"TEMPTING GOD"
Matthew 4:5-7
March 30, 2003

Lenten Sermon Series
The Seven First Words of Jesus

David W. Hull, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Huntsville, Alabama

How do we tempt God? Jesus said, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." What does it mean to tempt God? I think we know about our temptations, whether it is to eat that second piece of fudge or to fudge on our income tax returns. Is God tempted the same way that I am? Apparently Satan was guilty when Jesus rebuked him for tempting God. Let's see what he did and learn a lesson for our lives.

To answer our question we need to take a journey through the Old Testament. Think of this as a scriptural treasure hunt in which we move from clue to clue. After Satan invited Jesus to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, our Lord quoted a verse from the Bible. The clue came in the words, "It is written." Where are his words found in the Old Testament? Deuteronomy 6:16 was the verse being quoted by Jesus. Listen to this verse for another clue: "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God as ye tempted him in Massah." (KJV) A newer translation (RSV) says, "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah," Do you see another clue? If we can go back to Massah (wherever that was), then maybe we can find out what it means to tempt God?

Exodus 17 tells the story of an event that occurred at Massah. The Hebrews were wandering in the wilderness after being set free from Egypt. Life in the desert had made them very thirsty. Their faith in God had begun to waiver as their confidence in Moses was shaken. The people were about to have an uprising against Moses, so he came to God and said, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me." (v. 4) And God said to Moses, "Pass before the people…take in your hand the rod…you shall strike the rock, and water shall come out of it, and the people may drink." (vs. 5-6) Moses did as he was told and as the water poured forth he named the place Massah, which means "proof."

Do you see the problems of the Hebrews? They had doubted God. They had lost their faith in God and believed that God could not provide for them. That is how we tempt God. When we do what the Hebrews did in the desert, when we come to the point that we say, "God, I'm not sure you will provide for me; we need some other kind of proof; we might need some sign." Then we are testing God, or tempting the Almighty. This is what Satan was doing with Jesus. Beware ---the devil tries the same with you and me.

I.

Satan demonstrated that we tempt God whenever we choose to be selective instead of submissive. Here I am talking about the scriptures. The devil came to Jesus with his own text. His request for Jesus to jump off the top of the temple was based on a biblical text. Satan was not reading from something pagan, instead he was quoting Psalm 91:11-12. "He will give his angels charge of you" and "On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone." Isn't that great for the devil to be using God's Word? No, his problem was that he was quoting from the Bible and taking verses out of context. Using selectivity, he was choosing exactly what he wanted to make his own point, rather than submitting to all the scriptures. He bypassed Psalm 91:1 which says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." The person who dwells with God is the one protected by the angels, but Satan left that part out. He quoted scripture by selecting a little tidbit here and there for his own purposes, but he did not submit himself to the total message of the Bible. "You are tempting God," Jesus said.

Now move from the desert scene to take a look in the mirror. How many times have we selected from the Bible what fits our needs? We pull out one little bit here and there and we'll say, "Oh, but it's in the scripture, right here." How many times do the troublesome passages of the Bible just not make their way into our lives? A few years ago the Whittenburg Door offered "Murphy's Law governing Bible study."

1. After your ideas are firmly in place, find scripture to back it up.
2. If scripture contradicts your ideas, ignore it.
3. When in doubt, use Christian jargon.

This is what Satan was doing with the Bible in his conversation with Jesus. As he selected what best suited his own agenda, he was making the point that it is all right to pick and choose. Instead of trusting God with the truth of the entire Bible, he selected what he wanted and discarded the rest. That is tempting God.

The great Baptist missions professor, Dr. W.O. Carver, had a famous sermon that he called, "My Bible." The thrust of the sermon was that my Bible is not necessarily this entire Book. My Bible is the part of the Bible that I live and take into my heart and actions. The goal of every Christian is to gradually make my Bible (the part I really live) grow to become the entire Bible. I think everyone is guilty of selecting the little parts that we want while omitting the rest. Is the passage on tithing a part of your Bible? Do you live it, or do you simply select your way around it? Is the passage on loving your enemies a part of your Bible, or do you just choose to ignore it? What about the passage on turning the other cheek? Is it part of your Bible?

