Temptation

Christianity is not about obeying rules, but about following a person - the Lord Jesus. We know that, and yet, when we want to become 'better Christians' - i.e. more like Jesus - we say to ourselves, 'I must not do that again'; 'I must try harder'; 'I ought to do this'. We make ourselves rules to follow! And then, when we fail again, we feel guilty, useless, a failure, and we end up in a dark and depressing place.

And so, when we read about the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness (Mat 4; Luk 4), we remember that old sermon which concluded, 'If only you would read & learn your Bible, then you'd be able to quote it at the Devil and overcome temptation just like Jesus.' But we don't. And we know we never will. We fail. And we end up burdened by guilt.

But what if, rather than asking, 'What does this passage tell me to do/not to do?' we ask, 'What does this passage tell me about Jesus?' Well, it tells me that though he faced the same temptations I face, he did not succumb. He did not sin. He did what I cannot do. He did what Israel always failed to do. He is (Mat 4:2) God's faithful Son.

And so, having been crucified as an innocent man (Mat 27:19 & 23) he is raised by God from death. Because he resisted temptation, he is able to deal with our failure, our sin, our guilt when he dies on the cross and is raised to new life.

So the temptation of Jesus is not a stick to beat us with - 'You must learn you Bible' - but wonderful news about Jesus - 'He does what you cannot do, and frees you from your failure. He wins for you a new resurrection life.'

But still we want to make progress in godliness. We can't just carry on in our sin and say, 'Never mind Jesus died to forgive me.' So how do we make progress if it's not by obeying rules? We follow a person. Jesus, and when we fail, we thank God for Jesus. We praise him that there is an alternative to selfishness and sin. We remember that to follow Christ is pure joy, but to follow sin is destruction and death. We recall that we are resurrection people, filled with the Holy Spirit. We remember, 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.'

And then, with this gloriously positive vision before us, we make progress. Gratitude, praise, and remembrance. They are the tools to progress, not rules and guilt.