Ed Stover

No other day in history can compare to the importance of what happened on the day our Savior was crucified. It is the center point of time for the whole human race. Everything before that day looked forward to it, and everything since then has looked back to what was accomplished the day He died. God had planned the events of that day before the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). What do your see, or think of, when you look back to that day? As we remember the greatness of our Lord’s sacrifice on the cross, there are several things we should see.
1. We can see the danger and damaging effects of sin. Sin is what separates man from God (Isa. 59:1,2). When we look to the cross, we see what had to be done to redeem man from the horrifying consequences of our actions. God is just, and man’s sin problem had to be dealt with. It was only through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross that man could ever be justified in God’s eyes. When we consider the pain and suffering Jesus went through, it should remind us just how terrible sin is. The cross serves as a reminder of what it cost for us to be forgiven. Isaiah the prophet wrote, “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isa. 53:4-5).
2. We can see the defeat of the devil. Satan has been the archenemy of God and mankind since creation. He attacked man in the garden by deceiving Adam and Eve into believing they could be like God, which resulted in the fall of mankind. After the fall God rebuked Satan, and gave us a prophecy of the coming Christ. He said, “and I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy was speaking of Christ’s virgin birth, and then the eventual defeat of the devil. The defeat occurred at the cross. Christ died on the cross to justify and redeem mankind from the sin that Satan had brought into the world. Christ defeated death three days later when He was resurrected, and made it possible for all obedient men and women to do the same through Him.
3. We can see the perfect picture of God’s love for mankind. As we look at the world around us, it’s sometimes hard to believe that God loves us as much as He does. So many millions of souls have rejected the love of God, but yet He still sent Jesus to die for us. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Christ’s death on the cross is the awesome display of the love that God has for each and every one of us. In His death, He gave us life. The apostle Paul described it this way, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6-8).
The most important day of all occurred two thousand years ago in Jerusalem. We can look back on that day and see the defeat of our enemy, the overcoming of our sin, and the love God has for us. We can see all that by looking back to the cross. -Ed

Many in the Lord’s church feel they cannot contribute to the Lord’s work because of lack of talent or ability in the areas of evangelism, teaching, or leading; but we often fail to realize that there are numerous things we can each do to help the work. We often tend to think that unless we can do something in front of people or in a leadership position that we are confined to our pews as followers for life. We do not have to do what many consider great things to successfully serve the Lord. Some of what many consider to be minor or little things can sometimes have the greatest impact on an unbeliever or other Christian. Some of the most influential things done for me have been in the form of a card or a few loving words spoken in support from a fellow Christian. We have to stop believing that unless we do some great or public thing we are not working for the church. It is important to remember that God can take the smallest thing a Christian does for someone and make it into something greater. Let’s consider some Biblical examples to help us understand a little better.
In the sixth chapter of John we can read of the five thousand people who followed Jesus after he had performed many miracles. Jesus was concerned for their welfare because He knew the people would need food to eat. Andrew brought Jesus a young boy and said, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many” (John 6:9). Jesus took those loaves and fish and turned them into enough food to feed the entire multitude with food to spare. Obviously Jesus had done a great thing by miraculously feeding the five thousand people, but I want us to consider what happened before He did so. Two people did what most would consider small and insignificant acts, but their actions enabled Jesus to make something greater happen. First, Andrew simply brought a boy with a small amount of food to Jesus. The amount of food the boy had was not enough to feed all the people, but at least Andrew was trying to do what he could to help. Secondly, the little boy only had five loaves and two fish, but he was willing to give what he had. Sometimes having an idea like Andrew (even if it is a small one), or giving what little you do have like the little boy, can be all it takes for God to step in like Jesus did and give the increase. The point is that we should do our absolute best with what we have, and have faith that God will build on it.
The widow with two mites is another great example of how someone may not be able to give or do as much as others, but what she could give was important to Jesus. Others may have looked upon what the widow gave and not thought much of it, but Jesus knew the significance of what she had done. The same applies to us as well. We may not be able to speak publicly, lead a song, or be a church leader; but whatever we can do should be done to the glory of the Lord.
