HEBREWS 2:18

“For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

I once had a friend who was discipler of men until the day he passed into Glory. I will never forget we were in a meeting with some other men and were discussing purity and the temptations of the flesh. At the time, my friend was 86 or 87 years old. Someone asked him, “Does this ever end?” He humbly and gently said, “Men, the temptations of the flesh never end, but we do learn how to resist them better each day we surrender.” I have shared that story several times with men who thought they could forever quash those temptations.

Today’s verse is similar to Hebrews 4:15 which says, “For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.” The Greek word “tempted” is the same in both verses. It means to be tried or tested. It can be in a negative way (which the Lord would never do) or a positive way (which the Lord often uses to grow us).

ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)

In this verse we have a Promise to claim, a Sin to avoid, an Application to make, and Something new about God. The Promise to claim is that Jesus will come to our aid in our temptations. But we have to call on Him. We can’t choose to sin and then cry that He didn’t help us. This is a proactive decision. Before you sin, when you are tempted cry out to Him and He promises to deliver.

A Sin to avoid is obvious. Don’t yield to temptation. Jesus has shown us through His sinless life that it is possible. Think of the suffering He endured and yet He did not yield to the temptation to react. Do you remember the temptations He faced in the wilderness by Satan himself? Who was going to know? He was all by Himself out there. Is that an excuse you have used?

An Application to make is given us by showing us the possibility of refraining from temptation. If you are like me, you are faced with temptations every day. It may be in how you talk to your spouse or children. It may be in refraining from talking badly about someone. We can apply this verse to our life every day.

Something new about God is a reminder of the fact that our God, our Savior is sinless perfection. There is not a shred of sin in His life, never has been and never will be. We will not reach sinless perfection in this lifetime. We will be able to experience that in heaven one day.

Today, give thanks to the Lord for His sinless perfection in the midst of suffering and for His example to us of how to live our lives daily.

O Lord, You are beautiful beyond description, too marvelous for words because You are perfectly sinless.