Rev Gav
Doubt
Luke 4:9-13
9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, to the highest point of the Temple, and said, “If you are the Son of God, jump off! 10 For the Scriptures say,
‘He will order his angels to protect and guard you.
11 And they will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.’”
12 Jesus responded, “The Scriptures also say, ‘You must not test the Lord your God.’”
13 When the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came.
Reflect
Jesus was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, and in this third and final temptation, the devil took Jesus to the roof of the temple and asked him to throw himself down. Cunningly, since Jesus had been replying using the Hebrew scripture, the devil now quoted the Bible to Jesus! Jesus again, batted this temptation away using the Bible in the right kind of way — the way that leads closer to, not further away, from God.
Despite the clever use of scripture, there was something even more devilish going on here. Just before the temptations in the wilderness, Jesus was baptised by John in the Jordan and God said, “This is my son.” During Jesus’ time in the wilderness, the devil threw two temptations at Jesus that contained the phrase, “If you’re really God’s son…” Remember that temptation isn’t just about being tempted to do something bad or wrong, the devil had a much more subtle and sinister motive, and that was to undermine Jesus’ relationship with God. The devil wanted Jesus to doubt that he was God’s child.
In the same way the devil says to us, “If you were really a Christian then…” You see, if the devil gets us to doubt our relationship with God, then he has broken that relationship. He whispers things like this in our ears:
“Are you really good enough?”
“If you were a Christian surely you wouldn’t do that…”
“God is probably angry with you and won’t accept your excuses.”
“Are you really forgiven?”
“Call yourself a Christian? God knows what you’re really like!”
If you are doubting that God can forgive you, know that there is nothing you can do to make God love you more, and nothing you can do to make God love you less. There is nothing you have done, are doing, or will do, that is unforgivable. God, through Jesus, has come to rescue you — continually — no matter how many times you mess up.
Do
Can you think of something you have thought, said, or done for which you are sorry? Take a moment to remind yourself of God’s love and forgiveness.
Pray
Holy God
May I never doubt that I am your child;
loved, accepted, and forgiven.
Renew me, restore me, and redeem me
with your unfailing love.
I turn to you again
and place my life in your hands.
This day and for ever.
Amen.
Think
Is church a safe place to express doubts? Why?
Is it right for Christians to feel guilt and shame, either when they are tempted, or when they give in to temptation?