Every Christian has the ability to do something to further the work of the church. Whether it be mowing the grass, visiting the sick, sending a card, or giving a simple word of encouragement to a fellow Christian in need; we can all do something. God does not miraculously take the small things we do today and feed thousands of people like He did with Andrew and the young boy, but He will still providentially use what each of us does to accomplish His will. The smallest or seemingly the most insignificant thing done in faith can change the world with the help of God. -Ed

Can you think of anyone else in the world that has more potential for a positive influence on someone than a mother does? A mother establishes a close bond with her children that will last for a lifetime. Moms have the opportunity to plant a seed of faith in a child that can eventually develop into a lifelong service to God. But, it does not stop there. A mother’s work can bear fruit for generations to come. All parents need to consider this early on. What parents do, or do not do, early in their child’s life will affect many other people’s lives long after they are gone. The faith of one mother can change the world forever. Our nation has set aside today as an occasion to honor our mothers. Let’s use this opportunity to look at the influence of two mothers from the New Testament whose work is still benefiting us to this very day.
Paul wrote two letters to Timothy, his “son in the faith”, exhorting him to continue his work in God’s kingdom as an evangelist. Paul mentioned the effect that Timothy’s mother and grandmother had on him when he said, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Tim. 1:5). Paul did not mention much about Lois and Eunice, but he said enough that we can glean some valuable lessons from his statement. Consider the following points.
1. A mother’s faith may spread to her children. We do not know anything about Lois except that she was a faithful mother and grandmother. Her faith had a strong influence on the way Eunice lived her life. Paul said that Timothy’s faith first dwelt in his grandmother Lois. Lois is what you could refer to as an anchor person. She developed a strong faith in God which trickled its way down to Timothy, and continued to bear fruit for generations to come as we will see later. Some women will never have the opportunity to grow up in a house where faith in God is strong, but that does not mean they cannot become an anchor person for generations to come. Lois was the start of something great. Just because you did not grow up under faithful parents does not mean that you cannot start the chain of faith in your family. It all starts with living by faith, and then raising your children to do the same.
2. A mother’s faith may spread to her grandchildren. Lois had started it, and now we see that Eunice would pick up where she left off. Eunice took the example that Lois had given her, and would now teach those same principles to her son Timothy. Eunice started right at birth. She named her son Timothy, which means, “honoring God.” We see one more link added to the chain of faith that Lois started as the family’s anchor.
3. A mother’s faith may spread to future generations. What Lois started would continue to bear fruit for the next two thousand years. Lois and Eunice’s foundation of faith would propel Timothy into God’s work. Think of all the people Timothy taught and converted. Consider the millions of people who have read about Timothy’s work in the New Testament. It all started with the faith of two mothers. The faith of one mother can change the world today as well! Our moms need to be planting the seeds of faith now to produce our future gospel preachers, elders, deacons, teachers, and Christian parents. Mothers must never forget the amount of godly influence they can have on their children. They are an important part of God’s plan! -Ed

The Christian’s life is a test of faith that lasts from the moment of baptism until death, just like the forty year wilderness wandering of the Israelites was a test of their faith from the moment they crossed the Red Sea until they crossed over into the promise land. The Israelite wilderness wandering was a “type” or “foreshadowing” of every Christian’s life. We can look back on all the struggles and successes of the Israelites during that period of time and learn many valuable lessons to help us with our Christian walk. Paul spoke of this when he said, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Cor. 10:11). We can learn a great deal about what God wants and expects from us in this life by looking at what he expected of the Israelites. Listen to what Moses told the Israelites about their forty years of wandering. He said, “And you shall remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not” (Deut. 8:2). Let’s examine different phrases from this verse to better understand what God expected of them and what He expects of us.
