Self destruction
This week's bible study is on Luke 4:9-12:
This is the last of three stories of Jesus' time in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. In these verses, the devil is trying to tempt him into throwing himself down in the hopes that God will save him. It's kind of a physical metaphor for cheap grace, where we sin with the assumption that God will forgive our sin and save us.
Think of the absurdity of it though. Jesus is the Lord of all. He cannot be defeated. He can't even die without death itself losing! And here is the devil asking Jesus to destroy himself so that he can watch what happens. Why would a king destroy himself? He's a king! And yet the devil thinks he's going to talk him into it.
The sad thing is that the devil's approach often works on us. We're tempted by this thing or that, things we know are bad for us, and in the back of our mind are the words "God will forgive you. Go ahead and do what you want." He might as well be asking us to jump out the window, or grab a hot stove, or step in front of a train. It's crazy. And yet we do it.
Jesus' answer to that is "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." It's a reference to Exodus 17 where the Israelites doubted that God was going to look after them and began to rebel against Moses. To some extent, all sin is rebellion. We want something, and don't want to wait for God to provide it, or we don't think he will, or we want something we can't have, so we go our own way to try to get it anyway. In Moses' case, they wanted water and were nearly ready to kill over it. (I've seen the devil in people's eyes when water is short. So I can imagine how edgy Moses was getting at the time when he cried out to God.)
But what does that mean for us? "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." It means trust God. It means sin is still sin, even if we are forgiven for it, even though grace is still grace and always will be. It means trusting that God has a purpose for us and that we shouldn't destroy ourselves waiting for it to happen. Are we going to test God's grace? Are we going to test our destiny to see if we're special enough for him to save us from ourselves?
People say stupid things like "God's not going to let you destroy your life." Actually he will, if you want it badly enough. I've seen Christians get addicted to drugs, commit crimes, gamble their money away, and so on. Does that mean God doesn't love them, or that grace is no longer real, or that they are unforgiven? Not at all! It just means that the devil said "jump" and, for whatever reason, they decided to do it. It could be any one of us in that situation. Don't be a hater, be afraid!
If the Israelites had risen up and killed Moses, would they have reached the Promised Land without him? Unlikely. And yet it was promised. We can still do stupid, risky, self-destructive things while being God's chosen people. We put God to the test when we have no business doing so.
The beauty here, once again, is that Jesus defused the devil's entire plot with one line of scripture. It can be that easy for us: "Am I going to be like the rebellious Israelites? As if!" Our decisions have consequences. We can enjoy unlimited grace, grace buffet all day every day, grace when everything else is closed, but we shouldn't put the Lord our God to the test. Choosing risky dangerous behaviors, choosing sin, choosing to doubt, means we are choosing something other than the Lordship of our God. It's insurrection. We usurp his authority to grant forgiveness over ourselves in contempt of the price it cost. It's one thing to ask for mercy, but quite another to act like it is owed.
We all do self-destructive things. We eat poorly, smoke cigarettes, treat others sinfully, engage in a little sports idolatry, and don't structure our lives as though the things God has said to us are true. I would suggest that next time we find ourselves on that path, we remember what Jesus said, and choose to not put the Lord our God to the test.
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you
to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”
Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
This is the last of three stories of Jesus' time in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. In these verses, the devil is trying to tempt him into throwing himself down in the hopes that God will save him. It's kind of a physical metaphor for cheap grace, where we sin with the assumption that God will forgive our sin and save us.
Think of the absurdity of it though. Jesus is the Lord of all. He cannot be defeated. He can't even die without death itself losing! And here is the devil asking Jesus to destroy himself so that he can watch what happens. Why would a king destroy himself? He's a king! And yet the devil thinks he's going to talk him into it.
The sad thing is that the devil's approach often works on us. We're tempted by this thing or that, things we know are bad for us, and in the back of our mind are the words "God will forgive you. Go ahead and do what you want." He might as well be asking us to jump out the window, or grab a hot stove, or step in front of a train. It's crazy. And yet we do it.
Jesus' answer to that is "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." It's a reference to Exodus 17 where the Israelites doubted that God was going to look after them and began to rebel against Moses. To some extent, all sin is rebellion. We want something, and don't want to wait for God to provide it, or we don't think he will, or we want something we can't have, so we go our own way to try to get it anyway. In Moses' case, they wanted water and were nearly ready to kill over it. (I've seen the devil in people's eyes when water is short. So I can imagine how edgy Moses was getting at the time when he cried out to God.)
But what does that mean for us? "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." It means trust God. It means sin is still sin, even if we are forgiven for it, even though grace is still grace and always will be. It means trusting that God has a purpose for us and that we shouldn't destroy ourselves waiting for it to happen. Are we going to test God's grace? Are we going to test our destiny to see if we're special enough for him to save us from ourselves?
People say stupid things like "God's not going to let you destroy your life." Actually he will, if you want it badly enough. I've seen Christians get addicted to drugs, commit crimes, gamble their money away, and so on. Does that mean God doesn't love them, or that grace is no longer real, or that they are unforgiven? Not at all! It just means that the devil said "jump" and, for whatever reason, they decided to do it. It could be any one of us in that situation. Don't be a hater, be afraid!
If the Israelites had risen up and killed Moses, would they have reached the Promised Land without him? Unlikely. And yet it was promised. We can still do stupid, risky, self-destructive things while being God's chosen people. We put God to the test when we have no business doing so.
The beauty here, once again, is that Jesus defused the devil's entire plot with one line of scripture. It can be that easy for us: "Am I going to be like the rebellious Israelites? As if!" Our decisions have consequences. We can enjoy unlimited grace, grace buffet all day every day, grace when everything else is closed, but we shouldn't put the Lord our God to the test. Choosing risky dangerous behaviors, choosing sin, choosing to doubt, means we are choosing something other than the Lordship of our God. It's insurrection. We usurp his authority to grant forgiveness over ourselves in contempt of the price it cost. It's one thing to ask for mercy, but quite another to act like it is owed.
We all do self-destructive things. We eat poorly, smoke cigarettes, treat others sinfully, engage in a little sports idolatry, and don't structure our lives as though the things God has said to us are true. I would suggest that next time we find ourselves on that path, we remember what Jesus said, and choose to not put the Lord our God to the test.
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