For It Is Written

by Dr. Paul Chappell
"Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him."
Matthew 4:1-11
God has given you an invaluable weapon in daily warfare.
One year a seminary professor took a sabbatical away from teaching to move to Israel for several months and study the steps Jesus took while on Earth. He took time to visit each site from the New Testament and study what the life of Christ was truly like. On his journey he met a man who claimed to have studied the Bible and knew the entire Old Testament in Hebrew. Shocked, the professor scheduled a time to meet the man over a meal and discuss the Bible.
The professor met the man at a restaurant near his hotel. After greetings and cordial talk, the professor pulled out his Hebrew Bible and asked where to begin. The gentleman stated that Psalms was a good place to start so he began quoting Scripture verse by verse as the professor followed along with his Bible. The man quoted through Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and several other Old Testament books. For over two hours the man quoted Scripture without missing a word. After he was finished, the professor sat stunned, but what happened next stunned him even more. After he was through proving his knowledge of God's Word, the man admitted to the believer that he was an atheist.
I wonder how many unbelievers know God's precious words better than God's own children. God's Word is the core piece of our weapons to fight temptation and the devil's attack. If we don't know God's Word, how can we use it?
Jesus gave us many examples while on Earth, and in Matthew 4, He proved the power of Scripture. With every temptation the devil threw at Him, the Lord answered with Scripture and every time the devil was defeated.
We have the power to defeat the devil. We have the strength to stand up to his attacks. By ourselves, we cannot battle temptation, but as Jesus shows, we have His Word that gives us verse after verse of defense.
How are you battling temptation? It's not enough to have willpower to not give in for even the most staunch willpower is weak against the devil. It is not even enough to simply know the Bible. We must learn to use the Bible in our daily living.
Realize the precious gift you have in God's Word. Don't allow it to become just another piece of your outfit on Sundays, but cherish its words. Use God's Word every day as you fight temptation. Memorize verses and seek help from it when you're under attack. God has given you an invaluable tool in your daily warfare. Don't forget to use that weapon every day.