1. “To humble you and test you.” The wilderness wandering was used by God as a way to test the genuineness of the people’s faith and their willingness to rely on Him. He allowed them to hunger and thirst so he could provide them with water and manna to see if they would obey the conditions he required of them to receive the blessings. The Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not” (Ex. 16:4). God created opportunities to test the amount of faith the Israelites had in Him. Likewise, God does the same for us today. Baptism is the Christian’s very first test. We show our faith in God that He will forgive us when we submit to baptism. We then continue to show our faith toward him by keeping the commandments in His Word.
2. “To know what was in your heart.” We show God the condition of our heart by deciding whether or not we will faithfully obey his commandments. Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Our obedience is how we show our love for God. God had commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac. When God saw that Abraham was going to go through with it, He stopped Abraham and said “now I know that you fear God” (Gen. 22:12). We show the condition of our heart by our willingness to obey.
3. “Whether you would keep His commandments or not.” Our relationship with God comes down to this simple statement. Will we, or will we not, keep God’s commandments? We have already seen that it is how God humbles and tests us. It is also how God knows what is in our hearts. None of the original Israelite people from Egypt, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter into the Promised Land because of their unbelief and disobedience (Heb. 3:18,19). The same will apply to us as well. Only those Christians who believe in God, and live an obedient life, will be able to enter heaven one day. Remember, God recorded the Israelites mistakes so Christians could study the past, and try not to repeat it. -Ed

The Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount are some of the most read verses in the Bible, and yet they are also some of the most misunderstood as well. Many approach the beatitudes in a cafeteria style way where they pick one or two of the attributes that Jesus mentioned. The idea is that someone may excel in one area Jesus mentioned and be satisfied they are a follower of Christ. The beatitudes are actually a recipe, or check list, for what the whole Christian personality should be. When we strive to develop the attributes that Jesus describes, we will develop into the type of follower he desires to be the occupants of His kingdom.
The beatitudes present us with a dividing line between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God. Those who choose to pursue the characteristics Jesus has stated will be subjects in the kingdom of God, while those who refuse, will remain part of the kingdom of this world, which is ruled by Satan. It is interesting to note that most self-help books and programs which deal with secular and worldly success tend for the most part to center on one’s self. Jesus tells us in the beatitudes that spiritual success comes from denying oneself, caring for others, and seeking after God first in our lives. He begins each beatitude by saying the one who practices each characteristic is “blessed”. To be blessed means to have peace from God and be spiritually successful. Let’s examine each of the characteristics individually, and see how we each conform to the Lord’s spiritual checklist.
1. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Those who are poor in spirit are in the right condition to enter the kingdom because they see how urgently they need God in their lives to save them from sin and themselves. They realize they are lost in sin (Rom. 3:23, Eph. 2:12), and need Jesus for their salvation. “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
2. Blessed are those who mourn. Does this mean that God desires sad people in His kingdom? No, it means God desires followers who see the lost state of those who are around them and are touched by their condition. He desires those who will see people in need and be compassionate toward them.
3. Blessed are the meek. There is no room for pride and arrogance in the kingdom of God. This requires us to remember where we belong in the grand scheme of things. We would be lost without God, and He is the One who is in control.
4. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. This one would definitely not be popular by the world’s standards. When we understand the holy, pure, and just nature of God, it will lead us to pursue being like Him with all our being. Refer to 1 Peter 1:13-16.
5. Blessed are the merciful. God is all loving and merciful. We would be lost without His great mercy, therefore Christians should understand the need to be merciful better than anyone. God will not forgive us if we refuse to forgive others (Matt. 6:14,15).
6. Blessed are the pure in heart. Having a pure heart means being greatly concerned with always doing what is right. A pure heart comes from a heart full of God’s Word.
7. Blessed are the peacemakers. Christians are to be a peaceful people, but Jesus says we need to be more than that. We need to be peacemakers. That means trying to expand the peace in our own lives so that it effects others as well. We can do this by living an example of peace that others will be influenced by. The ability to forgive and overcome the “grudge” begins with developing the heart of a peacemaker.
8. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. This is the attribute that shows the rest of the world, and God, that we intend to live according to all these characteristics. Jesus tells us that we will be persecuted for following after him. It is when we can live by these beatitudes under persecution, that we show our deep love for God. -Ed

There are many people today who would claim that Christianity is a burdensome religion which restricts the happiness of those who practice it, but in reality the Bible teaches us that there are great advantages to living the godly life. Godliness most definitely pays spiritually, but it will lead to a better life in a physical sense as well. In fact, the unbeliever could even live a better life (although unsaved) by adopting Biblical principles for living. The most important reason to live a godly life is to be pleasing to God, but there are many benefits that come with godliness that the world will notice too. Let’s consider some of the advantages of living a godly life.
1. Godliness will benefit us financially. Now understand up front that I am in no way stating we should lower the divine standard to appeal for a way to gain materially. But, a godly life will bring more financial security to the Christian indirectly when they apply Biblical principles for living. Some in the New Testament attempted to follow Christ for material gain and soon learned they were heading down the wrong path (John 6:26,27). We have to look at the overall picture. If we live according to the principles set forth in the New Testament, over time we will reap the benefits of good living. The Bible teaches us to deal honestly with one another (Matt. 7:12), to be thrifty (John 6:12), to be industrious (2 Thess. 3:10), and to be kind and courteous (1 Cor. 13:5). If we apply these principles, along with many others from the Bible, to the way we conduct business we will see rewards in the long term.
2. Godliness will benefit us physically. The Bible teaches us to be kind, temperate, patient, compassionate, anxiety free, and loving to all people. Science and medicine prove that these traits can make a person healthier. One of the greatest health culprits is stress. Stress is brought about by worry, strained relationships, lack of patience, and misplaced priorities. A lack of godly living can lead to the mind and spirit being overtaken by lustful desires, passions of hate, or gloom and despair that can lead to depression or even more severe mental disorders. A godly life will lead to a happy and healthy life.
3. Godliness will benefit us socially. The New Testament teaches that we should strive to get along with all people, both within the church and without (Rom. 12:18). Consider what traits will win the respect and admiration of all men; friendliness, cheerfulness, honesty, self-control, and good will. One only has to flip through the pages of the Bible to see these are the traits of a godly Christian. We should simply follow the example of Jesus. Jesus found favor with God and men (Luke 2:52). Those who knew Jesus may not have accepted his teaching, but they could not question his godly behavior.
4. Godliness will benefit us spiritually. This is obviously the most important and rewarding reason to live a godly life. By living a godly life we obtain the supreme good of striving to be like Christ. We maintain our fellowship with Christ because we are walking in the Light (1 John 1:7). Everyone around us will benefit spiritually as well because of the example and influence a godly life exerts. Godly living leads to spiritual maturity because we are putting into practice those things we have learned from studying God’s Word. Paul told Timothy, “godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8). -Ed

It’s amazing to look back over our lives and consider how far we have traveled in our Christian walks, but we often forget that at one point in our lives we were saved before we ever obeyed the gospel plan of salvation. I’m talking about before we reached the age of accountability. I’m sure all of you remember some of that time of your life. Life seemed so much easier then. We did not yet truly understand the concept of sin, right and wrong, or good and evil. We simply did what our parents told us too, and if they said something was bad or wrong, we believed them.
There are many in the “Christian religious” community today that do not believe in the concept of the age of accountability. Instead, they choose to believe a doctrine that teaches that all people are lost at the very moment they are born into this world. The false teaching has grown from the teachings of the Catholic church, and the teaching of John Calvin who was the founder of the Presbyterian church. St. Augustine of the Catholic church had a theory that all people inherited the original sin of Adam, and the guilt of that sin, the moment they were born. John Calvin was a protestant reformer who left the Catholic faith, but continued to teach the idea of “original sin” which became commonly known as “total hereditary depravity”. These theories led to the reason that infant baptism became so popular in those churches. Since they believed the babies were spiritually lost, they would baptize them (by sprinkling) shortly after birth. Let’s see what the Bible teaches about the “age of accountability” and whether or not newborn babies are in danger of being spiritually lost.
