The battle with temptation and sin is the battle to believe that Jesus is better. Every temptation holds out a promise of something better: a superior pleasure, a preferable path to happiness, a safer choice, a more comfortable option.
The very first temptation the serpent used with Adam and Eve was the “look what you’ll get” offer of superior knowledge. The devil first raised doubts about the Word of God (“did God really say…?”) and then questioned the good promises of God – showing Adam and Eve what appeared to them to be a better promise.
The devil’s playbook is very consistent. He still tries to get us to question God’s Word and doubt the goodness of God’s promises. So just as Jesus answered the enemy’s temptations by quoting Scripture (to remain anchored in the truth and not swayed by deception) and holding fast to the better promises of God, we must reject the false promises of sin and cling to the One who is better.
When we are tempted by the lusts of the flesh, let’s remember that Jesus is sweeter.
“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” Psalm 84:10-12
When we are tempted to trust in our own efforts and put confidence in our flesh, let’s remember that Jesus is better.
“He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.” Hebrews 1:3-4
And when we are tempted to rely on our own wisdom and power, let’s remember that Jesus is stronger.
“And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.” Colossians 1:17-19
Whatever your temptation or struggle, identify the false promise underneath it and then search the Scriptures to find the better promises in God’s Word. (For more on this see John Piper’s helpful and inspiring book Battling Unbelief.)