Jesus Answered.

Matthew 4:1-4
"Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

"Jesus answered"

In Matthew chapter 4 is the story of satan tempting Jesus in the wilderness. Multiple times it says, "Jesus answered." What a powerful statement! It dawned on me that Jesus did not merely 'ignore' temptation. Jesus did not tune out satan's voice. His encounter with satan is actually similar to the way He encountered the religious rulers. He 'heard him out' and responded in bold holiness. How was He so successful in doing this? For every temptation that satan threw at Jesus, Jesus answered. We might say that we have our answers to temptation figured out in our head. We can legitimately claim to know the 'jist' of what the Bible deems righteous and wicked. For Jesus, it was not good enough to know the "jist". Jesus did not approach life with the mindset of "I know the basics of what God's Word says." Within EVERY response Jesus gave to satan He quoted relevant Scripture passages WORD for WORD. Jesus knew His answer to temptation BEFORE being tempted.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NIV)
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

If you continue to face life in the strength of your opinions and knowledge of the 'jist' of Bible teaching then you will not be victorious over sin. You will not please the Lord. Romans 8:8 says, "...those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God."

We must stand strong against temptation. The strength required is greater than our capability. We must discover for ourselves what God's Word says about particular things, and we must memorize what is True.

Psalm 119:11
"I have hidden your word in my heart
    that I might not sin against you."

What has your answer been to your temptations? Do you think, "Maybe I will do better next time"? Do you ask God, "Give me strength to say no to temptation"? I assure you, God has given you strength - His Word. Jesus Himself relied solely upon the Scripture's teaching (so far as to quote it!) when facing temptation. If Jesus did not rely upon His own words and opinions in those moments, what makes us think that we can reason our way out? NO! Our only strength against temptation is the knowing and internalizing of God's Word (and specifically what God's Word says about the sin we are tempted with). Our only strength against temptation is in the foundation. Let us rely entirely on God's Word.

1 Corinthians 3:11
"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

James 4:7-10
"Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up."