We must first recognize that the whole concept of inheriting anyone else’s sin is totally foreign to the Bible. The Bible clearly teaches that God gave each of us free will in which we can decide whether or not we want to follow God’s will. Just like Adam and Eve had the choice of whether or not to eat of the tree, we too have the choice whether to be obedient or disobedient to God. Each individual person will be held accountable for his or her own sins, not the sins of others. God told the world this when He spoke it through the prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel said, “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Eze. 18:20).
The Bible also teaches us about the “age of accountability”. The Bible does not refer to it as such, but it makes clear that at some point in our lives we will sin and become needful of salvation. The apostle Paul spoke of himself before he reached that age. He said, “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died” (Rom. 7:9). When Paul said he was alive once without the law, he was referring to his early childhood when he did not comprehend or understand the ramifications of the law. Once he did understand, sin brought about spiritual death. Solomon said, “God had made man upright; but they have sought many inventions” (Eccl. 7:29). We start out good, but then fall, as we understand what the danger of sin is. God was talking about the king of Tyre when He said, “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Eze. 28:15). Remember that Jesus said, “Unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). -Ed

We often refer to the Bible as the Word of God because God chose to speak to us through a written revelation, but one thing many fail to realize is that the Bible is actually inspired word for word by God himself. Many today have the false impression that the Bible is an inspired book of thoughts or ideas. This could not be further from the truth. Each and every word of the Scripture was given to the Bible writers from the Holy Spirit. The apostle Peter said, “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20,21). So, it was the Holy Spirit that inspired the context of the Scriptures, but how do we know the Holy Spirit gave the writers each and every word? Paul told the Corinthians, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor. 2:12,13). Paul is telling us in this text that the Holy Spirit revealed God’s word to them in actual words. This is what is referred to as “verbal plenary word” inspiration.
Some may say, “why does it matter that much anyway?” Look at it this way. Say you were writing a deed contract or a legal will. Would you want the contract to be paraphrased according to your thoughts, or would you want it to say specifically what you wanted? The answer is obvious. If we desire specificity in legal contracts dealing with money or property, wouldn’t we desire the same when it comes to the salvation of our souls. If a surgeon was preparing for your surgery, would you want him to list out in detail the equipment and medications the nurses need to prepare, or would you prefer he just generalize? We would want specifics, wouldn’t we? This is why we must be careful what Bible translations we use. Some translations use what is referred to as “thought translation” where the general idea is translated instead of translating the Greek text word for word into English. The New International Version (NIV) is one example of a Bible translated with “thought translation”. This type of translation leaves too much wiggle room for translators that may be partial to a particular theological stance. The NIV Bible has a strong sway toward the incorrect “faith only” doctrine, because those who translated it believed in that false teaching.
We must always be conscious of the fact that the Holy Spirit put each and every individual word in the Bible the way He did for a specific reason. If man supplemented any of the individual words of the Bible, we would not be able to trust the Book as a whole. The inspired apostle Paul wrote, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16,17). If the Bible truly is the Word of God, and we know that it is, then Paul’s statement must be accepted as being true. It is either “all Scripture”, or it is not.
We should all be able to find great comfort in knowing that God has given us a word by word inspired revelation that we can depend on to guide us through this life on to Heaven. -Ed

Jesus fulfilled the old law of Moses by the perfect sinless life that He lived, and He then “nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14) when He died the sacrificial death on Calvary for all of mankind. The law of Moses was then replaced by Jesus becoming the “Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Heb. 8:6). One of the many things that is “better” about the New Covenant, is that it ushered in the new morality of Jesus Christ. The morality that Jesus would teach all men to live by was very much superior to that of the Old Testament.