Beware-we tempt God when we act as Satan was acting toward Jesus. God had a purpose for all of the Bible, and we are called to submit our whole lives to the whole Word. You see, that is what Jesus did. He didn't go around just picking the verses that he wanted to guide his life and ministry. Instead he submitted his entire life to the entire Bible. So many times Jesus would say, "It is written." These sacred writings led him into dangerous places, but he never backed down from submission to God's Word. He entered the temple and declared, "It is written, my house is to be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. (Luke 19:45-46) It was not easy, but he cleaned the temple. He said, "It is written of the Son of Man, that he must suffer many things." (Mark 9:12) Submission to these words led him to the old rugged cross. Certainly it would have been easier for our Lord to ignore verses like this, but he chose to give his life in order to fulfill scripture. He decided to submit to the whole Word of God, instead of choosing what suited his fancy. He invites us to make the same decision. If we do, we all know both the agony of the cross and the glory of eternal life.

II.

Satan illustrated that we tempt God whenever we choose show instead of substance. What was the very root of this temptation? The devil took Jesus to the temple in the Holy City. He was taking him out of the secluded desert to the place which would have been the most crowded spot in Jesus' world. The temple just teamed with activity. There were people everywhere. The tempter took Jesus to the most crowded place and dared him to jump so that angels would come rescue him. Imagine the kind of attention one could claim if a crowd actually saw such an event. What a way for Jesus to begin his ministry! Just put on a show and the crowds will come.

That temptation is very strong today. Our ability to put on a show has been magnified far beyond any thing Jesus knew. Our media technology enables us to broadcast shows all around the world time and time again. Just create a spectacle and sit back to count the folks as they roll in. Crowds love a good show.

But think of this in more personal terms. Everyone of us is tempted to put on a show with our words and actions. We are constantly tempted to make our faith not so much substance on the inside as show on the outside. We come to church and do the religious kinds of things. However, if we really scratched against the surface of our Christianity, how many of us would say it is only as thick as a coat of paint? It is easy to substitute show for substance when it comes to matters of faith.

Do not be caught in Satan's snare. "Just put on a show and impress the crowds," he seduces. That is tempting God because if you just put on a show you are saying you do not have enough faith in God to trust him to really work in your life to give substance to your faith. Just as the Hebrews in the wilderness forgot that God would provide their needs, so we sometimes forget that God will nourish our souls with the substance of eternal Bread. We think that we must create an appearance of faith-put on a good show-for God and others. Learn from Jesus ---do not tempt God!

What is the alternative? Jesus said our faith is not built on show but on substance. Our Lord's text was Deuteronomy 6:16. When we look back at that passage we read in verse 13, "You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him, and swear by his name." Then in verse 17 we read, "You shall diligently keep the commandments of the Lord your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he has commanded you." Jesus was referring to the message of long ago, claiming that the substance of our faith is our reverence and worship of God. What we do on the inside is more important than the thin show we put on the outside. Do we fear God? Do we keep his commandments? Do we serve him? Or is our Christian witness some thin veneer that is put on for the sake of others who sit on the pew with us? If we are only concerned about show, it means that we do not trust God's true substance for living. It means that we are tempting God.

Tony Campolo tells of meeting a little girl on the boardwalk of Ocean City, New Jersey. She was about six and was carrying a huge mound of pink cotton candy. It seemed that the explosion of candy would dwarf the little girl. Campolo asked her, "How can a little girl like you eat all of that candy?" She answered, "Well, you see mister, I'm really much bigger on the inside than I am on the outside." There is a secret of living. Grow from the inside with the substance of God's Word and do not be satisfied with a shallow show that tempts God.

