When you really read the word for a long time, does this mean you are at greater risk to fall under temptation?

Temptation is on our world, not because we have the Scriptures, but because we are sinners.

Rom 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

The Scriptures will help us fight temptation, not put us are at greater risk to fall under temptation. Jesus, our example, resisted the devil that way.

Matt 4:3-11 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: `Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'”

Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:

“`He will command his angels concerning you,

and they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'”

Jesus answered him, “It is also written: `Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'”

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”

Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: `Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'”

Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Have you noticed that every time that Jesus was tempted, He always referred to the Scriptures to resist the temptation. Is this method successful?

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are-yet was without sin.

Jesus never sinned! He wants to help you when you are falling short. Never despair, but trust in Jesus!

Will you let Him help you to be victorious? The choice is yours.

Rob Chaffart

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The greatest exponent and supporter of God’s inspired Word of Truth was the Lord Jesus Christ (Mt. 7:28, 29; John 7:46), yet he took no credit to himself, saying, “the Word that you are hearing is no mine, but belongs to the Father who sent me (John 14:24, 7:6, ) In this direction, Jesus is the Word Himself. The Scriptures says that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. One is saved by no other means but by the power in the Word. To keep the faith, you need to keep on reading and studying so that you will not fall under temptation of going back. You stand no risk of being enticed by wrong doctrines of the devil to come back to him (devil).

Faithful disciples of Christ were those who remained in his Word and this in turn, set free from ignorance, superstition, and fear; also from slavery to sin and death (John 8:31,32).

The Apostles and their associates were no peddlers of the Scriptures, as the false prophets were. What they preached and studied constantly was straight, unadulterated Word of God (2 Cor.2: 7; 4:2).

The Apostle Paul told Timothy: “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to God, a workman with nothing to be ashamed of, handling the Word of Truth aright. A consistent, regular and balanced reading and studying of the word of the Word has been recommended here. Before someone can be approved, he has to read, study (meditate). In the ordinary world, a distinction is welcomed and appreciated by all in our various endeavours. This comes however through a process. If we are to be valiant, approved by God, we need to read and study the Word. Instead of being tempted, we will rather shame the devil because of the Word that we have in us.

In I John 4:4 the bible says “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world”. NIV.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The one inside of us should be constantly nurtured as we read daily and regularly with understanding His Word. What is in us is actually the Word of God. In order not to be confused, maybe a systematic study like reading the bible through pattern may be employed to read the Word. Claim promises, heed warnings and obey commands in the scriptures you read on daily basis.

God’s Word exerts tremendous power upon it hearers and readers. It means life. God demonstrated to Israel in the wilderness that “not by bread alone does a man live but by every expression of God’s Word. (Deut. 8:3) The same scripture was corroborated and put into use by Jesus in Mt. 4:3-10.

I Timothy 4:11-13 ” Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity, Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. (NIV).

Instead of being at a greater risk to fall under temptation, you will discover power, inspiration, authority over the devil and daily victory. Mere reading is not even sufficient. You need to know who the Word is. Jesus is the Word Himself (John 1:1). He saves and delivers from sin and sicknesses. He sets the captives free through His Word. Ps. 34:17. He heals the broken hearted. He convicts and gives power to those who may call upon His name for salvation – Act 2:21).

Without adequate knowledge of the Word of God one will fall under a great risk and temptation. As seen above, when the devil came to Jesus, the weapon with which he conquered him was the fact that He was quoting the Word from Matthew chapter 4:3-10. Jesus did not rely on the fact that he had fasted and prayed for 40 days and 40 nights, he conquered by the Word.

Your oratory is not recognized by the devil. Your position is not recognized by the devil. The amount of the Word of God in you will guarantee you daily victory in this world of sin.

Keep reading and studying the Word. You will never be tempted by the devil. You are not also at risk but rather saved by the power in the Word that you read and meditate. As you apply the Word victory is yours on a daily basis in all your endeavors!

Blessings!!!

Rev Debo Adeyemo

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I believe that reading the Word for any period of time makes one strong.

Dave

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Without a full surrender to God we are always in greater risk to fall under temptation. In order to continue to have victory and overcome we must always have the sword of God to keep us. The bible is our road map and without reading the word you will fall unto temptation for sure.

Stephanie

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In my opinion this is rather a question that displays lack of trust in our own faith to God. Jesus said that God, him, and we are one. I don’t remember the exact Bible passage from New Testament, but there is a passage that brings the concept of oneness into our attention, and thus the sin is the only thing that separates a man and God.

It is not written in the law that if you don’t read the Bible you are doing something wrong. However, it is written in the scriptures that ill-will, bad thoughts and doing something against will of God is sinful.

Thus we need to be aware of what we are doing in our lives, but reading the Bible will not affect the fact of temptation. The temptation, as far as I am concerned, is natural and if you expect it to come…then it will.

But why on the earth one should expect any bad things into your life. Jesus asked us to be good, and not to expect bad things to happen us. It is the most absurd thing to hold back and wait for temptation to come if you have not read the bible, say, in a week. Since I am rather open-minded Christian and as I know that God is with me all the time, I can rest in peace, and trust that God protects me from all bad things.

It is also said in the Bible that what I ask God, believing, he has already given me. I have asked God to protect me from any bad thing, sinful thinking or doing something sinful against my fellow men and women.

