Ep 900 – Sanctification - Luke 4:1-13

Doubt is a powerful weapon in Satan's arsenal, and he uses it against the people of God on a regular and relentless basis. It was doubt in God's word that caused Eve to listen to the lies of the serpent and disobey the warning not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Satan began his temptation of Eve by raising doubts about what God had said. And he tried the same tactic with Jesus in the wilderness. But on that occasion, his efforts failed because Jesus knew who He was and what He had been sent to do. One of the things that makes us particularly susceptible to the temptations of the enemy is an unhealthy understanding of who we are in Christ. Satan began each of his temptations of Christ with the words, "If you are the Son of God…" He wanted to cause Jesus to doubt His identity. Because he knew if Jesus failed to recognize who He was and why He had come, he could be distracted by false promises of pleasure, power, and prominence. But He refused to buy what Satan was selling. And so should we.