted."