CROSS OF CHRIST FAITH MINISTRY

Recently a question was brought to my attention from the Frances andFriends Forum regarding the kinds of temptation that Christ sufferedwhile here on earth. This person was concerned as they were beingtaught to believe that Christ was tempted in ALL things includingfornication and homosexual acts. They recognized this as false teachingbut were unsure of how to defend their position. So, what does the Bible reallysay? Was Christ tempted to lie, steal, cheat, commit adultery, and soon? No! While our Lord was most certainly tempted, He was not temptedto do these types of things but was tempted to step outside therevealed will of God.   The account given in Mathew clearly tells usthe type of temptation that Christ suffered and if we understand thisas we should, it is the temptation we all suffer. From the Expositor’s Study Bible “THEN (immediately after the descentof the Holy Spirit upon Him) was Jesus led up (urgently led) of theSpirit (Holy Spirit) into the wilderness (probably close to Jericho) tobe tempted of the Devil (as the Last Adam, He would be tempted in allpoints like as we are [Heb. 4:15; I Cor. 15:21-22, 45, 47]).  “And when He had fasted forty daysand forty nights, He was afterward hungry (other than Christ, three menin the Bible fasted forty days and forty nights: Moses [Deut. 9:9, 18,25; 10:10], Joshua [Ex. 24:13-18; 32:15-17], and Elijah [I Ki. 19:7-8]). “And when the tempter (Satan) came toHim, he said, If You be the Son of God (since You are the Son of God),command that these stones be made bread (Christ was tempted to use HisPower for His Own benefit, which He was to never do). “But He answered and said, It iswritten, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word thatproceeds out of the Mouth of God ([Deut. 8:3]; man is a spiritual beingas well as a physical being; therefore, dependent on God). “Then the Devil took Him up (apowerful force) into the Holy City (Jerusalem), and set Him on apinnacle of the Temple (its highest point, which Josephus stated, wasabout 700 feet from the ravine below), “And said unto Him, If You be the Sonof God (since You are the Son of God), cast Yourself down (literallyspoken): for it is written, He shall give His Angels charge concerningYou: and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest at any time Youdash Your foot against a stone (derived from Psalms 91:11-12). “Jesus said unto him, It is writtenagain, you shall not tempt the Lord your God ([Deut. 6:16]; to temptGod is to question His Word, which casts doubt on His ability to dowhat He has promised). “Again (the third temptation), theDevil took Him up into an exceeding high mountain (not definitelyknown, but probably Nebo), and showed Him all the kingdoms of theworld, and the glory of them (showed them to Him, not in a physicalsense, but rather in a spiritual sense); “And said unto Him, All these thingswill I give You, if You will fall down and worship me (the temptationwas that Christ abrogate the Cross, through which He would regain allthings). “Then said Jesus unto him, Get theehence, Satan (presents Christ for the first time Personally addressingSatan): for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Himonly shall you serve (Satan desires that mankind worship and serve him;we are to worship and serve the Lord Alone).  “Then the Devil left Him (“departedfrom Him for a season,” ministered, we aren’t told)”. (Mat. 4:1-11)meaning that there would be other temptations [Lk. 4:13]), and, behold,Angels came and ministered unto Him (in what manner they ministered, wearen’t told)”. (Mat. 4:1-11) Temptation Common to Man It is obvious from the text that Jesus did nothing but the Father’s will. Thisis where Satan’s temptations centered upon in regards to Christ. It wasto endeavor to get Him to step outside of the revealed Will of God, andto use His power for His own benefit, or to do things not sanctioned bythe Father. That was His temptation! This was actually the firsttemptation recorded in the Word of God. When we look at the temptationleveled against Eve in the Garden of Eden, it was not the fruit thatwas the temptation, but rather to step outside of the revealed Will ofGod!   Even though Adam was not directly tempted, he still disobeyedthe Word of the Lord and stepped outside the will of God.  In fact,every single temptation that man has experienced began with thistemptation, which is to ignore the Word of God, or to register unbeliefas it regards the Word of God. When the Bible tells us that Jesusfaced temptation that was common to all man, it means we are alluniversally tempted to step outside of the prescribed will of God. Inother words, we are tempted to contradict the Word, to violate theWord, or to ignore the Word. Every temptation whether it is lying,stealing, cheating or adultery, begins when one is tempted to stepoutside of the will of God. Satan’s primary purpose will always be totempt us to disobey the Word of God. The temptation of Christ was todisobey the Word, i.e., “disobey His Father.”  However, although He wastempted he never sinned. When we look at the temptation we see that theingredients were all there. He had fasted for 40 days and he washungry! Why not turn the stones to bread? The stones were there and hehad the power to do it. However, to use his power for his own personalgain would have been wrong and the Father had told him not to do such athing. It would have been sin because He would have been steppingoutside the prescribed will of the Father. In this regard Jesus facedwhat we all face. Every sin starts with being tempted to step outsideof God’s will.  So was Jesus tempted to commitadultery and fornication and homosexual acts? NO! However He WAStempted to step outside of the will of His Father even as those whocommit the acts above are tempted to step outside of the will of theFather. The only difference is that Jesus was tempted and did not sin.