Temptation: A Question of Identity
Lent 2021 • Sermon • Submitted
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Discovery of self
Discovery of self
Reflecting on poor decision
“That was so foolish”
“I don’t know what I was thinking”
“I will never do that again”
In our pursuit to understand ourselves, we make poor decisions that have negative outcomes
In the wake of these decisions we realize the following
Repeated decisions will have greater consequences
This is not the person I want to be or become
I have been called to live differently
These experiences are part of the process of understanding our identity / personhood
The firmer our grasp on our identity the harder it becomes to make poor/regrettable decisions.
Function of Identity
"If you are the Son of God”: A challenge to identity
"If you are the Son of God”: A challenge to identity
The devil was confused about who Jesus was:
“he (the devil) could neither believe that He was a mere man, because of the things spoken concerning Him; nor could he accept that He was Son of God, seeing Him hunger.” ~St. John Chrysostom The Medicine of Salvation
Jesus does not fall into temptation because He knew His identity as the beloved Son of God…There was no confusion on His end…Not EVER
Drawn v. Led
Drawn v. Led
Without any confusion of His identity, Jesus was ‘led’ into the wilderness to be tempted.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Jesus came to save, which meant He must show us how to stand up to and overcome temptation.
The most indispensible tool for facing temptation is fasting
The environment of temptation
The environment of temptation
Hunger
2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry.
The meat and potatoes of temptation comes when we are hungry
Physical hunger is often equated to desires/passions
Lust/greed/pride/sloth/etc
Separation/Wilderness
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
We are always drawn out…
14 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.
The 3 Challenges to Identity
The 3 Challenges to Identity
Our production
"Command these stones to become loaves of bread”
Our possessions
“All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”
What others think of us
“throw yourself down; for it is written He will command his angels concerning you”
Why does the devil temp
Why does the devil temp
If a focal point of temptation is on our identity, then we must realize that there is something so precious and valuable in our identity.
“For the devil would not have attacked you if he had not seen you brought to great honor” ~St. John Chrysostom The Medicine of Salvation