THE THREE GREAT TRAPS

There are Three Great Traps for people: “lust of the flesh,” “pride of life,” and “lust of the eyes” (1 John 2:15-17).

These are the same Three Temptations Jesus experienced in the Wilderness: Power, Pride and Privilege (Matthew 4; Luke 4). They are also called ‘The World, The Flesh and The Devil.’

They are basically Self-Preservation, Self-Elevation and Self- Sufficiency.

The Lord combated these three issues with the authority of scripture. His response to each temptation in Matthew 4:4,6,10 and Luke 4:4,8,10 was: “It is written…” It seems obvious to me that we have a much better chance to resist temptation if we prepare ourselves by reading, meditating and understanding scripture.

“It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Jesus