As I believe God is able to do this…it is done unto me as I believe, already! Thus, I don’t need to worry about the issue of protection. Because if I would pray like presented above, and then start to worry whether or not God is with me, and protecting me…I would be negating and zeroing the power of my prayer.. I would not believe in God then, and thus my prayer would be useless.

If there is a time when I don’t have time to read the Bible daily. I don’t worry, because the spirit of God lives in me as well, and he is guiding my steps all along my path to make sure that I don’t fall down or do something stupid.

I may not read the Bible everyday, but I do keep God in my mind everyday. I thank and talk to God every day…and that is what should matter. It is not a good idea to abandon God at any point of your life… because if you don’t be with God then you are a subject to all sort of temptations and ill will of all the evil forces out there.

I send my love and best wishes to all of you. Be well, my brothers and sisters in Christ and may the God bless and help you in all your endeavours.

Your Brother,

Sami Laitinen

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Well, no! The best way to avoid falling to temptation is to stay close to God. The best way to stay close to God is to spend time reading His word.

You will notice I said ‘falling to temptation’. We all fall ‘under’ temptation in the sense that we are tempted by Satan to do the wrong thing. No one who ever lived has been tempted more than Jesus was, and He ‘wrote’ the word. That is simply because Satan knew who He was and what He was up to coming here as a man. If Satan could tempt Jesus to sin, he would have won. Think about it. Jesus had to do everything as a man, not a God, in order to be our redeemer. You can imagine with his archenemy in such a vulnerable position, how Satan would have poured his total resources into tempting Jesus. He knew that if he failed to tempt Jesus successfully, it was all over for him.

I will say this much. When one first becomes committed to Christianity, one can expect increased concern on the part of the Devil because he does not want to give anyone up to the other side. Now, God puts a ‘fence’ of angels around a Christian to prevent the Devil from interfering. Let’s have a look at some references in the Bible that explain all this.

Job 1:6-AV Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Job 1:7-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Job 1:8-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?

Job 1:9-AV Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?

Job 1:10-AV Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.

Job 1:11-AV But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 1:12-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath [is] in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

This passage is perhaps the most graphic example in the Bible of God protecting one of his own. As the story goes, God chaired a conference of His ‘Sons’. I suspect these would have been planetary leaders because Satan was there representing the earth, in place of Adam. This is also a prime example of the power Satan wields over this planet. God asked him why he was present, but did not say he had no right to be there.

God reminded Satan that he did not speak for all earth’s inhabitants and quoted the example of Job. Satan remarked that God had a protective ‘hedge’ around Job, and challenged Him to remove it, expressing the view that if it was removed that Job would abandon his faith in God. God accepted the challenge and gave Satan permission to attack Job, with the limitation that he was not to touch Job himself.

Job 2:1-AV Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the LORD.

Job 2:2-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.

Job 2:3-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that [there is] none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause.

Job 2:4-AV And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Job 2:5-AV But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face.

Job 2:6-AV And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he [is] in thine hand; but save his life.

Job 2:7-AV So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.

Job 2:8-AV And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes.

Job 2:9-AV Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God, and die.

Job 2:10-AV But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

These conferences must be a regular thing. At this one Satan asked for more power to afflict Job because what he had done so far had not shaken him. So again God accepted the challenge and gave Satan permission to touch Job’s person with the provision he was not to take his life.

The rest of the story of Job is the account of the suffering that Job endured at the hands of Satan, his victory through retaining his faith in God, and the blessings he eventually received when the test was over. The message for us here is that there is a ‘hedge’ around us and that Satan cannot interfere with us unless God gives him permission for a time to ‘test’ us. The testing of Job and it’s record in the Bible has been an example to mankind ever since. It is possible that at some time any of us may be tested. The purpose may be to strengthen us for a particular task, or as an example for others. We may not know the reason and say things like “Why me?”, but if we stick close to God it will all work out in the end just as it did for Job.

Here are a few more examples of faith being tested and reasons for it.

Hebrews 11:17-AV By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten [son],

Hebrews 11:36-AV And others had trial of [cruel] mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:

James 1:3-AV Knowing [this], that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

1Peter 1:7-AV That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:

I have heard it said that the easiest way to get rid of a temptation is to give in to it. I can assure you from experience that only leads to more of the same and the embarrassment of having to apologize to someone and ask God for forgiveness. It’s really not worth the hassle. However, when one uses the power of God to overcome a temptation, it may reappear just to see if we might weaken, but after time will go away completely. For example, I have reached a stage of Christian development where I would not feel tempted if I found a wallet. My only concern would be to get it back to the person who owned it. To take from it would not be a consideration. There are some things however that would provide a real temptation. No doubt it is the same with each of you. Some things you will have overcome completely and others still require more work. That’s how it goes. Consider these verses.

1Corinthians 10:13-AV There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].

Hebrews 2:18-AV For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

2Peter 2:9-AV The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:

There is no temptation that will be too much for you to bear. Jesus will not be far away at such a time and will give you strength when necessary. So much for temptation, but how does the reading of the word of God help us? If it is not obvious by now, check out the following verses.

Deuteronomy 17:19-AV And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them:

Isaiah 34:16-AV Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.

John 5:39-AV Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Acts 17:11-AV These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Romans 15:4-AV For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

To sum up then. We will all have temptation, but no more than we can handle, and we will learn and be strengthened through the overcoming of it through the power of God. That power will increase with our understanding and closeness through diligent studying of the word of God.

Ephesians 6:11-AV Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

May God’s blessing be upon the reader and your understanding increase.

Lance Wearmouth