While John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness of Judea, the people came from Jerusalem, Judea and all the region round about Jordan and were baptized of him in the River Jordan, confessing their sins. Then came Jesus from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John to "fulfill all righteousness". We find that when Jesus came up out of the water, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended like a dove and lighted upon Him, and a voice from heaven said, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." According to the Sacred Records, the next scene is of Jesus being led into the wilderness by the spirit, to be tempted of the devil. Satan tempted our Saviour in the same manner in which we are tempted today: lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and the pride of life; - - - yet our Saviour did not yield to Satan, but instead, quoted Scripture to him. "Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on the pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written. He shall give his angels charge concerning thee and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God," (Matt. 4:5-7).

By casting himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, our Saviour could have gained notoriety and respect from the Jews, His chosen people; but the Saviour answered Satan, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." God, through Moses, commanded the children of Israel, "Ye shall not tempt the Lord your God, as ye tempted him in Massah" (Deut. 6:16). The followers of the Lord were commanded not to tempt him under the old law; the followers of Christ under the New Law are instructed not to tempt Him. "Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents" (1 Cor. 10:9).

Many disciples of Christ today are tempting the Lord as Satan attempted to get our Saviour to tempt God - by putting themselves in a position where they cannot worship God each Lord's day nor obey other commands of our Lord, thinking that He will miraculously provide the means of their obeying Him - since the Lord has promised, "'I will never leave thee nor forsake thee"; "The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous and His ears are open unto their prayers," etc. These promises of the Lord are only to those who are righteous - to those who are "walking after the Spirit." It is true that the Lord will never leave us nor forsake us - THANK GOD FOR THAT - but it is likewise true that we can forsake Him. When we go to places the Lord would not go, such as picture shows, mixed bathing pools, dance halls, beer taverns, etc., or do things the Lord would not do, we "leave the Saviour outside" when we do so - we forsake Him; then we cease to walk after the Spirit, but are walking after the lusts of the flesh, and no longer stand justified or approved in the sight of God. "The face of the Lord is against them that do evil" (1 Peter 3:12). The face of the Lord will continue to "be against us" so long as we "walk after the flesh, and not after the Spirit" - living lives which are not in harmony with the teachings of the Word of God.

The Christian Life is a life of watchfulness, of vigilance, and the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul commands us in Eph. 5:15-16, "See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." If we are vigilant, we will not continue blindly on our way and let the "roaring lion" come upon us that he might cause us to commit sin, but instead, will be watching about us for the evil one and "abstain from all appearance of evil" (1 Thess. 5:22). The Apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 2:11, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices." It seems that many of us are ignorant of Satan's devices - at least, we plod blindly on with the mad throng as if we were unaware of evil. Brethren, let's study that Divine Word diligently so that we might LEARN of the devices of Satan and "avoid evil" when even the appearance of it is manifest. Wise Solomon said in Proverbs 4:14-15, "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away." This quite conclusively instructs us to ABSTAIN from evil.

Beloved, let us be sober, be vigilant, be watchful for these devices of Satan, and "AVOID THEM, PASS NOT BY THEM, TURN FROM THEM, AND PASS AWAY." Let's not blindly trudge onward, in spite of repeated warnings and admonitions, and become entangled in one of these snares of Satan, thinking that we can "pull" the Saviour into the snare with us, thereby continuing to be in the favor of God - it simply cannot be done. The Apostles were not ignorant of Satan's devices - are we? REMEMBER, brethren, "Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."