"Jesus said to him,
'Scripture also says: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.' "
- Matthew 4:7
The next temptation challenges us to do "incredible things"!
The Serpent told Eve when she said that the Lord warned them not to eat the forbidden fruit because they will die that "you certainly will not die!" [see Genesis 3:4] while the Lord Jesus Christ was tempted to jump from the parapet of the Temple even quoting the Scriptures that He will surely be protected from harm [see Psalm 91: 11-12].
Today we can watch and witness various survival challenges and adventures that measure human endurance, skills, and capabilities. We even have various record setting events and competitions which try to memorialize human achievements and feats beyond the ordinary or normal human capability!
It is not bad to develop one's talents and capabilities but it must not be conducted merely for human purposes and more importantly, must not endanger one's life and put one's eternal salvation in peril. The Christian puts himself in harm's way only for the sake of glorifying God and manifesting true love for others, not for the sake of glorifying himself and gaining the love of others. Many might say they are doing it to please and honor God who has given mankind gifts and talents to be developed. But these gifts and talents must be developed in accordance with His will - not for mere show or to test human capacity.
The Lord Himself said that what good is it to gain the whole world and ruin one's soul in the process? [see Mark 8:36].
Moreover, undertaking activities which put one's life in peril is somehow a way to test God. Do we not see many of these people praying for God's help and protection before doing these activities - as if asking God to give them the go signal to do what He does not intend man to be doing? What these people are doing are nothing compared to what the martyrs who were burnt, eaten by the lions and beheaded because of God and the Lord Jesus Christ! The modern adventurers do it to beat human standards, the martyrs went through those horrific deaths for their faith in God!
We have made created by God to worship Him all the days of our lives, not to put ourselves in danger. The only pleasing peril for Him that we could undergo are the tests to the strength of our faith in and love for God Himself. It is not that He is a selfish self-centered God. It is just that He wants us to live and offer our lives for something more dignified and worthier of our status as children of God and friends of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Do not put your God to the test" says the Lord. If we love God we will never put these lives which He has given us as gifts in danger of being lost forever!
It is not bad to develop one's talents and capabilities but it must not be conducted merely for human purposes and more importantly, must not endanger one's life and put one's eternal salvation in peril. The Christian puts himself in harm's way only for the sake of glorifying God and manifesting true love for others, not for the sake of glorifying himself and gaining the love of others. Many might say they are doing it to please and honor God who has given mankind gifts and talents to be developed. But these gifts and talents must be developed in accordance with His will - not for mere show or to test human capacity.
The Lord Himself said that what good is it to gain the whole world and ruin one's soul in the process? [see Mark 8:36].
Moreover, undertaking activities which put one's life in peril is somehow a way to test God. Do we not see many of these people praying for God's help and protection before doing these activities - as if asking God to give them the go signal to do what He does not intend man to be doing? What these people are doing are nothing compared to what the martyrs who were burnt, eaten by the lions and beheaded because of God and the Lord Jesus Christ! The modern adventurers do it to beat human standards, the martyrs went through those horrific deaths for their faith in God!
We have made created by God to worship Him all the days of our lives, not to put ourselves in danger. The only pleasing peril for Him that we could undergo are the tests to the strength of our faith in and love for God Himself. It is not that He is a selfish self-centered God. It is just that He wants us to live and offer our lives for something more dignified and worthier of our status as children of God and friends of the Lord Jesus Christ.
"Do not put your God to the test" says the Lord. If we love God we will never put these lives which He has given us as gifts in danger of being lost forever!
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