How To Study the Bible: Part I

Matthew 4:4, 7 and 10 (NLT)

⁴ But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

⁷ Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”

¹⁰ “Get out of here, Satan,” Jesus told him. “For the Scriptures say, ‘You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”

How authoritative is the Word of God? In these 3 Verses, within the temptation of Jesus passage, we see Jesus appealing to Scripture when rebuking Satan. Although Jesus was the Son of God, each time He answered Satan, He answered him from the Word of God and said “The Scriptures say”. Jesus viewed these Old Testament passages as carrying the weight of the voice of God. In each of the temptations, Satan tried to tempt Jesus with proud, power and self-seeking glory. Although Jesus did not need to appeal to the Word of God, He did and He showed that Scripture held authority for how He conducted His life, even down to how He came about getting His food. Jesus held the Scriptures in very high regard. In this passage, even Satan uses the Word of God to try to influence Jesus, however, he pulls it out of context in an effort to try to make Jesus do something that is self-seeking. If the Son of God viewed the Scriptures in such high regard, as governing His life, how much more should we! Granted, none of us are capable of fulfilling the demands of the Law, like Jesus was, but they still give us insight into the mind and will of God. For the believer, God's transforming work gives us a desire to follow the Word of God, not because we have to, but because we want to. We can delight in the Law of God, like the Psalmist talks in Psalm 119. We delight in the Law of God because we delight in God. If we keep our focus on the Scriptures, they will save us from many temptations.

Wishing you God's Grace,

Pastor Mark