The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1922-10-19

ser hath suffered being tempted, lIo is
"pie 10 succor them that are tempted
Heb. 2:lS.
REFERENCE MArERIAI-Phtl. 2:5-11.
Heb. ELLIS; 4:1i-l6
-, PRIMARY TOPLC-Jesus overcomes
| Temptation.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Jesus Tempted to DO
! Wrong.
INTERMEDIATE AND SENIOR TOPIC
| overcoming Temptation.
| YOUNG PEOPLE AND ADULT TOPIC
| -"hat Christs Victory Means to Us.
| J. The Place of {v. ~.
The wilderness of 1udcu The first
man, Adam, was tempted in Il garden
| with the most pleasant surroundings.
Inc second man, Jesus Christ, was
| tempted in barren. wilderness sur
rounded by wild beasts Mark 1:13).
~. The Purpose OF (v. y. lie was
led into wilderness by the Spirit.
Christs temptation was Messinnic.
Enough He was tempted in all points
like as we are" we are not tempted
as He was In this instance, but tue
same methods are employed on rs.
During the eighteen years of retire
mcnt Satan surely tempted Christ as
he tempts us. Satan, no doubt. would
nave gladly escaped this hour, but the
time had come for the Redeelmer to
enter upon His mediatorial work;
therefore He went from the place of
amounting and heavenly recognition as
the Son Of God to meet and despoil
the arch enemy (Heb. 2:4).
l. 1t was not n preparation for Ills
work, but rather its first conflict. In
baptism we have the symbolic act of
dedication of himself to the work of
redemption through the cross-the
making full u righteousness. In the
temptation, the strong man is spoil
ing the enemy.
Z. 1t was not to see If Christ would
stand fast-would fail under the most
| crucial test. Christ could not fail.
| 10 SO postulate would make Gods
scheme of redemption to have been
unsettled until after this temptation.
ana would have made God guilty of
setting forth a scheme Of redemption
on the basis OF possible overthrow.
3. 1t was to show Christ as an OBJ.
1cct upon which we may rest our faith
with unshaken confidence. He came
us the second Man, the head of new
race, Its very source and life 1t was
demonstration Of the inseparable-
| ness OF the divine and human natures
IN the incarnation.
III. The Method Of wv. 2-12).
| Christ as the worlds Redeemcr
sustained threefold relation-Son Of
Man; Son OF God; and Messiah there
fore Satan made each one ground Of
| attack.
l. AS Son Of Man wv. 2-4). Satan
made his first assault upon Him as
a man by appealing to the instinct Of
hunger. Satan urged Him to use His
divine power and convert stone In.
to bread. Hunger Is natural and SIN
less. The temptation was in satis-
flying a right hunger In wrong way
TO have yielded I'm this case would
have been to rcnounce the human linn
ltations which He had taken for our
sakes. TO use divine power to satisfy
human needs would have been to fail
as Saviour and Redeemer.
| 2. AS Messiah wv. 5-8). Here the
temptation was to grasp His right
full dominion by false means The
devil offered to surrender unto Him
the world If He would worship him.
The force Of this temptation was In
the fact that the Kingdoms of the
world are Christ's by Gods covenant
with Him. Gods method by which
Jesus was to possess the world was
the cross. The temptation Satan Is
pressing upon the church today Is to
get possession Of the world by other
means than the cross.
g. AS Son of God wv. 0-12). Here
Satan tries to induce Christ to pre-
sumo upon Gods care. He quotes a
Messianlc Psalm to induce Him to so
act. 10 do the spectacular thing In
order to get notice is to fall into Sa-
tan's temptation. For Jesus to have
placed himself in danger in order to
get Gods special help In delivering
Him would have been to sin. 10 put
ones self In moral and spiritual peril
in order to test Gods faithfuncss Is
to sim Satan Is never quite so dan.
erous as when he quotes Scripture
w. chrlsts Defense wv. 4, 8, 12).
1t was the Word Of God. He met
and repulsed the enemy with 1T is
written" Our defense la Gods Word
May every Sunday school teacher
know how to use it
V. The Issue ". 13).
| Satan is vnnquished. II we will but
trust God and use His Word we too
can overcome.