And when the tempter came to Him, he said If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread. Matthew 4:3
At this point in his earthly sojourn, Jesus was just about to launch into His three years of ministry. Not many people were aware of who He was. His mother knew. John Baptist knew. Some of the people around Him must have been coming to that conclusion or at least would have been deeply curious about Him and impressed by His amazing character. One person who would definitely have known of His deity is the devil. And yet, did you notice in today’s text that the tempter uses the term ‘if’ when referring to Jesus as the Son of God. It would seem that the devil was trying to get even the Lord Himself to doubt, even though he would have known his effort would be futile. But his efforts today to cause people to doubt and deny Jesus deity are not so futile; he is having great success, even among some believers.
We all have our little times of doubts about certain things. For example, associating with Christians who are taught that the rapture is a figment of J.N. Darby’s imagination – and there are far more of that type of Christian around than you realize – can cause us to wonder if the rapture is true, and to lose the glorious hope that this blessed truth gives us. Reading or seeing media accounts that treat evolution as though it were real can cause us to wonder if God’s word is accurate in its description of creation. Global warming and nuclear war theorists can distort our faith in the Divine plan for the ages. The devil is so crafty at deceiving people, even the very elect. Why does he do it? To rob us of our trust in God and the joy of our salvation. In doing so, he robs God of the glory He deserves, and the Lord Jesus of His rightful worship.
I had a Christian ask me one time what was the Assembly’s position on abortion. The question made me realize that too often we leave the issues of doctrine and truth up to preachers and elders to resolve. If we as individuals have not grasped firmly the truths of Scripture, we leave ourselves open to doubts. The Assembly’s position on an issue should be God’s position. It should also be my position, and yours. The only way to find the truth is to go to the Book.
John 8:31 and 32 tells us that by continuing in His Word, we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free. It will surely make us free from deadly and destructive doubts of the devil. -Jim MacIntosh