(Psalm 119:11) tells us: “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.” When we read Scripture and hide these precious words of life in our heart we begin to replace our old ways of thinking with new godly ways of thinking. And I have learned over the years that what you think and meditate on usually will manifest itself in outward behavior. When temptations arise and we are saturated with Scripture we can do what Jesus did, when He was tempted in the wilderness, and stand on Bible verses to combat the temptations. If you remember when Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness He quoted three verses from Deuteronomy and the devil had to flee. My friends there is nothing more powerful to combat temptations than the Bible. Read it, meditate on it, and live it and you will have power to defeat the temptations that inevitably will come your way.
J.C. Ryle understood this principle when he said: “The chief weapon we ought to use in resisting Satan is the Bible. Three times the great enemy offered temptations to our Lord. Three times his offer was refused, with a text of Scripture as the reason, ‘it is written’ (Mt. 4:4, 7, 10).”1 Billy Graham echoed this same sentiment when he declared: “When Jesus was tempted, He didn’t debate the devil. He quoted Scripture: ‘It is written . . . It is written . . . It is written’ (Matthew 4:4–10 NKJV). And each time the devil was defeated.”2
The written Word of God is a powerful offensive weapon that when deployed causes the devil to flee. When we combine the Bible with believing prayer, to guard us against temptation, we have an amazingly potent one-two punch against the wiles of Satan. John Owen offers insight here: “If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: ‘God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled.’ When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage.”3
Another way we can get victory over temptation is to flip the script on the devil and use the temptation to draw closer to Jesus. President John Quincy Adams shared this thought: “Every temptation is an opportunity of our getting nearer to God.”4 When we realize how weak we really are in our own strength, and how much we need the Lord to protect and shield us from the temptations of the evil one, we will stay very close to Jesus.
Richard Sibbes gives us one more insight on this whole area of temptation when he shared: “Satan gives Adam an apple, and takes away paradise. Therefore, in all temptations consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose.”5 When we realize how much yielding to temptation will cost us compared to what we will gain, I believe that this can provide strong motivation to say no to the temptation. Yes, we may get some momentary pleasure by giving in to what we know is sin, but it can harm our prayer life, steal our joy, and most of all disappoint our heavenly Father. If we do a cost/benefit analysis the next time we are tempted to sin I think we will see that the cost is much too high to say yes to Satan.
I close with these final two quotes that I pray you will take to heart the next time temptation comes your way:
“I read a story about an old gentleman who was known for his godly life. Someone asked him one day, ‘What do you do when you are tempted, old man?’ He replied, ‘I just look up to Heaven and say, Lord, your property is in danger.’”6 ― Greg Laurie
“We can’t flee from temptation in our own strength—but God will give us the strength we need, if we’ll only seek it. A friend of mine says, “When the devil knocks, I just send Jesus to the door!”7 ― Billy Graham
1 Inspirational Quotes on Temptation (bibleportal.com)
2 Inspirational Quotes on Temptation (bibleportal.com)
3 TOP 25 TEMPTATION QUOTES (of 1000) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
4 TOP 25 TEMPTATION QUOTES (of 1000) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
5 TOP 25 TEMPTATION QUOTES (of 1000) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)
I am reminded of James4:7; SURRENDER TO GOD then resist the Devil and he will flee. In Luke 4, Jesus was ” overflowing in the Holy Spirit” ( TPT translation) after his baptism. We as believers must always be saturated with the Word of God. As Joshua 1:8 says, meditate on God’s Word day and night!! As we do this, we will have victory over all temptations. God bless.