III.

Satan illustrated that we tempt God when we choose safety instead of sacrifice. Hear the message of the tempter. "Jesus if you jump off this tower, I know you're not really going to be hurt. It is not really a risk for you. You and I both know that you'll be safe. God is not going to let you die." In fact, Satan was tempting Jesus with a safe kind of religion, one that does not really cost much. You put on a show but there is no real danger. After all, it is written that God's angels will take care of you.

Ever since that time you and I have been tempted to live a safe faith where we can nestle comfortably in our own pew, listening to words that do not really disturb us, sitting near people who are very much like us. As long as religion does not really shake us up, we are happy to partake. But when the talk gets around to sacrifice and service, then our safety is shaken and we grow nervous.

Jesus never said that the Christian faith was built with a safety net included. In fact, it is as if he said to the devil, "No, Satan. You have told me to go up on the tower and jump down when the safety net is there. That is not the case. I will climb a tower one day, but it will be called a cross. There I will not be safe, the angels will not come to rescue me. In fact, I will sacrifice myself. My whole life will come to an end. That is how it is with faith. Unless you lose your life you will never find it. Safety is not how we grow in faith, Satan. Sacrifice is the way to live."

You see, we try to be too safe when we do not have faith enough in God to take care of us. We are like the Hebrews at Massah who wanted to be safe and would not trust God to provide as he had promised. Too often as we move into the difficult waters of life we just want to be safe and we shy away from true sacrifice. The thoughts of giving our lives totally over to Christ, of turning our worries over to him, of letting him guide us through the stormy waters trouble us. Remember, we tempt God when we doubt his ability to care and provide for us. Do not settle for a bland safe religion that makes no difference in your life. Instead, surrender all for Christ… and know great joy!

The way of sacrifice which Jesus demonstrated on the cross is not just a way of dying, it is a way of living. It is the way of salvation and eternal life. You can be a slave of Satan which will allow you to put on a show and be safe, but you will not have life. Jesus offers a better way. We can become his slave, give up everything to him, and he will give us substance in our lives. This is the way of salvation. Do not ever take a cheap substitute!

Eugene Nida of the American Bible Society tells about the translation of the word "salvation" into a West African language. After struggling to explain the meaning of the word, the translators used the phrase, "He took our heads out." In that culture, tribes would fight each other, take prisoners, and march them to Dakar on the coast, where they were sold to slave traders. If a relative or friend among the slaves were recognized, he could be bought. The redeemed slave had the iron collar removed from his neck and they "took his head out" and set him free. This freedom is what salvation mans for the believer.

Christ died to set us free! We tempt God when we exchange the amazing grace of his wonderful gift for slavery to Satan. On the cross, "he took our heads out" and showed us the way to life. Forgive us, dear God, when we settle for anything less!

V.

Do you remember what tempting God means? It is when we do not have enough faith in God to believe his promises. That is tempting God. Satan did this in the desert, but he also comes to you and me with the very same lures. He entices us to take the scriptures and pick and choose for our own purposes. You shall not tempt the Lord your God! Then he encourages us to just put on a show and do not worry about what is really in our hearts. You shall not tempt the Lord your God! Be careful and play it safe …you better not risk anything for God. You shall not tempt the Lord your God! If we say yes to all three of these lures, then Satan has us as his slaves. You shall not tempt the Lord your God!

Satan's voice is in one ear and Jesus' is in the other. He says, "I have given you a Word. Live with the Word like I did. Submit your whole life to the whole Word and God will let you grow. As you live the word you will learn of the substances of life. Be more concerned about that than putting on a show. And as the substance, fear, and commandments of God dwell within you, then you will walk the way of sacrifice. Never fear, however, because salvation will follow."

Are you tempting God? If so, why? It is a dead end street. The way of Satan leads to death? The way of Christ leads to life. Which way will you choose?