This post answers the question in the newspaper for March 14-20
Questions in this week's newspaper ad are:
- How was this world made?
- How do we come to love God?
- Did Jesus experience temptation like we do?
- Is temptation a sin?
Answer to: How this world was made . . .
God made this world by speaking it into being.
Genesis 1:1-5 says: In the beginning God …
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.”
Open your Bible to Genesis chapter 1 - 2:7 and read the complete story of the creation of this earth. This world, animals, birds and humans were designed and created by an amazing, loving God. He spoke the world, the heavens, the animals and birds into being.
Then Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.”
God specially formed man of the dust of the earth with His own hands and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils. Wow! That is truly amazing.
Psalms 33:6-9 says,
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.
He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He lays up the deep in storehouses.
Let all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.”
Answer to How we come to love God . . .
We love God because He FIRST loved us.
1 John 4:19 says, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
Knowing God Through Love
1 John 4:7-21 says
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Seeing God Through Love
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
The Consummation of Love
17Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Obedience by Faith
20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”
***
“Think about it… while we were His enemy, rebellious, and self-centered Jesus gave His life for us (Romans 5:6-11). He was compelled by love for us, in spite of us. Jesus’ example of love – His willingness to go through such humility and shame and suffering for us – is the purest expression of true, unselfish love this world (and universe) has ever seen. It is because “God is love” (1 John 4:16). He is the definition of pure, selfless love.
“When we discover God’s love for us, it impacts us. When we understand the depths He went to in order to save us, it ignites in us a love for Him. This is heart knowledge. Jesus longs for us to see and experience His love continually. Our love for Jesus grows as we personally experience Him in our daily lives. Every time we choose to trust God; we give Him the opportunity to reveal how much He cares for us. This solidifies our belief that God is for us and deeply loves us. Every time we experience the transforming power of God in our lives we gain a deeper heart knowledge. Now, we do not just know about God, we have experienced Him for ourselves. And He is real to us. This daily experiential realization of the love of God strengthens our faith and becomes the most beautiful and the most powerful source of motivation in the Christian life.” (Excerpt from © 2024 Preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus by Wendy Armfield, Lesson 8)
Answer to question:
Did Jesus experience temptation like we do?
Yes, He did.
In Hebrews 2:14-18 it says: “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. He Himself has suffered, being tempted; He is able to aid those who are tempted.”
“Jesus experienced hunger, thirst, discomfort, and loneliness. Surely, He was tempted to give up and give in. He knows the pull of the river’s current and the exhaustion of daily warfare. He knows well the weaknesses of the flesh for He inherited all the tendencies towards sin that we do, yet He did not sin. All of this means that Jesus understands what it is like to be human. He is not some distant God who expects big things from us yet has no care or understanding of what we are going through. On the contrary! Since Jesus experienced life as a human, He knows how we feel, what we are going through, and how to help us. He truly is a merciful and faithful Advocate and Redeemer (1 John 2:1 -- My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.).” (Excerpt from © 2024 Preparing for the Second Coming of Jesus by Wendy Armfield, Lesson 8)
Is temptation a sin?
No, it is not a sin to be tempted.
We know that Jesus lived a perfect life and died as the perfect lamb to save us from our sins, and we know that in Hebrews 2:19 it says that Jesus was tempted. Matthew 4:1-11 tells the story of how Jesus was tempted by the devil, and yet he did not sin. And so we know that to be tempted is not a sin.
We are told in 1 Corinthians that with God’s help through the empowering of the Holy Spirit we will not be tempted beyond our ability to resist. It’s our job to trust Him in the midst of temptation and choose the way out of it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 says
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
Following Jesus doesn’t mean we won’t be tempted; it means that when we are tempted, God gives us the strength to resist and empowers us to endure through any circumstance.
James 1:13-15 says
"Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."
Giving in to temptation is the sin and to sin is to die unless we go to God in true repentance and ask to be forgiven. Romans 6:23