The Law of Moses was given to the children of Israel for two primary reasons. First, the law was needed to separate the Jewish people from the gentile world in order to protect the seed line of the coming Messiah. Secondly, the law was to make known and define sin for the people. The Apostle Paul said, “I would have not known sin except through the law” (Rom. 7:7). The law of Moses served as a “schoolmaster” or “tutor to bring us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24). Paul further defines the purpose of the law when he said it was “added because of transgression till the Seed (Christ) should come to whom the promise was made” (Gal. 3:19). The Old Covenant required a strict carnal legal system of rules to maintain the state of separation God expected for the Jewish people. It gave specific commands and rules that were not to be broken, and if they were broken the punishment was to be handed out immediately. The laws dealt with external actions, but not the internal motives for those actions.
The New Covenant of Jesus took things to the next step, which is why it was so much “better” than the old. The morality of Jesus would look to the very heart of what drove man to commit the sins that where violations of the law. The law of Moses would give commandments such as do not commit murder, or do not commit adultery. The morality of Jesus goes further and says do not have anger or lust in your hearts which would lead you to committing murder or adultery. People under the old law were told not to violate the laws because of the strict and immediate punishment that would follow. The morality of Jesus says we do not even think in our hearts to do such things because of the love we have for God and our fellow man.
The basis for the morality of Jesus can be found in the answer he gave to a man who ask him what the greatest commandment was. He said, “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second, like unto it is this, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Matt. 22:37-39). Everything starts first with our love for God, and then secondly, our love for our fellow man. Jesus understood that what a man says and does is based on the condition of that man’s heart. The morality of Jesus goes straight to the heart of man showing that the motives for why we do things is what is really important. King Solomon said, “for as he thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Jesus said, “for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies” (Matt. 15:19).
Jesus wants His followers to do the things they do because of the love they have in their hearts for God and for man. He wants disciples who obey Him because they love him. He said, “If you love me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). -Ed

Christians are not immune to the strong pull of temptation, but God has promised us that He will help us to overcome and escape the desire to do things we shouldn’t. The apostle Paul was warning the church in Corinth of the dangers of falling backward in their faith, when he wrote an encouraging verse about how we can overcome temptation. Paul said, “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it” (1 Cor. 10:12,13). Let’s examine some of the truths Paul describes in this amazing verse, and see if they can help us in our daily battles against the temptations of the world.
1. We will face temptation, but nothing greater than what any other man has had to endure. Paul states in the beginning of the verse that we are not going to have to endure anything that is not common to all other men. In other words, if it is tempting, man has already been tempted by it somewhere at sometime. This should be comforting to us because we realize that others have faced the same temptations that come before us. Paul was saying that the same old temptations have lured mankind into sin since the beginning of time. John described them as the “lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). Knowing what we are up against should help us prepare for it when it comes.
2. Paul reassures us that God is not going to allow us to be tempted more than we can handle. Paul states that God is faithful in this matter, so we can rest assured that He is on our side. God knows each and everyone of us. He knows how much we can handle, and He knows when it will be too much for us as well. We must remember that God uses the temptations and trying times to test our faith, and also to help prepare us for eternal service in His kingdom. Precious metals are passed through the furnace to burn out the dross and impurities. The same could be said of Christians. God will allow us to go through the trials and temptations to build our character, but He will never allow us to go through something He knows we can’t handle.
3. Paul tells us that we will definitely go through times of temptation, but God will always provide us with a way of escape. This part of the verse is a testimony to the fact that God has given all men the gift of free will. He wants us to grow stronger and learn to resist temptations on our own. We are given the opportunity to walk away from the temptation by using the way of escape that God has so graciously provided. God does not simply pull us out of the temptation, because that would not help us grow or give us the opportunity to show Him how much we love him. Instead, God provides us with a way of escape from the temptation so we can choose whether or not we will take it. James wrote, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience” (James 1:2,3). It’s like that old saying that says, “Whatever doesn’t kill you will only make you stronger.” Remember, God has a purpose for each one of us, and we have to be spiritually prepared to do the work. This is one way God providentially prepares us to become the Christians He knows we are capable of becoming. God uses the temptations we encounter to make us stronger and better equipped to take on the world. -Ed