Temptation is a problem for everyone of us. Because of our sinful desires and areas of weakness, we often stumble into sin when a sinful opportunity comes along to satisfy that desire. Then, we end up dealing with guilt (once again!) and going through the whole process of confession, repentance and restoration.

As I read through the account of Jesus’ temptation (Matthew 4:1-11), I was reminded th…at a knowledge of God’s Word is absolutely essential to combat temptation. For every sinful opportunity that Satan verbally threw at Jesus, Jesus deflected the poisonous dart by saying, “It is written…” and then quoting Scripture.

Internalizing (reading / meditating on / memorizing) God’s Word so that we have immediate access to it when tempted is vital! It is the weapon we’ve been given to fight off the enemy in the face of immediate temptation. We are engaged in spiritual warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18) so we must arm ourselves with “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).

It is a foolish Christian indeed who fails to arm himself/herself with a growing knowledge of God’s Word. By failing to take the time to internalize God’s Word, they will be forced to take the time to spend in guilt, confession and repentance.